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| City of Brownsville Public Relations Officer, Patty Gonzalez |
But, still COME to the public hearing October 30 at Tony Gonzalez Park, the city is saying, and LEARN what WE'RE going to do with the park.
In a statement even more contemptuous and condescending, young Patty Gonzalez, the newly installed Public Relations Officer, states that citizens may have a voice in renaming the park if they wish. The Brownsville Herald synopsis of Ms. Gonzalez' statement: "Brownsville spokeswoman Patty Gonzales is presenting the hearing as an opportunity for residents to be involved in the creation of the new park, which she noted could even warrant a name change if citizens voiced their displeasure at the dedication of a third Lincoln Park."
Benedict Arnold Park has a nice ring, doesn't it Patty? After all, this mayor and city commission have done nothing but betray, backstab and steal from the taxpayers of the poorest community in the United States.
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| Parks Director Chris Patterson |
I hate to disagree with some of these find and nice people who are pushing the Lincoln Park proposal for the UT. First the land is worth more than $6.5 million and it cannot be replaced with the amount they are proposing as generous. A client of mine paid $230,000 per acre for inferior land to Lincoln Park, BISD paid $207,000 per acre about 10 years ago for the land located at Jose Marti and San Marcelo. Other buyers have paid more for land similar to Lincoln Park land, which demands an analysis of the subject's value before entering into any agreement. And, it demands to know all the details as to where it will be located and the cost to replace Lincoln Park before we agree to the deal. Look what happened to us with their previous generous offers when they took the RE Smith property from us, which was worth millions and we got zilch in the process. They paid us on a bogus appraisal $700,000 for 90 acres of prime land next to Los Tomates and downtown with the condition that we move the IBWC Levee, which cost us $700,000. Look what they did to us on the Jacob Brown purchase for $1.0 million, again with a bogus appraisal that depreciated the building by 70% and did not take into account the cash flow from the parking. And again, you have the Casa Nylon, the Cueto Building, and do I need to go on, all of which hurt our taxpayers by taking them at face value that it was a good deal for us, but in reality it was a one sided deal. So, I say the $6.5 million they are offering should not even be on the table until all the unknowns are known and the true replacement cost with a similar location is known. Keep in mind those that are proposing do not have a stake in the LIncoln Park, they are just representing the interest of the seller and the buyer, which in this case leaves room for misinterpretations. This is a taxpayer asset and it needs to be protected or get the true value before you give it away and it costs us more to replace like the event center.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, replacement cost would be the key.
DeleteYep
ReplyDeleteThe bastards want the kid's park over by the sewage plant. Fuck the motherfuckers!
ReplyDeleteMr. Ahumada, should the taxpayers have more than one appraisal done for this deal? What would you suggest as an appraiser to make sure that the taxpayers aren't shortchanged?
ReplyDeleteThey should name the new park "Antonio Martinez and Julie Villarreal Memorial Park"
ReplyDeleteTelling the citizens they can determine the name of a new park, while not heeding public input to a decision to "give away" Lincoln Park is a public slap in the face. She isn't much of a "public relations" guru if she can't see the hypocritical nature of her statement. Just another city official covering up for Tony Martinez
ReplyDeleteMost definitely! The appraiser should be and must be objective, no matter who the client is. The appraiser has a duty not to make the market, but to interpret the market. I can tell you that land is worth m ore than $230,000 per acre, plus the replacement cost of all the improvements including mature trees, which is a huge investment in itself. This is called replacement value or mitigation. They are to give us something as close to what we have, as it should be. They are the one's who want this land, we are not or should not be in the real estate market as proven by the recent bad deals we have gotten into, which has cost taxpayers millions. Look at the Tenaska deal, a similar megawatt costs $917,000 and we are paying $1.7 million per megawatt, for 200 megawatts. This is obscene. The Nylon Building cost us $2.3 million, when thru eminent domain would have cost us no more than $700,000. There are good and bad appraisers, some work for the client to skew value, when their duty is only to interpret the market based on Highest and Best Use and similar sales. In this instance based on replacement cost to mitigate the displacement.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 2:48 pm., let them pay for one appraisal and the city pay for the other appraisal with the scope of work to appraise the subject based on replacement cost period. Then, both appraisals can be open for public review and subject to a formal review by another independent appraisal. Too much is at stake. The alternative is to ask UT to find similar land and build us a park, plus the cost to replace the mature trees. We do not want a park with little seedlings.The park must be similar or better than what we have and in a similar or better location with good access similar to what we have.
