City Commission - Regular Meeting

Yeah, so I think. Yeah.

Okay, just stop. Okay. Here. Okay. Okay.

I mean, the mayor put him. Oh, yeah.

So they designated her. Because Mayor Mayor Potem is daily on deputy is Cardenas, but he's not here.

Testing testing.

We will soon to get started.

Please take your seats and silence your phones.

Good afternoon, everyone.

Thank you for being here. The mayor's on his way, but I'll go ahead and get the meeting started.

Perfect. Good afternoon. Welcome to the City Commission of the City of Brownsville. Pursuant to Chapter 551, Title V of the Texas Government Code that the Texas Open Meetings Notice is hereby given that the City Commission of the City of Brownsville, Texas, in accordance with Article 5, Section 12 of the Charter of said city, will convene a special meeting on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. The time is 5.01 p.m. Here in the Commission Chambers on the second floor of the Brownsville City Hall, old federal building, located at 1001 East Elizabeth Street, Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas, 78520. We will start with the roll call with Commissioner Tino Villarreal.

Present.

Commissioner Narenz Galanski. Here. Brian Martinez.

Present.

Commissioner Linda Macias. Present. Commissioner Gustavo De Leon. Present. Commissioner De Leon. Commissioner Pedro Cardenas. Present. and Mayor John Cowan Jr. We do have a quorum to proceed. Next, we will have the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flags of the United States of America and the State of Texas.

Next, we have the proclamation recognizing Spirit League cheer.

The invocation?

Because it's a special meeting, we didn't include the invocation in the agenda posting.

This is a proclamation of the City Commission of Brownsville, Texas, recognizing the Spirit League Electric Rain Youth Cheer Team. Whereas the Spirit League Cheer Program was established for the purpose of providing exemplary coaching, instruction, and mentorship, teaching local youth the fundamental skills, discipline, and teamwork that are fundamental to success both in competitive sports and in life. Whereas the Spirit League's Electric Reign is a competitive youth cheer team composed of 12 dedicated young athletes from across Brownsville, Texas, proudly representing two school districts and nine separate BISD schools, embodying the united spirit and diverse talent of the Brownsville community. And whereas over the past four years of intense competition, the Spirit League program has achieved extraordinary success, capturing nine regional titles and four national titles, establishing a proud legacy of athletic excellence and determination. And whereas Electric Rain achieved a historic milestone for our community by earning their first ever bid to the prestigious national championship in Orlando, Florida, making the monumental occasion of being the very first competitive cheer team from Brownsville, Texas, to receive an invitation to this elite national stage. And whereas competing with unparalleled grace, athleticism, and execution, Spirit League electric rain ultimately captured the national championship in Orlando, Florida, bringing home the highest honors and securing their place at the pinnacle of youth competitive cheerleading. And whereas the city of Brownsville remains steadfastly committed to being a community rich with opportunities for the development of local youth, fostering growth across a spectrum of disciplines, and ensuring future generations of residents who are resilient, well-rounded, and prepared to succeed. Now, therefore, we, the members of the City Commission of the City of Brazel, Texas, by virtue of the authority vested by the charter of said city, and on behalf of all of our citizens, do hereby recognize the Spirit League Electric Reign Youth Cheer Team, coaching staff and program for their historic national championship victory, for providing local youth exceptional opportunities to grow through competitive athletic disciplines, and for bringing immense pride and national recognition to Brownsville, Texas, and further encourage all residents to support Spirit League Cheer and all the programs designed to uplift and serve the community, the youth in our community, done on this 26th day of May 2026, signed by the Mayor and City Commission.

Over here kind of three. One, two, three. Another one. One, two, and. Thank you. Kristen, you're more than welcome to say a few words if you'd like. You're welcome to say a few words. You don't have to. I didn't prep for this.

First of all, thank you, city of Brownsville. um it's very well deserving you know uh cheer competitive cheer is not very popular here yet um nonetheless these kids put in the work intense work leading up to florida you know uh we went with one mindset saying make brownsville proud and understood it so super proud thank you

The next proclamation is recognizing Elder Abuse Awareness Month.

