Annex building completed

Workers will soon begin moving furniture and equipment into the new Cameron County annex building at Port Isabel, county Transportation Director Pete Sepulveda said Wednesday.

County commissioners on Tuesday issued a certificate of substantial completion for the building, accepting the completed facility from contractors.

“We received a certificate of occupancy from the city of Port Isabel,” Sepulveda said. That document allows the county to begin using the building.

The building will house justice of the peace, constable, tax assessor-collector and other county offices.

Sheriff Omar Lucio will be in charge of workspaces for law enforcement, commissioners said. He will provide space to Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission officers as needed.

County to buy SWAT team-style gear

A request by District Attorney Armando Villalobos to purchase SWAT team-style bulletproof vests and weapons has been approved by Cameron County commissioners.

However, the DA assured officials he is not putting together a Special Weapons and Tactics Team.

“This is not a SWAT team,” the DA said. Bulletproof vests now used by his 18 investigators are hand-me-downs from a now defunct drug task force, he said. “If someone were injured, the county would have liability issues,” he said.

Handguns now being used by those investigators are various types that don’t have compatible ammunition, he said.

New bulletproof vests, holsters and other related equipment will cost $48,935, county documents state. New SIG Model 220R3 .45-caliber pistols will cost $629 each, for a total of $13,412, including magazines and other equipment.