HARLINGEN, Texas - The RGG Business Journal recently secured an in-depth video interview with Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr.
In the interview, he spoke both about his re-election campaign and the big economic development projects happening in his county.
On the economic development front, Treviño spoke about a big project potentially coming to the Port of Brownsville. He said he could not mention the name of the company involved because of a non-disclosure agreement. However, he did say there would be a public hearing in March to consider giving the company a tax abatement.
He also spoke about the growth of SpaceX, liquefied natural gas export terminals at the Port, a second causeway for South Padre Island, and a new arena for sports and entertainment.
On the campaign front he said his two primary election challengers are not showing up at campaign events.
When asked about the state of the Cameron County economy right now, Treviño said:
“From a historic standpoint, we're probably on the cusp of the greatest economic boom time that we'll ever have, that we've ever experienced in Cameron County. The jobs, the industries, the infrastructure, the attention, everything just seems to be falling in place.”
Treviño said a county has to have the right leadership in place at the right time to capitalize on all the interest being shown by investors. He said Cameron County has this.
“It is about being willing to work with others, being very transparent, and being vocal and engaged with the community. We're doing all of those things, but we’ve got a great team. I've got a great Commissioners Court. We’ve got great leadership across the (Rio Grande) Valley: mayors and other county judges and county commissioners. So, we want to keep that moving forward.”
Asked what the main concerns he is hearing from voters are, Treviño said:
“They want to make sure that there are good paying jobs, which is what we've been working towards. We're investing in our infrastructure, where we're expanding our port. We've got new presidential permits for two new bridges at the Flora de Mayo and the pedestrian bridge. We're completely modernizing Gateway (International Bridge). We're buying B&M (Bridge). We've got two segments left to bring interstate designation to the entire Valley, all the way to the Port of Brownsville. We've got jobs, we've got infrastructure. We've invested over $100 million in quality of life. We just dedicated our brand new Olmito Nature Park. It’s a beautiful facility.”
Treviño said that with regard to infrastructure for utilities, Cameron County has a lot of projects on the go.
“We want to make sure that we're prepared and working hard for the future. We've also lowered the tax rate for the last three years. As growth continues, we hope to continue to be able to do that and yet meet the need for services. So, we've got a lot on our plate, but we've got a great Commissioners Court, and we want to keep working forward.”
Treviño is particularly pleased with the progress being made on the 2nd Causeway project.
“That was part of the conversation that I had with the governor. He said that if we could merge the three MPOs (metropolitan planning organizations) - which wasn't easy, but we got it done - we would be able to invest more money in the Valley. We've gone from $500 million for the three MPOs six years or seven years ago, all the way to over $4 billion now. Plus, commitments for the future causeway. We’ve got that,” Treviño said.
“We got that done, and we're working on the environmental and the engineering design part that includes a brand-new state highway from the Causeway all the way to Edinburg. These are regional projects for the people in Hidalgo (County) to get to the island. It will hopefully cut anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes of travel time. In addition, the new Causeway, when it's said and done, is going to be able to double, or even more, the size of development at the island itself.
"The highway will (lead to) development on the northern side of Cameron County and obviously eastern Hidalgo County. So those are part of the infrastructure projects we're working on. The quality of life, the ports of entry. I mean, we could go on and on and spend all day talking about it.”
Editor's Note: Here is the video interview with Judge Treviño:
