BCIC BIZ AS USUAL: INSATIABLE TRAVEL, CASH DEMANDS CONTINUE

 Special to El Rrun-Rrun

If perchance you have some time to attend the meeting of the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation (BCIC) Thursday at 5:00 p.m. at eBridge Center for Business & Commercialization, located at 1304 East Adams Street (the new and improved multi-million Casa del Nylon), you will see how the sausage is made.

Following embarrassing public disclosures of how its board and administrators had ben handing out the BCIC's share of an annual $5.5 million in revenue funded from city sales taxes to public officials, board members, and their families and friends, the city announced that it would ask voters to approve a measure May 4 to eliminate its board and staff as well as that of the scandal-plagued Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation (BCIC) and rebrand the new beast the Greater Brownsville Municipal Development District.

You remember the GBIC's dismal performance under then-director (and now city manager Helen Ramirez) where she approved handing out more than close to $750,000 to space-industry related scams that created no jobs, had no track record, weren't even registered to do business win Texas, relied on their self-reports, but guaranteed "quick wins" for public consumption.

The city weakly asserted that it would try to enforce a "claw back" legal action to recover the funds, so far to no avail.

The new district, according to mayor John Cowen, will be staffed by a combined administration composed of the same administrators and staff. In other words, la misma gata, pero revolcada.  

Take a gander of the plans that BCIC has placed on its meeting agenda for Thursday. 

One of the items deals with travel of its officers that appears redundant (and expensive):

Among those planning to make all-expenses paid to Austin, College Station and Las Vegas President/CEO Cori Peña, Director of Marketing and Communications Nelson Amaro, COO Victoria Padron, and Nathan Burkhart, Vice President of Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Peña, Burkhart, Amaro and Pardon will indulge in five out-of-town jaunts at taxpayer expense between April 12 to June 4.

Why? Can't one of them attend a conference and report back to the board instead of saddling the public with three of them getting paid their salaries, their deluxe room and board, and attending the same meetings? But hey, who gets paid to attend a four-day conference in Las Vagas? Or is it Lost Wages for taxpayers?

Their salaries are already extravagant for a corporation serving a city the size of Brownsville.

 

And have a look-see at some of the projects they will consider through public hearings and grant applications on Thursday:

Public hearings:

Children’s Museum of Brownsville: Amelia Earhart Adventure Climber Exhibit in the amount not to exceed Four Hundred Thousand and NO/100 Dollars ($400,000).

Brownsville Historical Association: Brownsville on the Move – A New Vision for the Historic Brownsville Museum Simon Celaya Children’s Gallery in the amount not to exceed

Four Hundred Twenty Thousand Nine Hundred Twenty-Five and NO/100 Dollars ($420,925).

IDEA Public Schools - Camp RIO: High Ropes Adventure at Camp RIO in the amount not to exceed Five Hundred Ninety-Three Thousand Three Hundred Fifteen and NO/100 Dollars ($593,315). IDEA Schools had previously received $700,000 from the BCIC to purchase the Camp Rio property and Jill Dominguez, Vice President of Operations @ IDEA Public Schools, later joined the board and was made its chairman. Will she recuse herself from discussion or participating in the hearing? And what if it comes to a vote?

Brownsville Wellness Coalition: “Gather at the Gardens!” Cultivating healthy food and lifestyles by growing urban farmers and community gardeners in the amount not to exceed Three Hundred Thirty-Eight Thousand Nine Hundred Forty and NO/100 Dollars ($338,940). This is svelte Rose Timmer's baby, just as the cannery building at the corner of Ringgold and Sixth Street which has ballooned in cost since the beginning of its construction for "wellness" next to Rose Gowen's hike-and-bike trail. This pair takes the adage "If you're going to be a bear be a grizzly" literally and go for the Big Bucks every time.

The agenda includes consideration and action to approve the request for the following FY2024 Business Improvement & Growth (“BIG”) Property Improvement Application(s):

a. 1400 Palm Blvd/Extensive Rehabilitation /Property Owner: Uptown Brownsville, LLC, in the amount of $88,773.

b. 1009 E. Adams Street/Extensive Rehabilitation/Property Owner (The Lofts): Varco 1009 Adams, LLC, in the amount of $200,000.

c. 825 Palm Blvd/Standard Rehabilitation - Facade Improvement/Tenant: A&M Food Companies, LLC, in the amount of $4,687.

d. 825 Palm Blvd/Rental Reinvestment Program for Aroma Espresso Cafe/Tenant: A&M Food Companies, in the amount of $6,000.

e. 1018 E. Washington Street First Floor Suites E and F/Standard Rehabilitation - Interior MEPs/Property Owner: Urban 8 Properties LLC, in the amount of $35,000. This LLC is registered to former mayor Trey Mendez, who previously had been approved for $85,000 for the old Coca Cola building and grants had ben given to some of his tenants for improvements to the same facility.

There is more. 

Under the BCIC's eBridge Fund (“RLF”) Program Applications is included one for former BCIC chair Michael Limas and his brother Fabian. They are asking for another outlay of public cash as Las Ramblas Hospitality Group, LLC dba Le Reve/Food & Hospitality: Michael Limas and Fabian Limas/ in the amount of $75,000 

"Tanto va el cántaro al agua hasta que se rompe."