By Juan "Trey" Mendez
Mayor, City of Brownsville
Thank you for that generous welcome. It is an honor and privilege to serve as your Mayor of Brownsville, Texas. I’d like to thank the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce for hosting this State of the City.
Thank you Esmy, you have a terrific team and we are honored to join the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce, a non-profit organization, for this important update.
Before I took the oath of office to serve the residents of Brownsville in July, I was blessed to serve on the Board of Trustees for Texas Southmost College for nine years. I am also a member of theBrownsville Community Foundation and Brownsville Public Utilities Board.
When we commit to give the best of ourselves to our families, our work, our business and our lives, it is our community that benefits and excels to a higher standard. Excellence as an elected official, and as your Mayor, has driven my first 100 days in office.
When I am not serving our community, I am fulfilling my calling as an attorney and, as of 15 months ago, a restaurant owner. Like many of you, I own and operate my own businesses and know firsthand how the process, the infrastructure, the culture and the people help support small business and contribute to our local economy.
I am thrilled today, to share with you the major milestones the City of Brownsville has reached this year. Instead of telling you, I’d like to show you with a video produced in- house by our very own Brownsville TV.
Thank you for that generous welcome. It is an honor and privilege to serve as your Mayor of Brownsville, Texas. I’d like to thank the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce for hosting this State of the City.
Thank you Esmy, you have a terrific team and we are honored to join the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce, a non-profit organization, for this important update.
Before I took the oath of office to serve the residents of Brownsville in July, I was blessed to serve on the Board of Trustees for Texas Southmost College for nine years. I am also a member of theBrownsville Community Foundation and Brownsville Public Utilities Board.
When we commit to give the best of ourselves to our families, our work, our business and our lives, it is our community that benefits and excels to a higher standard. Excellence as an elected official, and as your Mayor, has driven my first 100 days in office.
When I am not serving our community, I am fulfilling my calling as an attorney and, as of 15 months ago, a restaurant owner. Like many of you, I own and operate my own businesses and know firsthand how the process, the infrastructure, the culture and the people help support small business and contribute to our local economy.
I am thrilled today, to share with you the major milestones the City of Brownsville has reached this year. Instead of telling you, I’d like to show you with a video produced in- house by our very own Brownsville TV.
I want to encourage our business and development community to get engaged in the process and help us make your experience easier.
As Mayor I strongly believe that one of our many gems is the Gladys Porter Zoo. Opened in 1971, the Gladys Porter Zoo is a regional destination bringing tens of thousands of people from throughout the region to visit the 1600 species of animals on the 31-acre site. That being said, we must continue to invest in our Zoo and that is why I’m proud to announce that the City of Brownsville and Gladys Porter Zoo have entered into a partnership to develop a Zoo Master Plan that will allow for our community to envision our Zoo for the next 50 years and beyond.
The Cannery Public Market will be another exceptional addition to the Mitte Cultural District and will give Brownsville the premiere Farmers Market venue in South Texas. The estimated cost for the Cannery Public Market project is estimated at $988,575. This total includes a half a million dollar grant from the Legacy Foundation. That is one thing you can expect from the City going forward: Innovative ways to fund much needed community and quality of life projects. We need to work harder
And smarter! We don’t have the luxury of doing just one. Our Market Square Revitalization Project continues to garner awards for its impact. The Texas Downtown Association recently recognized Market Square as the Best Public Improvement for a community over 50K. Furthermore, Market Square won the People’s Choice for Best Public Improvement.
As Mayor I strongly believe that one of our many gems is the Gladys Porter Zoo. Opened in 1971, the Gladys Porter Zoo is a regional destination bringing tens of thousands of people from throughout the region to visit the 1600 species of animals on the 31-acre site. That being said, we must continue to invest in our Zoo and that is why I’m proud to announce that the City of Brownsville and Gladys Porter Zoo have entered into a partnership to develop a Zoo Master Plan that will allow for our community to envision our Zoo for the next 50 years and beyond.
The Cannery Public Market will be another exceptional addition to the Mitte Cultural District and will give Brownsville the premiere Farmers Market venue in South Texas. The estimated cost for the Cannery Public Market project is estimated at $988,575. This total includes a half a million dollar grant from the Legacy Foundation. That is one thing you can expect from the City going forward: Innovative ways to fund much needed community and quality of life projects. We need to work harder
And smarter! We don’t have the luxury of doing just one. Our Market Square Revitalization Project continues to garner awards for its impact. The Texas Downtown Association recently recognized Market Square as the Best Public Improvement for a community over 50K. Furthermore, Market Square won the People’s Choice for Best Public Improvement.
