The Delta Area communities of Edcouch, Elsa and La Villa are a cluster of cities along state Highway 107 and located away from the main strip of regional business activity along Expressway 83.
These communities are steadily getting a foothold in raising their collective profile in the Rio Grande Valley. Elsa is seeing retail growth and the rooftops of new homes along FM 88 that are located near a Wal-Mart Supercenter and an IDEA charter school. Neighboring Edcouch boasts of building more than 100 new homes this year in its community. La Villa has focused on a number of infrastructure improvements.
The three communities see themselves as a mini-region within a region.
It’s in that spirit of being a Delta Area that leaders from three communities recently met during an extended breakfast meeting at the Edcouch-Elsa school district’s technology center. The Delta Summit brought mayors, city managers, department heads and staff together to seek collaboration across city lines. Daniel Rivera, the executive director of the Elsa Economic Development Corporation, said the leaders “came together, not just to meet, but to move forward.”
“Our people don’t live by borders,” Rivera said in comments that summarized the meeting. “They work, shop, play and raise their families across this region. And if that’s how our community moves, then it’s time our cities start moving that way too.”
Proud Of Progress Made
The Delta Summit, Rivera said, “wasn’t just a feel-good event.”
Real world community issues were discussed and plans made with specifics to set things into motion. They included fixing address mismatches across the three Delta cities to improve public safety. The cities pledge to work together to look at sharing the use of a vactor truck, a critical piece of equipment in sewer maintenance. Leaders from the three cities also agreed to collaborate on storm prep and drainage cleanup.
“These efforts may sound small, but the impact can be big,” Rivera said in an EDC news release. “And more importantly, they build the habit of collaboration. That’s the real work.”
The combined population of the three communities is estimated at just under 12,000 residents. Resources are limited, as Rivera points out, and the budgets of small towns are stretched. Leaders from each city shared successes from their community during the summit.
The Elsa EDC has formed a partnership with UTRGV’s Office of Workforce & Economic Development to boost small businesses in the community. The city of Edcouch has put surveillance towers in place to deter crime and enhance public safety. La Villa calls itself a “small city with a big heart,” and cites infrastructure improvements in water storage tanks and wastewater systems.
“We’re all proud of the progress our cities have made,” Rivera said.
‘Just Getting Started’
The summit brought in speakers from outside of the Delta communities to share their expertise.
Rick Carrera of COSTEP – a regional economic development organization – spoke of the need for collaboration among communities and how it can unlock funding. Sergio Castro from AIM GIS Solutions highlighted how digitizing data can help planning and improve efficiencies. Former McAllen Mayor Jim Darling shared how unity among water districts has created more capacity and control for cities across the Valley.
“Their insights helped give structure to the ideas that were already starting to form,” Rivera said. “They reminded us that we’re not behind. We’re just getting started.”
Rivera emphasized that the items and issues discussed were “grounded and achievable.”
“They weren’t wish lists,” he said. “They were next steps.”
Real ideas like cleaning out drainage canals together, helping each other prepare for storms and sharing equipment.
“We know things can get better if we work together,” Rivera said. “That belief is the most important thing we left with.”