Who Will Stand Up to Keep District 1, Southmost, from Losing Lincoln Park?

From the editor:  So far, Brownsville's citizens have not been asked if they want to lose Lincoln Park to bulldozers that will crush the park's many unique amenities in favor of buildings for the eastern version of UT-RGV.  

Real estate transactions involving District 1, Brownsville's underserved stepchild, primarily Southmost, will be discussed during the City Commission's Executive Session Tuesday, March 18th, then acted upon.  If Mayor Martinez and Commissioner Rose Gowen have their way,  Lincoln Park will be included in a land transfer to the ultra-rich UT system for $6 million, monies that Gowen has her eyes on for improvements to the Belden Bike Trail.

As we reported in a February 3, 2014 Mean Mister Brownsville story:
"The person who likely should be out front on this issue is District 1 City Commissioner Ricardo Longoria, whose constituents make up the majority of those using Lincoln Park, which sits just to the west of Southmost. To allow Lincoln Park to be demolished and replaced by buildings is unconscionable and certainly not protecting the long-term interests of District 1. Once gone, Lincoln Park is not coming back.

The spin that will be put on this dumber-than-dumb transaction will be that some of the amenities of Lincoln Park will be added to Gonzalez Park, but that's simply not the reality. Gonzalez Park cannot accommodate what Lincoln Park now offers, does not have the room or the parking to replace two softball fields, an amphitheater, a nature center, two walking trails and picnic sites with metal grills. This is an unnecessary giveaway to UT, but a horrible ripoff for District 1, Southmost residents. Who will stand up and protect their interests?"(At the time of this article, we reached our to the usually affable City Park Director Chris Patterson to ascertain how important Lincoln Park is to Brownsville residents.  Patterson suggested we call his office the following afternoon to discuss this. Despite repeated calls, Chris never answered the phone or returned our call.  We've heard the climate among city department heads is one of fear, many afraid of losing their jobs.  This is unfortunate and part of our city's cronyism and lack of real progress.)

The "Biggest Losers" in all of this, the residents of District 1, Southmost, already on the economic bottom of the "Poorest City in the United States," are a close-knit, family oriented community. The barbecue grills, ball fields, nature trail, ampitheater and basketball courts are a critical part of their recreational opportunities.  Selling their premier park and spending the money on a slightly used bike trail in another part of town is robbery.  

Here are several comments from the citizenry about the proposed sale of Lincoln Park, posted on this blog in the last few days.



Anonymous March 15, 2014 at 5:31 PM

This week the citizens of the Southmost area will find out whether their city commissioner, Ricardo Longoria has any "huevos", if he serves them or his own political agenda (nuzzling up to the big boyz locally) and if the culture of health and recreation (Rose Gowen) comes second to kissing up to Julieta. Non of these folks have done much lately except buy and sell using our tax dollars and without public input.
Tony Martinez is now governing like is "idol" Barack Obama....by "executive order"; avoiding all democratic processes. Lincoln Park belongs to the people of Brownsville and they should have a say in any attempt to sell it or give it away to the UT System, one of the richest university systems in the U.S. This meeting and this decision will say a lot about our city leaders

Anonymous March 15, 2014 at 5:38 PM

Let's hope the city commissioners will demonstrate some moral courage at this meeting and make an effort to protect the public interest. Especially, let's hope Ricardo Longoria will speak up for the people of his district and protect their park. Tony Martinez can't be expected to show respect for the citizens, but let's hope the other commissioners will seek to have public input before giving away Lincoln Park. Let's hope the commission will delay the parking increase so as not to discourage people from going downtown.

Anonymous March 15, 2014 at 10:53 AM

Frist of all, UT-B does not need the land. It is a SATELLITE campus that will never have more than 8 to 10 thousand full time students at the most. Most students will be part-time and few will actually graduate for a variety of obvious reasons. There is no need for a Taj Mahal, the Queen will be long gone to other public sector rip-offs. Brownsville will again, as it has since the 60's, be left to vegetate and stagnate in glorious ignorance and poverty while the rest of the valley continues to grow. The money and the power will be in Hidalgo County with a few crumbs for the "gente de razon" in Harlingen.

