ARE BROWNSVILLE TAXPAYERS REALLY OK WITH THIS?

 

The timeworn phrase "social liberal, fiscal conservative" applies to me.  I'm a tightwad.

Same sex marriage, the LGBTQ community? I say live and let live.

But, for years, I've never understood the City of Brownsville's penchant for sending city officials, city commissioners and board members to far flung cities, paying for airfare, hotel accommodations and a health or unhealthy per diem for food and drinks.

Brownsville literally spends hundreds of thousand of dollars annually on such "training."

Assistant City Manager/Health Guru Arturo Rodriguez may be the king of out-of-town training, seemingly headed somewhere every little bit.

As I said a decade ago; why can't the prospective trainees be put into a room for a conference call with a suitable instructor, saving the city the huge expenditure on airfare, hotels and eats.

Hell, cater the boys and girls the best local cuisine available, but use some semblance of the "remote learning" COVID-19 taught us was possible.

The same thing goes for sending a large delegation to Wichita, Chicago, Portland, Denver or Podunk to receive a city honor or reward for excellence.

Most of these so-called "awards," like the All-America Award of 2014 are as phony as a three dollar bill, just a money-making scheme.

BCIC CEO Josh Mejia and Board Member Ben Neece tried to explain how much recognition is gained for the city by such publicity, that every penny spent on those trips is justified as it puts Brownsville on the map, so to speak.

I simply don't believe it.

Businesses don't locate in Brownsville because of some phony All-America designation or because a city board gets "recognition," even if they have to pay for it.

As I told Ben and Josh, I think people serving on boards or working for the city, consider out-of-town travel as a perk or their appointment, a chance to get away from it all on the taxpayer's dime.

Let's take a photographic trip down memory lane:

THE COAHUILTECANS~SURVIVORS OF THE KING RANCH BEFORE THERE WAS A KING RANCH

 

The Coahuiltecans were the first Indians known to have lived there.  In order to survive its harsh conditions, they had to evolve a culture unique in Texas history and almost unique in North America.  They became simple gatherers who grubbed for their food--spiders, ant eggs, lizards, rattlesnakes, worms, insects and rotting wood.  If they caught a fish in the brackish water of the lagoons, they set it in the sun for several days to collect flies to breed maggots.  When it was crawling and stinking, the ate the enriched food with gusto.

Mona D. Sizer    "The King Ranch Story"

ANTI-LNG GROUP FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST TEXAS LAND OFFICE AND CAMERON COUNTY

 

Today we filed our lawsuit against the General Land Office and Cameron County for the closings of beach access at Boca Chica Beach.

In Texas, beach access is not only law, it’s a part of our Constitution.

It is filed in the 445th State District Court, Judge Gloria Rincones.

SAVE THE RGV FROM LNG

PAYING OFF THE BROWNSVILLE SPORTS PARK GREATLY DIMINISHES FUNDS FOR QUALITY OF LIFE PROJECTS

 

My purpose in sending Josh Mejia a Public Information Request was to determine how much money the 4G "Quality of Life" entity has to disperse after operational expenses; salary, rent, maintenance, etc.

The BCIC has one huge additional burden visited on it by the City Commission; that is paying down the debt service and maintenance for the Brownsville Sports Park.

We've approximated over the years that the BCIC's share of Brownville's sales tax revenue, 1/4 cent of each dollar collected, usually amounts to around $5 million dollars.

2020 came in just under that with $4,600,000 in revenue.

The Brownsville Sports Park debt service came in at $1,546,542.25.

BCIC contributed $520,000 to Brownsville Sports Park Maintenance and Operation

During 2020 four full-time employees and one part-time employee received $297,500 in wages.

The BCIC spent $12,000 for rent of their portion of the Young House at 500 East Saint Charles Street.

$1,000 was set aside as a contingency fund in case repairs were needed, but that money was not touched in 2020.

Let's do the math.

After everything above, all part of the operating budget, is subtracted from the 2020 budget of $4.600,000 we have a balance of $2,223,957.75.