ReplyDeleteIt ripped my soul when Juliet Garcia took the R.E. Smith property for nothing. They politicized the sale and got a unethical appraiser to say it was only worth $700,000 for 90 acres of prime land and they made the purchase subject to the condition that we had to move the IBWC Levee which cost us $700,000 to move. How can these people say they care about our community when they think nothing of raping our community of its assets, the same was done with the Jacob Brown when they depreciated the improvements by 70% and did not include in the value the cash flow. The appraisal was skewed to conclude the Jacob Brown needed to be demolish as it was unsafe and look at it now. These people have no shame and they think nothing of hurting the city they say they love. And, they laugh at us, because they can manipulate the decision makers and they sleep well at night. I know this city better than anyone and know the players, along with the dynamics of their intentions, which makes me a threat to them, because I am not gullible, nor do I have a price.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is you think everybody else is gullible. Lol
DeleteOh, thank you Rat! What would Brownsville do without you?
DeleteLet's all go to the OCT 30th meeting.
DeleteOn A Different note, Chris NEVER answers or returns calls. For quite some time, I tried to get a hold of him regarding Oliveira Park and finally gave up. All I got from his minions was empty promises!
ReplyDeletePat you always crack me up with your skewed nonsense! And C. Patterson ALWAYS answers his calls and is on his game. MHO
ReplyDeleteChris Patterson is one of the greatest, most caring and hardworking guy that I've ever met! I really don't appreciate the fabricated information you posted about him! Before you post about anyone look at yourself first! ~
ReplyDeleteChris,
DeleteAll that may be true, but I called several times that afternoon, each time transferred to you. None of the operators said you were not in your office. You did not pick up even though I told you straight up the conversation would not involve politics but simply the relative value of Lincoln Park to the community. You've had seven months to call me back and have not done so.
Chris ALWAYS returns my calls, out of everyone that I have spoken to at the city and parks, he seems to be the only one who really cares! Why the heck are you people even talking about him? Bunch of liars!
ReplyDeleteIf it isn't about bikes, it is about skateboarding with these people. Just make the current park better. There is no need to gives a new park location.
ReplyDeleteAh, you hardly get what's really going on here. I've studied at UTB. Half of those rooms are empty. I walk past empty rooms every day on my way to class. Even before the old UTB/TSC faculty was laid off.
ReplyDeleteAnd those kids there in school, most of them are on some kind of poverty student loan/ grant/ freebie.
Ask UTB students to actually pay (real dollars) for their tuition, hell no, these kids have never seen an actual dollar spent on college. These are the remedial product of BISD who rely on govenrment taxpayers and grants, the way they saw their parents use the 'poor me' ruse to get free food stamps for 20 years, to feel sorry enough for the minority impoverished whatevers to fund a few years of remedial college classes for them. Which they are doomed to fail, because they don't even bother to try and pass them.
UTB produces a product of indebted servants, whose only goal is to be a better and more obedient servant, the type who never asks questions, doesn't vote, doesn't even raise their hand. Not even when they don't understand the material. They rely on loans, pity, or taxpayer grants for their "education", an education which reinforces "do as your told", for their parent's menial "jobs" at BISD and the City, and for their own future hope of getting a "job" in Brownsville. By staying put, not asking questions, not rocking the boat, don't create controversy, do as your told and you will be rewarded with this tortilla degree salary mentality.
The truth is you'd see a 97% dropout rate immediatetly if any standards were put in place at UTB, much less if these welfare kids actually had to, for once in their lives, pay for their education, actually pass tests in a competitive environment, versus having taxpayers fund it for them for free.
So my question is, why is UTB giving away a Brownsville property? A park? Will these tortilla degree minions stand against it?? I doubt it. They couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag. If they had, their free "subsidized on your blind asskissing skills" scholarship/ degree would have been ripped away from them years ago.
It is up to the thinking minority of Brownsville citizens to ask, Why? A college of debt, loans, and 'poor me' pity scholarships is giving away a multimillion dollar property.
Thank you for providing a clear and concise description of our illustrious "university". You are correct. The entire system is based on patronage, read "patron". The so-called elites, the losers who have stuck around, milk the government money to fund their high-end salaries and pretend to offer an education and other "services" to the poor, ignorant masses. And, as you verify, everything is geared to keep the peons in place with "migas". In many ways Brownsville is much worse than Mexico during the Porfiriato. At least Mexico had a Revolution.
DeleteAnonymous 10:31PM: I couldn't have said it better. You are absolutely dead on...
