BACK FOR ANOTHER ROUND?

By Juan Montoya

Less than a week after a mjority on the city commission cancelled a proposal to issue $3.13 million for imrpovements to the Sports Park, el rrun-rrun at the city indicates that the proposal championed by commissioner Charlie Atkinson may be placed back on the agenda for the commissioners' consideration.

By a majority vote, Atkinson's proposal was voted down by commissioners Anthony Troiani, Melissa Zamora (who made the motion), Rose Gowen, Edward Camarillo, and Mayor Pat Ahumada. Commissioner Rick Longoria – a longtime Atkinson supporter – was absent from that meeting.

However, sources now say that Atkinson has won over Troiani, Camarillo and Longoria to his point of view and that he will try to get this majority to override the decision of the other four in a subsequent meeting.

Atkinson has said the improvements are necessary to convince statewide and nationwide organizations to use the soccer facilities, notably the UIL which hosts statewide high school sports competition.

An Atkinson supporter says the $3.1 million in improvements are critical if the local Sports Park is to be a credible competitor for these events.

""Way to go, now we are going to have to pay for port a potties and rent a facility for the soccer teams to dress and shower," said an anonymous supporter of the commission's negative response to the issuance of the certificates of obligation for the park."The UIL board will come down and be convinced that they made a mistake in allowing the valley to host the event," he continued. "BISD will not give it to Weslaco so portable everything will be added to the field turf field at the Sports park. This will be embarrassing and not representative of what Brownsville is really about."

"We are the largest city in the valley and we will be laughed at for hosting a prestigious event without having the basic necessities in place," he said. "With two state championship soccer teams in Brownsville, one would think that we would step up and be the ideal host not only for this tournament but for the Bravos and other potential pro teams who want to play down here. I hope the commissioners can see how our city will be seen as if this project does not get done."

Plans to issue the $3.13 million in addition to the $33 million already spent there met with stiff resistance from the public and a petition drive was launched by local government watchdog Moses Sorola. Sorola's petition called for the city to hold an election to ask the people if they approved of the expenditures and encumbrances of the new debt. Sorola called it off after the commissioners voted to exclude the Spots Park expenditures and pared down the proposal.

However, some local grass root activists are unlikely to be lulled into a new proposal after they supported the petition drive.

"We here at the Tip of Texas Tea Party website commend Moses Sorola and others for their petition drive to stop government waste. After alterations made by the city commission with regard to their attempted Certificates of Obligation offering at Tuesday’s regular meeting, the formerly active petition drive was made irrelevant," reads a statement made at the site,

"The potential petition motion before the city commission would be deemed defective.Many people signed the petition, or would have signed the petition, over their anger at spending more borrowed money on the Brownsville Sports Park, which some have dubbed the Charlie Atkinson Sports Park," it continued.

"The majority on the city commission knew that and probably wanted to prevent the petition drive from succeeding...

"In essence, all the signatures gathered before Tuesday’s vote would be null and void especially because of the wording and justification printed on the petition proper, which include the Sports Park debt. Sorola did the right ethical and legal thing in suspending the petition drive.The majority on city commission heard the voice of we the people and our collective disgust with their continuing plan to incur massive debt for the Atkinsonian Sports Park. So thank you, Mr. Sorola for being a man of conviction, honor, and a voice of Brownsville."