Day 45 maybe????

I waited a bit longer in the lobby outside a cafe. I refused to end my stakeout until I got some results. It just so happens that the woman from Parks and Recreation (who I will refer to as LW) came down there for lunch! I had picked the perfect spot to make sure she couldn't avoid me.

I watched as she ate lunch with some of her colleagues and I felt like predator waiting to pounce on its own meal.
Okay, so that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I felt very eager to sit down with her and find out the status of our permits.

After she completed her lunch she walked over and told me to come up to the office in 15-20 minutes. I waited. I twiddled my thumbs. I imagined all of the ways LW could tell me our event was impossible. I called my mom.

Then it was time! I went up to LW's office. She confirmed that I had brought her the correct documents from Traffic Engineering and said that we could proceed in getting the permit...but there was a catch.

She stated that before I could get EITHER of the two permits, I would need a written letter from the owners of an adjacent property stating that we could overflow into their abandoned lot in the event that more people showed up than could fit in the Placita de los Leones. They had suggested to us before that we check with the owners, but it had never been listed as a stipulation for the issuance of permits.

From the beginning, we were fairly certain that the lot was in fact owned by the city, and not by any private individuals. City representatives, however, repeatedly denied this. They informed us that Raul and Rebecca Campos owned the lot, and that without their express written permission, they would be holding our permits hostage.

As soon as I heard that, I felt a bit defeated. We were so close! I was determined that if we needed to get their signature, though, we would get it. Once I stated that I understood that condition, the Parks people began entering the information into the computer so that they would be ready to issue the permit once I had provided them with the signed letter. But wait! More problems with city logistics. Their computer system wasn't working. I had already waited quite a while...I had gotten there at 10:30 and it was already 1:30. I didn't really mind waiting more. Then it came time to pay and I realized I hadn't gotten an A. House check from Ruben, so I just decided to pay it-they could reimburse me later. I then had to run downstairs to the first floor to get cash from the ATM since they couldn't take my credit card b/c of their computer issues.

I went downstairs to get a copy of a receipt when I ran into one of the Annunciation House board members, Margaret Schroder, who also happens to work at City Hall in another department. Running into Margaret was one of the best things that could have happened. We decided to start looking up contact information for the alleged owners of the lot, Raul and Rebecca Campos so that we could get in touch with them ASAP.

I had done some research on my own when the city first told me they were the owners of that parcel. I found that Raul Campos is deceased and that Rebecca Campos is 86. I had also found a couple of interesting documents on Google, but no contact information like a telephone number. After Margaret and I performed some unsuccessful sleuthing, we decided to go back up to Traffic Engineering to see what would happen in the event that we couldn't contact Rebecca Campos. It turned out that Margaret knew both of the people who I had been working with in Traffic Engineering, so they were much more open with her. They tried to find more contact info for the "owners" when they discovered what I had already found before.

The Campos were no longer the owners of that land! The City of El Paso had purchased the land earlier in the year...which is what we had been saying the whole time. The people in Traffic Engineering made a couple of calls and proceeded to email other city people to ask for permission on our behalf. I was elated! I still had to wait for a response, but the prospect of permits was becoming decreasingly bleak! :D

I left City Hall with hope. While I was sitting at the Percolator (a downtown cafe) I received a call from LW in Parks and Recreation. She asked me if she could put me on speaker-phone...the woman M from Traffic Engineering was in the office with her! People from different city deparments were actually working in concert together! Madness!

They informed me that the lot is controlled by the International Bridge (Santa Fe bridge that goes to Juarez), and gave me the numbers of a couple of people I should contact to receive confirmation that we could overflow onto the lot. I called, and it was a piece of cake. Assuming that the city receives email confirmation from the Intn'l Bridge man I spoke to (which he promised he was sending), we can pick up the permits.

Monday! Permits! Woo!