Odessa Mayor Javier Joven announced Saturday the formation of a Quality of Life committee that will look at the issues facing Odessans. He also hopes to conduct a city-wide survey of local residents by the end of the year.
Joven held a Coffee with the Mayor event at Mi Casa restaurant on West County Road Saturday morning. He spent more than an hour sharing his thoughts on the issues facing Odessans and taking questions from a handful of the dozen or so who attended the event.
Shortly after taking office in 2021, Joven said he suggested the formation of a committee.
“I didn’t get push back from the other members. What I got was inaction and so we’re readdressing it. I was asked by members of the council, ‘Can we put this back on the forefront?’” Joven said.
They’ll look into creating a sports complex and discuss ways to address issues, like feral cats, roads, water and sewer systems, he said.
“Everybody in this room is going to be paying for the facilities to use. So the thing is, every aspect, we have an association. Soccer’s a priority. Oh, baseball is a priority or volleyball, that’s a priority. No, walking trails, no, bike trails and so it goes on and on. Everybody has a priority, but we can’t build a facility that big or one we can’t afford…It’s a process, but it’s necessary to get the best value that we can and we can only do that by going out and getting the data.”
Last year the city broke away from a 25 year agreement with UTPB for use of the sports complex there.
Council member Mark Matta has volunteered to head the committee and co-chairs will be selected, he said.
“We’re going to need people from the community to come on it too,” Joven said.
He’s planning place the committee on a city council work session agenda as soon as he can, Joven said.
“I wanted it done yesterday. I wanted it done two years ago,” Joven said.
The citizen survey will be a separate endeavor, Joven said.
Instead of spending $20,000-$30,000, Joven said he’d like an anonymous survey to be posted on the city’s website by the end of the year.
While surveys have been conducted for the downtown area, it’s been 12 years since citizens have been asked about their wants or needs for the entire city, Joven said. Nor have they been asked about their vision.
“I want citizens to click on it and we’ll have formulated questions we want you to answer. I don’t want it to be ‘Do you agree? Strongly agree. Strong disagree’…I want somewhere where they can say ‘Hey, this is important. This is important,’ things of that nature.
The mayor said he’s not been able to find the city’s mission statement on the city’s website. In addition, city staff and random citizens he’s asked haven’t been able to tell him what it is.
Every department has its own mission, but there’s nothing bringing them together, Joven said.
Joven warned the group at the start of the meeting he would not be able to discuss some things because of ongoing litigation. However, he said he’s excited about the period of transition the city is currently going through.
On Dec. 13, the city council voted 5-2 to terminate the contracts of City Manager Michael Marrero and City Attorney Natasha Brooks. A lawsuit was filed by local attorney Gaven Norris because Joven refused to allow citizens to speak on the matter prior to the vote being taken.
After the Saturday morning event, Joven said Marrero has also retained an attorney and sent the city a letter so he could not comment further.
Recycling, economic development and communication were also discussed Saturday.
The mayor told the group the council and staff are in the process of looking at the city’s recycling program to determine its viability.
In answer to questions from a southside Odessan, Matta said the city has been visiting with three potential supermarkets. He’s also been meeting with investors about putting in a small shopping center complex that could include a fast-food restaurant.
“We have been working on it since Day One. We have not stopped,” Joven said.
The mayor said he’s been criticized for going to Mexico to talk about economic development, but those talks continue. He also said he recently spoke to someone from a “major corporation” who wants to create a 40-acre development that would include some retail.
The point of Coffee with the Mayor is to let people know city hall is listening, Joven said after the event.
“It’s not going to be the same old, same old,” Joven said.
When city employees don’t have the answer to a question or problem, they’ll look into it and address it, Joven said.
There have been times over the past couple of years when issues have arisen and people been stonewalled or no action has been taken, Joven said. Other times, the action taken has been too slow.
He cited the time Council member Denise Swanner put together a committee of contractors and developers to discuss the permitting process. They met once and city staff put up resistance to any changes, he said.
In another instance, it took not days or weeks, but months for a company to get its new water meters inspected and approved, Joven said.
“Things like that were happening on a constant basis and developers and community members, vendors were getting nowhere with this department, that department, this department, that department and they would just finally call me and that’s where I’m being accused of micromanaging, but the thing is, they were at their wits end because their developments, their businesses, their constructions were being held up and this costs them money,” Joven said.
“Every time there’s a call, there has to be a call back. Every time there’s a click on our website, (information has to be gotten) within three clicks. Somebody needs to call them back. that’s where we’re not customer friendly and that’s where we’re going to get to.”
Coffee with the Mayor will be held monthly and move around to all areas of the city, Joven said.
“They’re going to have direct communication, there’s not going to be anybody in the middle,” Joven said.
He also expects council members to hold their own meetings and join him when he’s in their district.