In other words, by utilizing the BCIC to find worthy grant candidates, vet them to the qualifications specified and distribute $2,223,957.75 requires an annual operating budget of $2,376,042.25.

In fairness, we need to repeat that debt service and maintenance of the Brownsville Sports Park is a large share of the BCIC's operating expenses; $2,066,542,25.

A NEW TWIST IN THE TREY & RAMIRO COCA COLA BUILDING STORYLINE?

 

Mayor Trey Mendez

At today's meeting with BCIC CEO Josh Mejia and board member Ben Neece, the subject of Mayor Trey Mendez and former city official Ramiro Gonzalez's $200,000 request to the BCIC to help restore their recently purchased historic downtown Coca Cola Building.

At some point Ben Neece made a reference to GBIC and the Coca Cola Building.

I'm not sure Ben said "if" or "when," but the word "rent" was used in conjunction with the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation and the Coca Cola Building.

"Oh, is GBIC going to rent the Coca Cola Building?" I asked Ben directly.

"Well, it's one of the properties I think they're looking at," Ben responded quickly.

Ramiro Gonzalez

So, my cynical mind got to thinking:  "What if Trey and Ramiro bought the Coca Cola building, not only knowing the BCIC would pay to renovate, but that they already had a tentative tenant, GBIC, for an agreed rental price?"

Wouldn't that be called a trifecta, a rare triple win?

If only ordinary citizens, not politicians and government officials could get that lucky!

Now, for accuracy, we have to reiterate that the $200,000 grant was removed from the BCIC agenda, but sometimes things don't work out exactly as planned.

WAS THE $200,000 SOLARIS GRANT FOR AN EMPTY LOT OR FOR A BUILDING ON A LOT?

 We reported that the $200,000 award to Solaris Management Solutions, L.L.C. seemed suspect because the address listed on the grant application, 754 East Levee seemed to nothing more than a vacant lot, not a building needing "activation of the upper floors or basement" as specified in the application.

BIG 2.0 guidelines require an existing building.

We used Juan Montoya's picture on the El Rrun Rrun blog of a vacant lot to raise a question about that particular grant's efficacy.

After our last story, BCIC CEO Josh Mejia left a comment:  "We did mention in the meeting the "vacant lot" includes the Goodyear Tire Building that is still on Levee Street.

So, we went downtown to investigate.

We found on the east side of the block, consistent with the 754 East Levee Street address given by Solaris Management Solutions, L.L.C. in their grant request, a half block with no buildings, just a pile of bricks and concrete, a sign showing Solaris had a demolition permit and a dropped off dumpster.

The half block was blocked off with a chain fence, so it would be easy to assume the application was for the half block, especially given the address 754 East Levee Street.

Checking the building next door, on the other half of the block, we found a different address, 734 East Levee Street.

But wait!  

There was a permit, issued to Solaris Management Solutions, dated 7/29/2021 with yet another address; 744 East Levee Street.

Walking around to the front of the building on Levee, we saw the number 700 actually on the building.

We may have identified the reason for confusion.

While the permit application lists the address as 754 East Levee Street, the actual property includes 700, 734, 744 and 754 East Levee Street, or to simplify it; 700-754 East Levee Street.

JOSH MEJIA AND BEN NEECE RESPOND TO ETHICAL QUESTIONS ABOUT BCIC MONETARY AWARDS

BCIC CEO Josh Mejia

BCIC CEO Josh Mejia and BCIC Board Member Ben Neece were kind enough to meet with me this morning at the BCIC Board Room in the historic Young House, 500 East Saint Charles Street.

Mejia handed me a written response to my Public Information Request as well as packets detailing the BIG 2.0 Grants and Texas StartUp programs.

As to the huge ethical questions surrounding the $200,000 request by Mayor Trey Mendez and former city official Ramiro Gonzalez to make improvements to the Coca Cola Building, Mejia is aware of the public outcry and ethical concerns, while maintaining that the BCIC "went by the rules" in considering the application.

That $200,000 request by Mendez was later pulled from the BCIC agenda before that board's September 30 meeting.

