Town Hall meeting addresses Roosevelt St. complaints

PROTECTED CONTENT

If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.

Username

Password

Login

Lost your password?

Username and Password Help

Please enter your email and we will send your username and password to you.

Email

Submit

← Back

TOWN HALL MEETING ADDRESSES ROOSEVELT ST. COMPLAINTS

For years, Roosevelt Street on Pearsall’s east side has plagued residents with unpassable conditions and has been the topic of debate when it comes to ownership.

Mayor Ben Briscoe, Frio County Pct. 2 Commissioner Mario Martinez and city officials will host a Town Hall meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, February 28, to address issues related to Roosevelt Street.

“The biggest issue we have is ownership,” City Manager Federico Reyes said during a phone interview Tuesday morning. “We know it is a problem, but we need these landowners to work with us.”

From the intersection of Roosevelt and Alabama streets to Chaparral Road, there is a half-mile stretch of roadway that becomes waterlogged after heavy rains.

In July 2019, residents along the pothole-ridden road packed City Hall to express ongoing concerns with the c0nditions of the road.

Residents were irate over a local herb business draining water onto the road, the massive potholes, heavy traffic and the overall deterioration of the road.

According to legal counsel for the city, Bobby Maldonado, it is a violation of the water code to divert water that causes problems to another private or city-owned property.

“Drainage is your [the city’s] responsibility,” Maldonado said. “This includes not allowing one property owner to cause problems for another property owner.”

At the time, former Councilor Roland Segovia asked legal counsel and the city engineers, LNV, to investigate the legality and boundaries of Roosevelt Street.

“It is a big mess,” Segovia said. “The road belongs to private citizens; there is land that belongs to the city but it is blocked off by a private citizen.”

Following discussions with LNV Engineer Robert Viera, Segovia contended that two feet on the east and two feet on the west side of the road belong to the citizens and the remaining 30 feet is for the thoroughfare, which he claimed was city-owned property.

However, further research has not uncovered documents filed at the city or county to support that claim.