A Stimulus of Volunteerism

Last week, I had the privilege to attend a press conference at the Dodge Arena to announce that “Up with People,” a student performance group with a community service focus, would be ending their tour in Hidalgo on June 13. I sat up on the platform with the mayors or representatives from the cities of McAllen, Mission, Pharr, Edinburg, Alamo and Hidalgo, and the group “Up with People,” and I was just impressed at how all our brains seemed to be in sync. “Unity,” “regionalism,” “cooperation,” “communication,” “service.” These were some of words being used by everyone.

“Up with People,” which is made up of 90 students from 22 countries, is going to be here in Hidalgo County for 9 days starting June 5 doing community service projects in the county and these six cities. United Way is helping to coordinate all this, and the benefit concert, which is just one aspect of this tour group, will solely benefit United Way. United Way is the umbrella organization that funds numerous non-profit charities right here in Hidalgo and Starr counties, including Dress for Success, Boys and Girls Clubs, Mujeres Unidas, CASA, etc.

“Up with People” came here on our request. We, the mayors and other sponsors, are (personally) paying their way, we are also helping them to find host families and all we ask in return is they leave us all here inspired and wanted to do more for our communities. No pressure, right! The reason we are paying so that ALL the money raised at the concert goes to the United Way.  I hope and I think “Up with People” can leave Hidalgo County with a stimulus of volunteerism, that people start will want to pour out their hearts to help. That’s what we need more of in these difficult times, and that’s what we need all the time. People helping one another, lending helping hands for our brothers and sisters. We have every reason to be a community of optimists, instead of fulfilling prophecies of pessimism. I’ve got no reason to think any less of our citizens. They are good, giving people.

I have all the confidence in the world, too, for our leaders. We have done so much in the past year to think regionally (just one part of thinking globally). We bring out the best of the best regardless of whether we’re fighting fires, hurricanes or working together on economic development as is the case with the Rio South Texas Economic Council. Together, we are a powerful force, and we’re going to be able to attract the Fortune 500 companies and retain our bright young students! We’ve got talent here.

The mayors and my staff, too, are now starting to develop community service projects for the “Up with People” students. Some examples of what they have done in the past include painting and repairing homes, building playground equipment, or taking part in diversity training. After all, these students are from all over the world. That is why it would be great to be a host of one of these students … imagine what your children could gain from this type of experience.

I am so very excited about “Up with People” coming to Hidalgo County. It should be a great week of service and a great concert. If you would like more information about getting tickets, or hosting a student, here you go:

www.dodgearena.com

www.upwithpeople.org

www.co.hidalgo.tx.us

If you have an idea for a ½ day community service project, please let us know, too!

Thank you!

Patty in D.C.: A successful picture of our youth

Please note that this post was written three weeks ago; however, due to technical difficulties with the blog, it was not posted until May 18, 2009. -Blog Administrator

Washington D.C. — We meet all kind of people from all over the place, especially, in Washington D.C., one of the most diverse cities in the United States. In my visit this week I was able to see a friend I had met in past trips to our nation’s capitol.

Patricia L. Villarreal: that’s what her business card states. What her business card does not say, though, is that she is “Patty” from McAllen, Texas. Patty is a 1998 graduate from Nikki Rowe High School and a 2002 graduate of Texas A&M. “Patty,” or Patricia, is currently the Executive Director of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Some people don’t think our youth ever make anything of themselves, but that’s just not true. I’m proud to see Rio Grande Valley products in policy positions, especially in Washington D.C.

Patty’s parents still live in McAllen, on South 27th street. I’m sure they are proud parents, as they should be. It’s important that we continue to highlight the positive achievements of our youth and make the examples for the upcoming generations set to graduate. I wanted to highlight a bright young professional in D.C. that started from the streets of McAllen and is now walking the halls of our National Capitol Building. I have met others (as I’m sure you have) products from the Rio Grande Valley so I will try to write about them in future blog entries. But Patty is great example for our young students who are studying hard right now wondering what they are going to be when they grow up.