So today, a proclamation of the City Commission of Brownsville, Texas, recognizing Elder Abuse Awareness Month. Whereas older adults and people with disabilities are valued members of our community whose diverse backgrounds, life experiences, and cultural traditions enrich the city of Brownsville. Through their work, caregiving, volunteerism, and dedication to preserving customs and heritage, they straightened the fabric of our city. And whereas aging brings with it a lifetime of knowledge, insight, and wisdom, These contributions guide younger generations, inspire civic pride, and continue to shape our community's identity and progress. And whereas the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of older adults and people with disabilities is a deeply concerning issue affecting thousands across Texas. In 2025 alone, 125,382 reports were made. Yet many more incidents remain hidden due to fear, stigma, or inability to seek help. And whereas abuse can impact anyone, regardless of income, background, culture, or ability, reminding us that this issue touches every neighborhood and every family. Protecting the safety and dignity of older adults and people with disabilities is not only a responsibility, but a reflection of our community's values. And whereas preventing elder abuse requires a collective commitment of all residents. By learning the signs, speaking up, and supporting one another, we can help ensure that every older adult and every person with a disability in Bronzeville lives with respect, security, and the quality of life they deserve. Now, therefore, we, the members of the City Commission of the City of Bronzeville, Texas, by virtue of the authority vested by the Charter of said city, do hereby proclaim the month of June as Elder Abuse Awareness Month and call upon our communities to stand together in support of the rights, safety, and dignity of older adults and people with disabilities done on this, the 26th day of May, 2026. One, two, three.

One more. Thank you.

Thank you mayor commissioners for this proclamation and for the work that you do to help us protect the most vulnerable in our Community i'd also like to take this opportunity to remind everybody that elder abuse everyone's business. At adult protective services for those of you who don't know we investigate reports of abuse neglect and financial exploitation of adults. Over 65 years of age or adults with disabilities, we make referrals to other Community partners to assist with anything that that the client may need to help them live a more dignified life. These past two years we've actually been focusing on our what we call our partnering to protect plan. in which we focus or we strive to make partners with the other community resources to make those bonds stronger so that we can help each other, help these individuals live a more dignified life when needed, and make sure that they're not in a state of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation. We never reveal reporter information, so I encourage everybody, if we suspect even suspect anybody who's in a state of abuse, neglect or financial exploitation, please call us. You can just Google our number. There's a 1-800 number. There's also a way to make a report online. And like I said, we will never reveal reporter information. There's a lot of cases that do go unreported because of fear of retaliation and everybody deserves a fair chance. So again, I appreciate this and thank you so much.

Next we have the public comment period. We do have two that were pre registered to speak and that all all public speakers have acknowledged that the city comment rules are displayed on the screen. And as a reminder for all the speakers that all comments shall be made to the mayor and to the Commissioners as a whole and not to an individual Commission member, you will have up to three minutes to speak and the time will start after you state your name and your address. So we will start with Yolanda Spies.

Please state your name and your address.

Yolanda, Brownsville, Texas.