DeleteDo not be mislead with the hoopala of naming a new park and the amenities they can install. This is not what the meeting should be about. The meeting should be about whether or not to proceed with the sale of the 50 acre site known as Lincoln Park for $6.5 million, which is approximately for $130,000 an acre, which is not to replace the valuable land, much less pay for the existing improvements on the site with the mature trees. They are insane to think they can pull the wool over the eyes of the citizens by trying to side track the deal with plans of naming the park and installing amenities with the $6.5 million, but fail to say the land is not being replaced. In other words they want us to give UT the land, build the park on land already paid by taxpayers without them actually replacing the land. They want the land for free and throw bones so we can build the kiddie sand box. I assure you, that would never happen in their wildest dreams if I were mayor. I agree with a friend who suggested this should be put up to a referendum if we are going to give away the land, because that is what we are doing.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 8:54 pm, You might be mistaken, I never said anything about Chris that is someone else who complained about him not returning his calls. The rare times I have called him, Chris has always called me back. So, your beef is not with me on this one. As far as my nonsense being skewed up, I do not know what you are referring too. If it is the replacement cost value of the park, you are mistaken. I am a General Certified Appraiser who does this for a living and can tell you urban land the size of Lincoln Park cannot be replaced at $130,000 per acre. Unfortunately Anonymous, you blast me, but will not sign your name, so the only one skewed up is you. Replacement cost includes all improvements, sidewalks, fountains, trees, all site improvements, plus the land and $6,500,000 does not even pay for the land. Not even close. Why not instead of taking money for the land, why not ask UT to go shopping for similar land to buy and swap with us, that way we will not be out of any money at all. But, likely you are one of those who also supported the sale of the Jacob Brown to them for $1,000,000 and it cost us I think $32 million to replace. We got a great deal, based on the con they put on us. To avoid this, have them buy similar size land and location, then let them give us the money for the replacement of the improvements. .
ReplyDeleteThat you can name any shank of harsh Brownsville ground a park is the joke here. Ha ha ha ha ha
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't totally agree with anonymous 10:31, a very obvious situation exists not only in our community but the whole RGV. It appears that our Brownsville has become a city expecting freebie handouts just because we have been designated as the poorest city in the nation. Our mayor, city commissioners and our county leadership has made the expectation of subsidized handouts as the norm. Just look at our city grants department spending most of their time on finding the next handout. We should spend our money hiring smart competent people to attract new businesses for our area and not so much on "quality of life" projects that only a few might benefit from. I would rather see one new company open business here that will provide new jobs for us than all these new bike trails. As far as Chris Patterson is concerned, yes he is a nice person but he is watching out for himself. Don't expect him to stand up for the community on the Lincoln Park issue. In the words of Debbie Portillo "..its a done deal" So Chris, you dont have to work on trying to persuade the community just listen to Debbie, Rose and and our beloved Mayor. And we are all invited to the public meeting on Oct. 30 just in case we want to participate in naming the new park.
ReplyDeleteEH, RAZA! WE NEED PARKS, PUTOS. BOLA DE JAMBONES. LOOK AROUND, PENDEJOS. DO YOU WANT A PRETTY PARK OR DO YOU WANT TO KEEP LOOKING AT JOE RIVERA! UUUUUUUUUUUUUUYY. VOTE FOR MY BOSS, CARLOS CASCOS, DA JUDGE!!! RIVERA IS OLD SCHOOL AND OLD AFTER-SCHOOL. VATO BABOSO. VOTE CASCOS!!!! UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUYYYYY UUUUUUUYYYYYYYYY. I CAN; STAND THE WAITING. VOTE CASCOS! VOTE NO FOR RIVERA, EL VATO GORDIFLON, PANSON Y PEDORRO!!!! UUUUUUUUUUUUUUYYYYY
ReplyDeleteThe judge must really be worried about his reelection prospects if he has to resort to having his trained idiot go on the blogs and insult his opponent. Who would want to vote for such a candidate? Quien pues?
DeleteMe dan GANAS de cojerte de Nuevo PINCHE DUARDO....TE QUIERO Abril el CULO con mi masorca.....putita.
DeleteSounds like somebody is pretending to be Maclovio.
DeleteThe two Public Works employees who saved a grandmother and her two grandchildren last month from drowning were honored last night at the city commission meeting. Antonio Covarrubias, Jr. and Eduardo Mendiola received two standing ovations from commissioners and from the audience. Each received a proclamation for their courageous and decisive actions that prevented what could have been the tragic loss of three lives. True heroes indeed!
ReplyDelete