El Paso Parks and Recreation continue Ascarate Park community input sessions

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) - El Paso County Parks and Recreation continued its series of community input sessions at Ascarate Park Saturday morning to discuss how to spend Capital Improvement Bond money on improving the park.

The bond gives county officials $4.3 million to spend but they made sure to tell ABC-7 and those who attended nothing is officially decided and any plans are still only concepts of how to improve the park.

These improvements focused on making Ascarate Lake a better habitat for the fish population by addressing issues of golden algae growth that can create a toxic environment for the fish, cooling the temperature of the water, and increasing the waters oxygen levels.

Reducing pollution in the water and leakage from the four wells which supply the lake and evaporation were also concerns according to El Paso Parks and Recreation Director Tim Fulton.

Proposed plans from the county show vegetative shore lines to filter pollution of the lakes water and make it a better environment for the fish to breed as well as more shaded areas for the fish but also measure that drew a strong reaction from the public that was there.

That was the proposed removal of the park's duck pond to address the increase in nitrogen levels and algae as a result of duck droppings and re-purposing the land into a public use areas with possibilities including sports fields or even parking lots or more park picnic area.

The resident's frustration showed when they has the opportunity to give their feedback to county representatives one El Paso resident, Claudia Contreras Siller, told ABC-7 she questioned why the El Paso County Commissioner wasn't there.

Siller is the great-great-niece of the land's former owner Juana Maria Ascarate Garcia and told ABC-7 it would be 'depressing' if the duck pond were removed.

"If they remove the duck pond it's going to be very depressing seeing a piece of land instead of the beautiful lake we have right now," Garcia said. "This is very precious to our community, and everybody wants to keep it. It's not that hard to understand."

Another resident, Sergio Tarango, told ABC-7 he questioned the ecological study commissioned by county officials detailing a toxic environment for the fish as a result of golden algae blooms.

"We need to have that scientific study, because the study that we have here is the fact that fish are being caught and there's life here so you know that toxicity doesn't exist," Tarango said. "The fact that the lake has not had the Rio Grande feed it for more than 30 years, and had its own well, and it's been thriving since then shows this lake is not toxic. So that's just incorrect information."

Tarango clarified he's not against changed to improve sustainability and wildlife habitats, he just doesn't want that at Ascarate Park's bodies of water.

"We're not against those ideas, just not here because we only have two public bodies of water in the whole El Paso metro plex, which includes southern New Mexico, Juarez and our neighboring cities." Tarango said.

Siller had a similar sentiment, saying she wanted to keep the park as it is.

"I prefer it to stay like it is instead of removing it. I think it's a disgrace people do not value what we have." Siller said.

Not all resident's ABC-7 spoke to were against the changes. Raul Castañeda said he would prefer some changes to the park that could appeal to entertaining the local youth.

"We could use a big merry go round for the youngsters to ride the little ponies up and down in a big, long Choo-Choo train to go around the lake. That would be awesome," Castañeda said. "We need to do stuff for our kids. But the other thing I would like to see for the teenagers is some zip lines going across this lake."

"We've seen plenty of birds and ducks growing up. Let's do something for our youngsters." Castañeda said.

But for the Tarango, the reason he doesn't want the bodies of water at Ascarate Park is because it would just be more 'whittling down' of public spaces that he feels has gone too far.

"They've already done away with the golf course area they already whittled that away, with the swimming they did away with the little stream, and now they're going to whittle this away as well," Tarango siad. "We don't need less we actually need more at the very minimum the same amount."

County officials encourage the public to attend the future input sessions at July 22 and 29.