The city of McAllen has been busy all day preparing for the 4th annual New Year’s Bash.
They will be ushering in the New Year with live music, a laser light show, confetti canons and for the very first time, fireworks at downtown McAllen.
We met with city officials Saturday morning as they were securing the downtown area with a police command center and even a mini hospital in case there's an emergency.
A tented area will house the EMT center.
Medics will be on hand all night roving the downtown area making themselves readily available for anyone who needs immediate care during the New Year's Eve Celebration.
The same goes for police officers.
"The police department, the fire department and emergency medical services all have their plans in place.
They've got their protocols and they have everything covered," said Pilar Rodriguez, McAllen Assistant City Manager.
Thirty food booths are inspected by code enforcement to make sure your party platter is good enough to eat.
"There will be plenty for the public to eat and a variety of foods available," said Rodriguez.
A beer garden will be on tap again this year, and the New Years Eve ball will drop from 230 feet.
"I hope this bash affects McAllen in a very modern way. We want to be a touristy city where people want to come here and vacation and do things," said McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez.
McAllen mayor Richard Cortez tells Action 4 News the city budgeted 100 thousand dollars to put this bash together.
The event is free, so they don't expect a profit, but they do expect it to contribute to the city's economic development.
"We do charge food booths to come in here, but what we are looking for is to bring people into McAllen for them to stay in hotels and shop in the stores and buy food in restaurants," said Cortez.
The New Year's bash has been marketed all over South Texas and Mexico and took the city about six months to put together.
The city said people need to be on the lookout for another change this year.
Business 83 will be closed at around 11:30 p.m. to allow pedestrians easier access to the event.
The event is from 7 p.m. to midnight, but the New Year’s Eve park and ride service from the McAllen Convention Center and Civic Center will run from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m.
For more information click here:
http://www.mcallen.net/news/default/2011-12-12/mcallen_to_ring_in_2012_with_downtown_new_year_s_eve_bash.aspx
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKGBT