2008 State Roadeo Champions

Sun Metro’s Coach Operators have one of the safest driving records in the nation and participants in this year’s State Bus Roadeo in Waco, Texas witnessed their exemplary skills as they maneuvered through a cone-dotted, timed obstacle course. Mr. Jose Hernandez, a paratransit operator with over 14 years experience at Sun Metro, took first place against 24 tenured competitors in the paratransit division of this year’s competition.

When asked about his first experience at a State-level Competition he said, “I felt pretty confident about my performance, but I was competing against other drivers that participate year after year. When I won, no one believed that it was my first time competing.”

Mr. Hernandez will now showcase his impressive skills at the Community Transportation Association 2008 National Roadeo in New Orleans this May. Fixed-route Coach Operators and first time participants, Jose Meraz and Juan Zaragoza placed top ten in the 35ft and 40ft division.

MCAD is Awarded Grant to Conduct Economic Impact Study

The City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department (MCAD) and the art, culture and heritage community are partnering with Americans for the Arts (AFTA) to conduct an economic impact study of the non-profit arts and culture sector in El Paso County. Conducting this type of study will allow us to show the economic impact of our city’s nonprofit arts and culture industry. This economic impact study is funded by the El Paso Electric Company; and is being done with assistance from the University of Texas-El Paso, Institute for Public and Economic Development with support from the Hunt Family Foundation.

Non-profit art, culture and heritage organizations in El Paso County are being asked to participate in this process by completing an on-line survey about the organization’s operating budget. Organizations that are a non-arts, culture or heritage, but that include art and culture activities and programming, are also eligible to participate. In addition, the analysis includes conducting audience surveys at events occurring through September 2008. The data collected will help us to better understand the contribution of art and culture to the local economy; support the case for increased public and private sector arts funding in our region; and will generate significant statewide and local visibility for the art and culture industry.

To participate or for more information please contact: Socorro Diamondstein at (915) 541-4167 or diamondsteinsq@elpasotexas.gov.

From Americans for the Arts:
The 2007 Arts and Economic Prosperity III study demonstrates that the nonprofit arts and culture industry is an economic driver in communities—a growth industry that supports jobs, generates government revenue, and is the cornerstone of tourism.

Nationally, the nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $166.2 billion in economic activity every year—$63.1 billion in spending by organizations and an additional $103.1 billion in event-related spending by their audiences. The study is the most comprehensive study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry ever conducted. It documents the economic impact of the nonprofit arts and culture industry in 156 communities and regions (116 cities and counties, 35 multi-county regions, and five states), and represents all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The $166.2 billion in total economic activity has a significant national impact, generating the following:

• 5.7 million full-time equivalent jobs
• $104.2 billion in household income
• $7.9 billion in local government tax revenues
• $9.1 billion in state government tax revenues
• $12.6 billion in federal income tax revenues

The El Paso Museum of History Presents:
Citizens at Last: The Women’s Suffrage Movement in Texas

May 3 – 23, 2008, FREE
El Paso Museum of History
501 N. Santa Fe Street
El Paso, TX 79901
915-351-3588
www.elpasotexas.gov/history

Citizens at Last: The Women’s Suffrage Movement in Texas
In 1920, with ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution, women all across America became citizens at last, victorious in a campaign of 70 years duration. Women in Texas took part in the struggle for 27 years. The six-panel exhibit was created by the Woman’s Collection of Texas Woman’s University Library and focuses on the campaign for votes in Texas. It uses archival photographs, newspaper clippings, cartoons, cards, and texts detailing the struggle in Texas. Captions are from the landmark history Citizens at Last, courtesy of Ellen C. Temple, Publisher.

This program is supported in part by Humanities Texas, the state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Passenger Traffic for Month of April

El Paso International Airport is pleased to report that March 2008 passenger traffic is up 4.1% from March 2007. This is a total of 300,476 passengers in March 2008 versus a total of 288,550 passengers in March 2007. Year-To-Date (YTD) March 2008 passenger traffic remains at 5.1% above March 2007 YTD. The daily number of outbound seats for the month of March was 7,536 and daily flights numbered 67.

"Air traffic is a function of a community's economic vitality and as a testament to this, EPIA has experienced 5% plus growth year to date," said Patrick Abeln, Director of Aviation. "In an airline industry that is struggling financially and seeking consolidation and reduction of capacity (seats), this growth is an indicator of the strength of El Paso's regional economy."

Concession Revenue Gains

In the Fall of 2006, City Council voted to change Food and Beverage, as well as, News and Gift vendors at El Paso International Airport.

El Paso International Airport is now complete with the first phase of this transition in existing terminal space.

