CITY COMMISSIONER DE LOS SANTOS ADDRESSES BROWNSVILLE'S FLOODING PROBLEM AT FUNDRAISER

 

Commissioner Roy de los Santos

With his typical openness, City Commissioner Roy de los Santos, in his opening remarks to the group gathered Wednesday evening at the 1929 Whiskey Tavern downtown, explained that his fundraiser's purpose was to retire $17,000 in remaining debt from his recent campaign.

A portion of the proceeds would also go to buy turkeys for Monica & Maggie's House, a center that serves child victims of abuse.

At the end of the evening, five attendees had their names drawn for free turkeys, with all five winners agreeing to add their turkeys to the child abuse center donation.

De los Santos addressed several key city issues.

He stated that permitting requirements in Brownsville were "abysmal" with respect to building in areas known to flood.

"Irresponsible developers build houses in areas known to flood and then it becomes a city problem when people get water in their homes."

De los Santos said standards with respect to building in areas that historically flood have to be raised and irresponsible developers called out and cited.

Developers who carefully avoid flooding areas with their projects need to be recognized.  The homes they construct are worth more to buyers.

He said the city commission had recently approved the largest infrastructure project in its history, $46,000,000, to deal with areas that flood in Brownsville.

"We know where it floods and we will go to those areas to address the problem," stated De los Santos.

An audience member asked De los Santos how he felt about the recently defeated convention center proposal.

"It would have been good for the city and the recently-annexed area would have contributed to the city's tax base," stated De los Santos.

De los Santos said that for such a project to work, every city and community in Cameron County would have to be approached for their support and sold on the project's benefits.

"That didn't happen," he stated.

Will the project be brought up again?  

"Likely," De los Santos said.

As for his own political plans, De los Santos explained that term limits will prevent Rose Gowen from seeking another term as City Commissioner At Large.

De los Santos plans to run for that position in 2025 when his current term as City Commissioner in District 3 expires as does Gowen's City Commissioner At Large term.

"So many times I've been asked for help, only to explain that the person doesn't live in my district and refer them to their commissioner.  Being a City Commissioner At Large, I could serve the entire city."

De los Santos also explained the the city's district boundaries have to be redrawn as, currently District 3 has a much larger population than the other districts, while District 1 is far too small.