For Immediate Release
Click here to view post press conference-July 31, 2008
Click here to view UTB/TSC and DHS Settlement Agreement
UTB/TSC to Begin Fence Pre-Construction Meetings
BROWNSVILLE, TX – AUG. 6, 2008 – The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College has begun pre-construction fence meetings. 
As part of the agreement with U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection (DHS/CBP) filed in federal court on Tuesday, Aug. 5, UTB/TSC defined the schedule with the deadline of 10 days to design the “friendly fence.
“We were the side that proposed those deadlines based upon the university’s confidence from its record of construction success, said Michael Putegnat, UTB/TSC's project manager for negotiations on the border fence issue. “We expect to finish the project on or ahead of schedule.
The Request for Proposals (RFP) are expected to be ready by Friday, Aug. 15.
In the formalized agreement, UTB/TSC would enhance campus security in two ways.
University-owned fencing adjacent to the levee would be 10 feet tall and upgraded with high-tech devices. The current fence is 8 feet tall.
The enhancements to UTB/TSC’s perimeter security, at the university’s expense, would complement methods already in use on the campus.
The agreement would allow UTB/TSC more room for capital construction and expansion on the land, and federal agencies would support the university’s long-term effort to move and enhance a flood control levee to the edge of the Rio Grande.
UTB/TSC and DHS/CBP would collaborate in the establishment of a center to study border issues including security. It would examine, among other elements, the use of technology for securing the border. The southern perimeter of the UTB/TSC campus will be part of a laboratory for testing new technology and infrastructure combinations.