McAllen commissioners approve multiple contracts, grants and zoning items; several purchases and grant applications authorized

McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos and the City Commission on March 10 approved a series of consent-agenda items including interlocal agreements, contracts, grant applications, procurement awards and zoning-related approvals.

The actions, taken largely on unanimous voice votes with no roll-call tallies stated on the record, covered public-safety grants, capital purchases for the McAllen Convention Center and fleet, pavement preservation work, landfill services, and several planning and zoning items that had positive recommendations from the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Among items approved were an interlocal agreement with Hidalgo County to provide $10,000 to support the annual South Texas All Hazards Conference; a memorandum of agreement with the Coastal Bend Regional Advisory Council for emergency medical task-force Region 11 mutual-aid coordination; and an interlocal renewal for landfill services with the City of Edinburg at a discount rate of $16.25 per ton (a 1% increase in tonnage) for a 10-year term with two automatic five-year extensions at current or mutually agreed rates. The commission noted the city disposed of 151,407 tons last fiscal year at a cost of $2,584,482.

The commission awarded several contracts: $112,907 to RPC of Dayton, Texas, to replace the Maderco folding partition track system in the McAllen Convention Center Exhibit Hall; $119,100 to MagMedia of McAllen for a video wall system for the convention center; and $237,003.45 to Andale Construction Inc. of Valley Center, Kansas, for a high-density mineral-bond pavement preservation project covering about 2.8 miles of roadway.

Grant applications authorized included a $600,000 request to the Office of the Governor under the FY26 Texas Anti-Gang Program for McAllen’s Texas Anti-Gang Center (no local match required); a $300,000 request to the Texas General Land Office Resilient Communities Program for reimbursement toward the unified development code (no local match required); a $99,000 request to the Office of the Attorney General’s Crime Victim Services Division under the FY26–27 Victim Coordinator and Liaison grant program to fund a crime victim liaison salary and eligible incidental expenses (no local match required); and a $145,000 request to the Governor’s Border Zone Fire Department Program for first-responder equipment (no local match required).

Cooperative (CO-OP) purchases approved included two procurement awards totaling $1,399,632.42 through BuyBoard for three residential automated side-motor trucks and $282,393 through BuyBoard for one brush-grapple truck. Commissioners also approved tax refunds over $500 to various taxpayers and authorized staff to negotiate scope and fees with Negrete and Koehler Architects LLP of Austin, Texas, as top-ranked firm for design of a McAllen Police Department indoor shooting range. Construction contracts approved included a $380,822.50 award to Rio United Builders LLC for conversion of police evidence-room storage.

On planning and zoning, the commission approved several rezoning and conditional-use items that had positive Planning and Zoning recommendations: rezones to UTC for properties including 321 S. Taylor Road (R-1 to R-2), 2600 Military Highway (C-4 to I-1) and 777760 N. Cherry Road (C-3 to C-2), and conditional-use permits for locations including 2121 S. 10th Street, 2601 N. Ware Road and 4300 S. Ware Road. The commission also approved a set of advisory-board appointments and administrative contracts listed on the consent agenda.

Votes at a glance (items on record as approved): - Interlocal agreement with Hidalgo County — $10,000 to support South Texas All Hazards Conference — approved; vote tally not specified on record. - MOA with Coastal Bend Regional Advisory Council (Emergency Medical Task Force Region 11) — approved; vote tally not specified. - Interlocal landfill services renewal with City of Edinburg — rate $16.25/ton, 10-year term with two 5-year extensions — approved; vote tally not specified. - RPC (Dayton, TX) contract — $112,907 — Replace folding partition track system, McAllen Convention Center — approved. - MagMedia (McAllen) contract — $119,100 — Video wall system, McAllen Convention Center — approved. - Andale Construction Inc. — $237,003.45 — Pavement preservation (2.8 miles) — approved. - Grant application — Office of the Governor, FY26 Texas Anti-Gang Program — $600,000 (no local match) — authorized. - Grant application — GLO Resilient Communities Program — $300,000 (reimbursement) — authorized. - Grant application — OAG Crime Victim Services, FY26–27 Victim Coordinator and Liaison — $99,000 (no local match) — authorized. - Grant application — Governor’s Border Zone Fire Department Program — $145,000 (no local match) — authorized. - BuyBoard cooperative purchases — $1,399,632.42 (three side-motor trucks) and $282,393 (brush-grapple truck) — approved. - Negrete and Koehler Architects LLP — authorize negotiation for indoor shooting range design (scope/fee) — authorized. - Rio United Builders LLC — $380,822.50 — Evidence room storage conversion — approved. - Multiple rezones and conditional-use permits recommended by Planning and Zoning — approved. - Miscellaneous procurement & refunds listed on consent agenda — approved.

The commission took these votes during the consent portion of the meeting and during several routine agenda items; individual roll-call tallies were not read into the record for most items, and motions were handled by voice vote with commissioners saying “Aye.”

The meeting also included other items covered elsewhere on the agenda, including an audit presentation, a roadway contract amendment and a variance request for a proposed townhouse subdivision discussed by the commission.