UT WAS NOT GOING TO SAVE DOWNTOWN; THAT'S UP TO US

By Juan Montoya

Sometimes people's memories are short. That seems to be the case when some writers say that if the city had been allowed to entice the University of Texas University System with "incentives" it might have decided to locate their main Rio Grande Valley campus here.

They forget that this city and its residents – the poorest in the nation – have been very generous to the oil-and-gas wealthy institution and handed them everything they asked for on silver platter. 

 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.
Twenty-three years later, in 2017, as former Mayor Tony Martinez, seeking to get into the good graces of the University of Texas System, tried to give the park away. 

The people rose up, cooler heads prevailed, and the move came to naught.

In his RFP to the UT System, he listed the cost of the 47-acre park at $959,000. But he was offering it to the UT at a fire-sale price.

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. That despite the fact that even today there is no Sunday bus service for local residents.

In it, La Casa Del Nylon and the old Kress Building were depicted as university facilities and (the latter) as a Gold's Gym. UT said thanks, but no thanks.

The city was 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) had an additional 39.09 acres they want to sell UT at "fair market value." 

Now do we understand why city commissioner Rose Gowen was all hot and bothered about the Belden trial and the other bike trails? It wasn't about our health, stupid! It was for her alma mater. In fact, she was conflicted out if she even discussed it or voted for it since she was still in the UT Health System employ. But she did anyway!

Now do we understand why Martinez and the commission raised the parking meter rates whether the citizenry wanted it or not? It formed part of the RFP offer and they had already promised UTB the additional income.

Now do we understand why the PUB rates for 80 percent of the PUB ratepayers (the residence customers) would have had to – in addition to paying higher utility rates for the $325 million in revenue bonds for Tony's Tenaska power plant investment –  subsidize the new UTB buildings with lower utility rates?

This followed the plan by UTB's Juliet Garcia to hand over the 200 million in real estate and facilities to the UT System and to do away with the college. And since 1991, TSC had "transferred" some 1 billion (with a B) over the 22-year existence of the UTB-TSC "partnership." And UT wanted more.

But even with all the freebies in the RFP, the UT System said no. Nos quedamos come novia de rancho. The local residents had nothing to do with them refusing the offer. They did, however, have something to say about handing over TSC and all its assets and of giving away Lincoln Park to the UT for a song.

Contrast that with the folks at Prairie View who threatened to sue UT for not providing Permanent University Funds because it was  a predominantly black institution. 

UTB was primarily a brown institution, too. The only difference was that those folks stood up for their rights and held UT accountable for not providing an equal opportunity to their citizens as it is supposed to provide all Texas residents. It was here as long as the getting was good and then left for Edinburg. 

Should Brownsville be blamed then, for the state of downtown and the fact that the UT System isn't here?

 It seems to us that we laid the city's offerings at their feet and they turned up their noses at it. We should put some of those assets to resurrect downtown and prevent real-estate wolves like Martinez and his successors from taking first dibs on the profits.