Harlingen Mayor Gives State Of The City Address

From the City of Harlingen:

02/21/2020

Mayor Chris Boswell delivered the annual State of the City Address Feb. 20 at the Harlingen Convention Center. More than 500 community members were on hand to hear how the city is faring. Boswell reported that 2019 was both a year of great accomplishments, as well as difficult challenges including the flooding that took place this past June.

Among the accomplishments he said was the key leadership role the city played in the merger of the three Metropolitan Planning Organizations which hopefully will result in more transportation dollars for this region; new restaurants and businesses; the groundbreaking of the UTRGV Neurosciences Clinic and new surgical residencies at Valley Baptist; and the approved partnership with UTRGV and HCISD to build a UTRGV general education campus that will allow students to take dual enrollment courses for both high school and college credits.

Other accomplishments he said are the groundbreaking and ongoing construction of the Destination Park on Fair Park Boulevard as is the $309,000 improvements at Vestal Park making it the city’s fifth all-inclusive park, as well as, the completion of the Baxter Lofts in Downtown Harlingen restored with private funds and now home to 24 families.

He said other accomplishments worth mentioning include the reduction of crime by the steadfast efforts of the Harlingen Police Department as are the ongoing efforts to address drainage throughout the city. The city has committed millions of dollars in drainage improvements and more than 10 projects were either started or completed during the past eight months.

The city’s financial performance and economy are strong he said. “We added just over 5% to the city’s tax base for fiscal year 2020 to 3.75 billion dollars up from 3.57 billion the year before.”

Equally impressive he said is our sales tax growth. “Since the opening of Bass Pro Shops, our gross sales tax revenues have shot up from $18.7 million at the end of 2-100 to $25.5 million by the end of 2019. That’s a 36% rate of growth for retail sales tax in the last eight years for Harlingen.”

That growth he said is thanks to the 2.2 million square feet of new retail throughout the city.

The mayor also credited Valley International Airport for its continued contributions to the city’s economic success. Passenger enplanements are up 12.19 percent since American Airlines started service in March of 2019 and air cargo is at an all-time high going from 77th to the 71st busiest cargo airport in the nation.

“Most exciting is that VIA has reached an agreement with the FAA to fund an extension of the main runway. Already the Valley’s longest runway at 8300 feet, the extension will take the runway to 9400 feet in length which will allow the increased use of wide-body air cargo aircraft.”

He also recognized Miryam Anderson for having been selected as the first female assistant chief of the Harlingen Police Department and Bree Rios who also made history by becoming the first female Harlingen Firefighter.

He closed by reminding everyone of the importance of participating in the Census. The count done every 10 years he said is about getting more representation in Austin and Washington, more federal funding, and just as importantly it’s about attracting companies and businesses that consider locations based on population counts.

“We need you to get counted because we all count!”

Overall he said it’s been an outstanding year for our city thanks to the men and women who work for the City of Harlingen day in and day out to contribute to our quality of life.

This press release was produced by the City of Harlingen. The views expressed here are the author’s own.