The graphs highlight Second Quarter gains in revenue associated with this program change.

Revenue per enplaned passenger has increased 40% from $4.10 per passenger to $5.74 per passenger (2nd Qtr 2006 compared to 2nd Qtr 2008).
Food & Beverage – News and Gift revenue has increased from $1,601,747 in 2006 to $2,281,453 in 2008, an increase of over 40% (2nd Qtr 2006 compared to 2nd Qtr 2008).

It is believed that these strong revenue gains in the identical square footage reflects customer satisfaction with the new concepts, we look forward to additional service and revenue improvements associated with ongoing concourse construction and the addition of new concession concepts for both Food & Beverage and News & Gifts operations.

Animal Services Officer Receives National Certification

The Department of Public Health is committed to providing quality customer service by making necessary improvements to the Department’s Animal Services program (formerly Animal Control). In a continual effort to provide quality service for the El Paso community, Animal Services is proud to announce that Animal Control Shift Supervisor Hugo Navarro successfully completed a 3-week training to become a certified Animal Cruelty Investigator.

“To our knowledge, Mr. Navarro is the first animal control officer in El Paso to have taken and completed this training and certification. This is a tremendous step forward for Animal Services,” says Ray Sim, Deputy Director for Animal Services. “This certification enhances our ability to provide a higher level of service to the El Paso community and it is based on recognizable industry standards.”

The Animal Cruelty Investigator Program is conducted by the Law Enforcement Training Institute at the University of Missouri and Code 3 Associates. It is designed for animal cruelty investigators at the federal, state, and local levels, humane society cruelty investigators, animal control officers, police officers and sheriff's deputies responsible for the investigation of animal cruelty complaints.

Deputy Director Sim recently reassigned Animal Services supervisory personnel and tasked Mr. Navarro, an Animal Control Supervisor with El Paso Animal Services for eight years, with the principal responsibility for supervising investigations and complaints involving animal cruelty, standards of care and animal establishment inspections and permits.

4th Annual Neighborhood Summit

The Neighborhood Summit is an annual event which allows residents the opportunity to participate in a series of educational workshops, build networks among neighboring associations and gather inspiration from highly motivated keynote speakers.

Admission is FREE! Lunch will be provided.
Please RSVP to Jody by email jodtod@sbcglobal.net

Saturday, July 19, 2008
8:30am - 2:00 pm
Registration from 7:30am - 8:30 am
Ysleta Independent School District – Administration & Cultural Arts Center
(9600 Sims Dr.)

For more information please contact:
H.W. “Bill” Sparks
Chairman, El Paso Neighborhood Coalition Council
hwsparks@sbcglobal.net

New Subdivision Code

An Ordinance amending Title 19 (Subdivisions) in its entirety was recently adopted by City Council establishing new regulations to include Platting Procedures, Parkland Dedication, Improvement Standards and Design and enforcement taking effect on June 1, 2008. In an effort to provide informational training opportunities prior to the effective date, a series of meetings have been scheduled. The Training will last approximately two hours. The first part will provide an overview of the Ordinance highlighting processes and requirements, followed by a more technical discussion of the Design Standards for Construction and the Drainage Design Manual (optional).

Day of the Week	Date	Time	Location All meetings  to be held at City Hall
Thursday	May 22	10:00am	HR Training room (3rd floor)
Wednesday	May 28	6:00pm	HR Training room (3rd floor)
Friday	May 30	2:00pm	CD Conf. (8th floor)
Monday	June 2	2:00pm	HR Training room (3rd floor)

***All sessions are free and open to the public; however, seating is limited to 25 participants per session. Copies of the code will be made available at the sessions. Additional copies may be purchased at the 5th floor Planning Division.

To view and print, please click here.

Seating may be reserved by calling 541-4056 or by e-mail at acostamd@elpasotexas.gov

April 2008 Supervisory Academy

Congratulations to the most recent graduates of the April 2008 Supervisory Academy.



Graduates include:

Brenda Cantu	Development Services
Elizabeth Campuzano	Health
Raul Flores	Health
Jorge E. Gallegos	Health
Candy Guevara	Health
Gloria Gutierrez	Health
Ricardo Padilla	Health
Irene Rivas	Health
David Sublasky	Health
Connie Torres	Health
Santiago Varela	Health
Yvonne Vasquez	Health
Oralia Zamora	Health
Frank Boada	Sun Metro
Albert Gallegos	Sun Metro
Dan Pitts	Sun Metro
Rudy Castaneda	General Services

Engineering Takes Volleyball Championship!

Practice, more practice and dedicated teamwork, some of the driving forces leading the Engineering Team, “The Blues”, to a recent victory in the 2008 Spring Co-Ed City/County Volleyball League Championship. We extend our warm congratulations and look forward to their continued participation in the next league to defend their title.

