EDINBURG — Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr. took the stage at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance here to deliver his first state of the city address since taking office in January of 2022, emphasizing that the city was growing in a manner that addressed residents’ wishes and concerns.
This year, the state of the city address was held in the evening to allow more people to attend, according to Garza.
“We just wanted more of our Edinburg community to come and join us,” Garza said. “After all, our citizens, our taxpayers, are the ones that deserve to know exactly where our city stands.”
Garza assured the city was “resilient, efficient, effective, and strong,” adding that despite challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and economic inflation, a constant for the city is their goals to move the city in the right direction.
Those goals include remaining fiscally conservative, spurring economic development and improving infrastructure.
Meeting the growing needs of its community will especially be a challenge for Edinburg as it is the fastest growing city in the Rio Grande Valley and the fifth fastest growing city in the state, according to figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Garza pointed out that the latest figures reflected a population of 102,483 which is double what the population was 20 years ago.
“Based on that astronomical growth, we’re expected to be at about 128,000 residents by 2030 and 150,000 by 2040,” Garza said.
As part of the city’s planning process for the future, the city launched Edinburg 2040, a planning initiative that included a series of town hall meetings with residents and a survey.
“As a result, we now have about 100 residents serving on eight different 2040 committees that are working to address the issues that matter most to our citizens,” Garza said.
Within the city’s operations, the mayor said the city prioritized ethics and transparency. He noted the city council adopted a segment to disclose conflicts of interest during city council meetings and a code of ethics ordinance.
Turning to public safety, Garza said there was an overall 5% reduction in crime at the end of 2022 compared to 2021. The police department also added 16 new officers.
As part of a video presentation, Edinburg Councilman David White highlighted public safety initiatives, noting the fire department’s efforts to educate the public on fire prevention and their installation of smoke detectors free of charge.
The mayor then highlighted the economic development in the city, boasting the more than $264.8 million in capital investment into the city which led to an economic impact of more than $730.5 million.
Those projects created 2,018 new jobs in the city.
Last year, the city also issued more than 9,000 building permits that led to $301 million in construction activity.
There were also at least 60 new subdivisions with more than 2,500 lots. That number is expected to be even higher in 2023 with 79 subdivisions currently under development. Those subdivisions will add more than 4,000 lots in the city.
Councilman Dan Diaz, who sits on the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation Board, expanded on the expected growth this year.
“With the transactions we began at the North Industrial Park last year, we expect to have almost $27 million in new investment, the creation of approximately 560 new jobs and over 300,000 square feet in new industrial space built in 2023 for a total economic impact of $147 million,” Diaz said in his video presentation.
Diaz also pointed to the South Texas International Airport which, he said, they hope to expand and continue its collaboration with agencies like the Texas Department of Public Safety.
There has also been an expansion of health care facilities within the cities.
Garza referred to Edinburg as the medical mecca of the Valley with the presence of South Texas Health System and DHR Health there.
STHS opened a new five-story patient tower in 2022 while Driscoll Children’s Hospital is opening a new freestanding facility, currently under construction, on the DHR Health campus.
The mayor also spoke of the city’s prioritization of infrastructure, a topic that was top of mind with residents who participated in the Edinburg 2040 town halls and survey.
Garza said the city is currently investing $98 million in street improvements, upgrades to parks and trails, public facilities and drainage improvements.
Streets were the number one concern for residents and the city has spent approximately $20 million for improvements to Schunior Street, Alberta Road and streets along Lull Subdivision.
About $3 million was set aside for the residential street improvement program which focused on repaving streets identified by residents as needing repairs.
With the help of the Texas Department of Transportation, the city also overlaid a segment of Business 281 at a cost of $4.6 million.
For drainage improvements, the city launched projects totaling more than $29 million.
Councilman Johnny Garcia added in his video presentation that in 2022, city crews rehabilitated more than 25 miles of city roads through a bond. If residents see roadways require maintenance, they’re asked to notify the city by calling the Edinburg 311 call center.
For years, the city has worked on revitalizing their downtown area and have recently begun to see the fruits of those efforts.
Last year, the city opened their Promenade Park Amphitheater and water gardens which will be the city’s centerpiece, hosting festivals and events “and providing an urban oasis rivaling those of much larger cities,” Garza said.
Construction is currently underway on the $14 million Edinburg Arts, Culture and Event Center, also known as the ACE building, which will serve as a venue for conferences, cultural art exhibits, live performances and community events.
The city is also increasing the number of hike and bike trails, opening three more last year. Among those is the Wisconsin Trail, between Jackson and Sugar Road, which will eventually connect to the 2nd Street trail in McAllen.
Councilman Jason De Leon reviewed the various entertainment offerings within the city as part of their goal of improving quality of life for residents.
De Leon listed the performances already held at the new amphitheater and the festivals held every year in the city such as the UFO Festival, Frida Fest, and Los Muertos Bailan, a Day of the Dead celebration and the South Texas International Film Festival.
“Along the same lines, the University of (Texas) Rio Grande Valley will kick off a long-anticipated football season in 2025,” De Leon said during his video presentation, “and it gives Edinburg college football fans the chance to root for a local team that they’ve been waiting for for years.”
The mayor listed another few accomplishments over the last year.
He pointed out the city lowered the property tax rate for the first time since 1996, from 68 cents to 64 cents per $100 of valuation. He also pointed out that the unemployment rate decreased from 6.4% in 2021 to 5.1% in 2022.
The city also generated $34.6 million in sales tax, the most in the city’s history and a 13% increase from the previous year.
Looking ahead, Garza ventured that the city would be unrecognizable in just five years.
“Our growth is explosive and when you look at what’s coming — Division I collegiate football, the ACE building … state of the art medical facilities — Edinburg is the educational, cultural, and health care hub of the Rio Grande Valley,” Garza said.
