by Legislative Media | Jan 13, 2016 | Politics
Featured, from left: Edinburg City Councilmember David Torres; Edinburg City Councilmember Richard Molina; Edinburg Mayor Richard García; Edinburg Mayor Pro Tem Homer Jasso, Jr.; and Edinburg City Councilmember J.R. Betancourt, following the mayor’s State of the City Address on Wednesday, May 27, 2015 at the Edinburg Municipal Auditorium.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
Projected growth at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley main campus in Edinburg, along with the anticipated opening next fall of a School of Medicine, are leading to the planned construction of a luxury, off-campus student housing community near the intersection of Chapin Street and Sugar Road, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. The EEDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The EEDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mark Iglesias as President, Harvey Rodríguez as Vice President, Ellie M. Torres as Secretary/Treasurer, and Mayor Richard García and Richard Ruppert as Members. The mayor and the EEDC executive director are not related. Domus Development LLC, based in Dallas, will be in charge of the project, which will be located on a 16.17 acre tract of land near UTRGV, according to Carlos Garza, P.E., of AEC Engineering LLC in Edinburg, who represented the firm in successfully having the property rezoned to allow for its construction. “Right now, we are looking at somewhere in the vicinity of at or above 550 beds,” Garza said following unanimous approval for the needed rezoning on Tuesday, January 5, 2016 by the Mayor and Edinburg City Council. “We will have one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and four-bedroom apartments, all with private baths, in the complex.” Garza said he did not have the preliminary estimates or timeline for the project because Eric O. Jakimier, owner of Domus Development, was traveling in Europe on business and unavailable for comment. “I don’t have the specific dates yet but we will move quickly,” said Garza. “Obviously, the longer we sit on the property and not building the facility, it’s more financing we’re putting into the project.” But based on similar projects by Domus Development, such as a recently constructed complex that serves Texas A&M University-Kingsville, the planned local project will be the latest boost to the quality-of-life in Edinburg, as well as an economic asset, should come sooner rather than later. “This new community will promote and protect not only our residents, but also our neighbors,” Garza said. “It will be a gated community, beautifully landscaped, have on-site management, have a clubhouse and other amenities, comply with building and fire codes, fire protection, parking, landscaping, solid waste services, utilities, and all other city requirements that apply.” The housing complex in Kingsville, known as Legends at Kingsville, is valued at $22 million, and provides students with a wide range of amenities to create an ideal community for residents to live, study and play. Mayor Richard García noted that news of the planned off-campus luxury student housing community by Domus Development follows recent announcements by local city leaders of other major advances in Edinburg’s housing and retail sectors. Less than two months after announcing that Edinburg will be home to the new $10 million Marriott TownePlace Suites prototype in America, the City of Edinburg and the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation disclosed on Wednesday, January 6, 2016 that Wyndham Garden Hotels will build a four-story facility on the site of the 120-acre The Shoppes at Rio Grande Valley. The Wyndham Garden Hotels will feature 120 rooms, a restaurant, bar service, catering, and meeting space for private and public events, just northeast of Burlington Coat Factory at The Shoppes at Rio Grande Valley. The mayor said more housing developments, such as the planned Domus Development student complex and the additional national chain hotels “come at a perfect time, when more and more people are making their way to Edinburg for work, shopping and entertainment. Thousands of sports fanatics will be visiting Edinburg within the next few months to attend soccer games at the soon-to-be-finished soccer arena and The Bert Ogden Arena being built less than a mile away.” The 189,000 square-foot Bert Ogden Arena, which is being constructed on 40 acres of land on Alberta Road and I69 Central, will be home to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, an affiliate of the NBA Houston Rockets, and will feature 8,500 seats and 2,400 parking spots for entertainment events such as major concerts. Meantime, the soccer arena on Raúl Longoria Road is slated to be ready for play in late March featuring 10,000-seat outdoor stadium seats complete with a public park and an amphitheater. It will be home to the Rio Grande Valley Toros, an affiliate of USL Pro, which develops players for Major League Soccer, and will be affiliated with the Houston Dynamo soccer club. Mark Iglesias, President of the EEDC Board of Directors, said construction activities through most of 2015 – the December 2015 report has not yet been compiled – demonstrate the growing strength of the city’s economy. “With one month to go in 2015, construction and related building activities in Edinburg reached almost $128 million in value, with more than $13.1 million of that amount taking place in November,” said Iglesias. “Both of those figures are ahead of the pace for the same periods last year, when total construction activities from January through November 2014 came in at more than $113.1 million, and more than $4 million for November 2014.” Also on Wednesday, January 6, 2016, the Mayor, Edinburg City Council, and EEDC Board of Directors revealed that two new businesses would be added to The Shoppes at Rio Grande Valley. Bob’s Steak & Chop House, continually recognized as one of the best steakhouses in the country, will be locating at The Shoppes at Rio Grande Valley, along with A’GACI, popular among young women for its stylish fashions, which will open just west of the Academy Sports+Outdoor Store, said EEDC Executive Director Agustín García, Jr. “Wyndham, Bob’s Steak & Chop House, and A’GACI will join Texas Roadhouse and Ulta, the latest companies to open for business at The Shoppes at Rio Grande Valley, which is located at the corner of Trenton Road and I69 Central,” said the EEDC executive director. “This shopping complex benefits from one of the busiest corridors in Edinburg with more than 99,000 vehicles per day.”