It's rather frustrating when someone decides to make bad decisions for you. They know it is going to cause a hardship for you, but they don't consult you and they don't discuss it with you and you find out about it until it is sitting on your lap and they are already doing it anyway despite opposition. I find that this is how the city is run. SpaceX was never discussed with Brownsville residents and what little we were told was a lie. I experienced that with the Valley Baptist Brownsville. My mother was in the hospital, and on two occasions they had to draw fluid out of her lungs. While we were there, about a dozen other people were also having similar experiences. Then, when they were going to transfer her to a more specialized treatment center, the decision was made without really talking to us about it and consulting it with us. Aside from that, she died at Celera two days later, and we ended up finding out that the care she was getting at bmc was subpar they would leave her in her mess because the hospital staff could not be bothered to get her to the bathroom so there was a lot of mess but because they never came to help her it was because the staff was negligent the city is currently doing the same We can see that something is not good for us yet. You all still do things anyway. SpaceX is proven to be a disaster where our residents and wildlife are being killed and destroyed, and LNG is an eyesore for our community. Have you been to Corpus Christi lately? smells and it doesn't look pretty roswell was not ugly but it had its charm and by taking their money you are destroying our area in more ways than one i'm also noticing that there's a lot of effort to tax elderly people on fixed incomes out of their homes so that we can look more like san antonio or austin well big news flash we're not san antonio or austin We are also nowhere near as polluted as they are. People voted for you because people thought you were going to service. In a little over a year, some of you are going to be up for reelection. Please don't run because we don't need you taking another photo op and not getting all sorts of money to pollute and kill our people. People are paying attention. You are hurting us, the elderly community and the development that only serves to endanger us. I'm not going to mentioning your name, but if this is hitting a nerve, maybe you need to think. Clean air, clean water and a safe place to live where crooked cops are reprimanded and fired for incompetence is a good place to start. And on that note, thank you for letting me speak. And I'm hoping you were listening. I hope what I said motivates you to act before you kill us all.

Ma'am, please state your address for the record. None of your business. Next, we have Larry Jokel. Do not see Mr. Jokel. We will move on to the consent agenda portion. Can I just take number seven out of order?

Okay, we're pulling number seven. Move to approve items 1 through 6 and 8 through 10.

Second. All right. We have a motion and second. Any further discussion? If not, all those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

All those opposed, say nay. Ayes have it. Motion carries.

Consent item for discussion is a consideration to take action to authorize the Brownsville Scholarship Initiative for the Special Needs Advisory Board in the amount of $2,500 annual for the scholarships, awards, and programs administration.

So the reason why I wanted to take it out of order is because in our packet, there's a section where it's highlighted and it seems like there was discussion as to what this money should be used for. And so I just wanted it to be clear that that's what it will be used for.

good evening mayor and commission honored guests i'm sean de palma i am the parks and recreation director for the city of brownsville snab which is our special needs advisory board is under the stewardship of our department at this time the committee was the board was talking to members and they're discussing uh doing a scholarship it would be at 500 increments annually so five five hundred dollar increments It would first go through the process of ensuring that whatever the application process is, it would get vetted through the city and our city attorney's office prior to it actually functioning. But we wanted to obtain the funding during this time of year prior to budget season so we can kick off October 1st. And that's the main reason we want to make sure we have the funds allocated. It is a small amount as far as a startup. uh but this is a board that has no funding at all allocated to it and this was one of the first desired movements that the board members voted on of of moving forward in the new budget season starting october 1st of this year great thank you yes ma'am thank you ma'am any additional questions well there was a mention about something like would it cover travel expenses and that's where i was like where is that coming from Um, it would really the travel expenses was discussed and 1 of the reasons is to have, um, community members be able to travel to a conference. It was, we've had a few state conferences that were, um. inaccessible to certain community members that have disabilities and mainly was funding when it comes to travel because they may not have cars as a traditional adult may have access to a car. And it was in that neighborhood of discussion that was really mentioned traveling, but it wasn't specifically all for travel scholarships.

And I'll move to approve.

Yes, ma'am. Thank you. We have a motion to approve.

Do we have a second? We have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? If not, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed say nay. Ayes have it. Motion carries.

Perfect. Now we'll move on to the public hearing portion. Item number one is a public hearing and action. I'm on the first reading on ordinance number 2026-1805. I'm amending the chapter two of the administration code article three officers and employees to amend the positions within the city manager's office. Turn it over to staff.

Mayor and Commission, right now under the court ordinance, the city manager's office, the city manager may have one deputy city manager. And looking at the size of our organization and the structure of our organization, I would like to recommend that city manager's office be allowed to have more than one. And again, it wouldn't limit it to two or three, but it also wouldn't require a city manager to have two or three. It would just say one or more. is the way we want to do this. We have two of these portfolios. You can see in the org chart, proposed org chart, that has basically public safety as one of the arms, and on the other side, engineering, public works, and development. Those two portfolios, each of them have in excess of more than 300 employees and are very sizable in terms of city budget as well as the number of staff And I think an organization this size and those type of responsibilities, I think those need to have a level of city manager's responsibility that would be at the deputy level rather than a city manager. That's why I'm making this recommendation. It would give the city manager flexibility and not lock them into any number, but I think would allow us to provide the level of oversight and responsibility for those Portfolios that they require and that's why I'm recommending this change in the ordinance.