The Blues
Monica Castrejon
Gisela Dagnino
Hector Esparza
Gilbert Guerrero
Yvette Hernandez
Roberto Lopez
Ted Marquez
Mauro Monsisvais
Martin Noriega
Rudy Pino
Sam Rodríguez

DSD Welcomes New Director

The City is pleased to announce that Victor Q. Torres has joined the organization as the new Development Services Director. Mr. Torres is a uniquely qualified candidate and a native of the region (raised in the Las Cruces, New Mexico area) bringing over twenty years of community planning experience to the One-Stop-Shop.

Prior to accepting his position with the City of El Paso, Mr. Torres held a similar position with the City of Lawrence, Kansas. Mr. Torres holds a Bachelor and Master of Business Administration from New Mexico State University. His experience is varied, with a strong emphasis on budgets and administration, plan review and permitting, community planning and development, building safety and code enforcement, zoning and platting processing, and economic development. He also believes in performance measures and metrics to improve productivity, and works in a collaborative style that promotes diverse interests and opinions.

Deputy City Manager Patricia Adauto formally welcomed Mr. Torres on May 5, 2008 and stated, “It’s exciting to have an individual with his experience and management background in this critical position, and we expect he will continue the great work of this department and organization.”

We extend a warm welcome as he forms part of our El Paso City Government.

Employee Profile: Armando Villareal

Armando Villareal may not be a household name in El Paso but he is leaving his mark on the city. As a longtime Street Department employee, Villareal has worked on countless road projects that have enhanced the community’s quality of life. He began working for the City of El Paso nearly 15 years ago. Today, he’s an inspector with Street Resurfacing operations, a job he finds extremely rewarding because it allows him to serve his hometown while working outdoors.

“I actually prefer working outside than indoors. I don’t mind the heat and I don’t mind the cold,” he said.

It’s his outdoor work that keeps him in contact with the public. Any given day at least one citizen will walk up to him to inquire about street project he’s working on.

“For me, because I work outdoors, it’s an everyday thing to deal with the public,” Villareal said. “I’ve got no trouble with talking to people. I think it’s our number one job to let the public know what’s going on – let them know what we’re doing.”

His duties include repairing curbs and gutters, repairing and installing sidewalks, as well as ensuring that wheelchair ramps on sidewalks meet federal Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, standards.

Villareal takes pride in knowing that his work is making it easier for the disabled and the elderly to get around their neighborhoods.

When Villareal isn’t working he’s hanging out with his family -- his wife, four sons and four daughters. His children range in age from 6 to 20.

“We go riding a lot on ATVs (all-terrain vehicles),” Villareal said. “We also like to go camping and fishing. Oh, and we spend a lot of time at sporting events because of the boys. Right now I have my youngest playing T-ball.”

Villareal is also known for his strong work ethic.

“When I first came here (to the Street Department) the challenge I had was being able to prove it to myself that I could do the job,” he said. “Now, I know I can do it and I take a lot of pride in doing it.”

He admits that he also likes being able to show off his work to his children while they’re out and about in the community.

“When I drive around with my kids I do let them know what I’ve done,” he said. “Sometimes they’ll ask me, ‘Hey, did you do that?’ It feels really good.”

Payroll Clerk Lauded for Innovation

Keeping track of job vacancies for the 350-employee strong City of El Paso Environmental Services Department was no picnic – at least not until Luz Espinosa came along.

Espinosa, a payroll clerk who joined Environmental Services about 17 months ago, has transformed the way manning table records are kept.

The system was archaic with all the information maintained solely on paper. Now, thanks to Espinosa, the data is available in electronic format.

“The way I see it, it’s just my job,” said a modest Espinosa.

What Espinosa did is create a pivot table for all employees. This system centered on electronic spreadsheets allows her to quickly sort employee information by supervisor, vacancies or work crews.

Espinosa said the changes have made her job more efficient because it now takes seconds to dig up information that before would take her take her several minutes if not hours to find.

Her efforts have not gone unnoticed. She’s been praised by Environmental Services Director Ellen Smyth and she was recently lauded for her leadership and creativity by the City’s Human Resources Department at a payroll meeting.

Her pivot table is now being showcased by HR as a model for other departments to follow.

Finding new ways to make her job more efficient is what Espinosa says she enjoys about working for the City.

Her creativity and initiative are traits she picked up from her mother.

Espinosa said her mother is an extremely resourceful woman, who as a single parent of four children earned a college degree while holding down a full-time job as a factory worker.

“She’s a workaholic,” Espinosa said.

