Dear Friends and Neighbors

Without a doubt, we just recently experienced one of the best starts of the year during my tenure.

From the groundbreaking of the new Baptist Hospital at Brooks City Base to the groundbreaking for the new Mission Branch Library to the ribbon cutting ceremony for the recently completed dam and spillway renovations at Southside Lions Park, plenty

has taken place  for the residents of this proud community.

This version of the District 3 On-Line Mission Newsletter showcases some of those events as well as highlights the upcoming District 3 Town Hall Meeting I will be hosting at Highland Park Elementary.  

Feb. 3rd Harlandale Park Neighborhood Association Meeting, Harlandale Park, 7227 Briar St., 6:30 p.m.

Feb. 9th District 3 Town Hall Meeting, Highland Park Elementary (635 Rigsby Rd.) 6:30pm.

Feb. 11th Pecan Valley Neighborhood Association Mtg., Pecan Valley Elementary at 7 p.m.

Feb. 14th Happy Valentines Day

Feb. 15th Presidents Day *** City Holiday ***

Feb. 16th Sunny Slope Neighborhood Association Mtg., Southside Lions Community Center at 7 p.m.

Feb. 18th Los Vecinos de la Missions Mtg., Mission Espada, at 6:30 p.m. at 9:30 a.m.

Feb. 18th Mission San Jose Neighborhood Association Mtg., San Jose Mini Center (Behind Mission San Jose) at 6:30 p.m.

For more information on Councilwoman Ramos and the
District 3 office, please visit www.JennRamos.com

If you would like to be removed from this e-news list, please click here and type remove in the subject line

     On Tuesday, January 26, in front of an estimated crowd of over 300, District 3 Councilwoman Jennifer V. Ramos kicked off the construction of the Mission Branch Library with a groundbreaking ceremony.

     Councilwoman Ramos was joined by Mayor Julian Castro, State Senator Carlos Uresti, and State Representative’s Roland Gutierrez and Joe Farias along with a host of other local dignitaries and representatives from the San Antonio Public Library. The new library will be built on the grounds of the former Mission Drive In Theater located at 3100 Roosevelt Avenue.

    The $7.4 million, 16,400-square-foot facility is scheduled to open in spring 2011. The facility is designed by Kell Munoz Architects and the construction of the facility will be done by O’Haver Contractors.

    Councilwoman Ramos sees this new facility as yet another unique opportunity for the residents of District 3. “With everything that is going on in our community from the Mission Reach to Texas A&M this new facility will no doubt fit in as a benchmark of growth and development,” she states.

    “There have been a lot of hours devoted to this incredible project and I am confident that the end result will be an access to education facility that will serve this community at a very high level,” Ramos continues.

Library Board Chair Jean Brady agreed. “This is the best part of serving on the Library Board. It’s so exciting to bring a new library to our community. City Council District 3 has long needed another library to provide service to residents here, and we are thrilled to be starting construction. We’d like to thank Councilwoman Ramos and former Councilman Roland Gutiérrez for helping us obtain funding for this project, and all the citizens who voted for libraries in the 2007 bond initiative.”

Fast Facts: Mission Branch Library

Description:

Construction of a new 16,400-square-foot branch library

Funds:

7,400,000 (2007 Bond $4,175,000; unissued Certificates of Obligation $2,825,000; reallocated capital funds $400,000)

Location/District:

3100 Roosevelt Avenue / District 3

Project Architect:

Kell Muñoz

Construction Contract:

O’Haver Contractors

About the name:

The name of Mission Branch Library was selected not only to honor the San Antonio Missions National Park, which adjoins the library site, but also to commemorate the old Mission Drive-In Theater, which was a long-time landmark in the neighborhood. The new library will be built on a section of the Mission Drive-In Theater property.

About the design:

The new branch library will be a catalyst and model for new development within the 26-acre are formerly occupied by the Mission Drive-In Theater, encouraging a new wave of improvements and development along the newly formed Roosevelt Avenue Corridor district.  With a site just north of the historic Mission San Jose and less than one block west of Mission County Park and the Historic Mission Reach of the San Antonio Riverwalk, the new library will incorporate elements reminiscent of many architectural influences in the region. The library will be single-story building composed of a 30-foot tall reading room with a shed roof covered with barrel-vaulted clay tiles. Stucco and stone on the exterior of the building will echo construction materials from the nearby missions. Visitors will enter the building through paired decorative doors reminiscent of doors in the nearby missions, to see three brick-vaulted bovedas like those found throughout Mexico and on several buildings designed by the late O'Neill Ford. Each boveda will be fitted with a skylight to provide natural light to the lobby.

