PALMVIEW, Texas- The Palmview City Council recently approved the issuance of Certificates of Obligation totaling $10.5 million. The decision was made on September 17 during the regularly scheduled meeting of the City Council. Mayor Ricardo Villarreal says the Certificates of Obligation will help the City keep up with the explosive population growth from 5,546 in 2010 to 15,830 in 2020. “As more people move to Palmview we have to increase our services. That means more employees, more equipment, and more City facilities. The new budget that we just approved covered more of the operational costs to provide the services. These COs will help us take care of the big-ticket items that are needed now to continue to improve the quality of service for the residents of our great City.”
Some of the big-ticket items include constructing a new fire station and Emergency Operation Center, funding a portion of an All-Inclusive Park, and making improvements to City Hall, the Police Station, and Municipal Park along with street and infrastructure improvements.
The new fire station will be located at the junction of Marla Drive and South FM 492 on 10 acres of land donated to the City by La Joya ISD. The 17,500 sq. ft. facility that will occupy 2.5 acres will house the department’s administrative offices, serve as the City’s Emergency Operation Center, and operate as a training facility. The cost is estimated at approximately $7 million, and the City anticipates breaking ground before the end of the year.
On the same tract of land, the city is investing $678,000 to build a four-acre All-Inclusive Park so that children with special needs can also enjoy outdoor activities and playground equipment. The City received a $500,000 grant from the Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation to build the new park and the City will cover the remaining $178,000. This project is about to go out for bids and construction should also get underway before the end of the year.
Around $125,000 has also been allocated to make improvements at Palmview’s Municipal Park to enhance the baseball fields. The improvements include revamping the fields, adding shade structures, and new bleachers. Meantime, another $125,000 will be used to replace the burnt playground equipment at Showers Park.
The COs will also help the City make improvements to the existing City Hall facility along with the original fire station bays located next to City Hall, and the current fire station on Showers Road. The City estimates the cost to be about $585,000.
Approximately $615,000 will go toward improvements for Public Works. The improvements include a dedicated bay area to wash the new trash and brush fleet. Public Works will also get a road grader for street maintenance and a vactor truck to help pump out stagnant rainwater.
Mayor Villarreal says the recent A+ S&P Bond Rating awarded to the City helped secure very low interest rates for the Certificates of Obligation which helped the Council approve moving forward with the loan at this time. “With new housing opportunities and businesses in Palmview we expect our population to continue to grow so the time to act was now. And we’re very excited for everything that we will be able to do for our residents.”
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