Eagle Pass City Council to Decide Whether to Establish a City Public Improvement District No. 1 at November 7, 2023 Meeting, Creating New Entity to Issue Up to $400 Million Bonds for Industrial Development Park
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2023
The City of Eagle Pass, Texas City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing and take possible action on whether to establish a new City-Owned entity to be called the City of Eagle Pass Public Improvement District No. 1 at their Tuesday, November 7, 2023, regular meeting at City Council Chambers, 100 S. Monroe Street, Eagle Pass, Texas for the purpose of issuing up to $400 million in Certificates of Obligations (bonds) for the benefit of Empire Industrial Park to develop the infrastructure and utilities of the park.
If approved by the City Council, the purchasers or tenants of real property at the newly established Empire Industrial Park will be charged an assessment to repay whatever amount of bonds are issued to finance the development of its infrastructure and utilities.
The City Council previously placed this important agenda item at its September 26, 2023 Special meeting, but had to “suspend” the agenda item until its November 7, 2023 regular meeting.
The City Council public hearing and meeting are open to the public and taxpayers to express their views and thoughts concerning the establishment of the City of Eagle Pass Public Improvement District No. 1 for the benefit of Empire Industrial Park to develop authorized improvements and utilities at the park.
The property owners of Empire Industrial Park, which includes Beyer Junfin, Sonia Junfin, Linda Zamora, and Sergio Zamora, submitted a petition to the City of Eagle Pass for the establishment of the City of Eagle Pass Public Improvement District No. 1 on August 11, 2023.
The petition requests that the City of Eagle Pass Public Improvement District No. 1 be established for 469.95 acres of the overall 2,333.85 Empire Industrial Park, located at the intersection of Loop 480 and El Indio Highway (FM 1021), pursuant to Chapter 372 of the Texas Local Government Code.
The petition requests that the City of Eagle Pass Public Improvement District No. 1 be authorized to issue up to $400 million of certificates of obligation (bonds) for authorized improvements and utilities at Empire Industrial Park. The petition has a discrepancy with the total amount being requested as there are two figures provided within the petition, one being up to $75 million and another up to $400 million, a $325 million material discrepancy.
The petition states that “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 improvements on the property, or in any other manner that results in imposing equal shares of the cost on property similarly benefitted.”
The petition also 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 owners of the Empire Industrial Park seek to develop and promote a major Class A industrial park to meet the current and future growth of international trade due to nearshoring between the United States, Mexico, Canada, and world trade. Among businesses that might be interested in locating in Empire Industrial Park are warehouses, transportation terminals, cold storage, cross dock, logistics, light manufacturing, and other food and produce distributors. The goal is for Empire Industrial Park become a premier industrial park in Eagle Pass, Texas that will satisfy the significant growth of international trade in the community within the next 50 years.
The proposed Empire Industrial Park will be annexed to the City limits of Eagle Pass and be entitled to receive all the services and benefits of city residents, including police protection, fire protection, ambulance services, water and sewer services, trash collection services, and all other city-provided services.
The City Council meeting scheduled on Tuesday, November 7, 2023 at 5:30 p.m. is open to the public.
