Brownsville City Commission members meet Thursday night as the board of directors of the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corp. to discuss Project Capital. Shown from left are GBIC Chairman John Cowen Jr., board member Pedro Cardenas, secretary Roy De Los Santos, and board member Trey Mendez III. Luis Martinez Santillano/The Rider
The Brownsville City Commission and the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corp. met last Thursday to discuss incentives for a potential company in the city, said Nurith Galonsky, GBIC vice chair and district one city commissioner.
Project Capital was discussed in a previous city commission meeting on Aug. 26 in executive session.
More information about Project Capital is confidential until it is publicly announced, Galonsky said.
“I think both UTRGV and the City of Brownsville are doing everything possible to create an environment that is conducive for the students to want to stay here and pursue opportunities here,” Galonsky said. “We want to make it so that people don’t have to leave Brownsville for them to get a good job, to get educational opportunities and to be able to thrive.”
An executive session was held last Thursday to go over Project Capital. The motion passed after executive session to enter into an agreement on Project Capital with the changes and terms specified by the board in executive session, according to John Cowen Jr., GBIC chairman and Brownsville city commissioner at-large “A.”
“We discussed Project Capital previously in a recruitment package and, as a board, we asked for additional clarity and we had some questions about several items on the recruitment package,” said Dr. Rose Gowen, GBIC treasurer and Brownsville city commissioner at-large “B.” “And that’s why we came back yesterday, to discuss those questions and answers.”
The decisions made during Brownsville City Commission meetings affect UTRGV students and the future, according to Gowen.
“I think everything we negotiate affects UTRGV students,” she said. “Because everything we negotiate, regardless of whether it’s a manufacturing company or a space-related company or whatever, influences the economy of Brownsville. And the economy of Brownsville, of course, influences the students, their future lives, their families and the university itself.”
The next Brownsville City Commission meeting will take place at 5 p.m. today at Brownsville City Hall and virtually via WebEx Teleconference meeting.
“I think the students should have confidence and look forward to the work that we are doing at GBIC and the restructuring that we recently underwent and still are in the process of,” Gowen said. “Because we are successfully recruiting new industries and we now have the space
channel and space ventures
and Paragon, the drone company that is going to be developing drone technology, we would never have seen years ago
in Brownsville.”
