Port Isabel maps $12 million plan for the future

Port Isabel officials are planning a $12 million list of projects to spur development of the city.

Financing would be phased in over a 10-year period, the preliminary plan states. Construction would begin this year and be completed by 2026.

The projects would be funded through what is called a tax increment reinvestment zone, which would set aside tax revenue on undeveloped land for construction of specific public improvements, officials said.

Not everyone is convinced about the plan.

Leo “Speck” Sanders, a former mayor and city manager, said that while the planned projects are needed, he questions how the value of the underdeveloped land in the TIRZ — the development zone — could produce enough tax revenue to finance the projects.

But a consultant told officials the municipal TIRZ would produce about $8 million over a 15-year period, Mayor Joe Vega said.

City officials plan to form a board to oversee the TIRZ this week, the mayor said.

“Once we have the board set up, we can take a closer look at how much revenue this will raise and the projects we can do,” he said.

The TIRZ system is being used by many cities as an innovative way to fund projects without incurring a lot of debt, the mayor said.

“This is not going to affect the taxpayers one bit,” Vega said. “This will allow us to do these projects without a bond issue or a property tax increase.”

The Municipal TIRZ No. 1 has nothing to do with another TIRZ the city plans to set up in the future to fund a project for the completion of Modern Venice, an area known as The Fingers.

Sanders said he also questions building new housing developments south of the city or east of Highway 48 because of the high dust levels there.

Although a program to re-flood the Bahia Grande was attempted in recent years, not enough saltwater flows into the area west of Highway 48 to control the dust, he said.

But Vega said a Dust Control Committee and the Cameron County Parks Department are working with an engineer to widen a pilot channel that feeds saltwater into the Bahia Grande to control the dust. Dust problems began 75 years ago when the Brownsville Ship Channel was built, Vega said.

But Sanders said he is leery of the long list of projects city officials are touting.

“The long and the short of it is, I think it (list of projects) is somebody’s pipe dream,” Sanders said. “There’s an election coming up.”

The projects include:

 Expansion of a two-lane port road planned by the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority from Port Isabel’s industrial seaport to Highway 48, which will divert heavy truck traffic away from Highway 100 in the downtown area.

The city plans to upgrade the road to a boulevard with two lanes in each direction, city Economic Development Corporation Administrator Janie Villarreal said.

Cost is estimated at $2.5 million to supplement the county’s project to build a two-lane road, she said.

The RMA is planning to purchase right-of-way and build a two-lane road, RMA Chairman David Allex said.

“I applaud the city’s initiative and foresight to develop that area as it should be done,” he said. “That’s what they should be doing. I wish other localities would do the same.”

Port Isabel officials are taking advantage of the new road and expanding the plan to use it to improve the economy of the area, he said.

It is not yet known if the boulevard would include a median with lights, but water, sanitary sewer and storm sewer service will also be built along the new port road to encourage business and residential development along the route, Villarreal said.

 Street, water and sewer extensions in various parts of the city are planned. Total cost is estimated at $4 million, according to the city’s project list.

 Multi-family housing property acquisition, $3 million. No new multi-family housing has been built in Port Isabel for 20 years, so TIRZ funds will be used to promote construction of new apartment buildings by private developers, the plan states.

Planned “streetscaping” includes extension of new sidewalks and the rebuilding of old sidewalks on both sides of Highway 100 from downtown to Port Isabel High School, Villarreal said.

Vega said sidewalks and a hike-and-bike trail from downtown to Port Isabel High School are needed for safety and a recreational outlet for local residents.

A total of $1.125 million in TIRZ funds would also be used to build new public housing through either the Cameron County Housing Authority or Port Isabel Housing Authority, the plan states.

Renovation of older public housing would also be funded by the TIRZ, Villarreal said.

Park improvements and public facility construction would also be funded with $1 million in TIRZ money, the plan states.

A new public works garage and a new recycling center will also be built with those funds, under the plan.