Socorro council authorizes mayor to execute Chapter 380 agreement with WeWEN Technology for ‘Project Cloud’

Socorro — The City of Socorro City Council voted June 2 to authorize Mayor Rudy Cruz to execute a Chapter 380 economic development agreement with WeWEN Technology Corporation for a project the city and partners are calling “Project Cloud.” The council moved into a closed session under Texas Government Code Section 551.087 for deliberation on economic development negotiations before returning to approve the authorization in open session.

City Development Director Alejandra Valdez said the contract before the council was the "final agreement for Project Cloud," and asked the council to move into executive session "so that we can brief you all 1 last time on the final contract prior to approving the contract in open session." Valdez thanked El Paso County, the Borderplex Alliance and others for their work on the project.

A representative of WeWEN Technology Corporation addressed the council and thanked local leaders and staff, saying, "what we are doing here is not, adding the the labor intensive work, but, also, we also have a need for engineering and logistics, you know, talents that need to join us, and that will be deployed in in the coming, 6 to 12 months." Marco Salgado of the Borderplex Alliance said the company considered other locations but "They chose Socorro amongst, you know, other places," and described the project as a potential catalyst for local growth.

Jose Quinones, from the city's economic recovery office, thanked project partners and said the agreement "brings high quality jobs to Socorro and to El Paso County." The meeting transcript and remarks did not specify the number of jobs, the value of incentives, or other dollar amounts.

Council members motioned and seconded to go into executive session citing Section 551.087; on returning to open session the motion to approve the economic development opportunity passed. The council did not record a roll-call vote or list vote tallies in the portions of the public transcript provided.

The ordinance type cited on the agenda was a Chapter 380 economic development agreement, the statutory vehicle under Texas law that allows municipalities to offer incentives to encourage economic development; the council explicitly cited Texas Gov. Code Sec. 551.087 when moving into executive session. The agreement details, including specific incentive amounts, performance conditions, and effective dates, were not disclosed in the public portion of the transcript.

Following the vote the city welcomed the company and acknowledged partner organizations; the council then removed several nonessential agenda items and adjourned. The council meeting opened at 6:02 p.m. and adjourned at 6:25 p.m.