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Harlingen leaders are looking to use National Guardsmen is to demolish the several unsafe structures to improve public safety and the city's image.

City Manager Carlos Yerena, city attorney and Code Enforcement Department will be continuing with the the next couple of months.

Yerena said the city is looking to not only eliminate the crime that abandoned and dilapidated structures attract but also improve neighborhoods and the city's economy.

"More than anything what the city is trying to do is trying to jump start the economy so we could have developers and contractors that would go out there and build homes and revitalize the neighborhoods," Yerena said.

If city commissioners approve the initiative at their meeting Wednesday night, the Texas National Guard will send troops to the city for two weeks.

The guardsmen would provide the equipment and labor needed to tear down the designated structures.

The initiative, Yerena said, would be a win, win situation for everyone.

The property owners would not pay any costs for the demolition and the city would only pay for hauling costs of the torn down structures.

This would mean instead of paying $75,000 to $100,000, the city would only end up paying about 25 percent of that.

The National Guard receives funding to crack down on crime.

"It's drug money that if they go out there and they get some seizures they are funded through that,” Yerena said about the National Guard’s role. “Their target is specifically to go out there and demolish those unsafe structures that have a direct nexus to drugs and criminal activity."

If approved, the structures would start coming down as soon as March or April.

But Yerena said the city is also planning to do some community outreach during the demolitions and provide resources and options for youth in those neighborhoods in order to achieve a complete clean start for all.