30 Oct Del Rio council approves $941,000 pool contract with mayor pro tem’s company on second vote

The Del Rio City Council voted 4-2 Tuesday to approve a $941,000 design-build contract to rebuild the Buena Vista Pool with Stella’s Pools, a company owned by Mayor Pro Tem Randy Quinones, according to the 830 Times. The contract had fallen one vote short on Oct. 13. Quinones did not take part in either vote.

The earlier motion drew three yes votes, one fewer than the four the city charter requires, with Quinones recused and Councilwoman Elsa Reyes absent, according to minutes of that meeting included in the Oct. 27 agenda packet. City Attorney Ana Markowski Smith told the council that day that Quinones’s conflict had been disclosed and the required filings made.

On Tuesday, City Secretary Mari Acosta noted before the item was read that Quinones had filed a conflict-of-interest affidavit under Chapter 171 of the Texas Local Government Code. Quinones said he has a substantial interest in the company, which does business as Connected Home Solutions, and would abstain from the discussion and the vote. He left the chamber while the council deliberated. At the city attorney’s request, the council first met in closed session from 7:08 to 7:51 p.m. and took no action when it returned.

Voting yes were Councilmen J.P. Sanchez, LeRoy Briones and Leno Hernandez and Reyes. Mayor Al Arreola and Councilwoman Carmen Gutierrez voted no.

Supporters pointed to the procurement record and the price. Hernandez said the project was advertised for six weeks with no response and then for six more weeks, drawing two responses, one of them from Quinones’s company. City staff said on Oct. 13 that they also emailed 15 pool vendors. Hernandez said Del Rio is small enough that conflicts are hard to avoid, and that he was satisfied the city followed its purchasing process. He also addressed rumors that he and Quinones are related, saying a check with relatives showed a distant tie by marriage: his grandmother’s brother is the great-grandfather of Quinones’s wife. Briones said the project was budgeted at $1.5 million and would save the city about $600,000. Reyes said vendors have plenty of chances to learn about and bid on city work.

Gutierrez said she does not object to giving the contract to Quinones’s company but wanted to hold off until the council had a written opinion from its attorneys instead of a verbal one. She said she also is waiting on an answer about how the contract would be overseen, since the city manager works for the council and the city charter keeps council members out of day-to-day operations. Arreola said he expects Quinones to do a good job but wishes he had raised his questions earlier in the bidding process, and that he votes his conscience.

City records show the council set aside $1.5 million from its 2023A certificates of obligation in December 2025 for the pool’s demolition and renovation. It approved a request for qualifications on Feb. 10 and, on Aug. 25, instructed the city manager to open contract talks with Connected Home Solutions. Staff negotiated the $941,000 price, and the city attorney is to prepare the contract. An itemized estimate from the company dated Sept. 29 includes $108,000 for design and engineering, $190,000 for site work, $95,500 for water features and $55,000 for a new pavilion.