Sullivan City requires all residents to post addresses

SULLIVAN CITY — Emergency responders and package delivery services should have an easier time finding homes in Sullivan City soon.
 
 The Sullivan City Commission passed an ordinance Tuesday that will require all residents to place address numbers in a conspicuous place outside their homes or face a fi ne.
 
 “It’s for their own safety (to add addresses),” said Mayor Pro Tem Leonel Garcia.
 
 In Sullivan City, many houses are unmarked and some residents don’t know their exact addresses. The confusion makes it difficult for ambulances, police and fi refi ghters to respond to emergencies, and some residents don’t receive mail or packages.
 
 Melissa Garcia, clinical director for Valley EMS, which provides emergency services to the Edinburg area, said clearly marked addresses are important. When emergency responders cannot fi nd a house, it slows them down.
 
 “Depending on the emergency. … having time can be a really big factor,” she said.
 
 Sullivan City Police Chief Jose Anaya said having houses numbered will help his department, but police officers do not have as much trouble as ambulance companies because they are familiar with the areas where many crimes occur.
 
 City Manager Judy Davila said unmarked homes are a problem throughout the Rio Grande Valley and something she experienced firsthand in her last post as assistant city manager of La Villa. Sometimes maps are not updated when street names are changed or residents don’t change their addresses when the street name changes, she said.
 
 The Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council undertook a project in Sullivan City and other small towns in the area to update the area’s addresses, Davila said.
 
 The project “involves identifying each rural structure, assigning an address, and, if applicable, naming or renaming roads,” according to the Development Council’s website.
 
 Residents who are not sure of their addresses can verify them with the city or the Development Council, she said.
 
 The ordinance states that the city can fi ne residents. Davila said fi nes probably will start at $50. Once residents are warned, they have 10 days to comply.
 
 “The point is to get them to actually display the addresses, not to fine our citizens,” she said.

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Gail Burkhardt covers Mission, western Hidalgo County, Starr County and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at gburkhardt@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4462.