30 Oct Mission council realigns Cimarron improvement district board amid dispute with member

The Mission City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to reshuffle the board that oversees the Cimarron Public Improvement District, giving seats to neighborhood representatives and to the new owner of the Cimarron Country Club, according to The Monitor.

The vote followed criticism from the club’s owners of the conduct of Ann Camarillo, who sat on the original board and is not among the new appointees.

Under the new structure, Places 1 through 3 go to Cimarron neighborhood representatives, Place 4 to the golf course owner’s pick and Place 5 to the city. The mayor can take the city’s seat or name a designee, such as the city manager, a council member or another official the council chooses. Who will hold it was not immediately clear.

Andrew Todd Gilliland, Dolly Elizondo and Joe Phillips take the neighborhood seats, and Richard Castro of New Cimarron Group LLC takes Place 4. Elizondo and Phillips, who speak for the neighborhood’s homeowners’ association, also served on the original board. The earlier lineup also had the mayor, the Mission Economic Development Corporation board president and Camarillo, another HOA member. The change also lets the board choose its own officers.

Mayor Norie Gonzalez Garza said the city no longer has an ownership stake, so the new owner needed to take over the seat. Mission EDC bought the club in 2025 with city funding and announced its sale to New Cimarron Group in June, according to Mission EDC. The board had asked the council on Oct. 12 to make the change.

Berenice Gonzalez, speaking for New Cimarron Group, told the council the company bought the site as a private venture that did not depend on public money, though it would consider district funds for projects that meet requirements. She described dealings with Camarillo as conflicting and disappointing, citing communication problems, inconsistent information and what she called a misrepresentation of Camarillo’s board position. The company has stepped back from board discussions, she said, while staying willing to cooperate with the board and continuing its redevelopment plans. She asked the council to remove Camarillo and said the company is not backing any candidate in the coming elections.

Phillips, speaking for himself and Elizondo, said they support those remarks. The board cannot begin its work until its makeup changes, he said, noting that some protocols had been skipped. In his time on other boards, he said, he has not seen comparable behavior from a board member.

Property owners asked for the district, which was created March 24, 2025, and covers about 366.34 acres. It was meant to pay for public improvements in the neighborhood after the golf course declined under previous ownership.