A NOT SO CHARITABLE GOODBYE TO CHRIS PATTERSON

By Juan Montoya
Now that Brownsville Parks and Recreation director Chris Patterson is taking his leave of the city, there is at least on former public official who isn't sorry to see him leave for greener pastures.
That man would be Mario Villarreal, the former Brownsville Navigation District commissioner who started out with the Brownsville Public Utilities Board at its inception.
Villarreal has been dogged about refurbishing the fountain at Washington Park that at one time was the jewel of the Rio Grande Valley and people would drive from nearby towns to see the "colored" water spout from its base.
The fountain was built in 1929 and was heralded all over the area for its synchronized water geysers and multi-colored lights that drew visitors from throughout South Texas.
For Villarreal, it has become a personal crusade to restore the fountain to its former grandeur. HGis father was among those who brought it into being.
After decades of operating, the fountain was allowed to fall into disrepair, and was restored in time in December 1975 just in time to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the park. Some of those who helped to restore it were Frank and Fausto Yturria and Pansy Yturria.
When Mario Villarreal's father Faustino and A.S. Garcia, an employee at Putegnat Hardware joined Mary Yturria and other City of Brownsville administrators way back in the 1960s to work on the Washington Park fountain, it was already a city landmark known throughout the Valley.
"My dad helped Miss Yturria and the other people at PUB to get the fountain to shoot out water and synchronize the different colors so that it looked like the water was changing colors," remembered Villarreal. "Now it's a shame for me to pass by there every day and see the condition it's in."
Hard times have fallen on the old fountain. The old tubing that made the water shoot geysers as tall as 65 feet in the air and then diminish in size as the colored lights alternated eroded over time and had to be replaced. Today, the geysers are mere spouts of varying sizes that are colored by lights so dim they seem to be but of a single hue.
Recently, workmen were trying to get the water to shoot higher, but found that when the level of the water in the pool got too low, air seeped into the system and diminished the flow.
"When it gets to a certain level, air goes in the pipes and we have to purge it," said a worker. "The lights work, too, but they are not as bright as they used to be so they seem to be of only one color."
Villarreal has tried to work with the city to repair the fountain that was a source of pride for his late father. As a businessman who does extensive business in Mexico, he took it on his own to find the original replacement parts in the interior and passed along the information to the city.
"They already had a committee working on the fountain and they didn't pay much attention to what we told them," he said. "Instead they went out to other parts dealers in the United States and that's what we ended up with. It's nothing like what it used to be."
The committee reportedly spent thousands of city tax dollars to complete its job, but to Villarreal, the result left much to be desired.
"It makes me feel sad because I have a personal relationship with that fountain because my dad worked on it," he said. "If they ever decide to really restore it to its original condition, I am ready to help."
The failure of Parks and Rec's Patterson to fix a simple fountain in the heart of the city isn't the only legacy he leaves behind.
He was personally involved in the siphoning of more than $30 million for the Brownsville Sports park, knew about the city's plans for the giveaway of Lincoln Park to the University of Texas System and didn't do much to stop that ripoff. And he also had a hand in taking the money meant for a hurricane dome in the Southmost area to funnel it to a deluxe skate park across the city in Oliveira Park.
The Oliveira Skate Park amendment was requested by City of Brownsville Director of Parks and Recreation Department Director Chris Patterson who cited a public hearing held where "young and veteran skate board enthusiasts" and skate park contractors (American Ramp) convinced him that the city should fleece the Southmost barrio of $300,000 to build a state-of-the art skate facility to allay their desires to have a nice place to play.
Nowhere in the document is there any mention of any public hearing held in the Southmost area to determine whether the residents there were OK with having the money go for hurricane protection for their neighborhoods be siphoned off for such crucial necessities as a $450,000 place for skaters to hang out.
"The contractors were on hand at the Public Input Meeting to incorporate the comments and suggestions from the public...," Patterson wrote.
This is the same Patterson who was rooked by the rap group from Houston who got paid up front and then reneged on the concert they were supposed to perform.
Remember?
If a street-wise black rapper from Houston could beguile Chris, what can we expect from slick contractors who said the paltry sum of $150,000 wouldn't cut the mustard to give the "young and veteran skate board enthusiasts" the quality recreational needs they deserve?
Both Patterson and City Finance Director Pete Gonzalez buttressed their arguments in the guise of preventing crime and giving neighborhood youth an alternative to criminal activity. In other words, "If we don't make this substantial amendment and take this $535,000 from the Southmost area and give them what they want, why we might be inducing these impressionable youth to a life of crime."
When you have streetwise kids and vendors deciding where the city's money should go, when you allow filthy rich university systems to take your best park without a whimper, maybe it is high time that Patterson takes a hike.
You won't get any complaints from Villarreal on that one.