United Brownsville, Weak and On Life Support, Continues Work on EDA Grant

What's left of the United Brownsville Coordinating Board
(The meeting Tuesday, moved, without public notice, from the spacious
IBC Conference Room to this much smaller board room.)

The dire state of United Brownsville reported by The Brownsville Observer last December remains accurate:  

"No, rigor mortis, the stiffness of death, has not yet set in. Bishop Daniel Flores has not performed the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, the so-called last rites. But, United Brownsville, that shadowy, unelected board that mimics local government, seems to be on its last, tired legs."

United Brownsville has needed life support since December 13, 2016 when the City Commission declared they would no longer fund the non-governmental board.  Here are the portion of the minutes showing that action:

ACTION ITEMS: 16. Discussion and ACTION to reconsider funding to the United Brownsville. Commissioner Ricardo Longoria, Jr., moved that the funding to the United Brownsville be reconsidered. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Jessica Tetreau and carried as follow:

Ayes: Commissioners de Leon, Tetreau, Gowen, Longoria, Jr., Villarreal and Mayor Martinez
Nays: None 

Abstained: Commissioner Portillo

I have no idea why City Secretary Michael L. Lopez lists Tony Martinez as voting for the action item to "reconsider" funding United Brownsville. The City Secretary must know that the mayor only votes to break a tie.

It is noteworthy that Commissioner Rose Gowen, once a United Brownsville stalwart and Commissioner John Villarreal, once a UB tri-Chair, joined this vote of no confidence. Commissioner Portillo, recently herself a tri-chair and a former United Brownsville secretary, abstained.

These developments were discussed at today's United Brownsville meeting by Tri-Chair and Board President Irv Downing, who said somewhat dejectedly:

"We've a number of issues on continuing our organization in current or a different form."

Downing spoke of the need of an "organizational reset," mentioning that United Brownsville was now funded by only three entities, down from eight.  

Grandson Jack at United Brownsville Meeting

Grandson Jack also attended the United Brownsville meeting as part of his homeschool civics requirement.  I told Jack to simply take notes of anything he found interesting.  After a few minutes, Jack told me in a loud whisper:  

Jack's meeting notes

"Grandpa, I'm not hearing anything very interesting!"

Perhaps, the only thing keeping United Brownsville somewhat relevant is an Economic Development Agency grant for $300,000 to focus on manufacturing opportunites on the RGV/Mexico border.

Board member Dr. Mark Kroll from UT-RGV discussed progress on completing work on the EDA grant.  

Kroll stated that the grant had enabled the group to compile statistics from 2014-15 relative to business generated by the "80-90" Matamoros maquiladoras.  He said that pedimentos, forms generated by Mexican customs, indicated as much as $4 billion in imports and exports annually through Matamoros, but hinted that the figure was likely closer to $8 billion of which $6-7 billion was the shipping of "components," that is products and goods manufactured elsewhere.

He claimed Matamoros was one of the world's largest producers of vehicle steering wheels, but that existed a huge local need for actual manufacturing.

Kroll hoped that work funded by the EDA grant would be completed by May 2017 in time for a manufacturing summit to be announced by Representative Filemon Vela.

From the editor:  Most notable in his absence from today's meeting was Carlos Marin, the original penman for the Imagine Brownsville Comprehensive Plan for which the City of Brownsville paid over $900,000.