PUB Forensic Examination: Last in a Series
Leadership of the Brownsville Public Utilities Board is delegated to a board of seven directors, six of whom are appointed by the city commission, with the final member being the mayor.
Currently, the board consists of Chair Sandra Saenz, Vice Chair Patricio Sampayo, Secretary and Treasurer Sandra Lopez-Langley, Jude A. Benavides, Joseph L. Hollmann, Arthur “Art” Rendon and Mayor Trey Mendez.
The six appointed members serve four-year terms, after which they are eligible for reappointment for one additional term, according to the BPUB newsroom website.
“This appointment is voluntary, and board members receive no financial compensation for the time they spend,” the website reads. “… All BPUB employees are required to pay the same rates and are subject to the same conditions as any other customer.”
Saenz, who is a partner at Spanky’s Burgers in Brownsville along with her husband Ronnie, was first appointed by District 1 City Commissioner Nurith Galonsky Pizaña on July 2, 2019.
After a motion made by Mendez during a city commission meeting July 20, 2021, Saenz was reappointed to the board for a second term.
Sampayo, a managing director for CMI Hospital Group since 2005, according to his LinkedIn profile, was appointed to the utilities board on June 16, 2020, by former District 4 City Commissioner Ben R. Neece. District 2 City Commissioner Jessica Tetreau opposed the motion, according to the meeting recording.
Initially, Tetreau moved to table the appointment so the commission could look for an appointee from District 2, which was not represented on the board at the time. When that motion failed, Sampayo, from District 3, was appointed.
Lopez-Langley is vice president and business development officer for the First Community Bank Brownsville branch, a position she has held since January 2012, according to her LinkedIn profile. She was appointed to the utilities board on July 2, 2019, after City Commissioner At-Large “B” Rose Gowen made the motion to appoint.
Benavides, who was appointed to the utilities board July 2, 2019, currently works as an associate professor in the School of Earth, Environmental and Marine Sciences at UTRGV.
The Rider reached out via phone and email for an interview regarding his role on the board and the application process, but, as of press time, Benavides had not responded.
On Aug. 2, 2022, the commission appointed Hollmann to the board, a motion made by City Commissioner At-Large “A” John Cowen Jr. Hollmann currently serves as a group leader at Draper, a nonprofit engineering innovation company, but has worked other positions at the company since 2017, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Arthur “Art” Rendon, appointed on July 20, 2021, after a motion made by District 3 Commissioner Roy De los Santos, serves as Transportation Director for the Brownsville Independent School District, a position he has held since September 2011, according to his LinkedIn profile.
–Rider Editor-in-Chief Verilu Infante contributed to this report.
