By Michael Robinson: Uvalde Hesperian

The Uvalde Hesperian submitted a revised public records request to the City of Uvalde on March 24th asking for all city emails pertaining to the Amazon land deal pending with City within 5 days of the announcement on February 24th, 2026

05-12-26

UVALDE — When the City of Uvalde prepared to vote on selling 12.7 acres near the airport to Amazon.com Services LLC in February 2026, Uvalde City Manager Joe A. Cárdenas reached out to the company with a heads-up.

In an email dated Feb. 17, 2026, Cárdenas told Amazon representatives that council members would face lots of questions from local media once the deal became public.

“Our local media will be asking a million questions about you all coming to Uvalde,” he wrote. “Any plans on making a public (joint) announcement?”

Amazon’s response was clear: keep the public record minimal.

On February 18th, Jessica Breaux, Amazon’s senior manager of economic development, replied.

“Hi Joe-
Yes, I am tracking the Council action needed in next week’s meeting. For the Council meeting, our preference would be to share as little detail as possible and our PR team suggests something like, “We are working with Amazon to develop a new facility to support customer delivery in Uvalde. The company will share additional details about their plans when they can. For any immediate questions, please reach out to amazon-Rr@amazon.com.” Any inquiries to that email address will go straight to our PR team so they can manage any questions until we’re able to complete the land transaction. ”

City of Uvalde Mayor Hector Luevano announced the deal after the council reconvened from executive session at the Tuesday, February 24th Uvalde City Council Meeting,

In an email sent to the City on Feb. 18, Breaux, Amazon’s senior manager of economic development, replied that the company had “no objection” to the council’s proposed resolution language. She added:

The resolution itself was stripped-down and procedural. It authorized the sale of “12.6983 acres on Howard Langford Drive to Amazon.com Services LLC in accordance with the terms of the Purchase and Sale Contract” and gave Mayor Hector Luevano authority to sign the deed and closing documents. No mention of jobs, investment amounts, or project details was included.

The emails, obtained through a public-records request and labeled “Responsive Info – Amazon_Redacted 1.pdf,” show the city moving quickly to close the $552,745.91 land sale. Lawyers exchanged multiple drafts of the purchase-and-sale agreement, slip-sheeted signature pages, and coordinated title-policy wording so the city could avoid asking the mayor to re-sign.

Amazon internally referred to the project as “Project Chase.” The company also reminded city officials of nondisclosure agreement provisions concerning public-records requests and asked to be notified of any FOIA inquiries.

City officials accommodated the request without apparent pushback. The council was scheduled to consider the resolution in open session the week of Feb. 24–27, 2026.

On February 25th, the Uvalde Hesperian emailed Amazon.com asking the following questions:

Dear Amazon PR Team,

I’m Michael Robinson, the publisher of the Uvalde Hesperian, a local
media company covering the recent Uvalde City Council vote to sell 12.68
acres on Howard Langford Drive for your proposed delivery facility near
Garner Field Airport.

The announcement has generated real excitement here, but residents
want more than headlines—especially around jobs, timeline, and impacts.

1. How many positions will this station create (full-time, part-time,
seasonal)? Any breakdown by role?
2. When do you expect construction to begin, and when will it be
operational?
3. How much of the facility’s operations will use robotics or AI—and
will that reduce human staffing over time?
4. What made this site ideal—land cost, incentives, highway access? Were
there tax breaks or grants?
5. Has Amazon completed traffic, noise, or environmental studies? What’s
the plan for truck volume and air quality?
6. Is this a standalone hub, or could it expand (e.g., drone operations,
air cargo)?

Later that same day, the Uvalde Hesperian received the following statement from Daniel Martin, Amazon Spokesperson: ““We’re exploring the development of a new facility to support faster customer delivery in Uvalde. Additional steps remain but we appreciate the great working relationship we have with local officials and will share more information as it becomes available.”

By Michael Robinson | Uvalde Hesperian

February 6th, 2024

In a news story published by the Uvalde Hesperian on February 5th: Yeackle proposes new management plan for the Uvalde Main Street Program

In the article, it stated:

“Uvalde Main Street Manager Gloria Resma was not in attendance at the meeting. The Uvalde Hesperian sent an email on Thursday, January 30th to City of Uvalde Mayor Hector R. Luevano and City Manager Vince DiPiazza with the following question:

‘Wanted to ask what if the city of Uvalde has a policy of not allowing department heads or employees to address the City Council at City Council meetings especially when the subject is on their job or position?’

The Hesperian is still waiting on a response.”

Earlier today, February 6th, 2025,  Uvalde City Manager Vince DiPiazza sent the following statement to the Uvalde Hesperian:

“Ms. Resma was not forbidden to speak on her own behalf at the 28 January city council meeting. She, Susan Anderson, and I met prior to that meeting to discuss the staff’s approach to the chamber of commerce proposal. The consensus was that we wanted the council to hear first from Main Street board members on the value, or perhaps lack thereof, of the Main Street program. The program is not about this or that city employee; it’s about boosting the businesses in the central business district, those businesses being, collectively, a significant economic engine in our community.

Ms. Resma does not have to fight for her job. We continue to need her to manage the civic center, which is now doing more business than it did when we contracted the management to another entity. If the council sees fit to contract the management of the Main Street program to the chamber of commerce, then the staff will support that decision. I already have in mind other tasks within city operations for which I would like to use Ms. Resma’s talents, if, as we continue to grow business at the civic center, she still has time to devote her efforts to those other tasks.”

by Michael Robinson |Uvalde Hesperian

October 14th, 2024

Top Photo Left to Right: Uvalde City Manager Vince DiPiazza, Mayor Pro-Tem Everardo “Lalo” Zamora, 2nd Lieutenant Shaun Roach and Sergeant First Class Benjamin “Ben” Galluppi 

 Service men and women of the North Carolina National Guard answered a call to mobilize. 

