WESLACO — Top officials for each of the four counties in the Rio Grande Valley came together Monday for a meeting of the minds, where they each touted ongoing regional projects.
Dubbed the State of the Valley, the event was reportedly the first of its kind.
The Society for Marketing Professional Services of the Rio GrandeValley hosted the meeting at KnappMedicalConferenceCenter, where county judges used the platform to discuss achievements and future challenges in a region that continues to experience high growth.
“If we keep fighting over a slice of bread, nobody is going to get the whole loaf,” Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr. said in his address.
Treviño was joined by his counterparts in Starr and Willacy counties.
Starr County Judge Eloy Vera attended the ceremony along with Willacy County Judge Aurelio Guerra. Hidalgo County Judge Ramon Garcia did not attend the function, and sent Hidalgo County Economic Development Director Bobby Villarreal in his stead.
Vera touted a low crime rate, a functioning hospital district and a recent $8 million investment to fix an existing retention pond in StarrCounty that will help improve drainage in the area.
“We don’t flood like Willacy and CameronCounty, but any rain that we get runs really quick down the hills,” he said.
Vera also highlighted the county’s ability to lure what he called “one of the largest wind farms in the state of Texas,” which he said equates to about a $1 billion investment.
“We’ve been very fortunate to get the wind farms interested in StarrCounty,” he said.
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