Decade 1990 to 1999

Decade 1990 to 1999 Development 1990 The population is listed at 48,735 from one source, 43,325 in another. 1991 In a major tourism loss to the city, the Confederate Air Force organization headquartered in Harlingen departs its Harlingen Airport base for Midland, TX which has offered it a $1 million facility/museum. 11/1/92 The Free Trade Bridge at Los Indios opens. The $40 million project was funded ¼ each by San Benito and Harlingen and ½ by Cameron County. Over time a 750 acre industrial park will develop at the foot of the bridge on the U.S. side. The land is primarily owned by the Uhlhorn family and is being managed by Tudor Uhlhorn. 1992 Harlingen is designated an All-America City by the National Civic League. It is one of ten such cities in the whole country selected for being the most innovative and progressive. 3/1993 The Rio Valley Switching Company, a subsidiary of Ironhorse Resources, Inc. of O'Fallon, Illinois, takes control of the Fordyce train route from Union Pacific. The parent firm specializes in short line railroads. Connecting with the Union Pacific at Harlingen this Class III line runs daily service 41 miles west to McAllen where it then has connections to Edinburg and the McAllen Foreign Trade Zone. Primarily serving Hidalgo County it handles about 8,000 cars a year, all of them rerouted at Harlingen. 1994 A Ronald McDonald House is planned on Treasure Hills Blvd. near the Valley Baptist Hospital which has donated the land. It will house parents and relatives of children receiving treatment at the hospital. In 2/98 the $800,000 facility is completed. The six bedroom complex averages a stay of 9-10 days and the charge is $10/night. In a four-year period 620 families will be accommodated. 6/96 Construction Phase 3 was underway in the creation of the four floor East Tower of the Valley Baptist Medical Center. It will have a heliport on its roof. The $30 million construction project of 250,000 sq. ft. will have an emergency department, outpatient services, women's care, day surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, and central sterile supply. Nearby two other hospital facilities are arising. One is the Family Practice Residency Clinic and Center. In it family practice residents (to start July 1996) will provide primary medical care. Dr. Bruce Liebert is director of the program. Adjacent to it is the free- standing Outpatient Rehab Center to be operated as a partnership between the VBMC and the Institute for Rehabilitation and Research. Agriculture/Ranching 1990 Tommy R. Funk, Sr. of Harlingen serves as Chairman of the National Cotton Council. 1992 Mexico first goes into deficit in providing the annual 350,000 acre feet of Rio Grande River water to the United States but has a five year period to comply. By 1992-97 the deficit rises to over one million and then by 2002 to 1.5 million acre feet. Valley farmers are stressed for available water as the physical drought continues and proves worse than the early 1950's one. It will not be before 9/05 that Mexico drops its deficit to 100,000 acre feet. 1995 The 74th Texas Legislature establishes Section 49 of the Texas Water Code and this section now applies to the operations of the Harlingen Irrigation District. 2/98 Templeton University, Stephenville, TX researchers publish the results of their study to reduce pollution of the Arroyo Colorado. It is titled "Prediction of Effects of Best Management Practices on Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution in the Arroyo Colorado Watershed." 9/1/99 The Harlingen Water District initiates a Water Conservation Policy. At this time it has three reservoirs. The Rangerville Reservoir at 61 feet elevation above sea level, and the highest point in the District, stores 500 acre feet of water. The Boggus Reservoir has a capacity of 160 acre feet and supplies 1,500 acres while the McLeod-Hood Reservoir has a capacity of 280 acre feet to service 2,500 acres. The District also maintains 140 miles of drain ditches that divert flood waters to the Arroyo Colorado or to the drainage district to the east. The District operates at an efficiency level of 85%. Government/Politics-City, County, State, National 1990 City of Harlingen Fire Station #7 with a value of $382,160 is erected at 1102 Dixieland Road. 1991 The Harlingen Sports Complex at 3139 Wilson Road is established. It features multiple softball fields with night lights. A Rio Fest warehouse is built at 1401 Wichita. Starting this year and running into 1993 the Municipal Auditorium is update. This includes seating, acoustics, dressing rooms, curtains, toilets etc. A new entrance and Mediteranean façade connect it to the Casa de Amistad. 