LRGVDC Valley Metro has partnered with South Texas College (STC) to initiate the new Route 35 “STC Mid-Valley Jag Express” that will connect students and other riders from STC’s Mid-Valley campus in Weslaco to the College & Career Teaching Center in Pharr, Nursing & Allied Health Campus in McAllen, and the Technology Campus in south McAllen. The new route is free, open to the general public, and operates as an express route, meaning that the bus will stop only at designated locations to provide for speedy travel. In addition, the route

will connect to Valley Metro route 31 near Pharr City Hall and route 12 at the Mid-Valley campus.

The route stems from many months of planning and coordination spearheaded by Wanda Garza, STC’s Interim Vice Presidents for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, and Monte Churchill, Mid-Valley Campus Coordinator. Marketing Director Daniel Ramirez coordinated the route’s design and publicity, including a ribbon cutting ceremony held on August 30, 2013 at the Mid-Valley Campus. (Continued)

New Route Connects Mid-Valley Riders to STC Campuses

Groundbreaking Ceremony for New Maintenance Facility Held in Harlingen

LRGVDC Regional Police Academy and Training Center

Disaster Recovery Housing Round 2.2 Program Status Update September 2013

September is National Preparedness Month

Texas Task Force 1, Type III • Rio Grande ValleyTeam Kickoff Meeting, August 22, 2013, Weslaco, TX

REGIONAL PURSUITS is the newsletter published by the LRGVDC.

This publication is financed in part through funding assistance from State

and Federal grants.REGIONAL PURSUITS is available without cost

and inquiries should be directed to:

Ken Jones, Executive DirectorLower Rio Grande Valley Development Council

301 W. Railroad Street, Weslaco, TX 78596E-Mail: info@lrgvdc.orgwebsite: www.lrgvdc.org

(956) 682-3481, Fax (956) 631-4670

SEPTEMBER 2013 • VOLUME LXXVIII

Elected officials: Armando “Mando” Martinez, Texas House of Representative District 39; Michelle Villareal, Legislative Director for Representative Oscar Longoria, District 35; LRGVDC Staff and Board Member : Honorable Norma G. Garcia, LRGVDC Board President; Kenneth N. Jones, Jr.- Executive Director; Tom

Logan, Valley Metro Director; City of Weslaco: Leo Olivares, City Manager of Weslaco; Weslaco Economic Development Corporation: Alicia Aguilar, Interim Executive Director; STC Staff and Board of Trustees: Dr.

Shirley A. Reed, President; Wanda F. Garza, Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management; Rose Benavidez, Chair; Roy De Leon, Vice Chair; Paul R. Rodriguez, Member; Dr. Alejo Salinas, Jr.-Member; Jesse Villarreal, Member and members of the general public stand in front of the bus for route 35 at the

August 30 ribbon cutting at the Mid-Valley Campus.

New Route Connects Mid-Valley Riders to STC Campuses

“I want to thank STC for the opportunity to provide this much needed service to their students, staff and faculty to remove the transportation barriers between campuses,” said the Honorable Norma G. Garcia, LRGVDC Board President. “Additionally, we appreciate the confidence vested in the Development Council’s Valley Metro, the Regional Public Transit Provider in the Valley, to accomplish this task. We look forward to making this partnership a true success,” concluded Garcia.

Rose Benavidez, Chair of the South Texas College Board of Trustees reiterated Mrs. Garcia’s

sentiments. “The ambitious launch of the Mid-Valley Campus JagExpress is a grand example of collaboration and marks our continued effort to ensure that we are accessible to the communities and residents we serve. Providing this service will allow our students to align their educational needs with a practical form of transportation that can be the driving force to achieving their dreams,” said Benavidez.

For more information on the Mid-Valley JagExress, including printable routes and schedules, visit http://www.southtexascollege.edu/jagexpressmv.

Route 35’s bus wrap, designed by STC (side view).

Route 35’s bus wrap, designed by STC (back view).

Conceptual renderings of the new facility.

New Route Connects Mid-Valley Riders to STC Campuses (Cont.)

LRGVDC Valley Metro will soon open a new facility to park and service vehicles in the Harlingen area. On August 22, 2013 an excited crowd gathered at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new vehicle and maintenance warehouse to be constructed on Glasscock Avenue in Harlingen.

The facility is made possible through a mix of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds. Amenities at the facility will include a bus washer, office and meeting space, a full-service maintenance area with equipment and tools, and a storage area for up 10 buses, including larger vehicles that Valley Metro intends to purchase in the future. Vehicles providing service in the Harlingen, San Benito, La Feria, Santa Rosa, Los Fresnos, and Brownsville areas will be maintained at this facility.

The project represents a regional coordination effort between the LRGVDC, the City of Harlingen, and the Harlingen-San Benito MPO. As part of its growth strategy Valley Metro hopes to establish similar facilities in other areas of the Valley. Once the facility is operational it will improve Valley Metro’s operational

efficiency by allowing revenue vehicles to be maintained and stored in Harlingen instead of Weslaco. In addition, the vehicles will be stored indoors to protect the fleet from inclement weather.

