Presidio County
Presidio County commissioners will meet Wednesday with a discussion item “regarding the establishment of a special road use permitting procedure on county roads.”
The item involves Barnard Construction’s attempt to improve Chispa Road to transport border wall materials and equipment down to the Rio Grande. Those efforts were thwarted, at least temporarily, by Jeff Davis and Presidio counties’ officials telling the company it was not authorized to work on the public road. (Chispa, a rough unpaved road, starts in Jeff Davis County then continues on in Presidio County toward the border.)
Hudspeth County commissioners recently approved a “Road Use and Improvement Agreement” with Barnard that provides a detailed plan and requirements for road upgrades. The 54-page agreement includes detailed maps and cross sections for improvements, mostly on Indian Hot Springs Road.
Landowners meet with CBP
Early last week, County Commissioner Deirdre Hisler and Commissioner-Elect Susan Hays met with representatives of Customs and Border Protection, Barnard Construction representatives, and a group of landowners in the Chispa Road area to discuss the border wall.
Hisler said the landowners are concerned about the path of the wall presented to them in documents asking them for access to their land. Those maps show that the wall placements were far enough from the Rio Grande to dissect their land and thus, take a considerable amount of property and make it unavailable for agricultural uses. The CBP representative said the agency would be willing to look at placements closer to the river and other alignments that possibly could be more favorable for landowners.
Hays said in touring Alvardo’s ranch, including the family’s two-story home, and in discussing the right-of-way needed from CBP representatives, it was clear that a wall would cut off the family from their ranch and home.
Hays added that Barnard had clear-cut land near the historic Porvenir Massacre site, a cause of concern for preserving the site and possible future archaeological investigation.
Hisler said these meetings are crucial to keep the flow of information — which has been next to nothing — going. “We have held up our end of the bargain to be the conduit for info, but I don’t feel it’s reciprocated by DHS and CBP,” she said.
Hisler said the other key gleaning from the meeting is that the state General Land Office, which owns a significant amount of property along the river past Candelaria, is still asking for more details from CBP on wall plans.
