How Brownsville Got An H.E.B. on Southmost Boulevard

From the editor:  Today's Brownsville Herald published a letter to the editor from Pat Ahumada.  The letter nominates Charles E. Butt of H.E.B. for 2016 Citizen of the Year.  We will not reproduce the entire letter here, just a segment that sheds light on how the City of Brownsville operates.  

H.E.B. Store, Southmost

"I met Mr. Butt in 1991 when he walked into my office telling me he purchased land in Southmost, but the city would not let him build his H-E-B store.  After he explained the situation, I immediately called City Engineer P.J. Garcia, Traffic Director Robert Esparza, City Attorney Jeff Warburton and City Manager Kirby Lilljidahl to meet in my office with instructions to remove obstacles to make H-E-B on Southmost Boulevard a reality.

Charles E. Butt

Mr. Butt was grateful and asked me if there was anything he could do for me, which prompted me to ask him for land to build a police substation--and the rest is history."