Good luck Patty and congratulations on your achievements!

Study: Levee Project nets 5,000 local jobs and $508 million in economic stimulus

We released an economic impact study of the Hidalgo County Levee Rehabilitation Project on Friday. Here’s a nice article about it in The Guardian:http://www.riograndeguardian.com/rggnews_story.asp?story_no=16

And in The Monitor:http://www.themonitor.com/articles/hidalgo-26063-contribution-largest.html

The study, conducted by Sai Mullapudi of the University of Texas Pan-American’s Data and Information Systems Center, Division of Community Engagement, concludes that after all the work on all 153 miles of levee is complete (which should be by the end of 2010) we will have created approximately 5,000 jobs and injected more than $508 million into the local economy.This levee project not only saved private property, caused less environmental disruption and prevented Hidalgo County residents and businesses from having to purchase mandatory flood insurance, but it also is the ultimate economic stimulus.  READ THE ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY AT www.co.hidalgo.tx.us/levees

If you remember the Sutter study, also conducted by UTPA, it theorized that if the levees were to overtop in the event of a 100-year flood, Hidalgo County would sustain $1.7 billion in direct damages to homes, cars, businesses, etc. and about 400,000 jobs would be comprised, totaling $950 million in wages. Retail losses could be anywhere from $680 million to $940 million.

So between the cost avoidance and the cost benefit of fixing our levees, the economic impact is HUGE.

The Hidalgo County Commissioners Court and Drainage District is happy to report that the levee barrier is 95 percent complete, and the work on the remaining 100 miles of IBWC-owned levees should start by September or October. We continue to push for the recapturing of local taxpayer money spent on this project, which is about $48.5 million. We can then direct these funds to other much-needed drainage projects in the precincts.

This levee rehabilitation construction project is one that normally would have taken 5 or 6 years, and we are pleased with all those who have worked on this project to move it forward at such a rapid pace. We aim to keep Hidalgo County moving forward. Thank you to all that have helped, our federal and state delegations, the Governor of Texas, the organizations that have spoke out in our support, the cities, the economic development directors and the business community for their leadership on this issue and my colleagues on the commissioners court.

Thank you to everyone!

Rehearsing for a Hurricane

This blog is coming to you from the National Emergency Response Training Center with the Texas Engineering Extension Service at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas …

It seems like just yesterday we were trying to help our residents out of the heavy rain and flooding caused by Hurricane Dolly. But here we are today at Texas A&M for the Lower Rio Grande Valley Hurex ROC Drill. What is the ROC drill?

Rehearsal of Concept (ROC) is a practice that is done regionally, to test how prepared we are in case of a hurricane. The ROC is a facilitated, discussion-based rehearsal of specific activities associated with a jurisdiction’s plans. Some might wonder if this drill is too early, but hurricane season is just around the corner. June 1 is less than 45 days away!

The goal of the 3-day ROC Drill is to discuss specific hurricane response and evacuation plans. Synchronize, identify, recognize and confirm! The LRGV’s jurisdictions get prepared for the 2009 hurricane season by rehearsing selected key activities identified in existing plans.

So who’s here? Emergency employees from the lower Rio Grande Valley and the state of Texas. We have representatives from the Texas Military Forces, cities from the Valley, Texas Emergency Management and San Antonio regional hubs.

“If you fail to plan, plan to fail.” I’m sure we all have heard this, I agree and that’s why we are here. We cannot control what the weather but we can control being prepared for whatever the weather decides to do.

Texas Chief of Emergency Management Jack Colley told us this morning, “Coordination and control is very important; you control the situation don’t let it control you!” And I agree.

