McALLEN — Mayor Jim Darling is nearing the end of his tenure as the city’s top elected official but during his state of the city address Wednesday afternoon, he made it clear that no one puts Darling in a corner.
Before delivering his address, his last, Darling sashayed onto the stage at the McAllen Convention Center to the tune of Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes’ “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” from “Dirty Dancing,” apologizing afterward for attempting to emulate the late Patrick Swayze’s moves.
Unfortunately, the mayor didn’t attempt the famous lift but during his address he did, figuratively speaking, lift the city’s officials and staff, highlighting what they accomplished during a turbulent year and what they had in store for the future.
In an introductory video, the six city commissioners discussed ongoing projects in their respective districts.
District 1 Commissioner Javier Villalobos highlighted the completion of the first segment of the Bicentennial Boulevard extension. That first segment runs from Trenton Road to Auburn Avenue, but once completed, will reach State Highway 107.
Commissioner Joaquin “J.J.” Zamora spoke of the ongoing drainage projects in District 2 including the Torres Acres Paving and Drainage improvements project for which the design phase is now complete.
Also underway is the Northwest BlueLine Drainage Improvement project which will construct new storm infrastructure and drainage channel improvements. That project, along with ongoing drainage improvements at Primrose Avenue at Bicentennial Avenue, was funded by the 2018 bond.
In District 3, Commissioner Omar Quintanilla said drainage was also a high priority there, noting current construction at the North 42nd Street stormwater bypass and recently completed projects — one at Vine Avenue and North 42nd Street and another at Gardenia Avenue and North 25th 1/2 Street.
While those were funded by the 2018 bond as well, Quintanilla said the city also looked to alternate funding sources such as the utility drainage fee. The fee was instituted by the city in 2018 and is expected to raise $11.2 million over eight years for 12 drainage projects.
District 4 is home to the McAllen International Airport which Commissioner Tania Ramirez touted as now offering direct flights to Nashville and Monterrey.
The direct flights to and from Monterrey are especially significant for the city with the continued closure of ports of entry to non-essential travel, stymying the city’s local economy which relies on Mexican shoppers.
In District 5, Commissioner Victor “Seby” Haddad said the city had completed more than $3 million in drainage improvements last year, such as the Westway Heights drainage improvement project which was funded by a hazard mitigation grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Commissioner Veronica Whitacre highlighted the improvements to parks in District 6, such as updates to restrooms and picnic shelters.
As for the city as a whole, Darling said the state of the city was strong despite the challenges of a global pandemic, flooding caused by Hurricane Hanna, freezing temperatures in February, the increase in asylum seekers encountered along the border, and the loss of two police officers who died in July while responding to a domestic disturbance call.
When honoring the two officers, Edelmiro Garza Jr. and Ismael Chavez Jr., Darling became emotional, pausing and asking for a moment of silence for the two men.
Darling then honored another of the city’s notable figures, U.S. Army Col. Frank Plummer, with the 2nd Annual Mayor’s Citizenship Award.
A veteran of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War as well as president of the Veterans War Memorial Foundation of Texas, 95-year-old Plummer led the efforts to construct the Veteran’s War Memorial of Texas which neighbors the convention center.
Looking ahead, Darling said the city would begin to focus on east-west traffic improvements following work on north-south thoroughfares and hyped up projects through the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in partnership with the McAllen Economic Development Corporation.
“When USMCA gets fully implemented, it will be explosive in our Valley,” Darling said. “We’ll have manufacturing operations on both sides of the river, we’ll be able to partner and improve employment (not just) in our city, in Mexico but across the whole Rio Grande Valley.”
If and when those goals come to fruition, the city will have a new mayor in charge. Who that will be will depend on for whom McAllen citizens vote on Saturday in the city’s general elections.
To those voters, Darling offered this advice: “if you go out to Bicentennial and whoever has the fewest signs is probably going to be fiscally responsible.”
