Mr. Melendez will soon be able to attend City Council meetings again.

The Honorary Consul from El Salvador, Enrique Melendez, is in a dilemma. He cannot attend Prescott City Council meetings, because he has not met with Mayor Jack Wilson and his credentials have not been accepted. Since Melendez is one of the moving forces behind the Prescott-Suchitoto sister city resolution, that makes the whole situation rather awkward.

Confused? Read the whole saga here:

Prescott Mayor Wilson Questions Sister City Relationship with Suchitoto

Suchitoto: Should it Be the Next Sister City?

Where's Enrique?  

When asked why he hadn't already met with Mr. Melendez, Mayor Wilson said he hadn't been contacted or asked for a meeting since his inauguration. But, what about the letter Mr. Melendez sent on December 3rd, less than a week after Wilson took over the Mayor's position?

When Prescott eNews reported on the entire story on Saturday, we published a copy of the letter Mr. Melendez had sent.

Today, we received a phone call from Mayor Wilson, explaining what happened.

Wilson said, "Listen, that letter that Rick Melendez sent to me never got to me. If you look at the address on it, it is the wrong address."

The address of City Hall is 201 S.Cortez, and the letter was addressed to 222 So. Marina St.. (It probably went to the Prescott Police Department, which does happen to be at 222 S. Marina Street.)

Wilson continued, "It was never delivered. I went through the files to doublecheck before I called you, to make sure I didn't get it, because we maintain a file of all the letters I get here."

So, does that mean that the two men will be meeting soon? Wilson replied in the affirmative, "I've already talked to him, I'm meeting with him a week from Friday. He's out of town right now, he can't meet before then."

In addition, Wilson continued, "I expect we'll pass the resolution tomorrow, either 6-1 or 7-0 depending on which way Councilman Luzius votes, which I cannot control. Because I think what they've done is, they've put together a support organization, which was my main question last week."

How does Mr. Melendez feel about this turn of events? In a return email to Mayor Wilson, he writes,

Honorable Jack Wilson
Mayor
City of Prescott

Dear Mayor Wilson:

First of all , thank you for initiating a meeting with me for tomorrow, but due to a medical family issue I am unable to be in Prescott during that time. Further, the Mayor of Fountain Hills is leaving office and this Thursday will be his last Council meeting during which I will be presenting him with a Salvadoran Government Resolution.

With respect to the Sister City issue, I want you to know that I respect your willingness to meet with me and I look forward to our luncheon next week . Clearly,we can both benefit by enjoying a positive relationship on behalf of the communities we both represent .

Respectfully,

Enrique Melendez
Honorary Consul
Republic of El Salvador

So, even though Mr. Melendez will be unable to attend the Prescott City Council meeting for unrelated reasons, he'll be pleased to know, that barring any unexpected surprises, by this time tomorrow night, the Sister City relationship between Suchitoto and Prescott will be totally official.

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written by Sam Berrutti, May 13, 2008

I can understand the costs involved with a sister city program. What this Mayor is missing is a total lack of humanity. El Salvador is a poor country, yet they are the only latin country that has stood behind the United States in Iraq and Afganistan through thick and thin. Whether you beleive in the war or not, El Salvador has shown loyalty and commitment. Mr. Mayor, where is your brain? Perhaps you should live out the rest of your unhappy life away from public office.

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