MARTINEZ: THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK ON A SOAPBOX, GOWEN'S MEMORY LAPSE OF UNCLE

By Juan Montoya
Now that the soapbox called the Brownsville Sports park has been dusted off and everyone is climbing on to says their "tsk, tsks," shouldn't those critics also be called for their own transgressions against the public treasury?
Now we know that under the old GBIC board and its director, the Sports Park White Elephant became a veritable change-order factory with at least one vendor (SpawGlass=BEDC member Rene Capistran ) racking up more than $4.4 million while gladly following the whims of the board ?
But this was not your run-of-the-mill highway robbery. All the Ts were crossed and the Is dotted, thank you.
This, Dannenbaum Engineering, is how it's done.
The audit was done by Houston-based Whitley Penn for an undisclosed sum (we're looking into it) to see just how one could go $25 million over the announced $10 price tag announced at the beginning of the boondoggle.
The last piece of the puzzle was the addition of bleachers, almost as an afterthought. Of course, people have to seat somewhere if they go watch a sports events. Now, why didn't we think of that from the beginning?
Commissioner Rose Gowen stepped on the soapbox and uttered a few disparaging remarks about "safeguards" and written purchasing polices or procedures."
HIzzonner Tony Martinez quickly followed suit and said disapprovingly that it was "disheartening in some ways because it sure would have been a lot more efficient had we had some policies in place...You can't go free spending"
The mayor might have bitten his tongue and stopped just before that last gratuitous comment.
After all, this is the mayor that almost single-handedly and with little or no public input plunked down some $3.25 million to purchase downtown properties. Some of those purchases were justified with some questionable appraisals. Still, Martinez was able to convince the other city commissioners to place their stamp of approval on the indebtedness passed on to future property taxes to be paid by the citizens.
And – as an ex-oficio member of the Brownsville Public Utility Board – he also pushed for the hike in electric and water rates to pay for the 25 percent ownership of the Tenaska Brownsville Generating Station.
That 25 percent ownership will entitle Brownsville to 200 megawatts of electric power, enough, according to a tailor-made study by the Brownsville Economic Development Council, to supply 100,000 residences.
Meanwhile, without the bluster, pomp and circumstance of the Brownsville bunch, Harlingen is already building a similar plant that will generate four times as much power for the city of Harlingen. Mayor Chris Boswell said that like Brownsville's planned announced project with Tenaska, that city's project will be a major economic boost and should draw more industry and development to the area.

“We know that we need more access to electric power in South Texas and there is going to be continued demand as the area expands. … It’s valuable to us to attract industry that wants to know there is a reliable power source here,” the mayor said.

Boswell said the electric output of the Harlingen plant will supply the needs of up to 700,000 homes. "Because you have that facility in this area, it’s definitely going to help us attract industry.”
That means that there will be enough energy available for another 800,000 homes. With an average of 3.5 residents per household, the aggregated population to be served with the new power plants will be 2,800,000 people. Right now Brownsville stands at 125,000 and Harlingen at 66,122.
Never too early to plan ahead, we guess.   

The BEDC also claims that the Imagine Brownsville 2009 "Comprehensive Plan" noted the need for electric power to attract industry as a key obstacle for the city's development and the plant will lure industry here.
Do we need to remind Tony that he has also pushed his "free spending" to the hilt with self-approved expenses coming just under the $35,000 limit that doesn't have to go through the "checks and balances" they are calling for at the BCIC?
Funny how no one said anything about the 800 pound bull in the china shop that was called commissioner Charlie Atkinson, aided and abetted by his fellow on the BCIC board commissioner Rick Longoria. We said there was no mention of that, but rest assured that those names are notable because of their absence from the conversation.
But, as someone pointed out to us recently, no one is mentioning the fact that while the Sports park was under construction, other community projects were being implemented through the GBIC. Some included community parks, the Camille Playhouse, etc.,
And while we're reminiscing, wasn't it Gowen's uncle Dr. Joe Zavaletta who was the main mover behind the construction of a sports park in the city?
"We need a sports park in this city," Dr. Joe was heard to exclalim frequently at the city commission meetings. Later, commissioners Carlos Cisneros, Longoria and Atkinson took up the baton and saw it through its construction. Will Gowen go back that far or let sleeping dogs lie?