Pharr, Texas – Following similar declarations of disaster by Texas State Governor Greg Abbott and President Donald J. Trump, this afternoon, Pharr Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez, M.D., issued a proclamation declaring a local state of disaster and public health emergency related to COVID-19 (coronavirus) for the City of Pharr effective March 13, 2020.
This Declaration of Disaster was made pursuant to the Texas Disaster Act of 1975 and the Texas Government Code Section 418.108(a). The Texas Disaster Act of 1975 designates Mayor Hernandez as Emergency Management Director for the City of Pharr and allows him to authorize the use of all available resources to assist in the City’s response to the public health emergency related to COVID-19. By the declaration, Mayor Hernandez suspends rules or regulations that may inhibit or prevent prompt response to this threat for the duration of the incident. Further, the declaration activates the city’s emergency management plan.
Earlier this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 crisis is now a pandemic after it has infected nearly 120,000 people around the world and killed 4,300. City officials have determined that extraordinary and immediate measures must be taken to respond quickly, prevent and alleviate the suffering of people exposed to and those infected with the virus, as well as those that could potentially be impacted by COVID-19.
City officials have been taking measures to mitigate the virus, including increasing community awareness providing information and methods for personal health and safety via social media and the City’s website. City leaders ensure the public that the City’s Continuity of Operations (COOP) and Continuity of Government (COG) plans are actively reviewed and updated to ensure that critical government services remain uninterrupted during this crisis.
As one of the measures set in place to assist residents during this disaster, the City of Pharr will not be shutting off water for non-payment during the duration of this crisis.
City officials urge and encourage all residents and families to remain vigilant, follow health and safety precautionary measures, and heed the advice of authorities to stay safe during this disaster.
El alcalde de Pharr declara desastre y emergencia de salud pública en respuesta a COVID-19
Pharr, Texas – Tras las declaraciones similares de desastre por el gobernador del estado de Texas Greg Abbott y el presidente Donald J. Trump, esta tarde, el alcalde de Pharr Ambrosio Hernández, MD, emitió una proclama que declara un estado local de desastre y emergencia de salud pública relacionada con COVID-19 (coronavirus) para la Ciudad de Pharr a partir del 13 de marzo de 2020.
Esta Declaración de Desastre se realizó de conformidad con la Ley de Desastres de Texas de 1975 y la Sección 418.108 (a) del Código del Gobierno de Texas. La Ley de Desastres de Texas de 1975 designa al Alcalde Hernández como Director de Manejo de Emergencias para la Ciudad de Pharr y le permite autorizar el uso de todos los recursos disponibles para ayudar en la respuesta de la Ciudad a la emergencia de salud pública relacionada con COVID-19. Mediante la declaración, el alcalde Hernández suspende las reglas o regulaciones que pueden inhibir o prevenir una pronta respuesta a esta amenaza durante la duración del incidente. Además, la declaración activa el plan de gestión de emergencias de la ciudad.
A principios de esta semana, la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) declaró que la crisis de COVID-19 es ahora una pandemia después de haber infectado a casi 120,000 personas en todo el mundo y haber matado a 4,300. Los funcionarios de la ciudad han determinado que se deben tomar medidas extraordinarias e inmediatas para responder rápidamente, prevenir y aliviar el sufrimiento de las personas expuestas y las infectadas con el virus, así como aquellas que podrían verse afectadas por COVID-19.
Los funcionarios de la ciudad han estado tomando medidas para mitigar el virus, incluida una mayor conciencia de la comunidad que proporciona información y métodos para la salud y seguridad personal a través de las redes sociales y el sitio web de la ciudad. Los líderes de la ciudad aseguran al público que revisa y actualiza activamente los planes de Continuidad de Operaciones (COOP) y Continuidad de Gobierno (COG) para garantizar que los servicios críticos del gobierno permanezcan ininterrumpidos durante esta crisis.
Como una de las medidas establecidas para ayudar a los residentes durante este desastre, la Ciudad de Pharr no cerrará el agua por falta de pago durante la duración de esta crisis.