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by Legislative Media | Dec 28, 2015 | Politics
Featured: Mark Iglesias, President of the Board of Directors, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, prior to leading the EEDC Board of Directors meeting, held on Tuesday, December 15, 2015 at Edinburg City Hall.
Photograph By DIEGO REYNA
Edinburg posted the lowest unemployment rate among the Valley’s major communities for the month of November 2015, coming in at 4.8 percent, which was the best showing for the city for that month since November 2007, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. The unemployment rate is a key indicator of the strength of the local economy. The EEDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The EEDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mark Iglesias as President, Harvey Rodríguez as Vice President, Ellie M. Torres as Secretary/Treasurer, and Mayor Richard García and Richard Ruppert as Members. Richard García and Agustín García, Jr. are not related. In addition to Edinburg posting the lowest unemployment rate in the Valley for November 2015, Edinburg and McAllen shared the lowest unemployment rates in October and September (4.9 percent for each month). Also according to the latest data, which was released on Friday, December 18, 2015 by the Texas Workforce Commission, there were 35,674 people employed in Edinburg during the month of November 2015. Edinburg’s latest showing was better than the U.S. unemployment rate for November 2015, which came in at 5 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000). Edinburg’s November 2015 figure of 4.8 percent continues a year-long pattern of positive reports: October (4.9 percent); September (4.9 percent); August (5.1 percent); July (5.4 percent); June (5.1 percent); May (4.8 percent); April (4.6 percent); March (4.8 percent); February (4.8 percent); and January (5.1 percent). EEDC Board President Iglesias said the good news on the city’s workforce came a day before the Valley celebrated the first class of university graduates from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, which has its main campus in Edinburg. “UT Rio Grande Valley, which represents the combination of what formerly were two independent Valley campuses, UT Pan American in Edinburg and UT Brownsville, celebrated yet another landmark first with the December 19 commencement ceremonies under its new and proud name, which went into effect during the Fall 2015 semester,” said Iglesias. The Edinburg campus of UTRGV hosted two ceremonies for a total of 1,456 graduates at the State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, while the Brownsville campus had its own ceremony that morning for 633 graduates at its Student Union Building, according to UTRGV officials. “Many of these graduates will find jobs here in Edinburg and the Valley, while others will take their talents and skills throughout our nation,” Iglesias continued. “Wherever these outstanding graduates go, they will be incredible ambassadors for Edinburg and the Valley because here is where they earned a world-class education, and they will proudly let everyone know about where they came from and who we are.” Mayor García helped lead the Edinburg City Council in its successful lobbying efforts before the Texas Legislature in 2013 that resulted in the establishment of UTRGV and the creation of a School of Medicine. “Also during this holiday season, we learned that the School of Medicine, which will open a major campus in Edinburg next fall, received a $1,065,510 grant to improve the mental health of hundreds of young people in our region,” the mayor reported. “Such generous contributions, such as this one that comes from the Methodist Health Care Ministries of South Texas, Inc., means people remain employed to deliver these vital services, and that makes for a better and healthier quality-of-life and stronger economy.” The grant will support UTRGV School of Medicine in providing and enhancing integrated care to improve the mental health outcomes of high-risk, high-acuity children and adolescents in the Valley. The November 2015 unemployment rate of 4.8 percent for Edinburg is also better than the annual unemployment rate in Edinburg for 2014, which was 5.8 percent – and that yearly rate was the best 12-month average from January through December since 2008. Edinburg’s annual unemployment rates since 2005, which is the year in which the state government began preparing those figures using a more accurate formula, according to the Texas Workforce Commission, have registered as follows: 2014 (5.8 percent); 2013 (6.9 percent); 2012 (7.5 percent); 2011 (8.4 percent); 2010 (8.2 percent); 2009 (6.8 percent); 2008 (4.9 percent); 2007 (4.7 percent); 2006 (5.2 percent); and 2005 (4.9 percent).