Some of the questions from the commission.

All right, um, this is a public. Uh, on those intern deputy city managers. Are they going to be at 1 time point?

Are they going to be permanent change to permanent or are they going to that will be at the. schedule of the commission. But yes, the intention is for them to eventually become permanent. Yes. Thank you, sir.

Comments or questions?

All right.

This is a public hearing.

If there's anyone here that wishes to speak on this item, please step forward and state your name.

Move to close. We have a motion to close and a second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed, say nay. Ayes have it. Motion carries. Move to approve. I have a motion and a second to approve. Any further discussion? If not, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed, say nay. Ayes have it. Motion carries.

Thank you.

And congratulations to Dorothea Garcia and Chief. ...jurisdiction creating a court of record and other matters pertaining thereto. I'll turn it over to staff.

Good evening, Mayor and City Commissioners. The current state of the city's municipal court is that it is a court of non record, which means that, uh. When the municipal court has a case, or probably appeal it over to the county court. At which the district attorney's office then is responsible for handling that particular case. Additionally, there's limited jurisdiction that the court has. So a lot of the chapter 54 or 214 type of violations, um, like, 1 that we had recently, we had to go to district court for that particular case. Um, we could have easily taken it to municipal court if it was a court of record. The current state of the city's code compliance. are, of course, citations are issued and they are heard within the municipal court. But again, somebody can come in, plead the case, have a trial and then appeal it to the county court where it would be heard from the beginning. We can't take civil lawsuits from code to our municipal court and certain warrants that they could seek, such as warrants for search and seizure of contraband or securing, removing, or demolishing property that is considered nuisance. They can't go to our municipal court judges, even though they're magistrates. They have to go to a magistrate that is over at the county or district court. Next slide. So what we are proposing, and this is in conjunction with the Municipal Court Department and CMO, we are proposing creating a municipal court of record. What that does is it gives us civil jurisdiction for a lot of the ordinances that we want to enforce. Those are your nuisance violations, substandard buildings, as well as any violations of the UDC. It will also give our court concurrent jurisdiction over Chapter 54 lawsuits. So any losses that we want to enforce, any losses to enjoin or enforce our codes, we'd be able to go to the municipal court rather than the county or district court. And it would also give them the authority to actually issue warrants for search and seizure for health and nuisance abatements, as well as securing, removing or demolishing the property or removing debris from the premises. Next slide. So benefits, real brief. No more de novo trials, or what we in the business call leapfrog. We would be a court of record. So any hearings, any appeals to the county level would be for errors made by the prosecuting attorney, defense attorney, or the judge. It would decrease the number of appeals going to the county. So it would alleviate their caseload, as well as a lot of the code enforcement that we expect to do the next couple of months or year. We're expecting to start filing lawsuits to enjoin property violations. And so this would alleviate having to go to their courts and clogging up their court system. Um, many times officers that have or code officers that have to appear for trial, um, they would have to appear again and redo the whole case. This would reduce that that effort on them having to go back and basically have a trial all over again from the beginning. And these are benefits that the Texas Municipal TMCEC, Texas Municipal Courts Education Center, has stated for a lot of cities when they are contemplating going to a court of record. Some cities find that it improves police officer and compliance officer's morale. Because now you have a court of record, it's It's almost like you have a county or district court, right? Next slide. Again, appeals from a judgment in municipal court of record would be based on alleged errors. And the enforcement of code violations, city ordinance violations would improve because defendants who would normally take advantage of a leapfrog appeal would have to claim that there was error committed at the trial setting. One of the benefits that I personally like is that we would maintain local control over these violations. The appeals would be decreased because the violators cannot simply enter a plea knowing that they would take it then to the county. And it also gives concurrent civil jurisdiction to file cases, again, to enjoin code violations within the municipal court. rather than the county or district court. Next slide. Disadvantages. Becoming a court of record, you do have to have either one, a court reporter or a good recording system. And the ordinance is built so that we can have either or. And the appellant must pay the cost for the court reporter to prepare the reporter's record. Unless he, or she is in the gym and that instance, then the city would have to absorb that cost and it's not much I think a transcription of the court's record for 1 of our cases that we usually have is about a little under a 1000 dollars.

