Donna leaders deadlocked over hiring consulting firm
DONNA—Boards here remained deadlocked Friday on whether to hire an economic development consulting firm that pitched its services to city leaders this week.
Jose Quintana, president of College Station-based Advent GX gave a PowerPoint presentation Tuesday to a joint meeting of Donna’s two separate Economic Development Corporation boards—4A and 4B—and the City Council. The firm assists with economic development in cities all over Texas but, other than work with a portion of El Paso, has not represented a border city.
The firm pitched a proposal that would cost the city $80,000 for a 90-day “Phase One” to create a marketing and development strategy and then $10,000 per month for three years thereafter to implement it.
The city has $75,000 budgeted to spend on economic development for the rest of the fiscal year.
City Manager Oscar Ramirez said the city had not contacted Advent GX, or any other company regarding economic development work. Quintana said he had read a newspaper article about Donna’s bridge woes and saw an opportunity.
After Tuesday’s presentation, the council and boards were split on whether the city should move forward on the deal.
Mario Garza, a 4A member, said he was impressed with the state of Bryan on a recent trip, one Texas city Advent GX handles.
“They’re hitting the nail on the head there, and that’s what we need,” Garza said.
Others were concerned about the fact that the city had not looked into any other options or researched the experiences of nearby communities.
“I don’t want to be pressured to make a decision based on one presentation,” said Councilwoman Irene Muñoz. “You don’t just look at one house; you shop around.”
Rudy Cardenas, a 4B member, was disappointed the meeting was rescheduled for when he would be out of town, but wrote a letter to the other members expressing his wariness about jumping onboard with Advent GX too fast.
“We know nothing—just a PowerPoint, and anyone can say anything,” he said. “We’re not dealing with central Texas. This is a border city with a bridge.”
Some individuals said they didn’t want to rush into a bad decision, while others said the city’s financial situation was dire and needed to be acted on immediately.
“I feel that we don’t have time to lose,” Councilwoman Sonia Gallegos said.
Those disagreements came to fruition Friday evening, when the boards met again and could not come to a consensus on whether to allow city staff to pursue a contract with Advent GX. Proponents of the measure stressed it did not force the city to hire the company, only to negotiate, but opponents worried it could limit other options.
The five members of 4A narrowly voted to allow negotiations by a three to two vote, but the six present members of 4B were evenly split, so the measure failed.
Because some of the money used to pay the firm would come from 4B, City Attorney Eddy Treviño advised the council to table the item.
It remains unclear where the city will go from here. The tabled item could be revived if board members change their minds about Advent GX. The boards could also decide to pursue a more traditional bidding route for hiring a consultant or could consider hiring additional city staff.
Ramirez said he would wait for direction from one of the boards.
Mayor David Simmons expressed frustration that the item failed, saying that economic development investment would be the only way to lower taxes.
“We’re killing our people,” he said. “It seems like nobody wants to go forward.”
But Muñoz maintained that there were economic development options besides Advent GX. Councilman Joey Garza said he wanted the council to act as a team, whatever path they took.
“In order for things to be successful we all have to be on the same side, have a consensus, and I don’t see it,” he said.
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Elizabeth Findell covers Pharr, San Juan, Alamo, the Mid-Valley and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at efindell@themonitor.com or (956) 683-4428.