Pictured L-R: Carlos R. Yerena, Harlingen City Manager; Andrew Canon, HCMPO Director; Julian Alvarez, Rio Grande Valley Partnership Chamber of Commerce President; Basilio “ Chino” Sanchez, Harlingen City Commissioner District 4; Rebeca Castillo, HSBMPO Director; Norma Garcia, LRGVDC Board President; Marisela Cortez, District Director Congressman Filemon Vela; Chris Boswell, City of Harlingen Mayor; Steve Brewer, City of La Feria Mayor; Eddie Lucio III, Texas House of Representatives District 38th; Eddie Lucio Jr., Texas State Senator, District 27; Michael Mezmar, Harlingen City Commissioner District 3; Victor Leal, Harlingen City Commissioner, District 5 gather to break ground for the new facility.

Groundbreaking Ceremony for New Maintenance Facility

Held in Harlingen

Thursday, August 22, 2013 went down in

history as a milestone for first responders in the Rio Grande Valley. Amidst a gathering of the region’s finest at Weslaco’s Public Works Facility, Chief Shawn Snider of the City of Edinburg Fire Department announced the launching of the new Texas Task Force 1, Type III, Rio Grande Valley Team. The Texas Task Force 1, Type

III, RGV team will be an Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) team that will respond to man-made and natural disasters. It will be similar (but smaller in scale) to the current Texas Task Force 1, which is one of twenty-eight national US&R teams coordinated by FEMA.

This new team will encompass personnel from cities and towns from the

south of Corpus Christi to Laredo. Chief Snider state that “this team concept has been in the works for several years, and there is still a lot of groundwork to cover in order to launch the team”.

Also, present at the meeting was the Texas Division of Emergency Management, Assistant Director, Chief Nim Kidd, along with several representatives

from TEEX. They introduced the policies and procedures involved in creating and sustaining a Texas Task Force team. It was announced that the application period for the Texas Task Force 1, Type III RGV team will be September - October.

For more info regarding this new team, you may contact Chief Shawn Snider at (956) 605-0760.

Texas Task Force 1, Type IIIRio Grande Valley

Team Kickoff MeetingAugust 22, 2013 Weslaco, TX

The Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council has achieved several firsts in the State of Texas Disaster

Recovery Housing Program. The LRGVDC was the first Round 2.2 award in Texas; had the first approved set-ups by the General Land Office (GLO); achieved the first round 2.2 home completion; and had the first Home Owner Opportunity Program (HOP) Eligible Program Option Sessions.

All fifteen local contractors working on the Single Family Housing Assistance Program have been assigned projects. There are thirty five (35) homes under construction and seventeen (17) homes have been completed within the tri-county area of Cameron, Hidalgo & Willacy Counties!

Every year the President issues a proclamation

declaring September as National Preparedness Month (NPM). The LRGVDC Board of Directors have also followed suit and adopted a proclamation at their regularly scheduled meeting this September that focused on raising awareness for emergency preparedness in the LRGVDC Region.

NPM was originally created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Ready Campaign in response to the tragic events of 9/11 in order to educate the public on how to prepare for emergencies. This year’s NPM campaign focused on the theme: You Can Be the Hero. Every year FEMA and the Ready Campaign urge communities around the country to take the pledge in order to be better

prepared for disasters. Emergency preparedness is the responsibility of every citizen. It takes a team effort to ensure that we are ready for any disaster. The LRGVDC highly encourages everyone to participate in preparedness activities and to get their families, businesses, neighborhoods, and communities prepared. Only by working together as a team, can we be truly ready for emergencies and disasters.

For free information on how to get prepared, individuals and local governments can visit the Ready websites at Ready.gov and Listo.gov. These activities, along with a vigilant public, contribute to an overall level of preparedness that is critical to the safety of our region and the entire country. We hope you will join us next year in encouraging our community to become more

involved and engaged in emergency preparedness by declaring September 2014 National Preparedness Month in the LRGVDC Region. Please feel free to contact LRGVDC Homeland Security staff if we may be of any assistance or with questions.

DISASTER RECOVERY HOUSING ROUND 2.2 PROGRAMSTATUS UPDATE SEPTEMBER, 2013

Above is the picture of one of the first homes completed in Raymondville, Texas.

Make a difference for yourself, your community and our nation. Do one of the following:

• Learn your risks and responses

• Make a family communications plan

• Build an emergency supply kit

• Get involved in your community

The LRGVDC Regional Police Academy (RPA) and Training Center, in conjunction with the LRGVDC Regional Planning

Department, hosted an Environmental Enforcement Training for the valley’s law enforcement and code enforcement officers. The Academy is thankful to LRGVDC Planning Department for coordinating the course. John Ockels, PhD, Texas Illegal Dumping Resource Services, was the instructor and he provided a session in San Benito on 8/7/2013 and another session in Weslaco on 8/8/2013. Participants received six (6) hours of continuing education credits and, thanks to TCEQ funding, participants were able to attend this training free of charge.

