Coming soon to the City of Mission
City Manager Randy Perez spoke about upcoming initiatives and projects planned for the City of Mission.
CONSTRUCTION
The old Kmart building on Bryan Road will be a Murdoch’s in the not-too-distant future. The sporting goods and supply store will fill the 100,000 square foot space; it will be the first one in the Valley and one of an eventual four in Texas. The developers also plan to have new restaurants around the building.
The city is still in the very early stages of the project, but as it unfolds, the city manager will provide updates at the city council meetings.
The Lions Park and soon-to-be all-inclusive park still lingers in the pre-construction stages. The design is 100% complete, and the city has already bid out the project for construction. Perez said he anticipates awarding the contract for phase one construction in December.
Phase one consists of an all-inclusive play area, splash pad, walking trail, pavilions, a Bankshot basketball court, new parking and architectural entrances. Phase two is a community center. And in phase three, the homes located north of Francisco Avenue and Kika De La Garza Loop will be demolished for park expansion.
BEAUTIFICATION
City leaders put together a task force team for parks, public works and facilities. The team is responsible for maintaining all Mission parks by power washing, cleaning and painting.
Earlier in the year, Director of Parks and Recreation Brad Bentsen put together a five-year improvement plan after compiling community feedback, some of which included upgrades to the parks. Although budget and staffing have been an issue in the past, Bentsen has done what he can for maintenance, including sign repair, sandblasting and painting picnic shelters. Now the task force team will take on some of the beautification work.
Mission’s sanitation department is in the process of launching a recycling program. As part of the initiative, they are calling on local artists to paint a mural on the recycling building. In addition to a mural, the city plans to have the exposed irrigation pipes painted and decorated. Perez said his department is working with the irrigation district to green-light the project.
EDUCATION
Mission is working on an agreement with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and South Texas College to bring educational components to the city. Ideally, the CEED will host satellite educational classes and programs offered by UTRGV and STC. Perez said the city has met with both institutions a few times, but they have not finalized a deal yet.
TECHNOLOGY
The City of Mission plans to go paperless for billing and purchasing. The online-only feature is optional. At the beginning of the year, the city will begin asking for emails from residents who want to go paperless.
Additionally, the staff is working on developing QR codes for the city. The codes will be posted on flyers around town for community members to easily access the website, job applications, agendas, truck routes and more. The city will promote the codes on social media once the staff completes development.
The media team is working on live-streaming events and meetings on Mission’s spectrum cable channel. At the moment, the channel only shows replays. But depending on the proximity, soon residents will have a live feed of the city’s happenings from the comfort of their own homes.
