Del Rio council hears fluoridation concerns, urges budget survey participation

Del Rio residents saw three city decisions converge in one meeting: storm cleanup that is still affecting neighborhoods, a renewed fight over fluoride in the water, and the budget and election choices that will shape what comes next. Rick Martinez used citizen comments to ask council members to take a closer look at fluoridation, while Mayor Al Arreola and other members steered the conversation toward storm recovery, the city’s budget survey and the June 13 runoff for mayor.

Martinez said the city should reconsider adding fluoride to drinking water and argued the practice could be tied to aluminum exposure and neurological problems. The city’s water system draws raw water from East and West San Felipe Springs and runs it through membrane filtration racks sized for an incoming flow of 18.2 million gallons per day. Del Rio also posts annual water quality reports, including a 2024 report, which gives residents a technical baseline as the fluoridation debate moves forward.

Storm damage remained close to the surface. Arreola thanked city staff across operations for helping the community after a recent thunderstorm, and Elsa Reyes thanked crews for removing a large tree that came down on Park Avenue. Carmen Gutierrez echoed those thanks, and Interim City Manager Manuel Chavez singled out the streets, parks, police and fire departments for their work during storm-related emergencies. The city has been through this before, including a June 11, 2025 thunderstorm that brought wind gusts reported at 66 to 85 miles per hour and left tree limbs and debris across town.

Gutierrez also pressed residents to complete the FY 2026-2027 budget survey, which the city is promoting as a way to shape decisions on services, infrastructure, parks, public safety and future community investments. She also pointed residents to a June 29 town hall at the municipal court building about changes and improvements the city has made. That budget conversation now sits alongside the city’s formal runoff election, set for Saturday, June 13, between Arreola and Efrain V. Valdez after the May 2 general election.

Chavez added that vendors who want to take part in Del Rio’s July Fourth celebration will meet June 16 at the Spark Lab at the transportation depot, a space the city uses for small-business workshops and workforce-related events. He also said work had begun on the Highland Park Subdivision Project, where bid documents call for new sidewalks, driveways, curb and gutter, pavement milling and HMAC overlay, concrete pavement, watermain adjustments, sewer gravity main adjustments and drainage improvements. The city’s streets and drainage department said it is working from the FY 2025-2026 Street Paving Plan, underscoring how closely storm cleanup, capital work and day-to-day service demands are now tied together.