The true greatness of the city is not measured by the balance on its bank accounts. It's measured by what it builds for its children.
I know the sacrifices working families in Edinburg make every single day. I know what it means for parents to work long hours, to scrape by and to dream of a better tomorrow for their kids.
You don't ask for handouts. You ask for a fair shot. You ask for a city that works as hard as you do. You ask for a city that protects your hard earned homes from flood waters, that fixes the roads you drive on, and that creates an economy where your children can thrive and stay.
That is why tonight, I'm proud to recognize the largest, most comprehensive infrastructure initiative in the history of our city. Over the next four years, the city of Edinburgh will execute a life breathing $275 million capital improvement plan.
We make this investment not out of convenience, but out of a fierce, unyielding ambition for our future. A city is only as strong as its underlying infrastructure. Strong bones make a strong body. We are strengthening the deep foundation of our city so that the tower of Edinburg can continue to rise high.
Through this plan, we are massively upgrading sewer capacity, providing robust drainage relief, expanding major arteries and investing directly in the future growth of our city. We take on this challenge deliberately. We refuse to accept complacency. We are choosing the harder path of monumental progress because it is the only path that secures our future, and it is the path we fully intend to conquer.
And these are not merely construction projects. This is our blueprint for the American Dream right here in Edinburg, and for those neighborhoods who feel like they've been waiting at the back of the line for too long, no more. We're making a solemn commitment to lift all areas of our city. We're bringing long overdue equity and progress to East Edinburg, breathing new life into Faysville, Monte Cristo, Chapin, Canton, Trenton, Owassa. We're building trails and green spaces in southeast Edinburg on Veterans Boulevard, where no city parks currently exist. We're doing this because when a city succeeds, all of its residents in every zip code must feel that success and be better off because of it.
Among these investments are signature projects I want to highlight tonight.
Moving Edinburg forward means securing our water destiny. For generations, the Valley has looked to the river for its survival. We can no longer afford to leave our destiny to the unpredictable mercies of the Rio Grande. We must secure our own future. That is why I am issuing a bold challenge tonight. By the end of this decade, Edinburg will secure an alternate, independent water source. We're taking our first vital steps toward developing a state-of-the-art brackish water plant, and this won't be easy. It will require massive effort and unyielding focus, but it will be the absolute security and prosperity we need to ensure that while other cities might make headlines for the wrong reasons, Edinburg continues to build, to thrive and to lead.
Moving Edinburg forward means building our future in North Edinburg. We are driving the $33 million expansion of our current Wastewater Treatment Plant across the finish line, but true vision requires looking over the horizon. We're committing to build an entirely new wastewater treatment plant in North Edinburg, and to commit additional resources to its infrastructure. As the Valley bursts as its seams, with unprecedented success, we see North Edinburg as the natural, glorious point of overflow. Imagine molten gold rushing down a hill, seeking a place where it can pool in magnificent abundance. That is the boundless prosperity we are preparing to capture in North Edinburg.
Moving Edinburg forward means transforming our downtown. We're turning one of our most traveled corridors into a sweeping, majestic boulevard. We're unleashing over $5 million in transformative improvements to Highway 107 between the courthouse and the expressway, a grand entrance worthy of a master jewel of our city, our brand new county courthouse. and to all the innovative entrepreneurs pouring investment into our downtown, we stand with you. Through our ADC Flip program we are putting capital directly into your hands to beautify your storefronts. Together we are going to breathe art, music, culture, dining, vibrancy and life back into the soul of our city.
Moving Edinburg forward means elevating our airport to new heights. We are cementing our status as an aviation powerhouse. with $20 million from the state of Texas we are completely transforming our airfield. We're executing a massive 1,000 foot runway extension. We're elevating the center of the runway to ensure operations don't cease when it rains. We're installing brand new navigation aids to bring our facility to the absolute cutting edge and proudly supporting the new $11 million Texas DPS aircraft division hanger. We're building a long term future where the South Texas International Airport serves as a premier global logistics hub, a bustling nexus connecting cross border trade and flying cargo and products of our labor all around the world.
Now, before your eyeballs pop out of your head at the thought of higher taxes, let me be clear, we are executing these historic investments while keeping our city's property tax rate at its lowest level since 1991. I take fiscal responsibility incredibly seriously, and I promise to you that we will relentlessly maximize the rate of return on your tax dollars. We will stretch our money, operate with efficiency, and work hand in hand with our amazing partners, Hidalgo County, the Edinburg School District, our state delegation and our Congresswoman.
And let me tell you that this $275 million investment is only the start. We will continue to aggressively review our future needs, and by leveraging these powerful partnerships, I anticipate we will announce even more capital improvement programs next year, because when it comes to the safety, the prosperity, the future of your families, we will never stop finding bold ways to move Edinburg forward.
My fellow residents, when we look at these massive investments, when we look at the hundreds of millions of dollars pouring into our streets, our infrastructure, our future, we must always remember why we're doing this. We're doing this because of the story of Edinburg. It's a story written by field laborers who work the earth from sunrise to sunset so their kids could afford to go to college. It's a story written by bold entrepreneurs who risked everything that they had to open a small business. It's the story of loving parents who scrimped, saved, sacrificed, believing with all of their hearts that their struggles today would guarantee a brighter tomorrow for their children. That is the unbreakable spirit that built Edinburg, and it's that very same spirit that will propel us into a boundless future.
When I say moving Edinburg forward, I want you to know that's not just a simple, catchy slogan. It's a moral imperative. It's a solemn vow. It's a promise that we will forever leave the chaos, the division, the shadows of the past behind us. It's a promise that we will unequivocally choose community over self and people over politics. It's a promise that whether your family has been here since the 1800s or you just moved here last week because you heard this is the best place in Texas to raise your kids, your voice, your family and your future matters.
But I can't build this future alone. No mayor can. To reach these new heights that we are destined for. I need you. I need your passion. I need your grit. I need your bold ideas. I need you to roll up your sleeves with me and join us in the greatest era of progress this city has ever seen.
Editor's Note: The above remarks were delieved by Edinburg Mayor Omar Ochoa at his first ever State of the City Address.
