We learned last week that our former mayor intended to be a lobbyist for a downtown hotel owner.
The owner is himself a former city representative. He stepped up and rescued a vacant hotel and ended up with a fine property, a credit to the city and to downtown.
Evidently remodeling the old hotel was not feasible without tax breaks from local government. Those breaks are worth several million dollars.
This all transpired while our former mayor was either a city representative or mayor. The property was the subject of multiple actions by both the city council and county commissioners. Agreements made by the hotel had to be renegotiated because the terms were not favorable enough for the hotel to operate.
Nothing here is necessarily out of the ordinary. The city and the county give tax allowances to make it more practical for investors to take on projects.
What is unusual here is that the former mayor and the hotel owner (who is a lawyer) should have known that the mayor could not lobby for the hotel owner. City ordinance prohibits it. In fact it is a city ordinance that the former mayor himself signed. Another blog has written that the former mayor was warned by city staff that his activities would be illegal. The mayor chose to try to address city council anyway.
What for?
It seems that the hotel owner wants to build another hotel downtown. I guess he wants more incentives so he hired a lobbyist, someone who could get things done.
The money is tight but with the help of local government he might be able to build another hotel.
Did I point out that his current hotel is right by the ballpark? The city’s webcam sits on the hotel and provides images of the ball park as it is being built.
Triple A players make less money than players in the majors, but major league players often play in Triple A games while rehabilitating from injuries. I doubt that they will stay in a dump.
Could this insider have been part of the ball park cabal?
Just the right place
Word on the street is that the buildings the city is remodeling and moving into are to be temporary. Some say the city manager wants a “municipal complex”. There is now talk about tearing down the downtown jail. Don’t be surprised if the new city hall goes on that site.
How about the hotel? Where would it go?
Maybe they will tear down our new city hall. Don’t scoff, they torn down the old one.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
There is talk I hear of some kind of combined municiple building on the jail site. However, it’s not Joyce Wilson doing that talking because she’s not going to be there when it happens.
Yes the new digs for everyone are temporary and that’s been pretty clear from the beginning. They’ve talked of going out for a bond to build a new city hall in 2017 or 2018.
You’d be very surprised at the names of the two gentelmen pushing the new city hall on the jail site… couple of formerly elected progressives….
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Interesting. The two gents must include at least one who wants to be future Mayor and wants to make certain that he will have nice new digs from which to build his empire. You also always have to look at who would benefit from such a large construction project. The beneficiaries are often advocating behind the curtain.
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I trust that you will tell us when you can.
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A “complex” is more than one building. This council and mayor most definitely will not allow that to happen – that’s 4 years right there. I think the city will stay in the buildings they are in for 10-15 years. No elected or wanna be elected official wants to use up political capital making the case for a new city hall. Its toxic.
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It’s no secret that Beto O’Rourke has advocated for city offices to be located next to the county building. He stated that several years ago in council, just as he said early in his first term that he wanted to tear down the “god-awful” city hall building. Well, he certainly got that wish. Of course O’Rourke is focused on federal issues right now but the other members of the Brat Pack are still here. They haven’t gone away — they’re just reloading.
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