November 2010
Volume 13 • Number 4
SanJuan City of
SAN JUAN
100 Centennial
YEARS 1910•2010
A departmental news report for citizens of San Juan
www.cityofsanjuantexas.com
City Commission | Upcoming Events | Streets & Sanitation Department | Utilities Department | Animal Control Commissioner Armando Garza
My name is Armando Garza, Jr. and I serve the citizens of San Juan as the Place 4 City Commissioner. I am married to Laura Jimenez Garza and I am the father of two, Armando Garza III, four years of age and Ava Dinaé Garza, a one year old. When I was running for Commissioner, I told everyone there was only one reason I was running. That reason is, to ensure that San Juan was a place where my son and daughter could grow up to be the President of the United States. This to me means that San Juan must be a place where kids can grow up safe and secure, with new and innovative opportunities to help them develop educationally and socially. San Juan must continue to be a place that fosters and cultivates leaders for the future of our city, state and nation. To achieve this, your City Commissioners have been working hard to make improvements to many different aspects of our community. One of the projects I am personally most proud of is the fact that soon we will begin construction on our new library. Our new library will have more computers and learning resources for children of all ages and for adults as well. Our library will truly be a place of great learning opportunities for all San Juan residents. Another new and innovative way our City is helping, not only our community but our environment, is our new San Juan Wetlands Park. The Wetlands Park will now filter on average 175,000 gallons of treated water that will lead to cleaner water being discharged into the Arroyo Colorado. The park will also feature an 80 foot boardwalk across a deep water marsh and will soon be attracting many birds, butterflies and dragonflies to the area. This in turn will also lead to growth in our share of Ecotourisim dollars. Along with the Wetlands Park our city continues to grow and expand our recycling facility. I encourage everyone to recycle. Not only to help save our environment but also to help our city.
MAYOR’S CORNER Greetings San Juan residents! I hope you had an enjoyable summer. Although we had a very hot summer, our city staff worked diligently towards continuing to improve our quality of life. Finally Fall is here bringing us cool and breezy weather. I invite you to join us and have fun participating in our upcoming wonderful events. I HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!
Our Police and Fire Departments have also been moving forward in finding more innovative ways of protecting our city. This year, I had the privilege to be part of the planning of San Juan’s National Night Out event. It was an enormous success and I am committed to ensure that we have more funding and participation to make next year’s event bigger and better. Both our Police and Fire Departments have also had the opportunity to increase the number of officers and fireman as well as improve the equipment they use to do their job. By using new technology, our first responders can take action faster and more effectively. In the last year alone, our Fire Department has received over half a million dollars in grant funding to hire new fireman and purchase new and more advanced equipment. This new funding is more than our department has ever received and reduces the burden on the city’s budget. Also, I would like to let everyone know that we now have two fully functioning Fire Stations, one to serve our North side residents and the other to serve the Southern part of our city. Another very important part of our city that I strongly support is our San Juan Economic Development Corporation. Working for a local Community Development Organization, I know the impact business has on communities and I truly believe San Juan can become an economic force in the Valley. We are now attracting national businesses like Bank of America and Walgreens and worldwide corporations like Mercedes-Benz. Our city is also continuing to support our local small business owners who are the backbone of our city and will always have a special place in our hearts. I am also very excited about our new Downtown Revitalization Projects. It is exciting and encouraging to me because we hope to create an atmosphere that can be enjoyed by visitors and tourists but that we the people of San Juan can also take pleasure in and know that, through the several town hall meetings that were held, we all had a part in planning. I would like to personally thank all our city employees. It is you who make the city run day in and day out. It is you who are the driving force behind what the city has, can and will accomplish. It has been a true pleasure for me to work with you all and be part of the leadership that has brought many new and positive changes to our city. We still have much work to do and there is still room for improvement and I feel confident that with our Commission and Director’s leadership we can continue to make San Juan a place that fosters and cultivates leaders for the future of our city, state and nation. Thank you for your confidence and the opportunity to serve the City of San Juan.