If they had been city manager at the time that Mayor Tony Martinez pushed for the issuance of Certificates Of Obligation [which don't require voter approval] to purchase, among other buildings, the Case del Nylon above for $2.3 million dollars on the word of Martinez alone that the city could then flip it to the U of Texas System, would they have gone along with it?
When the city commission authorized the issuance $13.06 million Certificates of Obligation, $2.3 million was tabbed for the purchase of the Casa del Nylon on 1304 E. Madison and the adjoining building and property next door at 655 E. 14th Street.
The $3.2 million price tag for the 52,586 square feet listed on the CO issue amounts to about $44 a foot, an extravagant amount given real estate prices in the surrounding neighborhood.
When commissioner Ricardo Longoria found out about the fact that Martinez's law partner Horacio Barrera represented the seller in the transaction, he wrote a local blog:
"For the record: I did not know that Abraham Galonsky was represented by Horacio Barrera. The only reason I voted for the acquisition of the property was because of the location and its proximity to the Multimodal BUS Facility and the fact that in the future Galonsky would probably ask for more than what he is right now.
"There are many things going on in this city that had not happened in a very long time," Longoria complained. "Many dealings are going on behind closed doors, contracts are being signed by an elected official without the consent of the City Commission or City Manager," he wrote."
Ok Guys. If you had been asked about the COs and the Casa purchase, what would you have said?"