Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include information from University Medical Center on which bond projects may be prioritized, along with statements from the UMC chief executive officer and the organizer of an El Paso anti-bond group.
El Paso-area voters are ready to spend their tax dollars on improving the county hospital system and county parks but don’t want to spend any more money on the city’s years-delayed Downtown multipurpose arena project.
That’s the message sent by voters Tuesday.
University Medical Center at El Paso officials will now start planning major new projects after El Paso-area voters resoundingly approved $397 million in property-tax-financed bonds, including chipping in $30 million for a planned $100 million-plus cancer treatment center.
“I think it goes to show that folks here in El Paso definitely value access to health care. We’re very heavily a medically underserved community and it looks like people realize that,” County Commissioner David Stout said late Tuesday night. His district includes the UMC campus.