Ben Neece

Neece was more adamant in agreeing that the award and subsequent request by Mendez, as well as a $122,000 award given to BCIC Board Member Michael Limas and his brother Fabian were likely ethical violations, but, at the very least, gave "the appearance of impropriety."

Neece said he walked out of the August 26 meeting when he became aware of the Mendez and Limas requests.

What about the $200,000 award to Juan Benito Garcia and Gabriela Fernandez of Solaris Management Solutions, L.L.C. for the vacant lot at 754 East Levee Street?

That award clearly violates BIG 2.0 guidelines limiting the awards to "improve existing buildings for expansion and site activation."

Mejia and Neece had no clear cut answer for that except to show me the artist's conception above of the "medical center" Solaris plans for that block.

Clearly, Solaris' description in their grant request was misleading at best, claiming the funds were needed to "activate the upper floors or basement that are currently vacant to host a new commercial business or housing."  

A vacant lot has no "upper floor or basement," but we agree it was/is "vacant."

Awardees are expected put up a 20% match as well as show sufficient financial solvency to complete the entire project.

Mejia, in response to my request, furnished me with the 2020 numbers, showing total BCIC income from their 1/4 cent share of sales tax receipts as well as other grants, plus their total overhead, including salaries, rent, maintenance and the debt service to and maintenance of the Sports Park, a burden placed upon them by the City Commission.

We will share that information in a subsequent report.

CASCOS CONTINUES TO PUSH FOR BORDER WALL ON MEXICO'S SOUTHERN BORDER, NOT THE US/MEXICO BORDER

 

Carlos Cascos

I have commented in the past about Mexico's role in this migration. Mexico has the ability to stop these migrant treks before they reach our Southern border.

I recognize the relationship we have with Mexico, but it works both ways.

We need to use forceful dialogue with Mexico and threaten economic sanctions, like we do with other countries, if they do not do all they can to mitigate migrants traveling through their country towards ours, many of which cross their southern border.

I believe a border wall along Mexico's border with Guatemala will be much more efficient in many respects than us building & investing on a 2,200 mile border wall. along our Southern border.

SPACEX PLANS INCLUDE GAS PIPELINE TO BOCA CHICA ALONG WITH LNG PLANT ACCORDING TO BILL BERG

SpaceX Founder Elon Musk, Mayor Trey Mendez

Bill Berg, one of the "old guys" with Save RGV from LNG who works tirelessly to protect our environment, wildlife and natural heritage in extreme south Texas, monitors the activity of SpaceX very closely.

In his weekly newsletter, Bill made the following observations about planned and current activities at SpaceX:  

Bill Berg

There will be a presentation at the Port Isabel meeting about the Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment for the greatly changed plans of SpaceX.  

The original Environmental Impact Statement issued in 2014 was for activities related to 12 launches of Falcon Rockets a year.  

SpaceX never launched a Falcon Rocket at Boca Chica.  Instead, they developed, built, and tested the Starship.  

Testing involved a number of mishaps, leading many to believe that testing of new rockets should be done at facilities remote enough that damage to property and protected wildlife is very unlikely.  

The Blue Origin is being tested at such a facility.  SpaceX is suggesting in the Draft PEA that testing the new Starship Super Heavy may break some windows on South Padre Island.

SpaceX wants to build a 250 megawatt power plant at Boca Chica and they will need a pipeline to deliver the gas.  

They are planning to build an LNG facility at Boca Chica to liquefy natural gas for the liquid methane fuel for the Starship/Super Heavy rocket combination.  

The Super Heavy is the booster rocket to launch Starship into orbit.  Exciting activity, but dangerous for the wildlife at the neighboring wildlife refuges.

 

SpaceX also plans to close Highway 4 to Boca Chica beach more than twice as much as it is being closed now.

The public Comment period for the PEA ends on November 1.  Links for the PEA summary and the entire Draft PEA  are:

https://www.faa.gov/space/stakeholder_engagement/spacex_starship/media/Summary_Draft_PEA_for_SpaceX_Starship_Super_Heavy_at_Boca_Chica.pdf

https://www.faa.gov/space/stakeholder_engagement/spacex_starship/media/Draft_PEA_for_SpaceX_Starship_Super_Heavy_at_Boca_Chica.pdf

Cameron County is going to consider appointing someone to the Cameron County Spaceport Development Corporation.  They are also possibly planning a public hearing regarding changes in the County Tax Abatement Policy.