And then municipal court will require more dockets for civil enforcement.

Um, currently we have juvenile documents, arraignments, plea dockets, code compliance dockets. We would add a couple more code compliance dockets for what we tend to use this ordinance for. Next slide. So municipal court, they're able to start July 1st with a court of record. They have already been looking into equipment and software. They already use audio and visual for arraignments already. We have four judges and three courts to administer the increased docket, so we won't require more court space at this time. Now with the code compliance, public health and city attorney's office, we already have a code compliance docket in place and the city attorney's office has provided training on how we want to see those dockets carried out. We will do the additional training for the other civil cases that we will bring to municipal court and possibly improve or update any process that are needed so that we can start doing code enforcement within our municipal courts from a civil side that is. Next slide. And 1 more change that's not part of the slide is that in the past we've had issues with, um. The judge serving as department director for the whole municipal court services division. What that does is it takes him out of judicial immunity. and puts him in a position of having personnel kind of authority. So what we did was we broke up municipal courts department into two divisions. One would be the judicial division. So the presiding judge would be over all the other judges and essentially would be responsible for managing those particular judges that are there. Again, there's four judges as well as some contract judges that assist. The other division would be the office of the city court clerk, and that would be the director for that municipal court services. So essentially, they would be over all the other personnel within the municipal court. That way, when there's an issue with personnel that are hired and they're employees of the city, unlike judges who are appointed, the municipal court clerk or director of that division Would be able to administer the personnel functions there and we would separate that. That division between the judicial bench, excuse me and handling personnel. So that's an additional change. Any questions comments concerns.

No question for Mr guard. What would be the budget impact that this would create potentially. Uh, if any.

I have not had time to evaluate that, but we would not be adding a lot more in terms of staff. I think the positive impact would be fewer appeals, which would save time for our people. More fines would be paid more quickly. And so I think the net impact might be net zero or even positive.

Thank you.

I had a question on the on the fines.

Since the appellant is going to be responsible for the court reporter, does that mean they're going to have higher fines?

The fines the fines are set by, in most instances, state statute. Some code code ordinance violations are set by you all. The actual window finds themselves are set by the judge and so. While that language is in there, that's just reiterating what's already in the current ordinance.

Do you have an idea on the number of appeals that are currently being done that are leapfrogging?

Our court now would be that I would have to defer to municipal court. I don't know if she has those numbers readily available, but.

Hello Mayor City Commission Veronica Dean here for municipal court. I can certainly provide that information. I mean the number of appeals that have come in has increased slightly so I can provide those numbers for you. I do not have them here readily available.

Just to know the impact on the you know for the core right? I think that's important.

I know you say that it's not going to have a personal impact for the most part, but it definitely the workload is going to increase, so I don't know how that. conclusion was reached.

May I provide some feedback in regards to your question to Mr. Gard? We actually currently already have much of the equipment already in place. So some of the equipment, I mean, we're really talking minimal impact as far as budget is concerned.

And again, right now, if they do have to do the court case in our court and then it gets appealed, they're really working twice. So this will cut down on instead of having to do it twice, I'll have to do it once and the appeal.

So when someone is something is appealed and they end up having to pay the fine, right? That cost and fine that doesn't come back to the city that stays with the county. That's correct.

Any other questions or comments?

All right, this is a public hearing if there's anyone here that wishes to address the commission on this item, please step forward and state your name. Move to close. Second. All right. We have a motion and a second to close public hearing. Any further discussion? If not, all those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

All those opposed say nay. Ayes have it. Motion carries. Move to approve. Second. We have a motion and a second to approve. Any further discussion? If not, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed say nay. Ayes have it. Motion carries.

