A lengthy amount of time was spent at the Cameron County Commissioner’s Court meeting on Tuesday morning reviewing current and future capital projects.
The biggest capital venture right now, according to staff reports, is the Coastal Park Master Plan.
E.K Atwood Park construction preparations are about halfway complete, and improvements are estimated to cost $4,225,000.
Permit applications should be ready to send out next week. The General Land Office is expected to review and approve everything in early July so that bidding can start by the end of the month.
Construction is expected to begin in September and finish in May 2017.
Isla Blanca and Andy Bowie Park improvements are also included in the construction. Those renovations are estimated to cost $3,633,444.
Pct. 2 Commissioner Alex Dominguez raised a slight concern about the construction phase.
“Would it make more sense to work on Andy Bowie and E.K Atwood Park first?” Dominguez asked.
Pct. 3 Commissioner David A. Garza said it would make sense, so that park visitors would still have somewhere to go when Isla Blanca Park was worked on.
“It also shows people the new improvements on the parks,” Garza said.
The county reviewed a list of other major expenditures, such as the acquisition of the old Wells Fargo Bank building on East Levee Street, ($2.35 million) its renovations ($5 million), and the Dancy Building renovations ($2 million).
The county will also look at reviewing and revising its erosion response plan after the GLO requested additional information.