While we are at Texas A&M our staff is in Edinburg working diligently to pre-position agreements/contracts for services that may be needed such as debris removal, water relocation and other ancillary services needed to get the job done. The idea is to proactively get ready now in case we get the worst. We prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

We want your ideas for Energy Efficiency Projects

My office is meeting with interested department heads and precincts tomorrow to get the ball rolling on some “green projects.” FYI: if you haven’t checked out our website in a while, there is some information there on a few green projects we’ve already started, including the installation of a wind turbine in Pct. 2, more solar lighting at that same park in Pct. 2, and we received an appropriation in the FY 2009 Omnibus Spending Bill for a waste-to-energy study. Please check it out at www.co.hidalgo.tx.us.

I digress … Under the stimulus package, there is a thing called the Energy Effiency and Conservation Block Grants, and Hidalgo County has been alloted $3.5 million. The project scope is fairly open-ended, so we are meeting tomorrow to begin brainstorming projects that would benefit from these funds.

We could perform energy audits on our buildings, build new LEED certified buildings, renovate using energy efficient heating/cooling materials or lighting, begin a recycling program, etc. Please, if you have any ideas, I invite you to let us know by commenting on this post.

We’d like to make good use of these funds and make Hidalgo County government more environmentally friendly. We look forward to your ideas.

$110 million for levees

Tito Palacios, Hidalgo County Commissioner Precinct #2; Godfrey Garza, Hidalgo County Drainage District # 1 manager, and I traveled to El Paso last week to introduce ourselves to the I.B.W.C. commissioner Bill Ruth. We were glad to hear from the I.B.W.C. commissioner that Hidalgo County is going to receive $110 million in federal funds for the levees. This will get us much closer to finishing the levee work in Hidalgo County.

This money will help rebuild another 80 miles of levee on the river and on our internal floodway in addition to the 40 miles we have already built.

Our hope is that the timeline they come out with to build the levees is aggressive. We did submit our own plan to the IBWC commissioner that proposed work being completed within about a year, meaning we’d have to turn dirt in 60 to 90 days. Our plan would be similar to expeditious plan for the levee/barrier project. That was a partnership with the IBWC, the Department of Homeland Security and the Drainage District, and because we were able to hire multiple contractors and local contractors, those 22 miles were completed quickly.

As I have expressed before, the levees are a federal responsibility and need to be certified soon! The certification is key in avoiding mandatory flood insurance for our residents. The premiums of $150 mllion a year would be more than the cost of fixing all levees. An economic impact study of the levees overtopping also shows that levee system protects $1.7 billion in property evaluation and $950 million in retail.

For those who doubt the integrity of the levees, look what happened in Presidio last fall. The key to our future economy lies on the quality of our infrastructure including the levees.

The cost of NOT fixing the levees is so much greater than the cost of fixing the levees. We need to remember that.

Violence in Mexico

The violence in Mexico has been on my mind lately, and I’d like to share a bit about a meeting I had recently with Keith Patridge of the McAllen Economic Development Corporation and Mexican Consul Erasmo Martinez.

We talked intently about the recent unrest in Mexico. The purpose of starting this dialogue was to see what, if any, role the County of Hidalgo can have to try to minimize the impact of the protests and violence along the Mexican border at our bridges. The discussion was lengthy and very helpful.

Consul Martinez felt that the United States needed to play a bigger role in trying to stop the weapons crossing over into Mexico from the United States. He felt that part of the problem was the cartels had powerful weapons, and the country of origin was us. He also pointed out that the United States is fueling the violence because of the high demand of illegal drugs.

He suggested a system that would trace a weapon going from owner to owner in the United States. While we agree that the process of selling weapons might be better scrutinized, it would be hard to implement.

We also discussed other options of marketing the area as region to stimulate our joint economies. This could be marketing our image as a multi-cultural center for tourism, retail and trade.

The violence is affecting both sides of the border and our residents need to be cognizant of that. We are the same region, we just happen to have a river between us.

We hope that this is the start of a larger conversation and action on this topic with more partners. In order to get to a good, productive and efficient resolution, we need to invite partners to research every avenue. We plan on meeting again in a few weeks.

