The Selma Times-Journal

When Jesse Garza and his family moved to Selma he owned a recreational vehicle. He soon realized he had no place to park it.

That’s what gave him the idea.

He’s already owned and operated a RV park back in North Texas, and after noticing Selma didn’t have one, Garza moved into action.

Garza purchased 18.6 acres along Highway 80, next to Joy Baptist Temple, and has begun site preparations for The Gathering Place and RV Park. He said it would be “a luxury RV park.”

“People who have RVs find RV parks, then they tell someone else,” said Garza, retired after a 24-year career as a military policeman in the United States Air Force.

With numbers of tourists visiting Selma for its rich history, and recreational travelers utilizing Highway 80, Garza said his property would meet an unmet need.

He and his wife, Brenda, relocated to Selma for her to assume a position at Vaughan Regional Medical Center as a nurse anesthetist. Their new venture, once completed, will include a general store, swimming pool, fitness center, laundry, beauty salon and a clubhouse.

A licensed master degree-level counselor, Garza said he planned to open his office on the property.

“I’m a licensed child psychotherapist,” he said. “I help parents manage their children, or children manage their parents.”

But before they can continue Garza said they needed water and sewer service.

“There are no water lines on our side of the highway,” he said. “They run on the other side of the highway. I talked with the mayor, and he said they would draw up some plans and connect us by going under the highway.”

Garza said he and his wife planned to take to the open road in their customized RV, bound for south Florida. When they travel they tow their vehicle and golf cart, which comes in handy for site seeing and tooling around the RV parks.