In December 2001, the City of Brownsville City Commission approved the recommendations of the Brownsville Beautification Committee and transferred (for $10), 10.2 acres to Texas Southmost College with the stipulation that it build a world-class botanical garden.
The clause gave the then-UTB-TSC "partnership" 10 years to comply or the property would be returned to the city.
At the time, the commission was composed of Mayor Blanca Vela, commissioners Henry Gonzalez, Joseph Zavaletta, Ernesto de Leon, Eddie Treviño Jr., and John Wood, who all signed on for the transfer.
Fast forward to 2013.
During the 10-year duration of the special warranty deed for the 10.2
acres, the "partnership" under then-UTB-TSC president Julieta Garcia and her pliant boards did not take any actions to implement the botanical gardens they had promised to the city. On its face, the idea was good, said Joe Lee Rubio, a member of the committee then who is now back on board.
"It wasn't so much the value of the land as the investment it could have drawn if the partnership had built the gardens, staffed it with a directors and staff and maintained it," he said. "Over the years it could have provided local students with a great resource to study the botanical sciences."
Of utmost interest to local students of botany is the almost untouched field of investigations into native flora that includes some of the collection of former Brownsville mayor and photographer Robert Runyon. Runyon in credited with collecting countless samples of plants that no longer exist in the wild. One of them – esenbechia runyoni – was given his name and is considered one of the true citrus plants native to South Texas. Runyon's extensive native plant collection is now housed in a UT botanical museum in Austin. Theoretically, that collection might have been made available through a local botanical garden had it ever been made a priority by the former "partnership" administration and board.
The actual language of the deed reads:
"It is hereby agreed that the use of this property shall be restricted to a botanical garden/educational center, open to the public and to be built, staffed and funded by grantee therein. Grantee agrees not to use said property for storage, warehousing, parking, evacuation of land or removal of trees, shrubs and other vegetation."
But what a difference a decade makes.
After the 10.2-acre property reverted to the city, instead of removing its restriction and deeding it back to TSC so that the trustees could use it in its negotiations with the UT System as the "partnership" dissolves, the city – at the direction of Mayor Tony Martinez – used it to wrest two valuable historical homes from the college and reimposed its control upon another that the "partnership" had spent more than $200,000 to restore.
The specifics of the trade
were outlined by city contract attorney Mark Sossi at the direction of Martinez.
Those properties were the historical Neale and Young Houses that Martinez wrested from the college and also regained control of the Kraigher House on Paredes Line Road. A conservative estimate of the value of the properties including the renovations on the Kraigher House puts the concession by TSC at about $1million.
This is the same mayor that has convinced his city commission to hand over more than 70 acres to the UT System to lure it to stay in downtown Brownsville, often giving them generous terms on real estate deals.
This was not lost on at least one TSC trustee.
Juan "Trey" Mendez – who has invested in the preservation of downtown properties – said he did not agree that the community college should have to hand over valuable real estate to the city in return for the 10.2 acres when the mayor and the city commission are giving land away to the UT System.
In fact, he was the only one who voted against the deal. Trustees Adela Garza and Rene Torres were absent form the meeting. The other trustees who voted for Martinez's "offer" were Kiko Rendon, Raymond Hinojosa, Robert Lozano and Reynaldo Garcia.
At the time, the commission was composed of Mayor Blanca Vela, commissioners Henry Gonzalez, Joseph Zavaletta, Ernesto de Leon, Eddie Treviño Jr., and John Wood, who all signed on for the transfer.
Fast forward to 2013.
During the 10-year duration of the special warranty deed for the 10.2 acres, the "partnership" under then-UTB-TSC president Julieta Garcia and her pliant boards did not take any actions to implement the botanical gardens they had promised to the city. On its face, the idea was good, said Joe Lee Rubio, a member of the committee then who is now back on board.
"It wasn't so much the value of the land as the investment it could have drawn if the partnership had built the gardens, staffed it with a directors and staff and maintained it," he said. "Over the years it could have provided local students with a great resource to study the botanical sciences."
Of utmost interest to local students of botany is the almost untouched field of investigations into native flora that includes some of the collection of former Brownsville mayor and photographer Robert Runyon. Runyon in credited with collecting countless samples of plants that no longer exist in the wild. One of them – esenbechia runyoni – was given his name and is considered one of the true citrus plants native to South Texas. Runyon's extensive native plant collection is now housed in a UT botanical museum in Austin. Theoretically, that collection might have been made available through a local botanical garden had it ever been made a priority by the former "partnership" administration and board.
The actual language of the deed reads:
"It is hereby agreed that the use of this property shall be restricted to a botanical garden/educational center, open to the public and to be built, staffed and funded by grantee therein. Grantee agrees not to use said property for storage, warehousing, parking, evacuation of land or removal of trees, shrubs and other vegetation."
But what a difference a decade makes.
After the 10.2-acre property reverted to the city, instead of removing its restriction and deeding it back to TSC so that the trustees could use it in its negotiations with the UT System as the "partnership" dissolves, the city – at the direction of Mayor Tony Martinez – used it to wrest two valuable historical homes from the college and reimposed its control upon another that the "partnership" had spent more than $200,000 to restore.
The specifics of the trade
were outlined by city contract attorney Mark Sossi at the direction of Martinez.Those properties were the historical Neale and Young Houses that Martinez wrested from the college and also regained control of the Kraigher House on Paredes Line Road. A conservative estimate of the value of the properties including the renovations on the Kraigher House puts the concession by TSC at about $1million.
This is the same mayor that has convinced his city commission to hand over more than 70 acres to the UT System to lure it to stay in downtown Brownsville, often giving them generous terms on real estate deals.
This was not lost on at least one TSC trustee.
Juan "Trey" Mendez – who has invested in the preservation of downtown properties – said he did not agree that the community college should have to hand over valuable real estate to the city in return for the 10.2 acres when the mayor and the city commission are giving land away to the UT System.
In fact, he was the only one who voted against the deal. Trustees Adela Garza and Rene Torres were absent form the meeting. The other trustees who voted for Martinez's "offer" were Kiko Rendon, Raymond Hinojosa, Robert Lozano and Reynaldo Garcia.
2 comments:
written like a man who doesn't pay thousands in taxes each year to avoid losing his home to men with guns.
city of brownsville equals CORRUPTION.is time to fire all the RATONES.
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