HARLINGEN — Residents in District 3 will get a chance Tuesday to take their concerns to the podium as part of a series of town hall meetings whose feedback will help guide the city into the next decade.
Then on Thursday, District 4 residents will get their turn to speak out during a so-called listening session as commissioners work to develop the city’s next comprehensive plan.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Commissioner Michael Mezmar, who oversees District 3, said Monday as he geared up to meet residents in the Treasure Hills area Tuesday.
“I think open communication is a wonderful thing,” he said. “Drainage, streets, police, fire, garbage, water, sewer — people take them from granted but they’re all critical services the city supplies.”
District 4
In District 4, Commissioner Frank Morales said some residents are facing “unique issues.”
“We’re just trying to know the public and make sure we’re all on the same page,” he said. “We need to respond. Every district has it’s unique issues. We have housing with waste-water backup and more unsafe structures that need to be demolished. We need to find solutions for them and try to find ways to stretch our budget to address these issues.”
Like other areas, District 4 also faces many of the same problems, Morales said.
“We have many of the same issues,” he said. “We have crime. There’s some areas that need more police protection. We want better street lights — LED, especially around schools. We have potholes that need to be fixed.”
Developing comprehensive plan
The meetings will mark the city’s third and fourth listening sessions of the summer.
As part of Mayor Norma Sepulveda’s plan, commissioners are holding town hall meetings within the city’s five single-member districts, planning to use residents’ feedback to help develop the new comprehensive plan aimed at guiding officials into the next decade.
On Tuesday, the city will hold District 1’s listening session from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Treasure Hills Elementary School, 2525 Haine Dr.
On Thursday, District 4’s meeting will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Bowie Elementary School, 309 W Lincoln Ave.
For more information, call City Hall at 956-216-5001.
