I received a note from Carlos Cisneros this afternoon, closing our correspondence on the streets. He told me I was welcome for his help and to contact him if I had other concerns. So I wrote back forthwith as follows:

Mr. Cisneros:

Thank you for your help in beginning to assemble some information on the Pablo Kisel debacle. I call it that because it appears to me that the city really got stung there. According to a civil engineer who worked on the project some of the time, the city made serious compromises in its agreements with the developers on right of way and on material standards in its construction. This, plus a lack of consistent maintenance–particularly resealing cracks in a timely manner– seem to be the culprits in the affair. I’ve written to public works to find out what has been spent repairing the street, but have received no reply. It has a temporary head right now and he hasn’t posted an email so I ended up emailing the first person on the list. i have not heard back from them yet. I hope I don’t have to stoop to a freedom of information request.

A second problem seems to be a disconnect between the engineering department and public works. My engineering contact told me that usually public works crews just go out and start digging. I’ve posted my thoughts and correspondence and he read what had been going on there. Here’s exactly what he wrote to me:

Something very important that was not discussed in your dialog with Mr. Lastra was the maintenance of Pablo Kisel over the years. As the clay shrank and swelled with moist and dry periods, the street, like any other, developed cracks. our Public Works Department failed to keep those cracks sealed. You will notice that the highway department is always sealing cracks or overlaying highways such as Alton Gloor. The City rarely does any maintenance on its streets. They never kept the curbs clean. That lead to water standing on the street and infiltrating those cracks. Combine that lack of maintenance with all of the heavy construction vehicles, city buses, and delivery trucks and you have premature wear and tear.

I have heard this before from other sources, that there is no regular maintenance schedule for city streets. Common sense says that this is a case of being penny wise and pound foolish. There needs to be.

In another part of my discussions with the engineer, he has pointed out how seriously behind Brownsville is in assembling a professional staff–folks with engineering credentials and experience to run things like the public works department. I believe the last person to run the department was actually a composting expert, not an engineer, with a degree in something like biology. I also understand that he was a hard worker and treated his people well, but that doesn’t substitute for credentials. I also understand that he moved off to a position where his credentials did make a difference.

I realize I am opening several cans of worms here, but I think its important to deal with them. City government needs to be less under the sway of the developers and it needs to begin professionalizing its staff, particularly in engineering and public works.

Sincerely,

Stan Raines
4816 La Entrada Dr

I really am looking forward to his response.