I SHOULD BE HAPPY OUR OWN BCIC JUST WON AN AWARD

 

BCIC Winning Award from IDEC 

It was announced October 8 that our own BCIC had won an award for economic development. 

As a Brownsville resident, I should be proud.

But, as usual, this old fuddy duddy is a little annoyed we sent the ten people above to Washington DC, paying for their airfare, hotel accommodations and meals to accept this award.

Anyway, awards worry me.  Sometimes they're legit, but frequently in this era of scams, they are simply a money maker for some company playing on emotions, pride and gullibility.

And Brownsville, hungry for recognition, keeps getting scammed again and again.

In 2014, we sent a large delegation to Denver, Colorado to receive an All-America City Award, given annually to cities desperate and gullible enough to pay for it.

Yes, Brownsville paid for their own damn award.  It's an old con.

All-America cities aren't picked like All-American football players. 

In 2014, Marshall was the other city in Texas gullible enough to pay to be recognized as an All-America city.  

As much as we may love Brownsville, do you really thing Brownsville and Marshall, two veritable 90 lb weaklings, stand head and shoulders above other Texas cities?

Fayetteville, North Carolina, winner of the All-America City Award in 2011 estimated that the award, including travel and expenses to attend the award ceremony, cost the city in excess of $170,000.  (The city of Brownsville spent $24,120 on the trip to Denver alone according to Pete Gonzalez.)

The All-America City Award is a money-making scam that cons town officials, appealing to their ego.

Who can forget Bannergate?

City Manager Charlie Cabler with Community Showcase CEO David McCarthy

Warsaw, NY businessman David McCarthy sought out then Mayor Tony Martinez to inform him that Brownsville had been given a Community Showcase Award. 

The award would show "the city of Brownsville's economic vitality and support of the business community," McCarthy promised.

McCarthy later showed up at the office of City Manager Charlie Cabler to pick up a support letter from the City of Brownsville, then proceeded to dun local businessmen for the purchase of banner packages to "support Tony."

With the contract letter in hand from the City of Brownsville, clearly indicating the award would be at "no cost to the city," McCarthy with a buxom companion in tow, began visiting Brownsville businessmen to sell banner packages ranging from $600 to $4,000. It was emphasized that the meager $600 package was only for "churches and non-profits. 

Upstanding businessmen, who "supported Tony" were expected to cough up the $4,000.

Now, to the Excellence in Economic Development Awards website, the outfit that just recognized our own BCIC, causing our proud city to spend a small fortune on airfare, hotel accommodations and meals for the recognition.

The organizations gives away 25 such awards annually to cities "meeting the qualifications."

Here are the qualifications listed on their website:

  

1. Pay for submission(s)  
2. Fill in submission form with code received in payment confirmation email*  
3. Mail in any physical/supplemental submission material (optional). 

I don't know folks, but, to me, this looks like another one of the "pay to play" awards that keeps scamming our city again and again.

Any award that asks the awardee to pay first needs to be thoroughly investigated before spending thousands of tax dollars to be so honored.

Addendum:

My attempt last week to email the BCIC a Public Information Request last week failed:

Delivery has failed to these recipients or groups:

nburkhart@bcis.us (nburkhart@bcis.us)
Your message wasn't delivered. Despite repeated attempts to deliver your message, the recipient's email system refused to accept a connection from your email system.

Contact the recipient by some other means (by phone, for example) and ask them to tell their email admin that it appears that their email system is refusing connections from your email server. Give them the error details shown below. It's likely that the recipient's email admin is the only one who can fix this problem.

For Email Admins
No connection could be made because the target computer actively refused it. This usually results from trying to connect to a service that is inactive on the remote host - that is, one with no server application running. For more information and tips to fix this issue see this article: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=389361

I tried to use email because both of the links on the BCIC Board website were inoperative.