Los funcionarios de la ciudad instan y alientan a todos los residentes y familias a permanecer vigilantes, seguir las medidas de precaución de salud y seguridad y prestar atención a los consejos de las autoridades para mantenerse a salvo durante este desastre.
The Board of Commissioners of the City of Pharr met for a regular meeting on Monday, March 2, 2020, and considered an agenda that included the following highlights:City Engineer’s Report: Update on Drainage Projects
Pharr City Engineer and Director Omar Anzaldua Jr. informed the City Commission that his department is coordinating with Public Works to begin drainage improvements throughout the city. The drainage system projects will consist of upgrades, widening, and making existing drainage deeper. “We are working on a plan of action and a timeline of when we can begin these projects. As soon as the timeline is confirmed and approved, the details will be made available to the public and posted on the city’s website,” said Anzaldua. Pharr Municipal Court Recognized
The Pharr Municipal Court was recently notified by the Texas Municipal Court Education Center and TxDOT that they have been selected for an award. This award recognizes the court’s hazards and risk model which promotes the city’s public safety, traffic education, and best practices. “Mayor and Commissioners, we are thrilled to be here with you today to tell you that the Pharr Municipal Court was selected as 1 of 22 recipients of a traffic safety initiative award out of 933 municipal courts in the State of Texas,” said Judge Marissa Carranza Hernandez. “We were also the only ones in the County of Hidalgo to be selected for this award, this is also the first time the City of Pharr Municipal Court is selected for this award,” she continued. Judge Carranza Hernandez and the Court Coordinator will be attending a conference in Austin on April 6, 2020, to present on what they are doing in Pharr as an example to other Municipal Courts throughout the state and will also be receiving their award at a banquet that evening.
City Hall Renovations: Payment Stations Now Available at the Pharr Development and Research Center in South Pharr
Interim City Manager Ed Wylie announced that with the renovations at Pharr City Hall underway, citizens are urged to make payments at stations set up throughout the city. A new payment station is now conveniently available at the Pharr Development and Research Center (850 W Dicker Rd, Pharr, TX 78577).
Featured Event: 14th Annual St. Patrick’s Day 5K Run/Walk – Saturday, March 14, 2020, at 8 am
The City of Pharr presents another family-friendly event for you, the St. Patrick’s Day 5K Run/Walk
Join us Saturday, March 14th, beginning at 8:00 AM at the PSJA Stadium (703 E. Sam Houston St. Pharr, Texas).
Pharr, Texas – City of Pharr leaders and the Greater Pharr Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the Pharr Bridge Business Park’s latest distribution center, PBBP2. At the same time, city leaders hosted a groundbreaking for PBBP3 at the adjacent site.
The Pharr Bridge Business Park (PBBP) is a 30-acre, master-planned industrial park with two existing 100,000 square foot class A facilities, and over 100,000 square feet of additional planned facilities. This premier development is located along the overweight corridor and less than 1.5 miles from the Pharr International Trade Bridge; the only international bridge with commercial traffic in the area. Southbound, PBBP offers direct access to Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, home to over four hundred manufacturing operations occupying over thirty million square feet of industrial real estate. Northbound, PBBP feeds into Highway 281/Cage Boulevard, transitioning into Interstate 69, one of the most efficient distribution corridors in the U.S.
This development offers flexible multi-tenant and build-to-suit layouts for distribution, warehousing, and light assembly users. With an emphasis on inefficient inventory management, PBBP delivers ease of C-TPAT compliance through fenced and secured truck courts for its clients.
Pharr business leaders celebrate the groundbreaking of Pharr Bridge Business Park 3.
