Sanodoval Sworn In, Assumes Duties as New City Manager

by Martha E. Ibarra/LFN

The La Feria City Commission held its regularly scheduled city meeting on Tuesday, October 11, in the city commission meeting room located at 115 E. Commercial Avenue in La Feria.

This was the first meeting in which newly appointed city manager, Jaime Sandoval, was present. Before being appointed as city manager in La Feria, Sandoval worked for the past two years as the assistant city manager in Mercedes.

“I believe the last two years as the assistant city manager in Mercedes has prepared me for this… it was a crash course in me learning more about management, how the city runs from the finance side to the public works side to the library, fire department, all the departments so I believe that in the last two years I have really gained enough knowledge to be prepared for this position here.”

Regarding his new position, Sandoval said, “The staff’s been very helpful trying to get me up to speed. There are a lot of good projects that are underway and hopefully we can finish those and the citizens of La Feria can be proud of those projects.”

When asked if he had anything to say to the citizens of La Feria, Sandoval said, “All I want to let them [the citizens] know is that we are all about transparency- we’ll be good stewards of their tax money. We want the city to move in a positive direction… my philosophy has always been about the employees; we need to take care of our employees and make it an environment where they’d like to come to work.”

Following the invocation, pledge, and a determination of quorum, Commissioner Esmeralda Lozano, in the absence of Mayor Maldonado, called the meeting to order and immediately motioned to officially swear in Mr. Sandoval.

After Sandoval was sworn in and the minutes of the previous city meetings (September 24 & 27) were approved, the commission went on to discuss the approval of an interlocal agreement between the city of La Feria and Tropical Texas Behavioral Health. However, before making a motion to approve the interlocal agreement, city attorney Ricardo J. Navarro had to disclose a possible conflict of interest in which his firm also provided legal counsel to TTBH. The commission then went on to pass a motion to approve the interlocal agreement between the city and TTBH.

Next, the commission discussed the action needed for the zoning ordinance, amending the boundaries of the R-1, C-2 and I zoning districts on the official zoning map of La Feria. The ordinance was reviewed by the office of the city attorney and it was approved as the legal zone. A motion, which approved the permanent amendment on the ordinance, passed.

The city commission then went on to review tabulation bids received for replacement of the motor control center at the city’s water treatment plant. The current motor control center was installed in 1972 and is in need of an upgrade. The lowest bid received was for $142,000 made by Kiko Construction located in Harlingen. The project estimate is $100,000- the $42,000 is for non-electrical expenses. Commissioner Julian Guevara Jr. made a motion to award the contract to Kiko Construction for the replacement of the motor control center- the motion was seconded and passed.

The final item up for discussion was the consideration to approve or deny an interlocal agreement between Valley Metro and the city of La Feria and also to authorize the contribution of $9,260.00 for fiscal year 2017. Mayor pro-tem Esmeralda Lozano said that ridership was increasing in Cameron County and that a lot of students were taking advantage of it for school.

“Everybody is taking advantage of it to go where ever it is they need to go… I think it is something positive,” said Lozano.

Commissioner Hoff went on to make a motion to approve the interlocal agreement and was unanimously supported. The meeting was then adjourned.

The next city meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 25; the public is welcome and encouraged to attend.