LARGE CROWD FORCES CITY OF BROWNSVILLE WORKSHOP OUT OF CITY MANAGER CONFERENCE ROOM

City of Brownsville Workshop in City Manager's Office

For the second time in recent weeks, Brownsville's City Commission opted to hold what is considered a "public" meeting in the ridiculously small quarters of the City Manager's Conference Room.  The few chairs constituting "seating" in the room could not accommodate  the several dozen citizens jammed against the walls, extending out into the hallway.

Just two weeks ago, the City of Brownsville held a workshop on the proposed merger of the three Metropolitan Planning Organizations in the Rio Grande Valley in what was a nearly full city commission chambers.  Did they now assume that those folks no longer cared about the issue?

After the presentation by Mark Morris from the Dallas-Fort Worth MPO, Commissioner Jessica Tetreau-Kalifa suggested that next time this meeting should be held in another, larger venue.  

Mayor Martinez then asked that everyone, including the sizable audience, go to the City Commission chambers where Mr. Morris  answered questions from the audience.

Eddie Hernandez, a member of the Brownsville MPO, wanted more information about how the merged MPOs would be structured and how funding would be split.  Morris promised that the DFW MPO would network and mentor the Brownsville group.

Mr. Burke, an elderly cycling activist, asked how large the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth were before joining in an MPO.  Morris answered that cities with at least 50,000 in population qualified and urban and that the DFW MPO encompassed an area larger than the state of Maryland with a total population of 7.5 million.

Speaking to Burke and Larry Holzman before the meeting, I learned that they view MPOs as merely pawns for large huge contractors making enormous profits from highway construction.

Before the meeting, I had a nice chat with Amigos del Valle, a group providing meals on wheels for seniors.  I will visit there operation soon at 2575 Russell Drive in Brownsville.