GOVERNOR APPOINTS ANALI ALANIS TO THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL RETIREMENT SYSTEM BOARD OF TRUSTEES
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: February 14, 2020
Contact: Bill Wallace Director of Communications 512-225-3722
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Anali Alanis of Pharr, Texas, to the Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) Board of Trustees for a term ending February 1, 2021. She will replace Jim Jeffers, who retired in January. The six-member Board of Trustees oversee TMRS, the agency that provides retirement benefit plans for the employees of 889 Texas cities. Mrs. Alanis is an Assistant City Manager for the City of Pharr. She has over a decade of successful municipal experience. As an Assistant City Manager, she coordinates the policies and programs of a number of city departments, including Police, Fire, Innovation & Technology, Human Resources, and others. Mrs. Alanis is the President of the Rio Grande Valley Human Resources Consortium and a member of the International City/County Management Association. She received an Associate of Arts in Business Administration, a Bachelor of Applied Technology Management from South Texas College in McAllen, and a Master of Public Affairs from The University of Texas ─ Rio Grande Valley. She is a member of the Texas Municipal Human Resources Association, the International Public Management Association for Human Resources, the Society of Human Resources Management, the Texas Chapter of the Public Risk Management Association, and the National Society of Leadership and Success. TMRS is a statewide multi-employer retirement plan which invests a $31 billion trust fund and manages retirement benefits for more than 175,300 current and former municipal employees.
Project: 2018 Bond Referendum Project #31 – Pharr-McAllen Drain
Owner: Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1
Contractor: Mor-Wil, LLC
Project Start Date: February 17, 2020
Project End Date: March 6, 2020
Project Scope: Pharr – Mcallen Drain consists of an installation of an additional storm structure at the Ridge Road crossing. The proposed structure consists of 10’ x 9’ reinforced concrete box along with ditch concrete rip-raps at both ends of the crossing and improvements to the existing roadway storm system.
All Pharr Department Directors Trained and Certified in Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt; Pharr is the First Government Entity Trained through this Program
Pharr, Texas – As part of its efforts to maximize productivity and to reduce inefficiencies in government operations, Pharr city leaders have made it a priority to ensure all employees are functioning at their highest level of effectiveness. Pharr Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez, M.D., has implemented a business-oriented mentality in the workplace, streamlining government services to better serve Pharr constituents. As such, city officials partnered with the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley’s Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center (TMAC) to have all department heads go through a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt training and certification program. The training was held over two days last week and was provided by TMAC. According to TMAC, Pharr is the first government entity that it has trained through this program, which is typically utilized by companies in the manufacturing industry.
The Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt training and certification program provides participants a two-day, in-depth overview on the concepts and methodologies of Lean Six Sigma (known as LSS) and the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) process. According to TMAC, this program is beneficial for those who would like to become familiarized with Lean Six Sigma and how it can impact an organization by effectively supporting improvement efforts in their organization. Key points covered in this training include determining customer value, defining and identifying waste, understanding standard deviation and sigma levels, roles and levels of LSS Belts, defining variance, repeatability and accuracy.
“Pharr is leading the way to better serve our community, and we are always searching for ways to improve our delivery of government services,” said Pharr Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez, M.D. “By thinking outside of the box and looking toward proven methods that have worked in other industries, we can implement these operational procedures and make them work for us in government, ultimately benefiting our community and the citizens we serve,” Hernandez continued. “I am proud of our staff’s commitment to continue striving toward excellence and for adopting our administration’s focus on ensuring we are providing the best service to our community,” he added.
TMAC Business Development and Continuous Improvement Specialist Jesus Cano agreed. “There has always been the common misconception that Lean and Six Sigma only apply to manufacturing settings, but many other industries and governmental entities have reaped the benefits from utilizing these tools and concepts,” said Cano. “We’re excited and commend the City of Pharr for taking this initiative to learn these powerful tools, this clearly shows the commitment they have to the people and city of Pharr!” Cano added.
About TMAC
TMAC is an affiliate of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) of The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) which falls under the U.S. Department of Commerce. TMAC is hosted at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (previously UTPA) under the College of Engineering and Computer Science and has been in service for over 20 years. Our main goal is to assist small to medium-sized U.S manufacturing companies to help them create and retain jobs, increase profits, become more efficient and ultimately save time and money. TMAC does this by providing open enrollment trainings and certifications in the areas of Lean, Quality, Six Sigma, Safety, Strategic Planning, Smart Manufacturing, Cybersecurity and many more. It also develops customized trainings depending on the customer’s needs and provides consulting and/or coaching services.