The LRGVDC RPA has

published its 2013-2014

training calendar. To review the

calendar, pleasevisit our webpage at www.lrgvdc.org and click on the “Police Academy” tab. We also post monthly calendars and specific course flyers. To register for courses, email Director Williams at pwilliams@lrgvdc.org or call the RPA office in Harlingen at (956) 364-4507.

The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education has officially changed its name to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE)

per Senate Bill 742 (83rd Texas Legislature). The Commission has made the necessary changes relating to the name change; however, some forms may still contain the Commission’s former name and/or abbreviation, TCLEOSE. The mailing address: 6330 E. Highway 290, Suite 290, Austin, TX 78723-0135 and the contact phone number, 512-936-7700, have remained unchanged.

The LRGVDC RPA began testing for

the upcoming academy classes.

RPA staff conducts the

academy entrance test in Weslaco at the LRGVDC Transit Center usually starting at 1:00 p.m. The entrance exam is the first step for one to enroll in the academy and one must score at least 70% on the test. The test is based on high school level reading, writing and math.

Once an applicant completes the entrance test, the applicant is given the application packet, which contains the academy application, forms for the medical exam with pre-employment drug test, psychological and wellness exam and criminal background check. To be eligible for admittance into the academy, one must be at least 21 years old, be a US citizen, have a clean criminal history, pass a medical exam and psychological exam, and be free of illegal substances. For more information on enrolling into the academy please call the RTA at (956) 364-4507 or visit our webpage at www.lrgvdc.org.

Per the rules of TCOLE, all Texas peace officers must complete at least 40 hours of professional development every biennium. A training cycle is four (4) years and a training unit is only two (2) years. The new training cycle and training unit starts on 9/1/2013. The training cycle is from 9/1/2013 to 8/31/2017 and the training unit is from 9/1/2013 to 8/31/2015. During the four (4) year training cycle, those officers who do not have an Intermediate Proficiency Certificate must complete Special Investigative Topics (3232), Cultural Diversity (3939) and Crisis Intervention Techniques (3271) and these courses must be completed by 8/31/2017. These officers must also complete the 83rd and 84th Legislative Update courses during the respective biennium.

Those officers who have an Intermediate Proficiency Certificate or above are only required to complete the 83rd Legislative Update (3183) by 8/31/2013 and the 84th Legislative Update (3184) between 9/1/2015 and 8/31/2017. However, the officers must complete a total of 40 hours each biennium. The RPA has received the lesson plan for the 83rd Legislative Update from TCOLE and is drafting a final lesson plan and PowerPoint for course delivery.

LRGVDC Regional Police Academy and Training Center

CONTACTS FOR LRGVDC ADMINISTERED PROGRAMS

ExECuTIVE COMMITTEEHonorable Norma G. Garcia PresidentMember-At-Large

Mayor Tony Martinez 1st Vice-PresidentCity of Brownsville

Mayor Chris Boswell 2nd Vice-PresidentCity of Harlingen

Commissioner Garardo “Jerry” Tafolla SecretaryCity of Weslaco

Mayor James E. Darling TreasurerCity of McAllen

Mayor Steve Brewer Immediate Past PresidentCity of La Feria

REMAINING BOARD MEMBERSCommissioner Sofia Benavides Cameron CountyCommissioner Hector “Tito” Palacios Hidalgo CountyJudge John F. Gonzales, Jr. Willacy CountyCommissioner Pilar Garza City of AlamoMayor David Simmons City of DonnaCommissioner Daniel A. Guzman City of EdcouchCouncilmember Homer Jasso, Jr. City of EdinburgAlderwoman Rosa Perez City of La VillaMayor Henry Hinojosa City of MercedesMayor Pro-tem Norie Gonzalez Garza City of MissionMayor Leo “Polo” Palacios, Jr. City of PharrCommissioner Joe D. Gonzalez City of San BenitoMayor Pro-Tem Armando Garza City of San JuanDr. Cesar Maldonado TSTCMr. Roberto Loredo Donna I.S.D.Mr. Gale Armstrong El Jardin Water Supply CorporationMr. J. Shane Cameron Willacy County Navigation District Mayor Pro-tem Eddy Gonzalez Member-at-LargeMr. Don Medina Member-at-LargeMr. Arturo Ramirez Grassroots Organizations

Kenneth N. Jones, Jr. Executive DirectorAnn Lyles Director, FinanceAnna Hernandez Director, Human ResourcesVictor Morales Director, ProcurementJoe Gonzalez Director, Area Agency on AgingTerrie Salinas Director, Economic Development

Tom Logan Director, Valley MetroManuel Cruz Director, Homeland SecurityMarcie Oviedo Director, Regional Planning & ServicesJuan Gomez Director, 9-1-1 ServicesPaul Williams Director, Regional Police Academy & Training CenterAndrew Canon Director, Hidalgo County MPO

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 31McALLEN, TX

78501

Lower Rio Grande ValleyDevelopment Council301 W. Railroad Street • Weslaco, TX 78596

Lower Rio Grande Valley Development CouncilBOARD OF DIRECTORS 2013-2014