Feb. 6, 2018 City Commission Agenda Item 15. Consideration and ACTION to execute a License Agreement between the City of Brownsville and Origo Works Properties, LLC. (Engineering).
By Juan Montoya
Well, it has become quite clear now that in the Da Mayor Tony Martinez administration, the only thing required to snag real estate deals, to bend the rules, and to cash in on the city treasury is your personal relationship with Hizzoner.
Whether it's Abraham Galonsky snagging a $2.3 million price tag on the Casa del Nylon property most other appraisers tag at $750,000, or browbeating and ridiculing other city commission members to see things his way or hit the highway, and even selling tax-delinquent property to himself to turn a handsome profit, Tony has had the least word.
In every case, the public has had to dish out the cash to pay for Da Mayor's largess. He has developed a knack for self-dealing and profiteering at the expense of the poorest community in the nation draped with the mantle of sanctity. He even has a private chapel to worship Da Lawd in his back yard.
How do you succeed in Tony Martinez's Brownsville?
If you're a beginning engineering firm and attended St. Joseph Academy with his son, why he's there to give you a helping hand using the public's funds. Take, for example, the construction of the Brownsville-South Padre Island International Airport Terminal. Originally pegged at $38 million, that price has rapidly escalated to close to $58 million thanks to his intervention.
CH2MHILL of Englewood, Co. requested the change order from Airport Director Bryant Walker in a letter dated Sept. 21 saying that original terminal was originally planned to be approximately 65,000 square feet with another 9,000 square feet designated by Custom and Border Protection for Federal Inspection Service (FIS) areas.That, however, has changed and now the terminal is now planned for 85,000 square feet and the FIS areas to 23,000 square feet. The additional design and architectural work will increase the fees by CH2MHILL by $850,925.00, bringing ti from the original $1,650,000 to $2,500,925.00, which represents approximately 6.6 percent of the estimated construction value.
"The other item that has caused additional design and management effort is the coordination with our local architect, Origo Works," wrote James Kirshbaum, the engineer for CH2MHILL.
"As requested by the mayor, we engaged Origo Works to help incorporate "local" architectural features and elements into the original design. This effort extended the conceptual design phase of the project by approximately five months, resulting in significant additional efforts by CH2M, Corgan and Origo Works."(See graphic at top right. Click to enlarge.)
It's worth noting that the offending paragraph in Kirshbaum's letter (circled in yellow in the graphic) was removed when it was presented to the city commission.
(See graphic at right. Click to enlarge.)
Except for the paragraph dealing with the mayor's interference, both letters are identical, including the date, Sept, 21, 2017. Did Kirshbaum write the two letters the same day? Or was the sanitized letter tampered with?
It is also worth noting that no one has filed a complaint against the mayor for tampering with a government document as they did when commissioner Jessica Tetreau tried to correct the vote on the appointment of a new member of the GBIC.
And less than three month later (Feb. 6, 2018), Da Mayor was at it again. Origo Works was refurbishing a building to set up shop along the frontage road but there was a snag. It did not have enough parking space as required by the city. Without it, as many other would-be business people know, the permits would be denied and no business could take place.
But not to worry, there's where knowing Tony pays off. The firm lists work done on the mayor's businesses, including Spanky's Burgers and Rincon de la Paz off Palm Boulevard on their website. Both businesses list their principal as Martinez, and list his law firm's address at 1206 E. Van Buren Street as their mailing address.
The Feb. 6 agenda item placed by Engineering (not Tony?) reads: Consideration and ACTION to execute a License Agreement between the City of Brownsville and Origo Works Properties, LLC. (Engineering).
In exchange, Origo Works will build a parking lot, fence, and maintain it for the next five years with one-year options for renewals.
Commented one of our readers:
"The free give-away of city land to Origo Works for parking spaces with no consideration for the existing six business entities affected by this license agreement shows no mercy. These six businesses will no longer be able to access the rear of their buildings including the garbage collections via the alleyway which will be replaced by the relocated hike & bike trail.
No notice to the owners no due diligence by the planning & zoning or building permits department including the engineering department. WHAT IS GOING ON?"
Yes, what is going on, indeed?
From this jaundiced viewpoint, it seems pretty simple. Martinez is doing as he wants, handing out benefits he doesn't own, and favoring his cronies at the expense of the city and its residents like priest handing out the host on Sundays.
Now Tony wants us to elect him to another four-year term this May 4 so he can continue to manipulate the public's money to favor his cronies and for his personal profit? Will we be stupid enough to let him do it?
"The free give-away of city land to Origo Works for parking spaces with no consideration for the existing six business entities affected by this license agreement shows no mercy. These six businesses will no longer be able to access the rear of their buildings including the garbage collections via the alleyway which will be replaced by the relocated hike & bike trail. No notice to the owners no due diligence by the planning & zoning or building permits department including the engineering department. WHAT IS GOING ON?"
Yes, what is going on, indeed?
From this jaundiced viewpoint, it seems pretty simple. Martinez is doing as he wants, handing out benefits he doesn't own, and favoring his cronies at the expense of the city and its residents like priest handing out the host on Sundays.
Now Tony wants us to elect him to another four-year term this May 4 so he can continue to manipulate the public's money to favor his cronies and for his personal profit? Will we be stupid enough to let him do it?
23 comments:
You don't pay taxes, Montoya. You have no say!
There is a state or federal law that prohibits goverment entities from buying properties that exceeds their appraised value. La Casa Del Nylon far exceeded the purchase price by almost three times it real value. Will there ever be any accountability for violating this law?
