MILLIONS FOR UNUSED HIKE-AND-BIKE: HE SHOULD RIDE A BIKE

Special to El Rrun-Rrun 

On September,  the city commission – with only commissioner Ben Neece against – voted to approve the issuance of $12,985,246 million in certificates of obligation and refinancing of previous municipal obligations that included a hefty $875,000 toward bike trials.

The motion was made by – appropriately – commissioner Rose Gowen whose historical designation of her home gives her a 100 percent historical exemption and pays no city taxes. The COs will be paid by ad valorem (property) taxes by the rest of the city's taxpayers. Neat, hey? The good doctor just loves splurging money as long as it's not her own. And she is not the only local elected official who's getting a free ride from city taxpayers.

The same day that Gowen got her additional $875,000, local residents had to bear the sweltering sun –  now the northern gales – at "bus stops" without a bench or shelter.

So far, Gowen's claims that the millions she has steered toward her pet project she says will magically improve local residents' health have not made a sizeable dent in the obesity and diabetes levels locally.

This was the justification for the setting aside of 10 percent of all COs issued by the city to go toward the hike-and-bike magical cure-all. And even given the dismal economic times, there are city matches with the Texas Department of transportation and other funding sources that must be paid by city taxpayers.

                             

Then she voted to table the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation (GBIC) budget and proposed that they spend some of their $5 million annual economic development funds for "promotional" gimmicks like T-shirts and "challenges" for people to lose weight. If not, she just might not vote for their budget.

When will this madness end? 

                                                   

Take a gander a the amount of city money that she has steered to her pet project. It is literally millions. And to add insult to injury, one of those trails is to link the city's bike and hike trials to Los Fresnos. 

If you look at the newest heist by Gowen and the bike-hike zealots, you will see that the city will use $3.6 million toward our pothole-filled streets all across the city (is there one near you?). The $875,000 is one quarter of that. The other graphics show that this has happened year after year while she has been in office.

Where are this city's priorities? 

When will we tear ourselves away from this misguided vision of our city and address those needs and issues that matter to all of us and our quality of life? It's not like Gowen is a svelte picture of fitness.

It doesn't look like she's missed too many meals herself. She pays no city taxes on her home, gets millions to go toward her trails, and then wants to steer even more economic development funds to promote her bikes.

When she was pushing for city funds to be spent on her cyclobias that shut the city down and racked up huge costs for police and city staff to close off streets, she said the trails would bring in millions in "active" tourism from near and far who would spend all kinds of money here to ride on the trials.

Where are they? You and I know that was all smoke.

El Rrun-Rrun, – if we're still around – will provide free advertising to anyone who will rrunrrun against her as long as they promise to do away with this senseless spending by this tax dodger. Enough is enough.