Espinosa, who has two children and another on the way, said she feels blessed that some of her mother’s qualities rubbed off on her, and she hopes to be able to pass those characteristics on to her children.

Environmental Services: A Department of Character

A new spirit driven by the pursuit of excellence is redefining how employees of the City of El Paso Environmental Services Department connect with the community.

The employees working as a team are reassessing the Department’s goals and standards through strategic planning sessions. They are also reinforcing positive character traits under a leadership program promoted by Mayor John Cook.

The program, Character First!, stresses 49 distinctive qualities intended to enhance customer service while boosting employee morale. Environmental Services is one of a handful of departments selected to participate in the program as part of a pilot project.

The way the program works is each month a character trait, such as dependability, is highlighted through handouts, meetings and training. The qualities showcased are intended to empower employees to reach their full potential at work and at home.

“We’re excited about culture of success we’re reinforcing,” said Ellen Smyth, director of Environmental Services. “Good character is contagious and it will reflect in our daily lives and the services we provide the community.”

TAKE ADVANTAGE

Museums and Cultural Affairs Events

Click on any of the links below to learn more about the exciting and intriguing events being offered out of the City’s Museums and Cultural Affairs Department!

• Alfresco! Fridays Lineup for 2008
• MCAD Announces Selection in Logo Design Competition for Music Under the Stars and 25th Season of Music Under the Stars’ Lineup for 2008
• MCAD Welcomes Flautas sin Fronteras

Are you having financial problems and legal worries?

If so, come to our free legal clinic co-sponsored by the City of El Paso’s Community and Human Development Department, a partner of the Don’t Borrow Trouble Anti- Predatory Lending Campaign, aimed at educating and empowering El Pasoans on the consequences of high cost loans.

Admission is FREE! Walk-Ins welcome. Legal clinics are open to the entire El Paso Community. Individuals are seen on a first time, first serve basis.
For more information contact: (915) 585-5100 or email www.elpasodbt@yahoo.com Visit our website at: www.elpasotexas.gov/DBT

Wednesday, May 21st 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM Texas RioGrande Legal Aid – 1331 Texas (Corner of Texas & Newman)

El Paso Zoo Camp Starts Mammoth Sign-Up for Camp!

Kids between the ages of 6-10 can explore the wide world of Mammoths, Mastodons and Elephants at this year’s Zoo Camp 2008. The week-long classes are from 9 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday, beginning June 9th - Aug. 15 at the El Paso Zoo, 4001 E. Paisano. The sessions are June 9-13 (Filled), 16-20, 23-27, July 7-11, 14-18, 21-25, July 28-August 1st, August 4-8 and 11-15th. Children will learn about the habitat, diet and intelligence of the popular pachyderms and will have the opportunity to visit behind the scenes, work on crafts, games, participate in live animal encounters and much more.

Cost is $85 for non-members and $75 for Zoo members which includes official Zoo Camp 2008 T-shirt and healthy snacks. Advance reservations required and fee must be paid before campers are registered. Please call the El Paso Zoological Society at 915-532-8156 for information.

WHAT:       “Zoo Camp Sign up Starts!
WHEN:       May 2008
WHERE:    El Paso Zoological Society - 4001 E. Paisano
COST:        $85 non-members, $75 members (T-shirt & snack)
INFO:         Sign-up in person or by phone - 532-8156

The FY2009 budget hearing process is currently on the horizon for the City organization. In an effort to assist employees with questions about this year's budget process, an employee roundtable meeting was held on Friday, April 30th. There were a great deal of questions and interest expressed during the course of that meeting. To continue this flow of information, more details on the upcoming budget hearings, such as a schedule and budget priorities, will be shared with employees in the coming month as we approach the commencement of the formal process.

On a lighter note, I would like to thank all of the employees that participated in the recent City of El Paso Golf Invitational that took place Friday, April 18th at the Butterfield Trail Golf Club. The team that led the pack and won first place honors was:

Anthony Shaar
Ramon Barraza
Art Dahlberg
Steve Davis

To view a photo slide show of the tournament and playing teams in action, click on the following link: Golf Invitational Photos
Congratulations to all the competitors on a tournament well played.

General Links

• Human Resources
• City Employees' Pension Fund
• Police and Fire Pension Fund
• Neighborhood Toolbox
• Employee Newsletter Archive
• City Events Calendar
• City News Page

Benefits Services

• Health Benefits - Aetna
• Dental - Concordia
• Dental – Safeguard
• Pharmacy - Medco
• Vision – Block
• Unum Life Insurance – Disability
• ING Life Insurance – Dependent/Basic/
  AD & D
• ING – Deferred Compensation
• EP Fitness

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