Here are a few articles on the subject:
Stimulus Money Targeted At Border Violence
Programs Aim To Prevent Gun Running, Thwart Drug Cartels
POSTED: Sunday, March 8, 2009
UPDATED: 12:33 pm CDT March 8, 2009

SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio congressman is hopeful the stimulus bill money approved by Congress will help ease the violence along the border in Mexico.
Rep. Ciro Rodriguez said the money will be directed to programs to curb the violence by preventing gun running and not allowing drug cartels to take control.

“We really have a serious situation,” Rodriguez said.

Drug cartels fighting over fewer drug supply routes have led to hundreds of killings in the last year.

Cartel victims have been beheaded or dismembered and dissolved in acid.

“Mexico is not the same,” Rodriguez said.

The State Department has warned spring breakers about dangers in Mexico. Some beaches, pools and hotel rooms in popular Mexican resort towns are empty.
Mexico wants the U.S. to step up efforts to cut down on arms and weapons trafficking into Mexico.

“We cannot allow for the cartels to take control in Mexico,” Rodriguez said.

That’s why Rodriguez sponsored measures to give the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms $10 million to prevent guns from flowing from the U.S. to Mexico, where they are used in violent crimes.

The congressman said another $60 million will secure border counties from Texas to California.

And he’s pushing for better checks and balances on money that crosses from the U.S. to Mexico.

“As the drugs are sold the money leaves, so we really need to follow that money and see what’s going on and the only way to do that is to also have good checkpoints of people who leave our country,” Rodriguez said.

The congressman said drug cartels not only threaten people in Mexico, but also threaten the economy in Texas.

“As Texans they’re our No. 1 trading partner, so it’s important that we keep that relationship,” Rodriguez said.

For example, the congressman said more than a quarter of the sales tax generated at the San Marcos outlet is from Mexicans who come to the U.S. to shop.

He said if they fear coming to the U.S. because of violence along the border, Texans will certainly see the economy worsen.

From KRLD (Radio Dallas):

Texas Has Plan Should Mexican Violence Spill Over Border

The state now says it has a plan in place should the Mexican drug violence spill over into Texas.

The state homeland security director says the violence in Mexico will get worse before it gets better, and says the state must be prepared should killings and kidnappings begin happening here.

Steve McGraw says the states contingency plan was developed under a multi-agency law enforcement offensive led by the Governor.  McGraw won’t say specifically what plans are being put in place because of security reasons, but envisions scenarios of violence such as kidnappings and or takeovers by hit squads.

Senator John Carona says in addition to the contingency plan for a spillover in violence, there also needs to be plans to provide medical treatment, food and shelter to deal with a mass migration of illegals.

The state of the county is strong

The state of the county is strong and the will of our county is stronger.

On Tuesday night, we gathered at Knapp Medical Center’s Conference Center in Weslaco for the 2009 State of the County Address. It was great to see so many people in attendance, over 400 by my count, and at least another 725 households watched the event live on their computers at home, according to KRGV News Channel 5, who partnered with us to broadcast the event live on the web.

One of the greatest things about this night is that we raised over $10,000 for the Hidalgo County Scholarship. The scholarship is for our employees and their dependents, for up to six hours of tuition and fees at South Texas College. We did this through an auction (Commissioner Oscar Garza was the auctioneer!) We had 15 items ranging from everything from season passes to the Vipers to a George Strait ticket package.

The feedback we’ve heard so far–about the address and the auction–has been extremely positive. I was on Col. Ray’s show (KURV) last night, and he was talking about how Hidalgo County is doing great things like the prescription card and fixing the levees to help our people. The county has got it together, he said. It means a lot to me when people who are paid to be critical and questioning can embrace our vision and help tell our story! Like I’ve told many people… the United States does not end in San Antonio. There’s a lot of positive things occurring right in our own backyard. We have a story to tell and its better when we all tell it together!

The event was focused on “No Boundaries,” meaning we can transcend the barriers of communication and we can also work together on issues of common concern. We have no boundaries to what we can accomplish when we work together. We made sure to acknowledge the economic crisis. We are not immune to it by any means, but it will be overcome it.