Yours is a "jaundiced" point of view! Do you even know what the word means? LOL
How much evidence will it take to get the District Attorney to act, sorry he is mixed up with this thief, as well as Charlie Cabler and Jason the Jackass Hilts. The District Attorney needs to be locked up for him to sing like Armando Villalobos, then we will catch the bag full of crooks.
What the fuck are you talking about Montoya? Your spewing diarrhea from your mouth.
Was this private land or City land addressed in the licensed agreement?
1 - If its City land, then the business owners accessing the rear and having private business trash collection via rear of the building were doing so by trespassing onto City land without permission. That should give you some material to write about - how long did they use the land without paying any fines?
2 - If its Private land, then the City can't enter into a license agreement with land that doesn't belong to the City.
So. If its option 1 - those businesses, according to your law, have all the right to access the land, just because they already do that. Like squatters do. There was not benefit to meeting those business use that land - at lease Origo will maintain it.
If its option 2, then there's a problem - but I highly doubt this is the case.
Had your article been about NO ONE, not even the private businesses can access the land, that's fine, but you fucked up, as usual.
@March 15, 2019 at 12:38 PM
Just wondering what public servant wrote this articular and the reason behind it.
Instead of looking into why the finance dept (director) wrote all those check to pay property, houses (the whore house), etc. and other non-approved commission purchases?
The DA should look into this or the feds...
I doubt is charlie, juan or tony would do this they'd be stepping on their own tails
On TV tonight Mayor Tony Martinez waxed eloquently about Brownsville being the largest city in the valley and has a leadership roll for the valley. Unfortunately, Brownsville can never take a leadership role in anything without a leader....and Tony Martinez is surely not a leader, nor has he proven to be an effective manager. The RGV progresses without Brownsville even being in the parade. Tony Martinez is totally full of shit.
Juan Is mayor Trampa martinez related to Donald trump or what? My way or the highway attitude? looks like it.
Tony Martinez is "all hat and no cattle" when it comes to being able to lead this community. He and Obama....both fakes and worthless.
Insulting anybody simply because of their view on any think will not stop nobody from exercising their right to free speech. It will only encourage more people to participate. That's how movements get started.
Those elected officials that are encouraging other people and themselves to post negative remarks against this blog and its blogger will only encourage more people to come out and post theirs true felling about politics and the affect it has against them.
If elected officials are afraid then turn around and do the right thing or get out. In the end the citizens of these community will win and YOU will lose and maybe even go to jail.
Este si q no tiene verguenza para lanzarse otra vez.
Juan,
The Mayor has once again hired a Firm from Austin to run his campaign. Look at the phone number listed in the Toby For Brownsville Facebook Page, it’s from Austin!
Sincerely,
El Guardian Del Pueblo
The slogan for the Mayor's campaign is, I am a crook vote for me, I was involved in the Columbian fraud because I got to take part in the scam to pay for the whore of Jason Hilts, he is going to take me to see his new whore soon as long as I can stay the Mayor, and he doesn't get caught.
Trump does not commit fraud to pay for the house for his Whore, he gets his lawyer to pay for it. Not like Jason Hilts.
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter", MLK. Pay no attention to those idiots that are trying to shut down this blog. Pay no attention they are but a stepping stone, their end is near...
I don't see anyone asking to shut down this blog. People are just calling out Juan for inaccurate fiction novels he publishes. The property belongs to the City as per Juan, and he states that private businesses used the land for trash collection, and is pissed off that another private business is going to use it now, the only difference is that the latter has a license agreement which makes it legal, the first group used it illegally, but Juan gets pissed off at the legal use of the land. LOL.. WTF?
Corruption Fraud, go hand in hand with the BEDC and GIBC along with the District Attorney, Tony the Black Magic Man Martinez.
DO NOT RE-ELECT ANY BODY VOTE ALL INCUMBENTS OUT OF OFFICE. DO NOT RE-ELECT ANY
BODY VOTE ALL INCUMBENTS OUT OF OFFICE. DO NOT RE-ELECT ANY BODY VOTE ALL
INCUMBENTS OUT OF OFFICE. DO NOT RE-ELECT ANY BODY VOTE ALL INCUMBENTS OUT OF
OFFICE. DO NOT RE-ELECT ANY BODY VOTE ALL INCUMBENTS OUT OF OFFICE.
@March 18, 2019 at 10:12 AM
You must be a city worker public servant go back to work or post during your day off or non working hours LOL.
Trying to discredit and insult are forms of harassment to discourage someone to continue or to stop what he or she believes and THAT is not going to happen not here or any where.
To March 19, 2019 at 7:24 AM... you must not have a life posting at 7:24AM to begin with.
Secondly, your grammar sucks.
Third, im not discrediting anyone, but Im not going to take the time to explain it to you, because based on the above, you probably won't understand it anyways.
Fourth - I think I just wasted 2 minutes of my life responding to a 3rd grader, and I'll never get those 2 minutes back! dang it.
@March 19, 2019 at 5:14 PM
Blogs are informal as long as you get your idea across pendejo. We now have another stupid professor posting on this blog. Got nothing better to do, and sounds like a pinche gringo "dang it". Go collect your monetary compensation given to you by the crooked politicians you defend so dearly. (remember this is a blog and informal), so don't turn into a Ms Bader and start grading my posting idiot...
Vote for me I am Untouchable the same as Rene Oliveria, he has got his case buried in the the same cistem that Jason Hilts uses, That Charlie Cabler used before he resigned. Vote for Me as I am untouchable as well, and John Sossi knows it, as us in the Big Boy's Club, look after ourselves.
Ha ha ha ha professor Ha
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