4/91 This month flooding of the Arroyo Colorado destroys half of the dry cargo dock at the Port of Harlingen. Three years later some of the $1.6 million accrued navigation district tax money is used to effect rebuilding. 4/5/91 Texas U.S. Senator John Tower dies in an airplane crash in Georgia. 1992 The North American Free Trade Alliance (NAFTA) is signed by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to go into effect 1/1/94. This treaty will change the area's economics forever. The Rio Grande Valley Museum gets a facelift with a new reception/exhibition building to front the complex. This 8,000 square foot facility is valued at $640,000 in 2002. 1992 (summer) A new, large, main U.S. Post Office is erected at 1502 New Combes Highway near 77 Sunshine Strip. It has a substantial parking area. 10/3/92 By 34 votes, 12,241 to 12, 207, Lawyer Jim Solis defeats incumbent Ken Fleuret for District 38 state representative seat. In 2004 he will have run for his eighth consecutive term. In this same election, City Commissioner James Matz running for County Commissioner defeated 28 year veteran commissioner Adolf Thomae, Jr. of San Benito. 1992-93 The Harlingen Municipal Auditorium and adjacent Casa de Amistad receive major renovations and modernization including a unifying façade which enlarges their entrances. In the auditorium there is a reduction in seating to 2,200 padded ones. The acoustics are greatly improved as are the dressing rooms. The lobby is much enlarged. City government officials leading this effort are Mayor H. William Card and Commissioners Nat Lopez, Donna P. Bonner, Jessie Robles, John T. Garrett, and Dr. James R. Rowe. A. Brent Branham is city manager, Peacock Construction is the general contractor, and Gignac and Associates are architects. 1993 Toll revenues of the Free Trade Bridge for the 92/93 fiscal year are only $334,192 in its first year of operation. City of Harlingen Fire Station # 8 with a value of $717,920 at 361 East Grimes is erected. The Federal Government opens the Armed Forces Reserve Training Center at the corner of Fair Park Blvd. and North Teege Avenue. The three-building complex replaces the McKelvey training facility on E. Washington. 1/93 Attorney Jim Solis takes a seat in the state legislature as area representative. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from Pan American University and a law degree from Texas Southern University. By the time he is seated for the sixth time in 2005 he and his wife Diana will have Jim "Trey" III and Diego Andres. City of Harlingen's new warehouse complex comes up at 404 South 54th Street. It consists of a vehicle maintenance building, warehouse, office and fueling station together with covered parking. Its total value is $2,465,200 for the 45,335 square foot facility. 2/15/93 The new public library at 410 '76 Drive opens with its two story Spanish style architecture. Construction by the Peacock Construction Co. had started on it in 10/91. Labunski Associates Architects was the contracted architectural firm. The $4 million building was designed by Rick Labunski of Harlingen and Bill Hidell of Dallas. With its 45,000 square feet it has twice the space of the old facility. It also has 158 parking spaces, a computer lab, two meeting rooms, and an auditorium. Donations totaling more than $200,000 will allow the purchase of 10,000 new books. It will have the capacity for 176,000 volumes compared to the 80,000 at present. Library director Maurice Tsai welcomed 4,000 visitors the first day. 3/393 Jim Scheopner becomes police chief and will hold this position until 2/4/99. 1994 The Parks and Recreation Department commences its entertainment series bringing professional theater productions to the city. Shows are grouped into the Starlight Series, Encore Series, and Children's Classic Series. 1/1/94 The North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect. 6/95 Most of the projects started after the 1990 bond issue passed are complete but on average have cost over that approved. The library budgeted at $3.95 million originally ended up 11% over at $4,366,507 due to design changes and escalating material costs. All bond projects, now 90% complete, approach a cost of $22 million or 20% more than 1990 projections. The auditorium budgeted at $1.45 million ran $1.88, two fire stations at $935,000 ran $1.27 million, the museum at $500,200 ran $665,000, and streets at $5.9 million ran $8 million. 1996 The city tax rate is raised from 46.8 to 49.5 cents per $100. On 9/25/97 the city's 3 cent tax increase to 52.5 cents /100 is the largest single year jump in a decade and in 1998 goes to 54.1.

Load more