Commissioner Precinct 1

El Paso County Commissioner Pct.1
Luis G. Sariñana

Goals and Objectives
Goals and objectives: a reflection of my roots
Few families can count 22 children in their household. Mine did. I grew up ready to help whoever and wherever help was needed.
My father gave us good advice. He told us to be sure we always helped the young and the elderly, and always shared what we had with those less fortunate. With so many children - 11 boys and 11 girls, growing up in a three-bedroom home, the need to help and to share was always there, particularly with the chores. There's little doubt that my family background and early years, growing up in Fabens - where I was born August 12, 1959 - were good training and preparation for a life of public service and outreach to the community. It was a life of giving and caring for each other. After eight years as City Representative, I also have the experience of working in public office. Politics and the power that comes with politics, if used in a positive way can be very effective in helping your community. But you need to understand the ways of government, stay focused on what it is you want to accomplish and remain accountable to your constituents.
Goals and Objectives:
I'm still learning my way around the Courthouse and county government, which is different from city government. I've been talking to department heads and studying the issues that will be coming up for discussion during our meetings. I have seen some things that I can support and some that I simply cannot.
Sportspark:
I did not agree with the Court when it approved negotiations on the privatizing of Sportspark with the El Paso Sport Commission. That's why I placed an item on the agenda for my first meeting on Commissioners Court to rescind that decision. Fortunately, I was able to change some minds and to have the court approve negotiations with Big League Dreams, the Chino, California company that also submitted a bid for the project. Big League is operating and managing six other ball parks in the country and has the experience to make it a success. I will be visiting one of those parks before making a final decision.

A good viable athletic field, such as Sportspark, is crucial in El Paso to provide young people with activities that will keep them off the streets. One of my main goals is making sure El Paso's youth have the opportunity to develop strong, healthy lifestyles through athletics. I will work to make sure Sportspark offers them that opportunity. We may also work to develop more parks in the area.
El Paso City-County Health and Environmental District:
Another of my goals is to work with the city in providing the City-County Health and Environmental District with the help it needs to provide good, affordable health services to families throughout the County. My mother died of complications from diabetes. She was on dialysis for 11 years, getting help from either La Fe or San Vicente clinics. The City-County Health District should be providing many of those services in areas outside the city limits, including vaccinations and prenatal care.
So far, both the city and the county have played political football with the health district and that needs to stop. The city and county need to communicate more on such a vital service. The county needs to provide the health district with more money, at least the same amount as the city, for it to provide the needed services. I will do my best to reach that goal.
Flood Control:
East El Paso was lucky this year in that it was hardly touched by the recent flooding. But that has not been the case in previous years when water has rushed down the Sparks Arroyo and continued on to Socorro and San Elizario, endangering residents in the area.
The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers has been conducting a survey on how to prevent that flooding through the channeling of the arroyo. The study has been sponsored in part by the federal government, thanks to Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, who has helped provide the funding. The County is providing its share of the funds. More, however, still needs to be done to control that water flow, including expanding the study to cover adjacent areas. I will work to make sure we continue getting the proper funding to finish the project.
At this time, the County is also working on its flood control project to make sure residents comply with FEMA's requirements for flood insurance. It was obvious during the recent floods that some El Pasoans had built their homes in arroyo beds or near them, where they were in harm's way. Some topographical adjustments will have to be made to prevent that from happening again. I will work with the Road and Bridge Department to make sure these residents meet their criteria for flood insurance.
Nutrition Program and other services:
I am a fiscal conservative and do not like to waste taxpayer's money. There are, however, other options to get the funding for some of the much-needed services in our community. El Paso's Nutrition Program, which provides meals to the disabled and elderly either in nutrition centers or through the homebound program, receives most of its funding through the federal government's Community Development Block Grant funds. The county pays an estimated $800,000, as its share of the program. I will work to make sure such programs are continued because they impact the most vulnerable in our community, the elderly and disabled.
My father liked to say you need heart to help people in need. I have the heart, but we also need the means to help them. Another of my goals is to develop a good grants-writing program. There is money out there through the federal government and the state to provide all kinds of services to the community. We need to access those resources. The key is the willingness to invest money to get money in return. I think I can get the Court's support to do that.