Thank you. Next, we'll enter into the items for the individual consideration. Number one is consideration and action. Resolution number 2026-087 to authorize the official renaming of Veterans Park to Sergeant Jose M. Lopez of Veterans Memorial Park.

Turn it over to staff.

Good evening mayor, uh, commission and honorable guest. Um, Sean, the palm. I am the director of parks and recreation for the city of Brownsville. Uh, today I come forth, uh, come before you because, uh, this past, uh, several months, the parks advisory board, which is a board that. Is under the stewardship of this department was approached by several groups that represent different parts of our community, specifically the veterans and military families within our community. And there was a request towards the parks. Advisory board based on modifying. One of our park facilities, which is currently Veterans Memorial Park, and that modification was to place in honor and also expand the name to Sergeant Jose M. Lopez Veterans Memorial Park. Um, they did bring forth information about the history of Sergeant, uh, Jose Lopez, uh, the connection with, uh, Sergeant Lopez with the city of Brownsville and the region of Cameron county. Um, and so. I'm going to just go through the next slide. Uh, we currently have a plaque at veterans park. Honoring Sergeant Lopez, and we also, if you ever visit our beautiful. Brownsville event center, we also have a memorial identifier where he waited in 1 of 1 of their board meetings the 2nd time around. The United Warriors in Arms also brought two other veteran groups within the City of Brownsville that the Parks Department does do activities with them throughout the year. So we were very familiar with all three groups that were represented. And they did have a open discussion with the board at question and answer series. In addition to that, the board looked at, uh, information and vetting that the state of Texas has done on Sergeant Lopez because there's also a segment of state highway. And that is named after him as well as a facility in another city. I believe it's San Antonio. and i'm sorry if i don't have that right in san antonio yes okay thank you i have my whole army behind me if you see the whole legion is right there the battalion um so this name change or modification is uh being recommended at this time by the parks advisory board any questions that i can answer for you at this time any questions or comments

Thank you, Sean. I was able to be present on Monday at the Memorial Day service and got to hear the complete story about Sergeant Lopez and how amazing he performed for our country. And I think he's absolutely deserving of this recognition. I do have a question for Mr guard on. Just in general about the policy on renaming. Uh, city parks or city buildings. Is there currently a, uh, a policy in place or is this.

Uh, uncharted grounds and there's not an official policy that's been adopted by the commission and I would highly recommend we go through developing 1, not just for parks, but for buildings. I know there's 1 for streets. Um, and I, you know, in this. this question first came up i asked if there was a policy and there was a previous um unofficial procedure that had been written by the previous parks and recreation director and that's kind of what they utilized but i do strongly recommend that we do develop one that it be officially adopted by the commission and that we have that policy going forward

I, I do, I agree with the city manager. I just wanted to make sure that you were able to see the entire process and there was a process that was executed. For this recommendation, thank you Sean.

Yes. Yes, sir. Any other questions or comments from the commission? Thank you.

So I had the privilege of attending yesterday. It was a beautiful ceremony. I learned a lot. And I took it also as an opportunity to speak to some of the people that were present and ask them how they felt about the name change. And I happened to come across some family members of Sergeant Antonio Morales who served in the Vietnam War. his family members said that he was also supposed to get a Congressional Medal of Honor, but for some reason or another, he didn't. And so I was just curious if maybe someone here could tell me, because I think some of y'all have served in the Vietnam War, and how, well, I know that it's not here before us, but I was wondering if this gentleman was also eligible for the Medal of Honor, how do we try to balance that?

Please step up to the podium.

My name is Tony Garcia, and I'm the founder of the Warriors United in Arms. I left my hearing in Vietnam so I could catch a little bit of what everybody's saying, but I don't That's the whole thing. I know you asked something about the Medal of Honor.