       Councilwoman Jennifer V. Ramos will be hosting a Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday February 9 at Highland Park Elementary located at 635 Rigsby Rd.  The meeting will start at 6:30 p.m.

     The San Antonio Water System and CPS Energy will be making presentations and will be discussing proposed rates for 2010.

     For more information please visit www.JennRamos.com or you can call the District 3 Field Office at (210) 534-1300.

Councilwoman Ramos speaks with King and Liz Trainor at a Town Hall Meeting held in 2009

     With a large crowd of local officials and community stakeholders on hand, District 3 Councilwoman Jennifer V. Ramos unveiled therecently completed Southside Lions Park dam and spillway renovations at a ribbon cutting ceremony held at the Southeast area park.

      On hand for the event included County Commissioner Tommy Adkisson, former District 3 Councilwoman Toni Moorhouse and City Manager Sheryl Sculley.

       The completion of this $3.5 million project addresses flood control in an area that has seen two major destruction causing floods in 1998 and 2001.

       The dam and spillway renovations are just a part of the major park improvements currently taking place at Southside Lions.  Those improvements include continued lake clean-up efforts, walking trails and infrastructure enhancements in and around the park as well as drainage improvements around the park community center.

       “Southside Lions is without a doubt one the of crown jewel parks in the City of San Antonio,” states Councilwoman Ramos.  “The renovation to the dam along with the other major improvements we are making will truly enhance what is already a beautiful and well used facility.”

    The City of San Antonio opened the Mission Verde Center last month. The facility is the first of its kind concentrating on education, training and research of renewable and energy efficient technologies.
    Housed in the former James Fenimore Cooper Middle School on the city's West Side, the Mission Verde Center will be a living laboratory aimed at harnessing green technologies and training programs while helping to revitalize neighborhoods.
    The Center will help advance the goals of Mission Verde by showcasing how investment in energy efficiency, renewable energy and water conservation can help create jobs and stimulate economic growth within the framework of a sustainable future. The Center will also play a central role in developing a new green jobs curriculum among educational stakeholders that align with the needs of green businesses and industries.
    The City of San Antonio has allocated $1 million of its energy efficiency and conservation block grant funds toward energy improvements at the Mission Verde Center. The Texas Engineering Experiment Station's (TEES) Texas Center for Applied Technology will design, implement and monitor these improvements.
    The City's contribution to the campus will include a comprehensive audit of the facility to locate opportunities for advanced energy efficiency technologies. These retrofits will complement the workforce training efforts led by Alamo Colleges and San Antonio Youth Centers in weatherization, green construction and plumbing, solar power systems and smart grid systems installation.
    Core partners include Alamo Colleges, San Antonio Youth Centers (SAYC), SAISD, TEES, the City of San Antonio, CPS Energy, and SAWS.

February 6, is Free Landfill Disposal Day for San Antonio residents from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The City's Solid Waste Management Department and the area landfills host this event. Participants must bring their most recent CPS Energy bill to show that they pay the City's residential solid waste fee along with a picture ID when dropping off items at one of the locations below.

Loads should be secured and covered in vehicles and trailers traveling to the landfill. Those individuals that do not cover their loads are in violation of City Ordinance #72272 Tarp-Law.

Residents are encouraged to make the pledge to recycle and separate out all items that can be re-used. Items that can not be reused or recycled should be brought to Landfill Disposal Day. No hazardous waste will be accepted at this event.

Drop-off locations:

*Allied Waste Services Tessman Landfill, 7000 IH-10 East
* WM-Covel Gardens Landfill, 8611 Covel Road
* TDS Starcrest Transfer Station11601 Starcrest Road
* Southside Drop-off Center (near Camargo Park), 5450 Castroville Road

For brush material only, visit the following location:
* Bitters Brush Recycling Center, 1800 Bitters Road

For more information, call 3-1-1 or visit www.sanantonio.gov/swmd.

Bexar County, the San Antonio River Authority and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will host a public meeting regarding the start of construction on Phase 2A of the Mission Reach Ecosystem Restoration and Recreation Project.

For more information, please call

210-302-3228.

   —––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

When:

Thursday, February 4, 2010
 

Where:

Saint PJ’s Children’s Home
919 Mission Road

Time:

6:00 p.m.