City commissioners heard from two executives with the Stripes Convenience Store chain at last night's meeting. Raul Hernandez is district manager of the chain.

He expects that the new store at the old Texaco site south of McDonalds will do $1.5 million annually in taxable sales. It will provide 18 to 20 new jobs and will sell fuel, groceries, beer and ice and will include an inside restaurant, similar to the Stripes in Primera.

Total cost of the company's investment will be $2.5 million and the other Stripes store on East Hidalgo Ave. will continue to operate.

The new store will be built in the Investment Zone and the city is considering a tax abatement of up to five years on advalorem property taxes.

City manager Eleazar "Yogi" Garcia estimates the property tax abatement will cost the city about $14,000 a year but it will be offset by the increased city sales tax receipts.

The location of the new store will be State Hwy. 186 at Exp. 77 northbound frontage road.

Hernandez said the store can be built in 120 days.

In Other Business:

The city agreed to reimburse the owner of the new White Stone Plaza professional building $45,000 t--uis then for the cost of paving the street, putting in curbs and gutters and sewer and water lines.

Twenty people are now working at the new facility where medical specialists are coming in to provide local services. And the building vacated by pediatician Dr. Rey on East Hidalgo Ave. will soon be occupied by a laundr-omat, according to city manager Garcia.

The money approved for Dr. Rey comes from the Economic Development Corp. of Raymond-ville as a part of its sales tax revenue, intended to promote employment in the community.

Commissioners agreed to buy 20 or more surveillance cameras at a cost of $87,500 from Monitov Dynamics, Inc., the best bidder as determined by a committee review team.

The cameras will be mounted at high vandalism locations such as Little League Park, city hail, the police station and other priority locations. It is hoped that the cameras will help police to control the outbreak of vandalism and graffiti that has defaced many downtown buildings.

Begining immediately the city wastewater department will test for a bacteria known as cryptos-poridum at a cost of $5,000 annually. Public Works Director Joel Soto said that chlorine does not kill the bacteria which has led to serious illness in some cities where it has been found in the drinking water. The Texas Dept. of Health is requiring all cities to take similar actions, he said.

Police Chief Uvaldo Zamora said the city has $104,000 worth of new radios that can't be used because the old radio tower is only 250 ft. tall and needs to be 500 feet.

Fire Chief & EMS Director Frank Torres said the city will split a $750 montly charge with the county to buy time on a tower owned by Rio Vision Inc.

The police, sheriff, fire department and EMS will be on the same 800 Valley-wide trunking system, he said. This will enable all South Texas departments to communicate with each other instantly, he added.

New water and sewer rates were passed. The first 2,000 gallons of water per month will increase from $16.10 to $17.71 and the first 2,000 gallons of wastewater will go from $13.52 to $14.87 per month.

The 2009 budget and tax rates were given final approval and the meeting ended with a cloudburst outside and commissioners dodging rain and lightening on the way to their cars.