Yes. So Sergeant Antonio Morales was supposed to get the Medal of Honor. It was what his family members told me yesterday. He served in Vietnam, and I think he passed away in Vietnam. He was killed in Vietnam. So I talked to some of his family members. Some of them were like, well, why isn't our uncle being recognized as well? And I'm not saying that one person should be better than the other, but I was just wondering if maybe since you've served in Vietnam and you've done so much for the Vietnam vets, if you could tell me more about his story, because I do think that he also deserves recognition.

In order to be nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor? You have to go above and beyond your duty up to losing your life. If you survive, you have to be recommended to get the battle medal of honor by two senior officers, which means it has to be about the great of Lieutenant Colonel or higher up to a general. You gotta have two people to nominate you. Uh, You also have to have at least two witnesses that saw what you did. And everything has to be documented. And in our case with Mr. Lopez, it took a long while. Because I don't know if you know the history of Mr. Lopez, but he fought in every major battle going from North Africa all the way across the Rhine into Germany. It's very difficult to get the Congressional Medal of Honor. I'll tell you a little bit about Mr. Lopez. He was awarded 16 medals from the United States government. He was also awarded two medals from the Mexican government. He was awarded one medal from England. He was awarded, I believe, two medals from France. He also got medals from Luxembourg. And there was another country. My mind can't remember which other country it was. But he got more medals than Audie Murphy, in which we all know him as the most decorated soldier in the American army. Well, history makes mistakes, but this is the real history. As far as the Congressional Medal of Honor, we would like to meet with these people. I know most of the guys that were wearing that flag that we dedicated yesterday because we went to school together, but I don't particularly remember him. Uh, there's a lot. It's a long process. We have another gentleman from Los Fresnos. He got shut down in South Vietnam twice. The second time he didn't survive. And, uh, that family has been trying to get him to receive the Medal of Honor, but they cannot find witnesses to the action that he was in and the people he was that were there when he was there. Unfortunately, they passed away already. So it's a big requirement, and it would be too lengthy to go into it here. But if you would send that person to us, right now we're in the process of trying to identify members of the deceased, 28 members of the deceased. So far, we've found 12. Some of them have passed away already, and others are in Corpus, in El Paso, or out of state. But we are willing to help if we can, but we need to talk to those people.

Any more questions? Can I ask a question?

Thank you for your service, sir. Thank you. And all the gentlemen and women that are here that have served in our military, I want to tell you thank you because we're here because of you all. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I have one question. I don't have a problem renaming this park. But the only thing that I'm concerned about is if in 20 years or 25 years, another decorated officer, uh, servicemen, women, family comes before the commission and request that the name be changed or another name be on that park. Uh, what do we do then? Uh, I don't know. I don't know. I'm all 100%. You know, Taking care of our men and women in even naming our park. But we just got to be very careful on how we, we, we approach this. And go forward, but if you can. Give us any ideas of how we could do this.

Oh, what we could do is 1 refer to the city manager, but 2 is whatever the next that policy that we're going to make, we actually have a procedure in there to vet and. it may be there's another honoree, it may be another park, but I think the city manager has more clarity on that.

Okay, that's good.

I think that's a very valid question. And I'm not being flippant here. You all are presiding over some historical growth in Brownsville. We will be adding parks. And I think when we have an official policy in place, I think there's going to be a question for naming every park as they come along. And so I think that will be an opportunity not just for veterans, but there will also be other civic leaders that the community may want to commemorate by naming a park after. And so I think the first step is getting that policy in place and one that you all agree with and you all adopt officially. Then as the names start coming forward, we can use that policy then to properly vet each of those requests. That's an absolutely valid question. And I know, I hope that we keep building parks so that we can keep finding people to name them after. So that's, you know, again, I'm not trying to be flippant. I just, that's the direction I think we're going to have to go.

And I'll go out to the limb on this one and I'll take blame for it. I'd rather have a park named after a serviceman or service woman that gave their life for the United States than a regular person.

I don't think you're going out on a limb at all. That's me.

That's absolutely true. I can't speak for everybody else. I can only speak for Gustavo de Leon. Why? Because the men and women gave their lives for us, and we're here at this meeting because of them. But I just want to make sure we get this correct, we get it right, just so that we can get things done the right way. Thank you for all your service. Thank you very much.

