Wetland saga continues



Soon to be a another parking lot?

The saga of the wetlands continues in the Gateway City. Apparently, the plans are for the city to sell the 88 acre "Town Center" tract which sits across the airport instead of leasing it as was the case a few years ago.

 Mayor Salinas and councilman Vela came out on TV last week promoting the new retail center as a jobs-creator. On the other hand, the Rio Grande International Science Center (RGISC) is encouraging local residents to speak out on preserving the rare oasis. The notion is that while you can replace a retail center, the same is not true of a natural asset such as the Casa Blanca wetland area. According to RGISC, our lake sees about 200,000 visitors per year.

There were expecations that a vote on whether to sell the wetlands or not was to take place this coming Tuesday, January 22nd, at the next city council meeting. However, when the agenda appeared on the city's website, the item was nowhere to be found.