One thing to keep in mind about Brownsville that few people understand is the fact that it is extremely vulnerable to Gulf storms even though it is not on the coast. However, as the wind blows, it is less that 10 miles from the flats. Take a look at topographical map. You might get a nice surprise. We are way overdue for a big storm. When, not if, another Beulah hits most of the place will look like parts of Damascus. Padre Island will return to its pristine past. And, nothing has been done or will be done to mitigate the future catastrophe. Mr. Musk must wonder by beach front land sells for a pittance. He just might find out sooner than he thinks.

"Hurricane Beulah made landfall south of the mouth of the Rio Grande as a Category 5 storm."

Anonymous March 15, 2014 at 10:42 AM

LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE

TITLE 8. ACQUISITION, SALE, OR LEASE OF PROPERTY

SUBTITLE A. MUNICIPAL ACQUISITION, SALE, OR LEASE OF PROPERTY

CHAPTER 253. SALE OR LEASE OF PROPERTY BY MUNICIPALITIES

Sec. 253.001. SALE OF PARK LAND, MUNICIPAL BUILDING SITE, OR ABANDONED ROADWAY. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the governing body of a municipality may sell and convey land or an interest in land that the municipality owns, holds, or claims as a public square, park, or site for the city hall or other municipal building or that is an abandoned part of a street or alley. A sale under this section may include the improvements on the property.
(b) Land owned, held, or claimed as a public square or park may not be sold unless the issue of the sale is submitted to the qualified voters of the municipality at an election and is approved by a majority of the votes received at the election; provided, however, this provision shall not apply to the sale of land or right-of-way for drainage purposes to a district, county, or corporation acting on behalf of a county or district.
(c) To effect the sale, the governing body shall adopt an ordinance directing the municipality's mayor or city manager to execute the conveyance.
(d) The proceeds of the sale may be used only to acquire and improve property for the purposes for which the sold property was used. Failure to so use the proceeds, however, does not impair the title to the sold property acquired by a purchaser for a valuable consideration.
(e) Subsection (b) does not apply to a conveyance of park land that:
(1) is owned by a home-rule municipality with a population of less than 80,000 and that is located in a county bordering the Gulf of Mexico;
(2) is one acre or less;
(3) is part of a park that is 100 acres or less;
(4) is sold or is conveyed as a sale to the owner of adjoining property; and
(5) is conveyed pursuant to a resolution or an ordinance that:
(A) is adopted under this section;
(B) requires the sale to be with an owner of adjoining property for fair market value as determined by an independent appraisal obtained by the municipality; and
(C) has an effective date before December 31, 1995.
(f) The election requirements of Subsection (b) do not apply to a conveyance of a park if:
(1) the park is owned by a home-rule municipality with a population of more than one million;
(2) it is a park of two acres or less;
(3) the park is no longer usable and functional as a park;
(4) the proceeds of the sale will be used to acquire land for park purposes;
(5) a public hearing on the proposed conveyance is held by the governing body of the home-rule municipality and that body finds that the property is no longer usable and functional as a park; and
(6) the park is conveyed pursuant to an ordinance adopted by the governing body of the home-rule municipality, unless within 60 days from the date of the public hearing the governing body of the home-rule municipality is presented with a petition opposing the conveyance which contains the name, address, and date of signature of no less than 1,500 registered voters residing within the municipal limits of the municipality; then, the governing body of the home-rule municipality shall either deny the conveyance or shall approve the conveyance subject to the election required in Subsection (b); or
(7) the conveyance involves an exchange of two existing parks, situated within a home-rule municipality with a population of more than one million, that together total 1.5 acres or less in size, that are located within 1,000 feet of each other, that are located in an industrial area, that have been found in a public hearing to no longer be usable and functional as parks, and that are conveyed pursuant to an ordinance, adopted by the governing body of that municipality, that has an effective date before December 1, 1993.
(g) A sale made under Subsection (e) or (j) is exempt from the notice and bidding requirements in Chapter 272.