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From:To:Subject:
Re: Border Fence NewsClips, 24 Feb
Date:
Sunday, February 24, 2008 3:45:58 PM
I'll try to ignore the slap at the 'Boys.I share your concern re: expectations and I am now attending the Cameron Cty mtg.One of my key goals for the Tuesday meeting is to clearly communicate re: schedule pressure andmanage expectations. Knowing that Cascos is going to spin it regardless, I want to have TPs or even aPress Release to give local media - stressing our ongoing consultation but also clarifying that we have adeadline. This may also be helpful to explain why we are talking to the County about an alternativewhile we are also suing them for access for the fence.----- Original Message -----From: To: Sent: Sun Feb 24 10:30:43 2008Subject: Re: Border Fence NewsClips, 24 FebIf they would just put in the money they are saving for a Cowboys Super Bowl trip then there would beplenty.....they'll never need it anyways.The timeline hasn't been relaxed, would that still be suffiecient time to pull Cameron County together? I am worried that expectations of stakeholders aren't being managed enough.----- Original Message -----From: To: Sent: Sun Feb 24 10:21:57 2008Subject: Re: Border Fence NewsClips, 24 FebJudge Cascos' statements are good, but he could have referenced another eating establishment. Folksin Texas don't give up their outings to Whataburger that easily.----- Original Message -----From: To: Sent: Sun Feb 24 10:11:57 2008Subject: FW: Border Fence NewsClips, 24 FebGood morning.I thought the article below has good quotes from Cascos acknowledging their responsibility.I also liked the reference to Whataburger.Cascos hopes levee-fence plan will work in Cameron County
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By Kevin Sieff/The Brownsville Herald <mailto:ksieff@brownsvilleherald.com> 2008-02-23 00:00:00Two weeks after U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff endorsed plans to enhance leveesalong the Rio Grande, eliminating the need for miles of border fencing in Hidalgo County, a similarproposal is now in the works in Cameron County.County Judge Carlos H. Cascos met with Cameron County mayors and commissioners on Thursday todiscuss the feasibility of a levee restoration project from Brownsville to La Feria. Cascos is adamant thatthe proposal, which he has championed for months, is the county’s only viable alternative to a borderfence. But he is facing opposition from both local politicians and residents, who decry the proposal’s $50million price tag and its potential affects on wildlife and land along the border.Cascos claims the issue is more than a question of avoiding the construction of a fence along the river. “If we don’t do anything,” he said, “we might be under water eventually.”  “(Chertoff) said he would work with us, but we have to come to the table. We have to raise themoney.” In Hidalgo County, DHS has agreed to contribute $3 million per mile, while the county will pitch in $2.1per mile million under the expectation that that money will eventually be reimbursed from federalcoffers. Before the reimbursement, though, the county will have to pay more than $44 million tocomplete the project. “I can’t force any entity to pony up money,” Cascos said. “But the three percent tax increase would bethe equivalent of a $20-per-year increase on a $60,000 home — it’s a couple of outings toWhataburger” But for County Commissioner John Wood, the price tag is only a part of what makes the proposalproblematic. “I think there are a lot of unanswered questions,” Wood said. Wood enumeratedenvironmental concerns, the possibility that stretches of county land will be isolated by the levees, andthe risk of creating a bottleneck on the river. “As long as the Mexican levee is lower, where is the water going to go?” Wood added. “We would justbe pushing the water into Mexico.” Wood suggests that the only viable alternative to the fence is a “virtual fence,” secured with camerasand sensors.Hidalgo County voters passed a $100 million bond in 2006 in order to prevent the Federal EmergencyManagement Agency from declaring miles of its levees unsound. The package included $40 million torepair the most dilapidated portions — a sum that will now help to build 22 miles of levees that willdouble as a retaining wall.Because Cameron County approved no such bond, Cascos is expecting it to be difficult to raise thenecessary $50 million — especially in smaller cities along the border. “We have to look at this county-wide,” he said. “We’re not going to stop the process because one entitycan’t pony up.” Cascos will be speaking to elected officials in Cameron County and in Washington, D.C. over the nextfew weeks. He has set a self-imposed deadline for the end of March — an indication, he said, of justhow urgent the issue is.
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