HARLINGEN — The city is thinking twice about borrowing as much as $2.7 million to turn Lon C. Hill Park into a regional attraction.
Today, City Manager Dan Serna is expected to recommend city commissioners do not borrow money to develop the so-called destination park on Fair Park Boulevard.
Instead, the city could build the park in phases.
“I believe we have the opportunity to phase this project in through time, pay as you go with cash in hand and it gives us time to apply for grants,” Serna said yesterday.
Mayor Chris Boswell noted Commissioner Michael Mezmar has opposed borrowing the money.
In a May meeting, Mezmar said he did not “like borrowing money for parks. I don’t like to take on debt to improve parks.”
The project to develop the destination park ranks among the top five priorities in the city’s new 10-year master plan.
Officials plan to draw visitors from across the region to the destination park.
The project’s first phase would feature an amphitheater, an adaptive baseball field, a skate park, courtyard, pavilions, playground and walking trail, Serna said earlier this week.
As part of the project, the city has been building a $400,000 “all-inclusive playground” focusing on special needs children.
The Harlingen school district is funding $200,000 of the project planned as the site for field trips.
The city’s 10-year plan calls for a $12.9 million destination park featuring an amphitheater, adaptive baseball field, athletic courts, a retractable roof over Harlingen Field and other attractions.
Officials have discussed plans to turn Harlingen Field — the longtime home of the defunct Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings — into a large concert venue.
Other attractions could include a children’s museum doubling as a venue exhibiting local artists’ works.
