City Commission Not Yet Sold on FM 511 Metal Recycling Plant

      Brownsville resident Roscoe Snelson submitted a petition containing 444 signatures of citizens opposed to the construction of a metal appliance recycling plant at the intersection of Farm Road 511 and the South Padre Island Highway.  Several citizens spoke out against the plan in English and Spanish at the city commissiion meeting 1/3/12.  The Planning & Zoning Commission represented by Ben Medina had unanimously approved the plan.  The citizens were not impressed with Medina's promises of fence and vegetation shields, coupled with an 8 foot height limitation on the metal scraps, stating that other scrap yards had made similiar empty promises.
     Local real estate broker Dutch Fisher displayed little salesmanship in representing the plan.  Agitated at the public skepticism with regard to his business plan, Fisher indignantly addressed the commissioners and petitioners with condescension and biting sarcasm, attired in a rumpled suit with an unzippered brief case of loose papers on the lectern.
     Commissioner Jessica Tetreau-Kalifa expressed her respect for the large number of signatures, which she felt could not be ignored in spite of pro-business inclinations.  Commissioner Ricardo Longoria questioned the validity of the signatures.  After City Attorney Mark Sossi explained that if the signatures met certain critera, passing the recommendation would require a super majority of six favorable votes, Mayor Martinez suggested tabling the measure until the signatures were verified after first asking the City Attorney if they had been submitted appropriately.
     Several videos from the meeting are included in the Mean Mister Brownsville version of this note.


     In this first video Letty Perez-Garzoria and Roscoe Snelson state their objections to the project.  Next, Linda Pena, an articulate young woman, whose residence is only 400 ft from the proposed plant, states her health objections.  Her dad works at Amfel's.  She closes with "Just because a community is just waking up, doesn't mean you shouldn't listen to it."  Martinez assures her that the city will listen. 
    Robert Gracia in the third video shares his concerns about the plant being on a tourist route.  He describes all recycling centers as eyesores, not living up to their promises of landscaping and out-of-sight scraps.
    Next, real estate broker Dutch Fisher says there is much "disinformation" about the project.  He says its primary purpose is to rid Brownsville of unsightly discarded appliances in many neighborhoods.  He says he has pictures of three discarded refrigerators in the neighborhood near the proposed recycling center.  His goal is to "keep Brownsville beautiful."  Finally, Jessica Tetreau-Kalifa respects the 444 who signed the petition in the final video.