It’s great to see that other people are starting to take notice of the value that our historical assets bring to the city and just how unique we really are. I n the past year, we have seen more almost 30 new businesses open in the downtown area, and within the last 6 months, all you have to do is drive or walk around to see that many buildings are being rehabilitated and many more have been purchased.
Plans are coming along to bring those into use and begin to activate many more blocks around market square.
February 2020 will bring the first annual Crossroads Interactive Festival to Downtown Brownsville. This will bring music, arts, culture and politics together and should act as another showcase for the many assets that Brownsville has to offer.
We intend to continue our progress Downtown with the creation of a Downtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone. This will be another catalyst for Downtown Re- Development.
I have reached out to the Texas Commission on the Arts to discuss a Cultural District Designation. I will be putting together a group of Stakeholders and Entities interested in the Arts to tackle this very
important issue. We must improve our cultural offerings and this designation will open up state funding that we have not been allowed to access before. It will also bring into light the support in the community for arts and culture in our 6th and 7th street corridors and downtown. Our museum district is thriving and things are only going to get better thanks to our friend in Hollywood, R.J. Mitte and the Mitte Foundation. They have recently acquired the property from Ringgold to the Expressway on 7th Street and a couple of additional lots.
I’ve seen the Master Plan and it’s amazing. We are working with the Foundation to get things moving
as soon as possible. I have also begun to reach out the Kris Kristofferson camp to try and bring Kris home for a celebration of his love and passion for Brownsville. Stay tuned.
We are aggressively pursuing new retail and reinvestment opportunities targeting those stores and entertainment venues we all want and visit when we travel to other cities. Although we do not have
any official announcements, I can tell we will be making some announcements in the coming months.
I’m also working with Congressman Filemon Vela on the transfer of the Fort Brown Golf Course to the National Park Service adding a third component under the purview of the National Park Service. I’m scheduled to testify before congress on this very issue a week from today and I hope that we can continue to work with our federal officials to push this forward and continue to protect our very important history.
Along with the E-Bridge Center, I’m glad to announce that the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation will launch the StartUp Texas Grant to inspire entrepreneurship within our community and foster scalable business in our region. Access to Capital is extremely important and local business are what make our community special and I'm happy to support them.
Access to Broadband will determine our future, which is why we have started to work with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas to bring important stakeholders together to see how we can close the digital divide. I’ve heard many stories that the future leaders of our community struggle with not having access to internet, whether its because of affordability or just lack of infrastructure to their homes. This is unacceptable. Discussions are underway with organizations in Washington, D.C. to see how we can tackle this issue. I’m glad to announce that by May of 2020 we should have a Strategic Broadband Infrastructure Plan in place and work towards implementation.
On the higher educational front, UT-RGV continues to make gains and is attracting top notch faculty and researchers to the university and the medical school. It currently has an enrollment of over 28,000 students, about 6,000 of them at the Brownsville campus. We are fortunate to have them as community partners. Meanwhile, Texas Southmost College is at an all time high enrollment in its 90+ year history, eclipsing the 7,000 student mark last year. The board, at my last meeting in June, lowered tuition for the second time in 6 years and approved a multi-million dollar investment in facilities for targeted workforce training.
The $2 million Battlefield Trail Extension towards Los Fresnos is currently out for bid and we have a completion date of May 8, 2020 in order to celebrate the 174 th Anniversary of the Battle of Palo Alto.
Special thanks goes out the Legacy Foundation for 100 % of the funding of this effort.
2020 will also see significant advances in the West Rail Trail development. city and county officials continue to work on designs and funding strategies to get this project off the ground and get this 8-
mile hike and bike trail built and in use.
And if you aren't excited by any of these items, I'll end with these two items:
Because of the RGV MPO Merger, the East Loop is closer to becoming a reality than it has ever been. It is my understanding that we are months away from approval from the Texas Transportation Commission allocating $64 million dollars for the East Loop Project.
Last, but certainly not least, I’d like to thank the Brownsville Housing Authority for their tremendous efforts leveraging funding to develop high quality affordable housing for those who need it the most. With all the due diligence complete as of last week, I’m very excited to announce that the Brownsville Housing Authority will be closing in the next 45 days on the Former El Jardin Hotel. This exciting news will allow for us to control our own destiny with regards to the future of that property and I look forward to the day when the Ribbon is cut on that project and we can put this very special building back into use. The possibilities are endless. Housing units, mixed use, retail and office space.