I will hand deliver the Public Information Request on Monday to their office at 500 E. Saint Charles Street.

GOP CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR GETS COVID-19 AFTER FOLLOWING TRUMP'S MEDICAL ADVICE

 

Allen West with his Hero

Texas gubernatorial candidate Allen West and his wife have COVID-19 and the candidate says he will soon be admitted to a hospital.

West had been taking hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin, two drugs public health experts have NOT recommended.

It was former President Trump who stepped in front of Dr. Anthony Fauci at a COVID briefing, who recommended hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin was the drug used to treat Trump when he got COVID.

So, the now infected West was just trying to be a good Republican, taking his medical advice from the former president, not public health officials.

I'm 73 and I've never seen such misinformation being dispensed and readily accepted because of political leaning.

Can you imagine President Eisenhower, Kennedy or Reagan advising Americans to not get their polio or small pox shots?

This is a crazy, misguided world we live in.

CITY MANAGER NOEL BERNAL JOINS MAYOR MENDEZ AND BCIC CHAIR LIMAS IN VIOLATING BASIC RULES OF ETHICS

Mayor Trey Mendez

As the year rounds out, Americans, including Brownsvillians, will be confronted by their obligation to fill out 1040 forms, along with the appropriate schedules, remitting any monies due the U.S. Government.

On Page 2 of 1040A taxpayers are asked to fill in a box that asks for Your Occupation.  

TaxAct, a business that assists taxpayers for a fee suggests the following:

Enter what best reflects your current occupation. Common entries are: Student, Laborer, Factory Work, Owner-Operator, Self Employed, Homemaker, Unemployed, Retired, etc.

Two young Brownsville men, Mayor Trey Mendez and BCIC Chair Michael Limas, have more than one potential listed occupation,

Mendez might list his occupation as a real estate investor, a restaurateur or an attorney.

Limas could truthfully call himself a real estate investor, bar owner or investment counselor.

The irony for both men is that the single thing injecting the most cash flow into their lives could be none of the above, but a governmental entity designed to help communities fund "quality of life" projects, the BCIC.

In the last two months alone, before the cat got out of the bag via local bloggers, Mendez was set for a BCIC payout of $280,000 and Limas $282,000, perhaps more than either made on their regular jobs during the fiscal year. 

Should the boxes on their respective 1040 forms show "grant seeker" as their primary occupation?

Both, of course, would say the grants were not "income," and, technically they weren't, but it's money they didn't have before they applied for the grants.

BCIC Chair Michael Limas

Mendez and Limas and their defenders would quickly say "the money was available to anyone," but was it?

Did you, Brownsville businessman, know about the grants?  Could you have used $200,000, $160,000 or even $80,000 to grow your business?

Did BCIC hold public workshops to educate the average citizen about applying for these grants that are funded by Brownsville taxpayers?

Was BCIC set up to enrich the board chair and the mayor or to lift up the ordinary citizen?

So-called "inside dealing" may have enriched Michael Limas in yet another way.

City Manager Noel Bernal

I've received several reports that City Manager Noel Bernal took it upon himself to transfer the City of Brownsville employees' retirement system from Nationwide to Equitable, the firm Michael Limas represents.

Did Michael Limas receive any sort of remuneration or commission for this sudden influx of business to the company he represents?  What do you think?

Did City Manager Noel Bernal get something in return for handing such a large chunk of business to Limas without so much as informing or consulting the employees involved beforehand.

Bernal might take umbrage at such a line of questioning, but that's the consequence of actions that give "the appearance of impropriety," Ethics 101.

Perhaps Bernal, who reportedly gave Ramiro Gonzalez the "resign or be fired" option for ethical violations, needs to examine his own ethics in the handling of this matter.

VALLEY MORNING STAR CONFUSED ABOUT IDENTITY OF HARLINGEN'S NEW INTERIM CITY ATTORNEY

In an article about Harlingen's search for a new city attorney and city manager, staff writer Fernando Del Valle concluded the article with this paragraph:

Meanwhile, commissioners hired John Sossi, who’s serving as city attorney for the cities of San Benito and Mercedes after a 15-year stint as Brownsville’s legal counsel, at a rate of $200 an hour.

