BCIC'S BIG $200,000 FOR IMPROVEMENT ON AN EMPTY LOT; SOLARIS MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS OWNS TRANSMAQUILA, BROTHER OF TAMPS. ECONOMIC-DEVELOPMENT SECRETARY

Agenda item on August 26, 2021 Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation (BCIC)

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

Just when you thought that the folks over at the board of the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation couldn't possibly do anything worse than awarding $100,000s to the mayor and another wheelbarrow-load of money to chairman Michael Limas and his brother, another foible comes to light.

During the August 26 meeting where they handed out $80,000 to Mayor Trey Mendez who applied under the Victura Properties LLC through the BIG 2.0 Program, they also doled out $200,000 to a Solaris Management Solutions LLC and to its principals for the "intent to activate the upper floors or basement that are currently vacant for the purpose to host a new commercial business or housing."

Well, that sounds good and progressive except for one tiny detail.
There is no building with empty upper floors or a basement at 754 E. Levee.

In fact, there is no building at all, just an empty lot.

According to the BCIC website "BIG 2.0 provides financial support to commercial property owners, eligible businesses and developers to improve existing buildings for expansion and site activation. By enhancing the exterior and interior of the buildings, properties increase in value, maintain their marketability, and demonstrate market confidence in order to revitalize downtown."

The business directory describes Solaris Management Solutions, L.L.C. as part of the Office Administrative Services Industry., whatever that means. Juan Benito Garcia is listed as the governing person as was Gabriela Fernandez.

Carlos Garcia, Juan Benito's brother, is also listed as a key principal in Solaris. A little probing revealed that Juan B. Garcia is the owner of Transmaquila Transports, which has its mother company at TransMaquila, S.A. de C.V. in Matamoros.

And Carlos Garcia, his brother, is the Secretario de Desarrollo Economico (Director of Economic Development) in the Tamaulipas administration of Governor Francisco Javier García Cabeza de Vaca. 

 

Since the property (two lots) is listed an an appraised value of $76,800, the $200,000 Solaris got is almost three times that amount. Did the BCIC make that grant so they could construct a building with empty upper floors and a basement so they could "activate" them?                                                                              Under Michael Limas as chairman and Josh Mejia (Young Economic Development Professional of the Year, c'mon!) as executive director, no one seems to have done any due diligence on the awarding of these grants. According to the application rules, the $200,000 should also generate a 80-20 match, meaning that the brothers at Solaris should come up with $40,000 and invest it in the "project" by the completion date of March 31, 2022.


Mayor Trey Mendez has called social media and blog reporting "fake news," and said that the grants he received from the BCIC board and its chairman who he and the city commission appointed are legitimate expenditures of the corporation.

Mendez said that the rules say that he and other BCIC officers like chairman Limas and members of the city commission are eligible to receive funds and apply for money from the BCIC.

So why did Mendez, along with his partner former City of Brownsville Government and Community Affairs director Ramiro Gonzalez pull their application for another $200,000 under the name of Urban 8 Properties LLC during the Sept. 30 meeting? Could it have been because Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz and his cadre suddenly turned up to witness the voting on the item?

Once it was learned through social media that Gonzalez and Mendez had teamed up for the grant application through their LLC, Gonzalez suddenly resigned from his $82,9000 city job.

   

Now, remember, the $30,000 grant to the Limas brothers and their business partner in the 1848 BBQ restaurant – former mayor Tony Martinez – was granted during the August 26 meeting. So was the $80,00 for the mayor through Victura Properies LLC. One meeting. What else has happened in past meetings?

One blogger – Jim Barton, of the Brownsville Observer – reports that "In the last two months alone, before the cat got out of the bag via local bloggers, Mendez was set for a BCIC payout of $280,000 and Limas $282,000."

And when chairman Limas saw Saenz and his legal eagles at the September 30 meeting, he said he would abstain from the voting on another grant application for his neighbor next to his Las Ramblas bar because the woman getting the grant had already planned to rent him the building once she got done fixing the place up with the $160,000 she was getting from the BCIC. 

We can only hope that the $200,000 to Solaris hasn't crossed the river yet to develop the Garcias' personal economy, but then again, we can only hope. Are there any adults in the Brownsville city government?