County unhappy with Dolly cleanup

BROWNSVILLE - Cameron County leaders are not happy with the state's handling of the Hurricane Dolly cleanup operation.

And soon a letter will be in the mail to the executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation to express that disapproval.

More than two months after Hurricane Dolly made landfall in the county on July 23, debris remains in piles on state highways and farm-to-market roads. The debris has yet to be collected by the Texas Department of Transportation.

The department's Pharr District oversees Cameron County's state roadways.

Although county officials have e-mailed and talked to TxDOT officials in the Pharr office about debris on state roads, nothing has been done, they said Tuesday night at a Commissioners Court meeting.

At that same meeting, county commissioners authorized County Administrator Pete Sepulveda Jr. to prepare a letter for the county judge to sign that will be sent to TxDOT Executive Director Amadeo Saenz. The letter will read that the way the state is handing the situation is "unacceptable."

"I was told (by the state) it would probably take to the end of the year (for all the debris to be collected)," Precinct 4 Commissioner Edna Tamayo said.

Tamayo has received calls from frustrated residents in her precinct who have said "we are going to push everything into the ditches," she said.

Precinct 3 Commissioner David Garza drove through his precinct for approximately fours hours Tuesday morning only to see many state and FM roads still littered with piles of debris, he said.

The piles pose health and safety hazards, he added.

"This issue is reoccurring," Garza said. "Ninety-nine percent of the county is clear. Unfortunately on the FM roads, it is horrible."

Garza also said he has received calls from residents who have threatened to push the debris onto the highways.

Sepulveda said the county has offered to enter into an agreement with the state to get the roads cleaned, but state officials have not responded.

"There has been no response from TxDOT in writing," Sepulveda said.

The letter is expected to be sent to Saenz as early as today.

In other business, the Commissioners Court approved the final design of the Laureles Outdoor Recreational Community Park and authorized the Parks System to seek bids for the park's construction.

The park will cost approximately $1.8 million, about $154,000 over budget.

The project is being paid for by $1.4 million in certificates of obligation and a $400,000 grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The park will be 100 percent wheelchair accessible.

Commissioners also agreed to pay a $4,972.72 bill to Rental World for pumping equipment used to alleviate flood waters in Precinct 4, which includes the La Feria/Santa Rosa and Harlingen area.

The equipment had been rented for Hurricane Dolly. Because of continuous flooding problems, the rental agreement with Rental World had to be extended for an additional month.