According to Sergeant First Class Benjamin “Ben” Galluppi of the North Carolina National Guard,  their platoon arrived in Uvalde in September of 2023. He said part of their goal was to help the community heal.

“The hardest part of deployment is going to a place you have no family. Here we have the opportunity to get to know the people. I want people to be able to trust people again,” Galluppi said.

He continued saying, “Every single person in this room has made a difference to somebody.”

 During their stay in Uvalde, they performed over 1200 volunteer hours of Community Service work including food distribution and playground builds.  On Wednesday, October 2nd, the North Carolina National Guard platoon members joined Uvalde County City officials and members of the Tomas Valle American Legion Post 479 and community members gathered for a farewell dinner held at the Ssgt. Wille de Leon Civic Center for presentations and an exchange of keepsake souvenirs from Uvalde and North Carolina.

 Uvalde Mayor Pro-Tem Everardo “Lalo” Zamora joined City Manager Vince DiPiazza in presented 2nd Lieutenant Shaun Roach and Sergeant First Class Benjamin “Ben” Galluppi with the Making a Difference Award which included a plaque with the Key to the City for their service to Uvalde. According to Zamora this was the first Key to the City ever presented by the City.

 Local Retired U.S. Navy veteran Dolly Schultz and Uvalde Mayor Cody Smith worked closely with the North Carolina Platoon during their stay in Uvalde. 

“These young men and women have been instrumental in so many projects throughout the community, they immersed themselves wholeheartedly and became one of us. They will be greatly missed,” Schultz said.

 According to one of the North Carolina National Guard members, while Texas barbecued brisket was certainly a new favorite for many of them, he still preferred the North Carolina barbecue sauce.

by Michael Robinson | Uvalde Hesperian

The Uvalde City council met for over two hours Tuesday night, September 12th considering a number of agenda items including most notably the 2023-

City of Uvalde Finance Director Felix Castillo presented the 2023-2024 Budget to the Mayor and Council Members. the City’s Budget and Tax Rate. The Uvalde City Council voted to approve a budget with revenues totalling  $29,065,336.00. Total budgeted expenses for the 2023-2035 Budget were listed at $28,403,888 leaving the City with a surplus of $661.448.

  According to Castro, he stated the budgeting for salaries would be around $800,000 and the average wage increase for employees is 8.8%.

 “This year we are trying to increase wages for all employees.  When preparing this document there were 11 (job) vacancies that were unfulfilled.” Castro said. 

  As part of the budget discussion at Tuesday nights, September 12th City Council meeting. 

 “This will make us more competitive and attract more and better candidates.” Uvalde City Manager Vince DePiazza.

  DePiazza said the planned salary increases in the budget would be offset by a decrease in Capital Expenses.

  According to Castro the budget for wages will be  increased from the previous year. The planned increase in salaries were primarily applied to the bottom of the pay scale. The City looked at salaries below $15 per hour and with the new budget, he indicated those salaries would be raised to meet that amount. According to Casto, the more money City employees earn, the salary increase decreases. 

 The budget for salaries was raised by 8.8% compared to the previous year’s budget. 

                                                                                           City of Uvalde’s budgeted allocations to community agencies

El Progreso Memorial Library                                                                                        $122,000

Community Heath Development Inc.                                                                       $65,000

Uvalde Nutrition Program                                                                                             $15,000

Uvalde Humane Society -Briscoe Animal Resource Center or BARC            $14,000

Uvalde Food Pantry                                                                                                           $6,500

Green Thumb Garden Club                                                                                             $5,500

Herby Ham Activity Center                                                                                             $2,500

                                                                                                                   2023-2024 Tax Rate approved at $0.54

                                                                                                                                        Agenda items tabled

  Two agenda items that were discussed but eventually tabled included the contract renewal for the Uvalde Convention and Visitors Bureau and the City’s Cemetery proposed rate increases and rules for headstones. The Council also tabled taking any action on nominating three Uvalde County Appraisal District or UCAD candidates to be considered for the 2024 election.

 Press Release

The City of Uvalde is pleased to announce the selection of Homer Delgado as Assistant Chief of Police for
the Uvalde Police Department. His start date is May 8, 2023.

Homer Delgado currently serves as the Chief of Police for the City of Dilley, Texas. In his tenure there, he
has done an excellent job of building strong, transparent relationships between the citizens of Dilley and
the police department. He has served the City of Ingleside, San Patricio County Sheriff’s Office, Medina
County Attorney’s Office, and City of Terrell Hills.

Chief Delgado’s history of relationship building was witnessed here in Uvalde when he served as Incident
Commander for Operation Coyote Overwatch in May 2022.

He brings 26 years of diverse experience including prisoner transportation, patrol, criminal
investigations, hostage negotiations, tactical response, prosecutorial investigations, and police
administration.

Chief Delgado is a master peace officer, FBI LEEDA Trilogy Award recipient and has over 3,000 hours of
TCOLE training.

His policing philosophy is to balance a foundation of traditional policing concepts with innovative and
progressive methods designed to evolve with our community’s future needs.

Chief Delgado and his wife Cindy have seven children and three grandchildren, who they enjoy spending
time with. In his time off, he focuses on family, personal and professional development, travel, and
saltwater fishing.