Soon, we will be posting video of the event on our website, www.co.hidalgo.tx.us, in case you missed it or want to hear it again. The text of the speech has already been posted there under “County Links.”

I’d appreciate any feedback you may have, either about the event, the scholarship or any of the topics we covered that night. Please contact me through the blog or just come by the office. We are always willing to listen.

Thank you, county residents, for continuing to help us make the state of Hidalgo County strong.

TxDOT committed U.S. 281 funding

As this has been a very busy week with trips to Austin and now I am hosting the TEEX (Texas Engineering Extension Service) board today and tomorrow, I am posting our press release about getting a commitment for the U.S. 281 funding. Everyone worked so well together and hard on this issue. It is a great acheivement and we are looking forward to getting some more concrete dates for construction. From what we know now, it looks like the Falfurrias project will start this fall. I will post more later about the trip to Austin in general–we also have some great photos–but for now… back to work!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 11, 2009

AUSTIN— Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa has announced that Gov. Rick Perry and Dierdre Delisi, Chairwoman of the Texas Department of Transportation, will commit funds to the proposed U.S. 281 upgrades.

This week, Hidalgo County leaders visited the State Capitol to present their legislative agenda, which was topped by obtaining funding for U.S. Highway 281. County leaders met with Gov. Perry, along with the Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and area Sens. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa and Eddie Lucio, Jr., as well as Reps. Veronica Gonzales, Armando Martinez, Kino Flores and Aaron Pena on Tuesday. Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas and Commissioner Hector “Tito” Palacios also met with Chairwoman Delisi this morning to discuss how the four ‘shovel-ready’ projects in South Texas would strengthen the local and state economy and aid in mass evacuations of the region in case of a hurricane or other disaster.

The four projects — located in Falfurrias, Ben Bolt, George West and Premont — are aimed at bringing U.S. 281 up to interstate standards. Hidalgo County is the only major metropolitan area in the country without an interstate within 100 miles.

“The future economic growth of Hidalgo County and the 281 corridor looks brighter than ever,” Judge Salinas said. “Even without these improvements, U.S. 281 is ranked No. 3 out of seven NAFTA corridors in Texas, handling about 1,300 trucks per day, and that number is expected to double by 2030. Our Texas roads carry 87 percent of the nation’s NAFTA traffic. That goes to show how much these upgrades were needed — a substantial amount of traffic was already using Hidalgo County as its entry point to get goods to the markets.”

Now, with these upgrades, which are expected to start construction as early as this fall in Falfurrias, we could see Hidalgo County’s position become even more advantageous to attract business to the region. Business growth will lead to increased per capita incomes of our residents and a better quality of life for us all. In the short-term, we will also generate jobs. For every $100 million spent, about 1,500 jobs are created,” Judge Salinas said.

The commitments to fund the four projects along U.S. Highway 281 stand regardless of whether the federal stimulus bill passes, according to Sen. Hinojosa. Currently, three of the four projects are slated to be funded with the stimulus money, which would yield about half of the $200 million needed for the projects. President Barack Obama and Democrats have signaled the desire to pass the stimulus package on or before President’s Day.

“We just can’t thank our elected officials in Austin enough, especially Sen. Hinojosa, who was an early supporter of this project and helped organize the U.S. 281 Coalition — a group of county judges, commissioners and business leaders along the corridor. All of our elected officials have seen how this project would not only benefit our region, but also strengthen Texas’ economy as a whole,” Judge Salinas said. “This shows that when public and private interests come together for a common good as in the U.S. 281 Coalition, we can make big things happen.”

Legislative agenda revealed

The Hidalgo County Commissioners’ Court revealed its 2009-2010 legislative agenda this week, in advance of Hidalgo County Day at the Texas Capitol scheduled for Feb. 10.

We are seeking numerous changes to Texas law. These suggested changes were compiled from several county departments with expertise in subjects such as health, emergency management, drainage, and planning. We will formally present this list to state elected officials on Feb. 10, although the county’s legislative affairs director, in coordination with the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court, has already begun working on these issues with the state representatives and senators for this region.