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by Legislative Media | Nov 25, 2015 | Politics
Featured, from left, facing camera: Letty Reyes, Director of Business Development & Public Affairs, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation; Harvey Rodríguez as Vice President, Board of Directors, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation; City Councilmember David Torres; and Agustín García, Jr., Executive Director, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, as they met with leaders with major retail outlets during the statewide convention of the International Council of Shopping Centers, held at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, on Wednesday, November 4, through Friday, November 6, 2015. Mayor Pro Tem Homer Jasso, Jr., Ellie Torres, Vice President of the EEDC Board of Directors, and Diego Reyna, Research Analyst, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors, are not in this image, but they also participated in the statewide convention.
Photograph By DIEGO REYNA
A proposed ban on smoking in public facilities and most privately-owned businesses could soon become law in Edinburg, with city leaders confident such an action would help economic development as well as improve public health, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. On Tuesday, November 17, 2015, the Mayor and Edinburg City Council, during their regular meeting held at Edinburg City Hall, held a public hearing on a plan by the city to change the existing city ordinance in order to prohibit smoking in government buildings, as well as in at least 21 types of businesses, ranging from bars, motion picture theaters, and childcare and adult daycare facilities to restaurants, retail stores, and sports arenas. The measure, which still faces final action by the Mayor and City Council to make it official, is scheduled for the Tuesday, December 1, 2015 regular city council meeting. If approved, as currently worded, the proposed ordinance would carry up to a $2,000 fine upon conviction for what would be classified as a misdemeanor crime. However, the proposed ban would not affect smoking in a person’s residence, outdoor seating areas of a restaurant that are designated as smoking areas, private clubs which are not businesses, and would allow hotels and motels to set aside up to 25 percent of their rooms for smokers. No one spoke against the proposed smoking ban during the public hearing, with almost two dozen area residents showing up in favor of the smoking ban. If approved in its current form, the proposed ban would be in line with recent federal government report that smoke-free laws do not hurt restaurant and bar businesses, said Mark Iglesias, President of the Board of Directors for the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation. The EEDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The EEDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mark Iglesias as President, Harvey Rodríguez as Vice President, Ellie M. Torres as Secretary/Treasurer, and Mayor Richard García and Richard Ruppert as Members. “In partnership with the Mayor and Edinburg City Council, the EEDC Board of Directors and staff take very seriously our roles in improving the quality-of-life in our community, such as having helped bring a University of Texas medical school to our community, to protecting the public health while promoting the prosperity of our businesses,” said Iglesias. “One of the largest studies by the U.S. government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determined that smoking bans benefit the public and businesses.” The CDC is one of the major operating components of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Mayor García emphasized the smoking ban is being considered because it is the duty of the Mayor and City Council, to protect the health, safety, welfare, and wellbeing of its citizens. “Numerous studies have found that tobacco smoke is a major contributor to indoor air pollution, and that breathing secondhand smoke (also known as environmental tobacco smoke) is a cause of disease in healthy nonsmokers, including heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease, lung cancer,” the mayor said, citing information provided by city staff. The National Cancer Institute determined in 1999 that secondhand smoke is responsible for the early deaths of approximately 53,000 Americans annually, he added. “City staff has met with representatives of the American Heart Association and American Cancer Society and has discussed with other cities in our region, including Brownsville, Harlingen, and Brownsville, and elsewhere in Texas,” Mayor García said. “After review of the (smoking ban) studies and discussions as noted, the City of Edinburg finds that smoking tobacco is a form of air pollution, is a danger to health, and is a material public nuisance.” Agustín García, Jr., EEDC’s Executive Director, praised the Mayor and City Council for always considering high profile issues in the best interests of the public and of local businesses. “The quality-of-life of a city such is important in order to keep local businesses and bring in new businesses, because the public health resources and public health policies of a community are as important to businesses and their employees as are education, transportation, and public safety when deciding to expand, relocate, or set up a new firm in Edinburg,” the EEDC Executive Director said.
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by Legislative Media | Nov 11, 2015 | Politics
Featured: Richard M. Hinojosa, who was selected Edinburg City Manager on Tuesday, November 10, 2015 by the Mayor and City Council.
