SAN ANTONIO – Your neighborhood, your downtown -- those are the top priorities for City Council District 1 representative Roberto Trevino.
Looking ahead to this year, with a mostly new council, Trevino said he's already working with new colleagues on how to improve the city.
Roberto Trevino has a professional background as an architect and he said it's led him to examine and address simple quality-of-life issues in his district and the city, such as roofs, sidewalks and drainage.
As far as the San Antonio Under One Roof Program, Trevino said they are working on replacing another 31 roofs for low-income homeowners in his district with lighter-colored roofs to help with their utility bills.
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The city is also looking to expand the program to other districts.
"This year we have allocated half a million dollars for District 1 through our budget program process to do more of these roofs because we know they are helping," Trevino said. "It's part of making sure we keep our neighborhoods vibrant."
There is more than $10 million in the bond for sidewalks in District 1 alone, which includes sidewalks that will be installed using precast concrete. The material basically locks together like Legos.
"There's different ways to build sidewalks," Trevino said. "This is important for District 1 because we have a lot of issues with not having sidewalks, connectivity, a lot of elderly who are looking to connect to bus stops, connect to amenities like the grocery store."
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And after this week’s heavy rains, Trevino said it brings to light drainage issues in the city, particularly the Barbara drainage channel off San Pedro Avenue.
Trevino said the channel is no longer feasible for the amount of drainage going through there.
Construction is now underway on the Barbara Drainage Project, which will address drainage issues and flooding. The project will also look more like a park with walking trails, instead of an empty ditch, when completed.
“Great drainage projects, parks, trees, sidewalks. Roofs that don't leak. Roofs that are considered energy-efficient with a sustainable design so they save on your electric bill -- that's the way a city can help a community to stay vibrant," said Trevino.
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