San Benito mulls private financing to fix streets

SAN BENITO — For decades, local leaders have searched to find money to fix the city’s pot-holed streets.

In 2012, a previous city commission borrowed $3.1 million on a 20-year term after approving a 4-cent property tax increase to pay off the bonds.

But five years later, the city estimates repairing about 70 streets would cost about $7.6 million.

Now, commissioners are planning to discuss the possibility of working with a developer who would finance street repairs, while the city would pay off the debt.

“We have to think outside of the box,” City Commissioner Esteban Rodriguez said yesterday. “It would be 100-percent financing. The city would put no money down. I’d like to see what they have to offer.”

On Dec. 11, commissioners are expected to hold a workshop with Harlingen developer Humberto Zamora to discuss possible financing plans.

Last month, Mayor Ben Gomez requested the workshop so Zamora could “teach us and help us re-do our streets.”

During a Nov. 21 meeting, Gomez, who could not be reached for comment yesterday, said Zamora could help the city “fix most of our streets or some of our streets without the city being in debt.”

Yesterday, Zamora, who said he approached the city with his offer, declined to disclose details behind any financing plans.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez said he plans to discuss financing plans with McAllen developer Damian Guevara.

“Right now, it’s all preliminary,” Rodriguez said. “There are a lot of questions I want answered.”

Guevara said he would fully finance project costs while the city would pay off the debt.

“I have been involved in other projects similar to this with other developers,” said Guevara, with Avery Resource Consultants.

In October, commissioners’ split vote led the city to kill Rodriguez’s proposal to consider Guevara’s financing plan to fund a proposed $11 million aquatics center.

Under that proposal, Guevara told commissioners he would finance a competition-sized swimming pool with two water slides while the city would pay back the debt over an approximate 25-year period.

While Rodriguez and Commissioner Tony Gonzales supported the proposal, Gomez and Commissioner Carol Lynn Sanchez voted against it. Commissioner Rene Villafranco was absent.

In response to the proposal, Sanchez said the city was not “in the financial condition” to enter into an agreement to consider funding an aquatics center.

But Rodriguez believes commissioners could consider a similar financing plan to repair streets, which residents have called the biggest problem facing the city.

Now, city officials are considering borrowing about $10 million to upgrade six sewer lift stations to comply with part of a Texas Commissioner on Environmental Quality mandate stemming from nine sewage discharges from late 2009 to early 2010.

Rodriguez said the city is faced with borrowing money.

“It’s time we start working on infrastructure,” he said. “We need to fix our infrastructure, sewer lines, lift stations, streets. We have to make some decisions. We have to start somewhere. If this is a way, we should consider it.”