EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 The City of El Paso is responding after residents in a small Northeast El Paso neighborhood said they have waited decades for basic infrastructure, including paved roads, lighting and sewer service.<\/p>\n
Futureland is located near Dyer Street, U.S. 54 and Stan Roberts Sr. Avenue.<\/p>\n
Residents previously told KFOX14\/CBS4 they believe documents tied to the area\u2019s annexation show the city had agreed to bring improvements to the neighborhood. The documents list streets, public safety, water and sewer service as planning goals.<\/p>\n
RECOMMENDED: Futureland joined city decades ago, residents say infrastructure never caught up<\/a><\/p>\n City spokesperson Laura Cruz-Acosta said those items were recommendations in a staff report, not a legal agreement requiring the city to complete the work.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no annexation agreement that would have committed the city at that point in time to these improvements,\u201d Cruz-Acosta said.<\/p>\n Cruz-Acosta said Futureland was annexed through a 1978 ordinance, but the staff recommendations were not written into that ordinance as required commitments.<\/p>\n She also said there are no city-funded capital improvement projects planned for Futureland right now. <\/p>\n \u201cThe city doesn\u2019t have any capital improvement plan at this point in time for the Futureland neighborhood,\u201d Cruz-Acosta said. \u201cSo there is no projects that are being proposed at this point in time.\u201d<\/p>\n The city said sewer work would need to be addressed before major road improvements could move forward.<\/p>\n KFOX14\/CBS4 asked El Paso Water if a sewer extension project for Futureland is currently in the works and what that could mean for residents\u2019 timeline.<\/p>\n In a statement, EPWater said it is working on a design for a project that would provide wastewater services to Futureland.<\/p>\n \u201cEPWater is working on a design for a project that would provide wastewater services to Futureland. The design is almost complete, but funding for construction is not available for a few years,\u201d EPWater said in the statement.<\/p>\n As for roads and other city infrastructure, Cruz-Acosta said any future city project would need City Council direction, a full evaluation and funding.<\/p>\n The city said early estimates for street improvements alone range from $31 million to more than $50 million, not including utilities.<\/p>\n Leslie Canada, with the Futureland Neighborhood Association, said residents still want a clear timeline.<\/p>\n \u201cSo where is the money that we\u2019ve been paying in taxes?\u201d Canada said. \u201cWhere is that going?\u201d<\/p>\n While El Paso Water said construction funding is still years away, Futureland has also come up in the city\u2019s community benefits agreement talks with Meta.<\/p>\n City Council has directed staff to work on a possible agreement, including help funding sewer infrastructure for Futureland.<\/p>\n RECOMMENDED: El Paso council directs staff to draft Meta community benefits agreement for data center<\/a><\/p>\n