Edinburg mayor delivers final state of the city address

EDINBURG, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Edinburg Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr. gave his final State of the City address. He said the city has established a good foundation to continue being the fastest-growing city in the Rio Grande Valley.

The theme of the speech was "Excellence in Action". Economic growth, infrastructure improvements, and an enhanced quality of life were the main topics addressed.

Garza focused on the improvements he has seen such as the establishment of the housing project La Posada for seniors, the first in four decades in the city.

“In December, city leaders joined the housing authority for a ribbon cutting ceremony for this three-story, 36-unit development on Sugar and Sprague that is home to single individual seniors in need of quality and affordable housing," Garza said.

He also discussed projects already underway like drainage, a new water plant in the northside of the city, and a new wastewater treatment plant.

“A $23 million investment is already underway for our wastewater treatment plant. Increasing capacity to 13.5 million gallons per day," Garza said. "We have not made improvements there in over a decade, so this is a long time coming, and excited about what it means for our residents.”

Safety was also addressed as the city's population continues growing and increasing the workload for police as Chief Jaime Ayala stated.

“The growth you don't measure in policing, growth, and officers until it grows until you know what you need," Ayala said. "So that's a big challenge for us, is continue to police as neighborhoods are under construction, as we get new street names, keeping our Graphic Information System (GIS) updated so that we can stay connected and know where we're going when a citizen needs help.”

The mayor also recognized the fire department. Last year their EMS response times improved despite the growing population.

“We ended up relocating our EMS units, and we strategically put them throughout the town to reduce our response time," said Edinburg Fire Chief Omar Garza. "So we went from an average response time of eight to seven minutes down to three to five minutes. So it's a big difference when you're in an emergency, you're having a heart attack or you have an injury, or whatever the case. The sooner we get that ambulance to you, the faster you have for survival."

The evening marked Mayor Garza’s final State of the City address as he will not seek reelection following his cancer diagnosis.

“As we charge into 2025, I want you to know something. I am not slowing down," Garza said. "I am fighting this cancer battle with everything I got and I will continue to stay involved and give it my all for this city that I love.”

The city of Edinburg will be holding elections for a new mayor in May.