Pearsall reopens parks, public facilities

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Community Room still reserved for vaccine registration

GO WEST, YOUNG MAN – The city of Pearsall has reopened its parks this week, and three-year-old Gee Briseno was one of the first to corral a springy horse at Polo Patino Park for a gallop to celebrate his renewed freedom to exercise outdoors.

Nearly three months after extending a closure of facilities for the safety of employees and the public, the city of Pearsall has re-opened a number of public sites.
“I recommend opening the facilities and still following the CDC guidelines,” City Manager Federico Reyes said during the Monday, March 1, meeting, “effective tomorrow.”
As of March 2, the civic center, library, sports complex and all city-owned parks opened for public use. Reyes asked that councilors vote to keep the community room inside the library closed for use in a project with the hospital.
“We are working with the hospital to use the community room as a place for people to register for the [coronavirus] vaccine,” the city manager said. “I am not too sure on the details; I will know more once I talk to John [Hughson, Frio Regional Hospital CEO].”

According to Reyes, the city plans to set up computers in the community room and train staff on how to register citizens for the vaccine. Reyes said a number for the hotline would soon be released.
Frio County Commissioner Jose Asuncion asked that the city allow the county to use the library as a hub for the registration of homeless people in an outreach program.
“The call center for the COVID is now closed,” the commissioner said. “I would like to move the housing program to the library. It is a natural location for that population and the library staff are well-versed in the application process because they have been involved.”
As of Monday, the program financed through the Alamo Area Council of Governments has housed 25 people and provided shelter for an additional ten, according to the commissioner.
“It is not stopping,” Asuncion said in a phone interview Monday morning. “We have twelve to fifteen applications pending right now.”
Mayor Pro Tem Julian Hernandez presided over the meeting in the absence of the mayor and quizzed Reyes over staffing issues.
“Do we have the staff to open these facilities?” Hernandez asked. “How are we going to ensure coronavirus protocol is being followed at these facilities that are open on the weekends?”
Reyes said staff could not ‘police every event or practice’ and asked that the public follow guidelines.
“It is not practical,” the city manager said. “We ask that the people who rent the facilities and use the parks practice the CDC guidelines.”