By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
City council members say they want further discussion with members of the Brown Plaza Association before considering an end to the city’s decades-long agreement to operate and maintain the city’s historic Brown Plaza.
The council discussed amending the city’s agreement with the Brown Plaza Association Tuesday during the regular meeting of the council. The new agreement would largely strip the group of its responsibilities for operating and managing the historic south Del Rio site.
While some members of the council questioned the Brown Plaza Association’s use of city hotel occupancy monies, other council members said they believed more input from association members was needed before any decision to amend the agreement could be reached.
Mayor Bruno “Ralphy” Lozano asked each council member for his or her opinion on the issue.
Councilman Raul C. Ojeda asked if other organizations might be given the opportunity to host festivities at the plaza. The Brown Plaza Association has planned, executed and hosted the city’s popular Cinco de Mayo and Diez y Seis de Septiembre celebrations at the facility.
Mayor Pro-Tem Alfredo “Fred” Carranza Jr. said, “I think that maybe I’d like to get some involvement from the Brown Plaza, maybe the Casa de la Cultura,” adding the agreement has been in place for a number of decades.
“I think (the agreement) needs to be looked at . . . Maybe let’s sit down with the people and clean some of this agreement up, but all in all, does the city of Del Rio really want to take this task on, of handling more rentals, more events, more setups and teardowns?” Carranza said.
Councilman Steven Webb asked since the new proposed agreement called for the city manager or his designee to receive permit fees, Webb asked him if the city manager had someone in mind to do those collections and oversee the issuance of permits for events at the plaza.
“I think we need more information on what we plan to do,” Webb added.
City Manager Matt Wojnowski said he would suggest using the city’s civic facilities group to help coordinate rentals and placing the facility’s maintenance and upkeep under the city’s parks and recreation department.
Councilman J.P. Sanchez asked if the city’s proposed new Main Street coordinator could assist with those duties.
“I just really don’t want to act on this right now. I want to see if, as Councilman Carranza said, we could sit down and talk with these people a little more and try to see where everybody is on this before we act. I support the Brown Plaza and the Casa, and I like the idea of the Main Street coordinator, so I’d like to see what we can do to get all these aspects to work together. I think we need to spend a little bit more time before we act,” Sanchez added.
Councilwoman Alexandra Falcon Calderon said the plaza lies within her district, and she visits it often.
“Being transparent about why this item came to council, it started with the HOT (hotel occupancy tax) funds, money dispersed to the association . . . It saddens me to see the way it (the plaza) is. It needs a lot of improvement,” she said.
She said over the last fiscal year, the city gave the Brown Plaza Association some $41,000 and wondered aloud why no repairs have been made to light fixtures at the plaza. She said the association hosts two major events every year and could continue to do so under the new agreement.
“My whole thing is responsibility. If it was given to them for repairs, we haven’t heard from any of them,” Falcon Calderon said, adding she has received many calls and complaints from constituents, asking that the city take over managing the site.
“The Brown Plaza is for the community, and we’re not seeing it bright and lighted, because we need all this repairing . . . If it stays with the association, we need to be more clear as to who has responsibility for what,” she added.
Lozano said, “For me, I look at the Brown Plaza like a public park, and I think the public should have access to that, and that includes individuals who want to rent it for their private use, similar to the way we do with the Paul Poag and Greenwood Park.”
The mayor also said he has heard from citizens who claim “to have gotten the runaround” from previous association leaders when trying to book the facility.
“I’ve heard all kinds of horror stories from people trying to rent the facility for private events,” he added.
Lozano said he also believes there are communication issues involving the Brown Plaza Association.
He said the plaza is funded using public monies and should be available to any group or individual who wants to host an event there.
“A lot of our frustration and concern was that the maintenance was just not happening,” Lozano said.
Brown Plaza Association President Mario Esquivel also addressed the council, admitting that “the plaza has been deteriorating a little bit.”
He said the association has ordered new light fixtures, but because of the pandemic, orders were delayed, and he has recently received word the fixtures could be picked up in El Paso.
“It’s difficult for us, because we’re all volunteers, and we have our own jobs. We do this because we like to serve,” Esquivel told the council.
He said association members try to install new light bulbs, but noted those are often broken or stolen.
“The money the city has given us, we’ve put it right back into the plaza,” he said.
Esquivel pledged to take the council’s concerns back to his board of directors “and see what they want to do.”
The council took no formal action following the discussion, but Lozano asked the city manager to place the item on the agenda of the council’s second meeting in August.
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