BROWNSVILLE — Cameron County commissioners gave the green light to move forward with the proposed schematics for the old Wells Fargo building on East Levee Street during yesterday’s commissioners court meeting.
The soon-to-be renovated building will house the tax assessor-collector’s office on the first floor, the justices of the peace on the second floor and the county clerks on the third.
Very few changes will be made to the original facilities, according to the architect, Megamorphosis Inc.
“All departments were in agreement on the layout,” said Danny Villarreal, county construction manager. “We wanted to keep as many of the existing walls as possible, and thankfully only have a few modifications to make.”
The building should come online by next February at the latest, Deputy County Administrator Javier Villarreal has said previously.
The county also approved moving forward with a partnership agreement with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley civil engineering department.
“It is truly needed as we move forward on a lot of projects we’re working on with the coast,” said David Garcia, county administrator.
The university employee will provide valuable input that the county can use to develop different programs and policies and evaluate management programs like ecosystem restoration. The employee also will provide technical assistance in writing grant applications, Garcia said.
An update on the 2016-2017 budget was presented by Villarreal.
The budget is still to be determined due to a few pending expenditures: the old Wells Fargo building, the amounts Cameron County will contribute to tax increment reinvestment zones and transportation reinvestment zones, and departmental requests.