Now, anyone remotely familiar with Brownsville city government will remember the city has employed a Mark Sossi and a John Chosy in their legal department, but never a John Sossi.

Mark Sossi

Mark Sossi was a piece of work, dishonest to his core, contentious in his dealings with Brownsville citizens, but a veritable lap dog for Mayors Pat Ahumada and Tony Martinez.

Sossi, hired in 2009 during Ahumada's last term as mayor, brought with him considerable baggage, a judgement against him for theft of  funds in the amount of $167,323 from his previous employer, Willette & Guerra, a $20,711.66 judgement from Texas Workforce for $20,711.66, a $100,000 tax lien from the I.R.S. and two malpractice lawsuits from Brownsville residents who'd used his legal skills.

Argelia Miller wrote the City Manager Charlie Cabler a letter dated August 25, 2010, where she enumerated Sossi's dishonest past.  

Sossi was retained despite the horrendous record.

When Letty Perez-Garzoria stepped up to the podium to share the details from Mrs. Miller's letter,  Sossi came up with a plan to stifle, stymie and squelch any further revelations about his past, proposing the ban of public comment.

While some blame Pat Ahumada for that ban, Ahumada claims it was Sossi's doing.

Whoever initiated the ban, those who voted for Tony Martinez as mayor were hopeful he would overturn it, but they were in for a big surprise asMartinez continued the ban on public comment, as reported in a 2011 Brownsville Observer article:  

A couple months into the Tony Martinez tenure as mayor, former City Commissioner Melissa Landin(Zamora) introduced an agenda item to consider rescinding the ban on the broadcast of public comment. 

Shocking those who thought they'd voted for a democratically-oriented mayor, Martinez voiced his opposition to lifting the ban, saying:

"I'd like to continue doing things the way the previous administration did them. It's been working pretty good so far. I don't want to change that."

Begrudgingly, the ban on public comment was eventually lifted due to a constant public outcry and protest, but not without Mark Sossi lecturing the citizenry against "grandstanding" as he grandstanded.

John Chosy

John Chosy, who served for several years as Assistant City Attorney before retiring, is remembered more favorably, but one humorous incident is worth reporting.

We go back to the Brownsville Observer archives to pull out our November 19, 2013 report:

The emotional issue of the evening was the first reading of an ordinance adjustment to disallow chickens and other foul within 50 feet of a residence:  

7. Public Hearing and ACTION on FIRST READING of Ordinance Number 2013-971-F, to amend Chapter 10 “Animal Regulation and Care”, Article III “Care and Control”, by replacing Section 10-1063 “Animals Not Permitted”, with Section 10-1063 “Space and Distance Requirements”, and adding Section 10-1065 “Livestock Running At Large”, and dealing with related matters. (John Chosy – Assistant City Attorney)

Assistant City Attorney John Chosy presented this adjustment.  Mayor Pro-Tem Ricardo Longoria noticed that Chosy had changed the original language of the ordinance variation from 50 to 100 feet.

"Most lots in District 1(Southmost) are 50' X 100'.  The new wording would actually outlaw chickens from the district.  Many of my neighbors actually prefer fresh chicken," stated Longoria.

I have to admit Longoria caught me offguard here.  I expected him to say "like fresh eggs," not "fresh chicken." 

The prospect of living next to folks slaughtering chicken is a little unsettling.)

Chosy agreed to readjust the wording back to 50 feet from a residence, but this was a public comment item and Robert Uresti had input:

"Does the 50 feet run vertical or perpendicular?" asked Uresti.

"Actually, it's simply 50 feet from the adjoining property," answered Chosy.

"So, it's a radius of 50 feet?" Uresti continued.

"I'm sticking to the language of the ordinance," answered Chosy.  

Uresti had questions about other foul, such as geese and pigeons.  

Chosy read off a list of creatures covered by the ordinance including both geese and pigeons.

So, Harlingen:  

If John Chosy decides to come out of retirement to work for your cities, you got a good man.

If Mark Sossi is your new temporary hire, prepare for a rough ride.