THE GREAT LINCOLN PARK (AND CITY) GIVEAWAY; PART 2

By Juan Montoya
Years ago, in 1994, when the U.S. Government and the State of Texas were planning to extend U.S. 77-83 from where it ended at International Boulevard and turned toward the Gateway Bridge, they convinced the City of Brownsville to give up Lincoln Park, an island park, to help them complete the span to present-day Veterans Memorial Bridge.
In order to mitigate this action, the state agreed to give the city a tract of land near the area where the levee was relocated near the Rio Grande and the new bridge. Public hearings were held where the residents of nearby La 421 were asked to give up the only park nearby for the greater good. They were promised a new park, perhaps a little further away, but nonetheless a park for their kids and families. They did. That is the Lincoln Park of today.
Now, 20 years later, as Mayor Tony Martinez seeks to get into the good graces of the University of Texas System, he is not asking anyone about whether they want to sell, lease, or give away the new Lincoln Park that was given to the residents of the city to mitigate the state and federal government having taken away their park.
In all, the 47.96-acre Lincoln Park is but one offer Martinez made to the UT System without asking the residents of this city, or its neighborhoods, whether they agreed with his largess. In his RFP to the UT System, he listed the cost of the park at $959,000.
On Tuesday's City Commission meeting, during executive session, the city commissioners will be asked to "deliberate the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease, the value of real property by none other than ethics-challenged city contract attorney Marc Sossi.
It has been confirmed by various sources that some of the real property will include Lincoln Park.
There will also be a public hearing on the ordinance 2014-736 which will allow the city to increase the rates and fines for parking meters downtown even after a majority of those attending a "public town hall meeting" voiced their opinion against it. .
How are these two related?, you may ask.
In the mayor's RFP to the UT System, he not only offered to sell huge tracts of publicly-owned land to the UT System at "fair market value," he also offered them other "incentives." Some of these were as follows:
* Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation - $2,500 to $5,000 for every University job associated with UTB's location downtown
* Brownsville Economic Development Corporation - BEDC will contribute tax revenue from increased sales, mixed beverage, and parking meter taxes to UTB for public realm improvements downtown
*Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation - BCIC will provide funding and/or subsidies for "quality of life" projects, including cultural and athletic amenities in greater Downtown Brownsville
* Brownsville Metropolitan Planning Organization and BCIC - MPO and BCIC will increase bicycle infrastructure, including the extension of city hike and bike trails to better connect the UTB facilities with surrounding downtown neighborhoods and amenities
* Public Utility Board - PUB will provide reduced utility rates for new UTB buildings that are built to LEED accreditation standards
* Brownsville Metro - Brownsville Metro will increase their bus coverage area to better serve UTB's campus and to increase service frequency to UTB campus facilities
So now do we understand why Martinez, Rose Gowen, and the rest of the city commission isn't making a peep about all the money that Martinez is pending on downtown real estate purchases, including the exorbitant $2.3 million for La Casa Del Nylon? In fact, La Casa Del Nylon and the old Kress Building ar depicted in the RFP as a university facility and (the latter) as a Gold's Gym. Will the city insist on the "fair market value" of La Casa Del Nylon" be $2.3 million when it sells it to the UT System?
The city is offering the UT System 139.9 acres of prime real estate at "fair market value," including Lincoln Park. In fact, the Lizka-Galonsky landowners (also of Casa Del Nylon fame) have an additional 39.09 acres they want to sell UT at "fair market value."
Now do we understand why Gowen is all hot and bothered about the Belden trial and the bike trails? It's not about our health, stupid!
Now do we understand why Martinez and the commission will raise the parking meter rates whether the citizenry is for it or not? They already promised UTB the additional income.
Now do we understand why the PUB rates for 80 percent of the PUB ratepayers (the residence customers) will have to – in addition to the $325 in revenue bonds for Tony's Tenaska power plant investment –  subsidize the new UTB buildings with lower utility rates?
We have just thrown off the UTB yoke under Juliet Garcia that cost the poorest community in the United States upward of $1billion over the 22-year existence of the UTB-TSC "partnership." By the looks of this, this is just the beginning of a continued subsidy for Tony Martinez, his friends, the UT System, and the parasites over at United Brownsville.
The Lincoln Park giveaway, the hike in parking rates and the spending of money on "quality of life" amenities for the UTB students while the rest of the community continues mired in misery is just beginning.