Photograph: EDINBURG CABLE NETWORK
After conducting interviews earlier in the month with several outstanding candidates, the Mayor and Edinburg City Council on Thursday, November 10, 2015, unanimously offered the position of city manager to Richard M. Hinojosa, who brings more than 40 years of municipal government experience to help continue leading his hometown on its remarkable growth and economic prosperity. Hinojosa, who accepted the offer pending final negotiations on his contract, will succeed Ramiro Garza, Jr., who announced earlier this year that he would be leaving city employment by January 1, 2016 in order to pursue other endeavors. Pending negotiations, Hinojosa’s first day on the job will be December 2, 2015. One of his first duties will be to find a new Planning and Zoning Director – the city position he currently holds. Mayor Richard García said Hinojosa’s experience speaks for itself. “Mr. Hinojosa is very well rounded as far as knowing how cities function,” the mayor said. “He has the qualifications to keep this well-oiled machine running forward smoothly.” Hinojosa was in the audience in the City Council Chambers at Edinburg City Hall when the mayor and city council returned from executive (closed) session and announced in open session that they had made their choice on who will be responsible for a staff of more than 700 professionals and a $100 million annual operating budget. “I offer the motion to have the city attorney negotiate (the employment contract) with the new city manager, and I select Richard Hinojosa,” said Mayor Pro Tem Homer Jasso, Jr. His motion was seconded by Councilmember J.R. Betancourt, with the mayor, Councilmember Richard Molina, and Councilmember David Torres then also voting for the Jasso measure. “Congratulations, sir,” the mayor addressed Hinojosa, who was seated in the audience. “Would you accept it?” “Yes, sir!” Hinojosa responded, drawing applause from the mayor, city council and audience members. The mayor, who also serves on the Board of Directors of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, said Hinojosa’s selection “offers continuity, which is very important, with all the growth and projects that are in place, and that are moving forward, because they require stability and experience.” The EEDC, of which Agustín García, Jr., is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg City Council. The EEDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mark Iglesias as President, Harvey Rodríguez as Vice President, Ellie M. Torres as Secretary/Treasurer, and Mayor Richard García and Richard Ruppert as Members. Mayor García and EEDC Executive Director Agustín García, Jr. are not related. Agustín García, Jr. noted that Hinojosa has played key roles with numerous EEDC business development efforts. “We have worked with him, from the planning and zoning perspective, on many of the projects of the EEDC, and he is familiar with all of the engineering and other requirements to get things done in Edinburg,” the EEDC Executive Director further illustrated. “He always has worked very well with the EEDC. A function of the EEDC is to help expedite projects, and our first call is to call Planning and Zoning to see what can be done to help these projects get moving,” Agustín García, Jr. continued. “Mr. Hinojosa has always been accommodating and helped us achieve that success, that is one of the reasons EEDC has been triumphant, because we have such a strong working relationship, not only with the city, but with the Planning and Zoning Department.” Equally important, Hinojosa’s selection will allow the new city manager to implement his own vision of public service that will serve very well both his hometown and fellow city staff members. “I am sure that over the years he has developed the efficiencies that he will want to implement as city manager,” Agustín García, Jr. predicted. “He also understands the culture and the morale at City Hall. He knows who performs well. He has done very well.”
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by Legislative Media | Nov 9, 2015 | Politics
Featured: Mayor Pro Tem Homer Jasso, Jr., left, reviews strategies with City Manager Ramiro Garza, Jr., on Wednesday, May 13, 2015 at Edinburg City Hall. On Tuesday, November 10, 2015, the Mayor and Edinburg City Council are scheduled to meet to discuss and possibly appoint a successor to Garza, who on Tuesday, September 8, 2015, announced he would be leaving his position effective January 1, 2016, to pursue new endeavors.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
Actions on the possible selection of a new city manager is set for Tuesday, November 10, when the Edinburg City Council, which includes the mayor, is scheduled to hold an executive session, beginning at 3 p.m. at Edinburg City Hall, which is located at 415 W. University Drive. City Manager Ramiro Garza, Jr., on Tuesday, September 8, 2015, announced he would be leaving his position effective January 1, 2016, to pursue new endeavors. Any decision made by the mayor and city council would have to be made in the open, following the executive session. The meeting follows a previous gathering, held on Monday, November 2, 2015, when the city council went behind closed doors (executive session) – as allowed by state law – to conduct interviews for the soon-to-be vacant city manager position. No decision was finalized following the November 3, 2015 city council session, nor was their any public announcement of the candidates interviewed to take over as the city government’s top administrative leader. Garza, 41, has been responsible for more than 700 employees overseeing a $100 million operational budget. He has also continued to work closely with the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation having collaborated in recruiting new economic development projects that will boost the city’s economy by more than $1.2 billion. The EEDC, of which Agustín García, Jr., is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg City Council. The EEDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mark Iglesias as President, Harvey Rodríguez as Vice President, Ellie M. Torres as Secretary/Treasurer, and Mayor Richard García and Richard Ruppert as Members. Garza served as Executive Director for the EEDC for nine years and three months before he was selected by the Edinburg City Council in November 2009 to serve as city manager. According to the City Council agenda posting, the following items will be deliberated in executive (closed) session regarding: Proposed amendment to current agreement for professional services and employment as city manager to provide for extension of term; Appointment of city manager position; and Proposed agreement for professional services and employment for newly appointed city manager.
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