HARLINGEN — The city has changed course in its plan to build a super park.
Earlier this week, city commissioners scrapped plans to borrow as much as $3.8 million to start to turn Lon C. Hill Park into a so-called destination park.
Now, the city plans to use cash and grants to build the park in five phases, stretching out the project for as long as eight years, City Manager Dan Serna said in a meeting this week.
For months, the city planned to dip into the Harlingen Community Improvement Board’s $6.5 million fund balance, the same source it is tapping to fund most the project to build its convention center.
Serna recommended commissioners pull away from the plan to borrow money to build the super park.
In the same meeting, commissioners tacked on an additional $1.75 million to their project to build the convention center, now carrying a total price tag of $16.7 million.
Commissioner Tudor Uhlhorn said he did not want to squeeze the Community Improvement Board’s budget, fueled by sales tax revenue earmarked to fund so-called quality of life projects.
“I got several calls, primarily, ‘Don’t borrow money to build a park,’” Uhlhorn said in the meeting. “I like the idea of not bonding up your money. We’ll have other projects we can do.”
Uhlhorn suggested projects such as funding improvements at the Harlingen Soccer Complex and the H-E-B Tennis Center at Pendleton Park.
In May, Commissioner Michael Mezmar spoke out in opposition to borrowing money to build the super park on Fair Park Boulevard.
“I just want to say ‘thank you’ for paying as you go,” Mezmar told officials at the meeting. “Then, the city incurs no indebtedness and as the city grows everything else grows.”
The project to develop the destination park, proposed as a regional attraction, ranks among the top five priorities in the city’s new master plan.
The 10-year plan calls for a $12.9 million destination park featuring an amphitheater, adaptive baseball field aimed at special needs children, athletic courts, walking trail, a retractable roof over Harlingen Field and other attractions.
But officials have apparently slashed the super park’s original price tag of $12.9 million.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Serna unveiled plans for a destination park with a total cost of $8.5 million.
Now, the city plans to build the park in five phases, using cash and grants to fund the project, Serna told officials.
The project remains one of the city’s top priorities, with strong support among city officials.
Commissioner Ruben de la Rosa, who oversees District 4, said residents want a park in their area.
“I don’t want to lose focus on the park,” Jesse Robles, the Community Development Board’s chairman, said.
