Mark Lund Dominates MPO Board Meeting, Overweight Trucks, Civil Rights

MPO Director Mark Lund

The always informative, always condescending Mark Lund dominates Metropolitan Planning Organization meetings like a strict schoolmarm hovering over wayward students. Lund makes copious use of the "I" word:  "I wrote this document seven years ago,"I have questions about this."  Lund both asks and answers the rhetorical question, including witticisms and asides only he finds humorous.

As Nena, Jack and I entered the meeting room on the third floor of El Tapiz, Lund cautioned:  "I don't want him talking during the meeting," taking an unnecessary, presumptuous, preemptive strike against meeting disruption by our grandson.  Jack is always great in meetings, as he's responded to our amateurish grandparent psychobabble, thinking the MPO meeting is the highlight of the day, next to the Burger King playground, so Lund's substitute parenting efforts were not needed or appreciated.

SH 550

Lund mentioned a proposed resolution making SH 550 part of the U.S. Interstate System.  He questioned whether the Port of Brownsville would be on board with the resolution since overweight trucks are not allowed on the Interstate. Evidently, an overweight corridor already exists from Los Indios, including FM 509, some sections of I-69 and SH 550.  The MPO Port of Brownsville representative said he would take the matter "up the chain of command" to see if the resolution needed some added language.

Next Lund spent some time referring to Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act as it might apply to the MPO. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the federal law that protects individuals and groups from discrimination on the basis of their race, color and national origin in programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. However, the Federal Highway Administration’s reference to Title VI includes other civil rights provisions of federal statutes and related authorities to the extent that they prohibit discrimination in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.

Lund offered that the only complaint he recalled in his "twenty years with MPO" concerned discrimination against Spanish speakers attending MPO meetings.  He responded by taking out ads in El Heraldo de Brownsville advertising the meetings, but he said no one responded.

If Commissioner Jessica Tetreau is reading this, the stop light she requested at Austin Road and Minnesota Avenue was discussed.  The MPO is on board, but waiting for funding.