SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio District 4 Councilman Rey Saldana is asking for a community partner to double roughly $10 million in tax dollars for a community multiuse center.
Saldana said he wants to give the community an opportunity to have a say in the type of services residents would like to see in the center.
The district would see the center included in a bond in 2022.
“Right now, in San Antonio, we are spending money without giving enough conversation for community members to provide input,” Saldana said.
Saldana wants to have a plan to get the community to begin planning for the future, as he will leave office next spring.
“Regardless of whether I’m gone, I want people to know this is coming so that they can organize around it, and so that our district on the South Side isn’t left behind,” he said.
Saldana pointed to the Willie Cortez Senior Multiservice Center as an example of the need for a new senior center.
“We have a senior center that's bursting at the seams, and we know we need to build a new center,” he said.
An $8.5 million center is set to be built in 2020 on Ellison Drive near Marbach Road.
Saldana’s intention is to build the multiuse center in the 78224 ZIP code, but he wants to know what other services the community would like to see. Some suggestions he’s heard are health services and youth programs.
The South San Independent School District turned down a partnership, but other school districts and colleges have expressed interest.
Saldana will host a town hall meeting to educate the public about the upcoming opportunity and to find out what the public would like to see. The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at St. Bonaventure Church, 1918 Palo Alto Road.