Dangerous Brownsville Bike Cult Parties in Fort Worth on Taxpayer Dime

We originally reported 6 were listed in the City Commission binder as traveling to the Fort
Worth bike seminar, TTAT.  Then, someone alerted us that the BCIC sent an additional 4.
This pic shows the taxpayers may have footed the bill for more than 10 at $1,000 to $1,400 a head.  Brownsville's Health Department, Planning, Parks, Tourism, City Commission. . .all for a 3 day Bike Seminar with plus two travel days. . . . While the seminar had food, Brownsville taxpayers chipped in a $56 per diem meal allowance while at the event. . .Bean, did you pay your own way to the bike seminar?

Only cult members understand the "truth," that Brownsville is the "Bicycling Capital of Texas."  Yes, I know.  The Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation, foolishly spent $7,000 of tax dollars to advertise for a year at the Harlingen airport on a terminal

Advertising hanging at Harlingen Airport for a year
BCIC committed $7,000 of taxpayer dollars for the ad

lobby billboard our city as the "Bicycle Capital of the Rio Grande Valley," but that was before the bike cultists submitted the application to Austin to be recognized as the Grand Dragon of Texas Cycling, The Bike Capital of Effin' Texas. The cultists all truly "believe" the "truth" of Brownsville's cycling preeminency, although none of them cycle to meetings or work. They are not like the Brownsville Bike Brigade, actual cyclists, but "true believers," pretend, theoretical, invisible cyclists.  Kool-Aid is their beverage of choice and taxpayer dollars their favorite currency and medium of exchange.

When Brownsville's hardworking taxpayers cross a bike trail, they look left and then right, seeing no cyclists.  Those in Brownsville's Bike Cult see an invisible "1,000 cyclists per day" on the Battlefield Trail alone, the one running from the Palo Alto Battlefield to Linear Park.  That is what the grant application for a connection trail through downtown told Austin when trying to demonstrate how much the city needed a $786,000 grant to connect Battlefield to Fort Brown.

Board Controlling 4B "Quality of Life" Projects
Hundreds of thousands of tax dollars committed to
Bike trails, CycloBia, Bike Seminars.

You do not have to ride a bike to be a card-carrying member of the Bike Cult.  Do Rose Gowen or Estela Chavez-Vasquez ride a bike to City Commission meetings or even midday BCIC meetings? Do Jude Benavides or BCIC Chairperson Rachel Flores?  Actually, none of Brownsville's city commissioners or BCIC board members have been known to ride bikes to meetings, only at the obligatory photo-op, CycloBia, also supported heavily by taxpayer 4B "quality of life" dollars.

Real World Brownsville Cyclist

The bike cult's doctrine, not only includes the core belief that Brownsville citizens use the bike trails, bike lanes and bike racks daily, but that our city has become a mecca for "bicycle tourism." The bicycle tourists who choose Brownsville as a destination do so because of the extensive system of bike trails and, according to Commissioner Rose Gowen, also the BCIC board chairperson and noted bike cult prophetess, "have an annual income of $190,000, no $200,000 and an average of at least two advanced degrees."  No Brownsville hotel or restaurant manager has actually seen one of these bicycle tourists patronizing their business.  They are as invisible as the "1,000 daily riders on the Battlefield Hike & Bike Trail."

The Future of Bike Touring

So, while most citizens in the "poorest city in the United States" eke out a living, put money away for property taxes and use bike lanes as a right turn lane, bike cult members partying on tax dollars far outnumber bike tourists.





A previous article, reposted:

City Staffers Attending Fort Worth Seminar at Taxpayer's Expense

Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel & Spa,
Home for the Brownsville 6 during Seminar

Our city may be a bit understaffed this week as six of our city's department heads and staffers are in Fort Worth for a seminar on transportation with an emphasis on biking. The $350 registration fee for the meeting, titled The Texas Trails & Active Transportation Conference, as well as transportation, housing and food, will be kindly picked up by Brownsville's longsuffering taxpayers. (Two of the attendees, Norma Zamora of Brownsville Metro and a rep from TxDot, not technically employed by the City of Brownsville, will have the costs reimbursed by their employers.)

$56 per Diem for Food while at
TTAT Seminar

Although the individual amounts requested in the City of Brownsville Travel Request Formare similar, Interim City Planner Ramiro Gonzalez and Eva L. Garcia, also from planning, are the most expensive at $1,439.50 each.  Both receive 50.5 cents per mile, accommodations at the Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel & Spa, and $56 per diem to eat at the seminar.(That is reduced to $42 on travel days)

City staffers will each enjoy a 430 sq. ft. non-smoking room, free wi-fi, a Sweet Sleeperbed, 32" flat screen LCD TV and a "comfortable work area" while at the Sheraton Fort Worth.

Health Director Arturo Rodriguez
Gets 500 Expedia Points for Trip

Two staffers will fly to the event, Health Director Arturo Rodriguez and Brownsville Metro Director Norma Zamora.  Zamora is flying United for $400.93, while Rodriquez obtained his ticket through Expedia costing taxpayers $499.91. Arturo does receive 500 Expedia points, however.

Mr. Rodriguez will not be without transportation during the seminar. He has reserved at the DFW Airport a 2 door or 4 door Kia Rio or similar with air conditioning, automatic transmission and 2 wheel drive paid for by the taxpayers.

Park Director Chris Patterson is the only TTAT attendee to have filled in the section on the Travel Request Form stating the "anticipated benefit to the city for allowing this trip and how will information be disseminated?"  Chris states:  "The conference will focus on issues of economic development, health, safety and many other topics relevant to advancing active transportation and trails.  I will also attend the trade show, which will help introduce me to vendors." Anything in the seminar about parks, Chris?

Chris Patterson

According to the brochure in the city's binder, keynote speakers will include Michael Coleville-Anderson, described as "one of the leading global voices in urban planning relating to the bicycle as transport." Another expert speaker is Jean Francois Pygnovost, noted as "instrumental in building the world's longest bicycle greenery, 3,100 miles through the Province of Quebec, Canada.  Also on the program is Andy Clarke, President/CEO of theLeague of American Bicyclists and the first Executive Director of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals.  

Despite the $56 per diem food allowance, our six city staffers will not go hungry at the actual seminar as a "Wednesday reception, Thursday breakfast, lunch and dinner and Friday dinner" are included.  

Is it possible that Brownsville could have been represented at this critical bicycle conclave by one or two from the city's staff.  Do we actually need to send six?  Is that fair to the taxpayers of the "poorest city in the United States?"

In this era of live streaming, podcasts, not to mention video, would it not be possible to put staff inside a comfortable air-conditioned room at City Plaza, the multimodal or the City Commission building to glean the information from this seminar?  The $7,247 interactive video screen originally purchased for Tony's downtown office by the taxpayers could be put to good use.  Even if the viewing were catered, the taxpayers could still save thousands.

Addendum:  Just received this message:  "Jim, the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation is also sending four to the TTAT; Commissioner Rose Gowen, Commissioner Estela Chavez-Vasquez, Jude Benavides and an administrator(likely Rachel Flores)"

That's interesting and saddening.  The BCIC is also taxpayer funded with so-called 4B funds, 1/4 cent of every sales tax dollar, for "quality of life" issues.  So, now we have a total of ten from Brownsville monitoring the same conference at taxpayer expense.  In what world is that a prudent use of our tax dollars?