Eagle Pass City Council to Hold Public Hearing to Establish City of Eagle Pass Public Improvement District No. 1 for Industrial Economic Development Project Improvements of Up to $400 Million
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2023
The City of Eagle Pass, Texas City Council is holding a public hearing for the purpose of considering the establishment of a public improvement district for the benefit of Empire Industrial Park development with an estimated cost to fund the proposed public improvement district of up to $400 Million at a Special Meeting to be held on Tuesday, September 26, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 100 South Monroe Street, Eagle Pass, Texas 78852.
The public hearing is open to the public and the taxpayers of the City of Eagle Pass to express their views with respect to the establishment of a public improvement district for the Empire Industrial Park development and the authorized improvements to be made therein.
The City of Eagle Pass received a petition submitted by Sonia Junfin, Beyer Junfin, Linda Zamora, and Sergio Zamora as property owners that requests the establishment of a public improvement district for the Empire Industrial Park development project, a 469.95 acres industrial development project, pursuant to Chapter 372 of the Texas Local Government Code.
Although the Public Hearing is for 469.95 acres according to the legal property description on the City Council Agenda of September 26, 2023, the Empire Industrial Park development project is estimated to consist of 2,333.85 acres according to a Sales Brochure distributed by the company and its commercial real estate broker, KW Commercial City View of San Antonio, Texas.
Another discrepancy noted is the Notice of Public Hearing published by the City of Eagle Pass in a local newspaper on September 10, 2023 and the City Council September 26, 2023 Agenda Item No. 1 Attachments is that the proposed costs of the improvements of the Empire Industrial Park development project requested for the Public Improvement District No. 1 is $75 Million but the actual written petition submitted to the City of Eagle Pass states the costs are $400 Million, a significant and material $325 Million difference.
The property owners are requesting the City of Eagle Pass City Council to approve the establishment of a public legal governmental entity to be known as the City of Eagle Pass Public Improvement District No. 1 in order to apply for funds to build and develop the Empire Industrial Park development project by the issuance of bonds by the newly established City-owned Public Improvement District No. 1 of up to $400 Million that will be reimbursed by special assessments on each property purchased within the industrial park.
In other words, “the proposed method of assessment is to impose a special assessment to be paid in installments on all useable property within the District, net of any public right-of-way, according to the value of the property, without regard to the value of improvements on the property, or in any other manner that results in imposing equal shares of the cost on property similarly benefitted. A report will be prepared showing the special benefits accruing to property within the District and how the costs of the Authorized Improvement are assessed to property on the basis of special benefit received by the property from the Authorized Improvements,” states the petition submitted to the City of Eagle Pass by the petitioners.
The petition further states that “all costs incurred by the District shall be paid by the District, and there shall be no apportionment of costs between the District and the City as a whole. The City will not be obligated to provide any funds to finance the proposed improvements except from assessments generated by property within the District.”
The petition further states that “Management and administration of the District shall be by the City. The City may contract from time to time with a private company for District administrative services.”
The property owners of the Empire Industrial Park are essentially asking the City of Eagle Pass to establish or create this new City-owned Public Improvement District No. 1 so that it may issue bonds up to $400 Million under its name to finance the development and construction of all improvements such as roads, utilities, landscaping, lighting, signs, fountains, sidewalks, streets, roadways, rights of way, traffic control devices, screening walls, retaining walls, pedestrian malls, art, off-street parking facilities, water, wastewater, or drainage facilities or improvements, parks, real property acquisition, supplemental and maintenance services for improvement and promotion of the district, including advertising, promotion, health and sanitation, water and wastewater, roadways, public safety, security, business recruitment, development, recreation, cultural enhancement, and the payment of expenses incurred in the establishment, administration, and operation of the District, including maintenance costs, costs of issuance, funding debt service and capitalized interest reserves and credit enhancements fees of any bonds issued by or on behalf of the District.”
The private property owners of Empire Industrial Park would be able to sell their properties or lots within the industrial park development and retain any profits made from these real estate sales, while the proposed City-owned Public Improvement District No. 1 would be allowed to assess a fee on each property or lot to recover and pay for the costs to develop and construct the improvements and all of the costs listed above to establish, maintain, and promote the District as an industrial park as well as pay for the up to $400 Million in bonds it will be authorized to issue on its behalf.
The owners of Empire Industrial Park seek to promote the industrial park development as a major Class A industrial park to meet the current and anticipated future growth and needs for international trade facilities such as distribution warehousing, cold storage, transportation terminals, logistics, cross dock, light manufacturing, and food and produce distribution center. With its strategic location at the intersection of El Indio Highway (FM 1021) and Loop 480, a mere two miles from the Camino Real International Bridge (Bridge II), Empire Industrial Park seeks to become the premier industrial park for United States, Mexico, and Canada international trade in the immediate future.
Eagle Pass taxpayers are encouraged to attend the public hearing on Tuesday, September 26, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall to express their views with respect to the petition to establish a City of Eagle Pass Public Improvement District No. 1 for the use and benefit of Empire Industrial Park and its owners.
The Eagle Pass City Council has many important questions to ask and consider concerning the petition to establish the public improvement district such as what are the benefits and disadvantages of the district for the City and City taxpayers, whether town hall meetings across the City should be held to educate and inform the taxpayers, and whether the public notice discrepancies of this public hearing require the City to restart the notice process in light of the significant and material discrepancies noted in the Public Notice published by the City in a local newspaper compared to the original petition submitted by the owners.