Some people might ask why we need to develop a list or why we even need to go to Austin  or Washington? The simple fact is that our state elected officials look toward county and city leaders to help them develop legislation that would most benefit the people we serve. We are the ones here, who know best what the people of Hidalgo County need and what would benefit them the most. Plus, while the state delegation is in Austin for only five short months every two years, the representatives and senators can rarely visit us. We must go to them. They need to hear us — our concerns, our statistics, our research and our pleas in person. Face to face time is what works. The same goes for Washington D.C. The conversations we have are short, but meaty, and they make all the difference in the world on what we, as county leaders, can do for our citizens.

Now, I’d like to share our complete Hidalgo County 81^st Legislative Program Summary:

County Operations:

· Increase the eligibility requirements for elections administrator position; grant authority to the elections committee for removal and suspension of elections administrator. (HB 113 by Rep. Aaron Peña)

· Require TCEQ to obtain approval from a county impacted by a proposed tire reclamation facility.

· Increase the courthouse security fees authorized under the Code of Criminal Procedures.

Public Health & Public Safety:

• Authorize the county to provide primary care services through its health clinics.

· Allow for the cremation of paupers/unidentified human remains.

(SB 571 by Senator Juan Hinojosa)

· Ban and/or increase restrictions on certain dangerous dogs & other wild animals.

• Establish a task force to monitor dangerous sexual offenders and provide funding for the prevention of child exploitation and for victim support services.
• Appropriate $250,000 per each year of the biennium to the county’s health department via a rider to the Texas Department of Health (TDH) for public health activities related to disease surveillance and emergency preparedness (there is a similar request by El Paso, Laredo and Cameron County).
• Appropriate $200,000 per each year of the biennium to the county’s health department via a rider to TDH for primary care and outpatient substance abuse services to be provided by the Hidalgo County Substance Abuse Facility.
• Appropriate $400,000 for FY 2010 to the county’s health department via TDH rider to purchase a mobile health clinic to provide basic care and outreach services to residents of colonias.
• Obtain state/federal approval to declare the “border region” a special needs jurisdiction under the Centers for Disease Control.
• Support additional funding for juvenile diabetes prevention.

Transportation & Infrastructure:

• Grant the county zoning authority relating to development within an established Transportation Reinvestment Zone.

• Appropriate funding for the U.S. 281 projects of Falfurrias, Ben Bolt, George West and Premont.
• Authorize the Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1 to obtain a no-interest loan from the state for the Raymondville Drain Project
• Authorize the HCCD No. 1 to recapture storm and underground water to reprocess and sell for reuse.

Economic Development & Planning:

• Amend Ch 381 of the Local Government Code to allow counties to enter into cooperative agreements with cities and other public entities for purposes of creating a regional economic development program.
• Exempt land donated for public use from platting requirements.
• Amend HB 573 from last session to provide the county with enforcement authority for non-payment of fees imposed for street lights established in subdivisions located in the county.
• Authorizing the county to impose a fee for utility certificates issued for subdivisions located outside or within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of municipalities.

Veterans:

• Adopt enabling legislation for Proposition 9 that would grant a full exemption from ad valorem property taxes on a residential homestead to veterans who are classified as totally disabled due to circumstances related to their military service.

Emergency Management:

• Establish a State Communications Interoperability Program Fund; provide funding.

· Appropriate funding for the Disaster Contingency Fund established last session by HB 2694 to provide local governments and State agencies assistance for responding to disasters that are declared by both local governments and the Governor.

Support Items:

• SB 294 by Senator Hinojosa which expands to all counties the ability to impose additional vehicle registration and road and bridge fees for mobility projects.
• Additional funding for the expansion of allied health and nursing programs.
• Creation of a medical school and law school in the Rio Grande Valley.
• “Meet and Confer” proposed legislation by SEIU.
• Support increased funding for childcare services for drop out recovery programs.
• Support increased funding for adult education.