Mr. Mr. Tony, Mr. Garcia. Yes, I'm sorry. That's okay, Mr. Garcia. Yes, sir. Congratulations on excellent ceremony yesterday. Thank you. I appreciate it very much. I was very moved by Dr. Medrano's words. I think his biography and just the commemoration of the life that he went through. I think for me, I don't know. It made me feel like I was watching Sergeant Jose Lopez in action, right? 5'4", 135 pounds. And to hear of him and his heroics and the thing that I took a lot is the true meaning of the word hero. And I do want to thank you for yesterday and thank you all for your service and what you do for our community and continue to do for our community. community. He is, in my opinion, very deserving from everything I heard. He's the most decorated officer, not only in Brownsville, but quite possibly one of the most decorated veterans in this country.

The other thing that I don't know if you're aware of. He came from Mexico. He migrated here. He went. He worked for the school district. to work for the city of Brownsville. He got married here. He got drafted from here. And when he came back, there was a big parade for him in Mexico, Mexico City, and a big parade here in Brownsville. And history kind of has a way of forgetting us, the veterans. And, you know, my fellow veterans back here, all Vietnam veterans, Vietnam era veterans. And we went freely. And thank God we came back. We left 28 guys there. That's why we made that flag so nobody will forget them. Hopefully that flag will last 100 years or more. And their names will always be there. And we want to thank Mr. De Palma. De Palma is an excellent veteran. person and I know most of you know me and I know most of you and I want to thank you for your support and are we got a little thing going between us that we want to make the veterans Park the most beautiful Park South of San Antonio and we're going to do it might take us a few more years, but we're going to do it and we're going to Brownsville is going to be super proud of that Park when we finish working on it. Might take a few years, but we'll get it done. We're veterans. We're used to hard work. Does anybody have any more questions for me?

Thank you, Mr. Garcia.

Thank you. Can I do something for you real quick? I'm sorry, sir. Thank you.

This guy is also a veteran, and he's a great help to me, and I guess you all know I'm Larry Joko. But again, thank you, and we hope to continue working with you in the near future. When you go home this evening, sir, and all of you all here today, just tell your family thank you.

Thank you. On behalf of the commission and the mayor, thank you. I don't know what else or other words I could come up with, but I spent the last 26 years with the government, with CBP, and I am damn proud to be an American. So thank you, and thank you to your family. Thank you, sir.

Thank you all. Thank you for yesterday. Even with the heat and the humidity, it was a tremendous program. Thank you for your support. Thank you everybody in the city that helped. Thank you.

And Tiny, who's not here, right? Yes.

Thank you all very much. I move to approve.

Second. All right, we have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Not all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed say nay. Ayes have it. Motion carries.

Next we have is the executive session. May we enter into executive session?

So move. Second. Motion is second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye's have it. Motion carries.

Mr. Gentlemen.

Perfect. Gentlemen, can we take a picture with you all up here? Thank you. Mr. Jokel. Mr. Jokel. Larry. Larry. Can we take a picture with you guys up here?

Thank you.

Oh, nice. Okay. Yep. Squeeze in space in.

If you're for the city, take the city, you're you 1st. Let him get ready. Yeah.

All right, the time is 6 p.m. City commissioners will enter into executive session pursuant to close session pursuant to the Texas government code 551.071 and 551.072 and 551.087 related to Project Hot Rod.

Yeah, yeah, the via bill. I was thinking about.

Good evening. Are we ready to reconvene from executive session?

Yes, ma'am.

Perfect. The time is 7.20 p.m. Is there any possible action discussed from executive session?

I move to proceed as discussed in executive session.

Second. All right. We have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? If not, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed, say nay. Ayes have it. Motion carries.

I'll move to adjourn. Second.

We have a motion and a second to adjourn. All those in favor? Aye. Ayes have it. Meeting adjourned. Thank you, everyone.

We're adjourned at 7.20 p.m. Have a good night.

Oh.