Stefanie Herweck

McALLEN, Aug. 16 - When both of McAllen’s bond propositions failed in the May 8 elections, Mayor Richard Cortez made it clear that despite the vote, the projects were not dead. 

A week after the election, he told The (McAllen) Monitor that the citizens of McAllen simply did not understand the proposals.

Since that time, he has been speaking before boards and community groups in order to push the rejected proposals to give up Westside Park and to build tennis courts on top of the Botanical Garden. At a town hall meeting this Tuesday evening at 6:30 pm at the McAllen Convention Center, Exhibit Hall A, he will present his case yet again in hopes of getting these bad ideas back on the ballot in November. 

But McAllen citizens already delivered a resounding “NO” vote to both of these propositions, with solid majorities in every precinct and a larger than expected turnout. 

And the voters did the right thing. They halted a plan would have paved over the last old-growth forest left in McAllen with tennis courts and closed our largest neighborhood park (41 acres), displacing the many families and sports teams that use and enjoy the park on a daily basis.

Apparently unable to take no for an answer, the mayor is repackaging these bad ideas as though they are an economic necessity for the City of McAllen. But these projects are terrible, even from an economic standpoint. 

The money from the sale of Westside Park cannot be used to fill City coffers or plug any holes in the budget. Westside Park was established in 1983 using federal and state grant money. To receive this money, the City of McAllen signed a contract stating that Westside Park “shall be maintained for public recreation in perpetuity.” If the City wants to convert the park to commercial use, it is required to purchase substitute parkland nearby. According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, “The property proposed for substitution must be at least equal fair market value to the property to be converted.”

The City of McAllen cannot make money on the sale of Westside Park—it is contractually obligated to replace the parkland dollar for dollar. And that doesn’t even include the construction costs of the new park’s facilities. The city will lose money on this deal and will not have any additional park to show for it.
Even City officials admit that the park probably cannot be sold in the current economic climate.  Commissioner Scott Crane told The Monitor in March, “We might not sell the park in six months or six years.”  When the city put the park up for sale twice in 2008, without voter permission, they did not receive a single bid.

Preserving and enhancing Westside Park could generate economic growth. Well-maintained, secure parks consistently raise nearby property values for both residential homes and commercial property. 

There are a number of empty lots with Ware Road frontage adjacent to Westside Park that have been up for sale for years. Putting another 41 acres on the market will bring the city into competition with private sellers and create a glut, bringing down the value of the nearby properties.
 
If instead the city were to hold on to Westside Park and transform it, along with the Botanical Garden, into a showplace, nearby properties could be among the most valuable in the city, much as the properties that line Central Park in New York are that city’s most sought after. 

Closing Westside Park could actually hamper efforts to create the “robust and vibrant McAllen” that Mayor Cortez mentions in his letter announcing Tuesday’s meeting. McAllen’s economic expansion means that it is increasingly able to compete with other U.S. cities as a location for new business centers.
 
But to attract them, the City of McAllen must continually improve the quality of life for its residents. A city’s quality of life, including its walkability, parks, and green spaces, is often a crucial factor for businesses when they decide to locate their operations and relocate their managers in a new city.
Currently, the population of McAllen is seriously underserved by parks and therefore less desirable in comparison with other Valley cities. With approximately 264 acres of parkland, McAllen has less than 2 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. According to a 2002 analysis of local parks, Brownsville has 7 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents, and Harlingen has a whopping 21 acres per 1,000. It therefore makes no sense for the City of McAllen to spend money replacing one of its few parks, especially its largest. 

The loss of Westside Park in south McAllen would also have a negative economic and social impact on the McAllen citizens that can least afford it. Closing Westside Park and building a new park further north, essentially paying to move the park across town, will rob many low-income, working families of their nearby parkland.

Focusing city parks in wealthier neighborhoods is unfortunately all too common to American cities. Research shows that people in low-income neighborhoods frequently lack access to parks, and that new monies for parks are often funneled to the wealthier areas of cities. This loss of parks exacerbates many of the social issues and health problems that plague low-income neighborhoods and keep them from developing economically. The City needs to work to ensure that all McAllen residents have equal access to nearby parks, regardless of income.

The recent election showed just how much McAllen citizens value Westside Park and the McAllen Botanical Garden. Together these parks make up the largest contiguous parkland in the entire city. With sports facilities, playgrounds, mature trees, peaceful lakes and wetlands, a thriving old-growth forest, and an extensive trail system, all just across the street from the Convention Center, this parkland has the potential to be a central attraction in our city and something that highlights its unique character. 

The land encompassing Westside Park and the Botanical Garden could be McAllen’s Central Park, McAllen’s Zilker Park. It could contribute infinitely more to the quality of life in McAllen than another big box store that could just as easily be located at any of the other empty lots lining the expressway and Ware Road.

Mayor Cortez has said that the citizens of McAllen just don’t understand what is good for the City. In fact, it’s the mayor who does not seem to understand the will of the voters. We had an election, and an overwhelming majority voted “NO” for good reason. What part of “NO” does he not understand?

Stefanie Herweck is a resident of McAllen, Texas.

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