A rough hour and a half town hall that focused on the city of Edinburg’s future took place at Legacy Chapels Thursday evening.

The public turnout was greatly outnumbered by members of the city, but a handful of residents continued conversations of how the Edinburg could be improved, both long and short-term.

“It does say 2040, (but that) doesn’t mean we’re gonna wait until then to implement anything — it means that we start today,” Edinburg Ramiro Garza said.

Assistant city manager Brian Kelsey largely led the presentation, with Garza and members of Edinburg’s city council also chiming in.

On the positives of where the city is going, one resident pointed out the consistent routine’s of the city’s public waste department, another highlighting that it’s the people that makes the community enjoyable.

Kelsey also showed early results from respondents of their online 2040 survey. The highest ranking city services included their fire, library and police departments respectively.

On the other end, those surveyed mentioned dissatisfaction with the city’s streets, drainage and traffic.

Another resident, Robert Almendarez, said he believes the city doesn’t have enough sidewalks, and that both residents and code enforcement could be doing more to keep the city cleaner.

“It’s not fair for that other taxpayer that keeps his property clean and across the street,” he told Channel 5 News after the forum.

Garza said the responses they’ve received in-person and online will help city departments as they look to develop their budgets in the future. While his “2040” vision plan was once part of his campaign when he sought the position of mayor, Garza is happy to see how city staff have helped make his idea a reality.

“This is really about serving the community — the needs of our community,” Garza said. “I feel strong about planning for the future.”

Edinburg's residents have until March 31 to take the online survey.

According to city staff, a report of the findings will be made available by April 15. A comprehensive action plan for departments is set to be presented by April 29.