In Closing, as you can see the State of the City is Strong but I’m excited for what the next year has in store for us. This will be a city-wide effort and I need everyone to join the team. In the end, if we are going to build a better Brownsville for all, its about the “WE”- not the “ME.” In a little more than a year, we will be cutting the ribbon for our all new Airport terminal, which will connect us to the rest of the world and will allow us to once again be the crossroads of the hemisphere.
as soon as possible. I have also begun to reach out the Kris Kristofferson camp to try and bring Kris home for a celebration of his love and passion for Brownsville. Stay tuned.
We are aggressively pursuing new retail and reinvestment opportunities targeting those stores and entertainment venues we all want and visit when we travel to other cities. Although we do not have
any official announcements, I can tell we will be making some announcements in the coming months.
I’m also working with Congressman Filemon Vela on the transfer of the Fort Brown Golf Course to the National Park Service adding a third component under the purview of the National Park Service. I’m scheduled to testify before congress on this very issue a week from today and I hope that we can continue to work with our federal officials to push this forward and continue to protect our very important history.
Along with the E-Bridge Center, I’m glad to announce that the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation will launch the StartUp Texas Grant to inspire entrepreneurship within our community and foster scalable business in our region. Access to Capital is extremely important and local business are what make our community special and I'm happy to support them.
Access to Broadband will determine our future, which is why we have started to work with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas to bring important stakeholders together to see how we can close the digital divide. I’ve heard many stories that the future leaders of our community struggle with not having access to internet, whether its because of affordability or just lack of infrastructure to their homes. This is unacceptable. Discussions are underway with organizations in Washington, D.C. to see how we can tackle this issue. I’m glad to announce that by May of 2020 we should have a Strategic Broadband Infrastructure Plan in place and work towards implementation.
On the higher educational front, UT-RGV continues to make gains and is attracting top notch faculty and researchers to the university and the medical school. It currently has an enrollment of over 28,000 students, about 6,000 of them at the Brownsville campus. We are fortunate to have them as community partners. Meanwhile, Texas Southmost College is at an all time high enrollment in its 90+ year history, eclipsing the 7,000 student mark last year. The board, at my last meeting in June, lowered tuition for the second time in 6 years and approved a multi-million dollar investment in facilities for targeted workforce training.
The $2 million Battlefield Trail Extension towards Los Fresnos is currently out for bid and we have a completion date of May 8, 2020 in order to celebrate the 174 th Anniversary of the Battle of Palo Alto.
Special thanks goes out the Legacy Foundation for 100 % of the funding of this effort.
2020 will also see significant advances in the West Rail Trail development. city and county officials continue to work on designs and funding strategies to get this project off the ground and get this 8-
mile hike and bike trail built and in use.
And if you aren't excited by any of these items, I'll end with these two items:
Because of the RGV MPO Merger, the East Loop is closer to becoming a reality than it has ever been. It is my understanding that we are months away from approval from the Texas Transportation Commission allocating $64 million dollars for the East Loop Project.
Last, but certainly not least, I’d like to thank the Brownsville Housing Authority for their tremendous efforts leveraging funding to develop high quality affordable housing for those who need it the most. With all the due diligence complete as of last week, I’m very excited to announce that the Brownsville Housing Authority will be closing in the next 45 days on the Former El Jardin Hotel. This exciting news will allow for us to control our own destiny with regards to the future of that property and I look forward to the day when the Ribbon is cut on that project and we can put this very special building back into use. The possibilities are endless. Housing units, mixed use, retail and office space.
In Closing, as you can see the State of the City is Strong but I’m excited for what the next year has in store for us. This will be a city-wide effort and I need everyone to join the team. In the end, if we are going to build a better Brownsville for all, its about the “WE”- not the “ME.” In a little more than a year, we will be cutting the ribbon for our all new Airport terminal, which will connect us to the rest of the world and will allow us to once again be the crossroads of the hemisphere.
Thank you for allowing me to be your Mayor and thank you to the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce for hosting this event.
I urge you to think not only of the present or the future, but think beyond. Beyond Normal, beyond what you think your limits are and beyond what you ever thought would be possible for our great city. We are about culture, we are about innovation and we are about people.
Viva Brownsville!
Viva Brownsville!