A video of the August 23 meeting of the board of the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation confirms that the minutes of the meeting were incorrect when they listed a $33,000 Business and Improvement Growth (BIG) grant to Urban 8 Properties LLC – a corporation owned buy former mayor Trey Mendez and his fellow managing agent Ramiro Gonzalez – as having been approved unanimously.
The tape shows that one board member – chairperson Jill Dominguez – was the lone "nay" vote. In the minutes released last month, they state erroneously that the item carried unanimously after a motion by member Murad Abusalim and seconded by BCIC board member and city commissioner Linda Macias.
Once alerted to the error, chairperson Dominguez insisted the minutes be changed before they could be brought before the board for their approval. BCIC, by the way, does not broadcast its meetings. That will change as of February 1, 2024 when it and other boards will be required to broadcast their meetings after an agenda item proposed by city commissioner Roy De los Santos passed unanimously during the city commission meeting October 17.
"It looks like the meeting was taped using a laptop camera much like the kids at the BISD used for distance learning during the pandemic," said a meeting participant. "It seems like the board doesn't want people to know what's going on in their meetings. This is amazing since earlier in the meeting they were talking about spending thousands of dollars to acquire high-tech hardware for the eBridge building."
BCIC Director of Business Development Nathan Burkhart had made a presentation early in the where he outlined the progress on the eBridge Center Project and reported that he was in the process of acquiring additional security cameras, access control systems, more locks, additional networking equipment, training room equipment, a sound-masking system, blueprint lab prototype space, and other high-tech (and expensive) equipment and software.
BCIC Director of Marketing and Communications Nelson Amaro gave members with a Power Point presentation using graphs which purported to show "social-media growth" for BCIC, StartUp Texas, eBridge, and Boarder (sic) and Sea. He stated he would be doing Success Stories for all BCIC programs and an "Impact Map" showing the corporation was doing Quality-of-Life projects.
But even thought BCIC counsel Deborah Goetz, of Atlas, Hall and Rodriguez, was present virtually, and City of Brownsville Chief Finance Officer Micheal Delmore and his assistant Salvador Villalpando were in attendance in person and were in agreement (as per BCIC guidelines) that the BIG grants would be limited to $25,000 per applicant, Abusalim made the motion to give Mendez and Gonzalez their request for $45,000.
When he was informed that the BIG fund would be depleted, he made the motion to grant them $33,000 instead so that the fund would not be zeroed out.
Macias then seconded the motion and the rest of the board – with the exception of Dominguez – voted to ignore their own grant limit of $25,000 and give the former mayor $8,000 more for the fire suppression system installed at their building at 1018 E. Washington Street (the old Coca Cola Building).
"Why have rules if you are going to ignore them even when your legal counsel and the city's Finance CEO are present and watching?," asked a meeting participant. "The board members apparently think that they can do as they wish regardless."
There was, however, one chink in the armor of BCIC CEO Cori Peña. After emerging from executive session, members voted on extending her contract for another year until September 30, 2024. The minutes (if correct) show that board member and United Way CEO Traci Wickett made the motion seconded by Zoraima Diaz. Mark Horowitz voted against and Abusalim abstained. With a city audit being performed on the BCIC's finances and procurement process, are storm clouds gathering in her horizon?
17 comments:
This is not surprising. Now, what are they going to do about it? Nadal?
An entity with no ethics!
Is it illegal? bring in the rangers, fbi and cia do not, I say do not, bring in the local DA he's asleep on his high chair just recently purchased, a 10k king size high chair with all the trimmings, like coffe warmer, built in laptop, audio and video machines to tape and play and a spy camera. It's only property tax monies, who cares....
Linda Macias SHOULD NOT be on Bcic
That's not right. I remember she even campaign about getting off and never did.
Conflict of interest?
The D.A. Is busy going after the real criminals: graffiti artists and gamblers while the town gets robbed! WHAT A JOKE!
And these same people, including Linda Macias, become EMBOLDENED, because no one will make them accountable for their UNETHICAL WAYS and LIES. These people are getting richer with other people's money and Musk - Destroying Earth to get to Mars-. He's building his Starbase city, but damaging homes when he shoots his rockets and our County leaders are just kissing up to him. Heck, I may just start charging the tourists to sit in my moms front porch and feel the earth and house shaking and moving. They can hear the loud explosion and actually see the windows rattle. After the show, they can see and take souvenirs of the debris falling from the sky.
Just came out on the national news: Texas most corrupt city is of course BROWNTOWN in the southermost part of texas, and the racist replicans in the house and senate will start a movement to return all that land back to MEJICO!!! makes no difference
If all these new stories/ rumors are true , that BCIC has no shame. Mysterious and nefarious developments are the norm with this entity. And now it seems they are resorting to low budget cloak and dagger tactics to hide information /confuse the public. Is everyone involved with BCIC guilty of wrongdoing by association??? The meetings minutes may be missing/fuzzy , but the attendees to this meeting may now be “ witnesses “ and some even INDICTED , if shit ever hits the fan with the law. ( if any of this is ilegal or is breaking the law) You can’t hide from this folks. You know who you are. Only in Brownsville
Roy should add PUB to televise meetings. They use to do it… what happened? Eddie Trevino did away with televising them so he could pass TENASKA scam. Televise PUB
Is "Maquinitas Buster" Saenz going to ignore this , as well?
the ritual for new city commissioners takes place behind the toilet and its a keep everything quiet and greatness will follow you forever. FACT.....
both new fools will be kicked out very sooooooon par de inutiles. worthless shits both..
It passed overwhelmingly Montoya. But please collect your cash from Alex and Zeke for this story.
Same old story how money hungry “buenos pa nada politicos “ want to get rich at the expense of the taxpayer.
Pura pinche rata de dos patas en Brownsville politics. FACT.
Cori Peña CEO/President is on her way out. She knows it and ALL her staff is just waiting for it to happen. The board wasn't unanimous on their vote to extend her contract. Only the White Women voted for her. Linda Macias thinks she is white. None the less it wasn't a vote of confidence. Once the new board is re appointed, and the audit comes out, she is out.
PURO ROBAR AT THIS NON PROFIT THATS ALL
ELDELASPRIETAS MOTHER GIVES GOOD MOUTH HUGS AND NO TEETH!
You have clearly never been in a Zoom meeting before, goes to show how far lost you are on technology, Juan. They shared a screen presentation. You would know if you ever used Zoom.
Your hate for all things Brownsville will kill you before the alcohol and liver disease does.
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