CART BEFORE THE HORSE?: CITY TO ADOPT STREET RENAMING POLICY AFTER CHANGING E. FRONTON TO MCNAIR FAMILY DR.

5. Public Hearing and ACTION on Resolution Number 2019-030, to rename East Fronton Street (from Palm Boulevard to Sam Pearl) to McNair Family Drive. (Engineering Department)
                         (May 21, 2019 City of Brownsville Commission Meeting)

(Agenda item on Tuesday's COB commission meeting.) 

By Juan Montoya

In one of the last meetings still being presided by City of Brownsville lame-duck mayor Tony Martinez and sat on by equally lame District 1 commissioner Ricardo Longoria, a majority of the city commission approved the name change of E. Fronton Street to McNair Family Dr. for the section from Palm Blvd. to Sam Perl Drive.

Martinez and Longoria stuck around until the new commission members - Mayor Trey Martinez and commissioner John Cowen and Nurith Galonsky - won their respective races in the June 22 runoff, a month later.

That was on May 21 and Martinez - saying he owned property on the stretch did what he had never done before when he had a conflict of interest - abstained from voting. Longoria, who reminded the commissioners that the McNair family already had a park named after them on nearby St. Charles, said the commission should refrain from renaming streets after families or individuals.

"Beginning this process of naming streets after families- in m opinion - is going to cause something in the future...why not the Martinez family, why not the Edlesteins?..."

Nonetheless, on a motion by commissioner Jessica Tetreau - who had won without a runoff - seconded by Joel Munguia and voted on by commissioners Rose Gowen, and  Ben Neece, approved the change.

At the time, Gowen, responding to Longoria's concerns by telling city manager Noel Bernal to study the possibility of passing a city policy on renaming streets. This is the policy that will be considered Tuesday.

Interestingly, one of the first no-nos in the city manager's proposed policy included in Resolution Number 2019-069 is that streets should not be named "after living persons, other than a recognized national figure...," which would have prevented the name change if it had been in the books before May 21.

While addressing the commission in the May 21 meeting, resident Enrique Mellizo assured the commissioners that "only 14" property owners of the 144 lots on the stretch of E. Fronton mailed letters of concern about the renaming.

What he didn't say - and that which Engineering Director Carlos Lastra included in this month's meeting packets - is that "only" four letters were received in support of the name change. Mellizo was able to procure "only" 30 names for the petition of the 144 property owners.

Obviously, there wasn't a groundswell of support for the change although Mellizo made it seem like the natives were clamoring for the McNair family to be enshrined forever along the historical route.

What he also didn't tell the commission is that the McNairs own three properties on East Fronton  which are historically exempt and, unlike all other property owners in the area, pay no taxes to the city. In fact, the last time they received the exemption was for the years 2016 to 2020 and included 100 percent tax historical exemptions not only from the City of Brownsville, but also from the the Brownsville Navigation District, Cameron County, Texas Southmost College and the Brownsville Independent school District, with 48.88 percent.

The buildings themselves are nondescript warehouses, shells of brick and mortar that the McNairs still rent to the highest bidder.

Except for the paint on the outside walls there is little evidence that - as they claim in their inclusion into the list of the National Historical Register "the McNair family has restored many of the old factory and office buildings which date back to the early 1900’s and continue to improve East Fronton Street through their building restoration and beautification projects."

The building at 504 Fronton is listed at an appraised value of  $218,800 that in 2017 had a BISD estimated tax of $1,383. The McNairs paid no city, BND, TSC, or Cameron County taxes on the old warehouse, unlike their neighbors who did.

The building on 730 E. Fronton (the one with the Texas logo across the street in the photo above) is listed at an appraised value of $108,641 that in 2017 had a BISD estimated tax of $687.15. The McNairs paid no city, BND, TSC, or Cameron County taxes on the old warehouse, unlike their neighbors who did.

The building at 759 E. Fronton (in the foreground in the photo above) is listed at an appraised value of $108,641 that in 2017 had a BISD estimated tax of $687.15. The McNairs paid no city, BND, TSC, or Cameron County taxes on the old warehouse, unlike their neighbors who did.

In short, the McNairs did not pay city, BND, TSC, or Cameron County taxes on their three buildings on E. Fronton with an aggregate appraised value of $441,871, unlike their neighbors who did.

In fact, this penchant for listing their properties as historical extends to the Harry and Reba McNair home on 39 Sunset Drive which is listed at an appraised value of $350,828 and also was 100 percent exempt from city, BND, TSC, or Cameron County taxes.

Some of those old timers living on Fronton bit their lips at the city the renaming of their old street after the McNairs. They say that businesses like E. De La Garza, the Gavito Fish House and the Margarita Lopez Tortilleria are just as old, if not older than the warehouses.

"I understand the why since the McNair family had the clothing warehouses on east Fronton but really?," wrote a local social media commented. "E. De la Garza wholesale has been there for ages. Do they get a portion of street named for them too? Several families I personally know have lived on east Fronton for generations, do they get a portion of the street named for themselves?"

It is, of course, too late for the protests to be heard today. And the adoption of a formal street naming policy will prevent the naming of a street after living persons. But to many E. Fronton residents who wanted to keep their old street name, the passing of the street-naming resolution now is like closing the barn door after the horse is gone.