City Parks Seeing Improvements & More To Come

Armando Villela’s year-plus tenure as the parks director in Mercedes has been one of fixing, updating and getting the city’s seven parks up to grade while looking to a future that includes hike-and-bike trails.

Villela brought to Mercedes deep experience in parks administration, including a previous stint as the superintendent of parks in Harlingen. Getting to Mercedes, he had plenty to do given that city had gone years without a parks director and the municipal parks fell under the purview of the public works department.

Basic maintenance of the parks was upheld before Villela’s arrival. All of the nuances and expertise an experienced parks director could provide were lacking in the city. Villela in working with city staff set out to rid parks of broken equipment and bring playgrounds up to safety compliance. Swing sets were updated with surfacing grounds bolstered with mulch and other materials to ensure soft landings.

Lighting was added to parks. Trees are being planted in parks and other public places as Villela was successful in getting a state grant to plant 600 trees in the city. The new parks director is getting softball and baseball leagues up-and-going in Mercedes with improvements made at Collier Park.

“We want to build those programs back up,” Villela said of league play on sports fields. “We want to keep our kids in Mercedes.”

Looking Ahead

Villela has built a presence on the city’s social media as he communicates in videos to local residents about the improvements being made.

The feedback has been largely positive with residents commending the parks director for his efforts and asking that more be done. That’s a positive sign in Villela’s view in showing local residents are anxious for better parks and recreational activities in their city.

One of his key goals is looping Mercedes into the hike-and-bike trails movement that has swept across the Rio Grande Valley. Brownsville, Harlingen and McAllen have all developed networks of such trails in those cities. There is no reason Mercedes can’t tap into those efforts with the proper planning and outreach.

Villela is working closely with the office of Hidalgo County Commissioner David Fuentes in opening up a dialogue about constructing hike-and-bike trails along drainage and floodway areas managed by the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission. Harlingen negotiated with the IBWC in establishing trails along the Arroyo Colorado in showing the federal agency is willing to work with local cities on parks projects.

“What do we need to do?” Villela said he has asked county officials. “I feel like we’ve had some good conversations. We’re updating engineering plans (for trails) and getting things updated. We want to keep up best we can.”

All the while, the parks director continues to lead efforts to improve the conditions of playing fields and work the with the city’s recreations director to bolster existing leagues in volleyball and basketball at the FEMA Dome on Vermont Avenue in hosting Mid-Valley teams play.

“It’s good for our kids to compete against kids from neighboring cities in getting that experience and not play the same local teams all of the time,” Villela said.

And perhaps someday, the open spaces behind the Dome might include soccer fields and other activities as Villela works on the city’s master plan for parks in looking at the coming years in a growing city. More trees, better parks, and more leagues for kids to enjoy and gain worthwhile life experiences should be among any city’s quality-of-life goals.

In Mercedes, Villela sees a “small city that can do big things,” and he’s setting out to do his share to make that happen.

- Ric Cavazos

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