San Luis renames street for CBP official in split vote
SAN LUIS, Ariz. — Barely a month after imposing rules on street naming, the San Luis City Council has made an exception to the new ordinance.
In a divided vote this week, the council renamed 1st Avenue as William Brooks Avenue, in honor of a former director of the San Luis Port of Entry.
The name change was sought by Mayor Gerardo Sanchez, who said the Yuma native should be recognized for his ongoing efforts to ease congestion at the border resulting from the year-by-year increase in traffic between San Luis and neighboring San Luis Rio Colorado, Son.
“He has always been an advocate for the city of San Luis,” Sanchez said, “and thanks to him the SENTRI program came to San Luis. Thanks to him (the federal government) is talking about opening the San Luis II port of entry to private vehicles, and thanks to him, there is the possibility that $234 million will be invested in modernizing the (San Luis I) port of entry.”
SENTRI — Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection — is a program of U.S. Customs and Border Protection allowing motorists and pedestrians who have cleared background checks to make expedited border crossings through dedicated lanes, saving the crosser time spent in lengthy waits in line.
San Luis II opened in 2010 on the city’s east side as a crossing exclusively for semi-tractor trailers and commercial vehicles traveling between the two nations. Lately, San Luis officials have been lobbying the U.S. and Mexican governments to convert it to a dual-use port as a way to shorten lines of private vehicles waiting to cross at the older San Luis I port.
Sanchez said naming the street for Brooks is a more fitting way to recognize him than what the city might otherwise do.
“We can give him a plaque, but the street name says more. Whenever someone crossings through the port of entry or crosses that street, they will remember the name of William Brooks. Very few port directors have benefited San Luis so much.”
The avenue renamed for Brooks is one street over and to the east of Main Street. It extends north from the border, connecting with Juan Sanchez.
Automobiles previously used Main Street when entering or exiting Mexico. As part of a downtown redevelopment project completed in 2015, vehicles arriving from Mexico now are routed to since-renamed William Brooks Avenue.
Brooks, a Kofa High School graduate and former Yuma County sheriff’s deputy, served as director of the San Luis ports until 2014. He was promoted to his current position as CBP director of field operations in Arizona, a post that makes him responsible for supervising all six of the state’s ports of entry on the Mexican border as well as CBP ports at the Phoenix and Tucson airports.
“I am humbled and honored by this recognition,” Brooks said in a statement emailed to the Yuma Sun.
Sanchez’s proposal was endorsed by Councilman Matias Rosales, who likewise cited Brooks’ efforts to make travel easier between the two countries.
Voting against renaming the street were Councilwoman Africa Luna and Gloria Torres, both of whom argued that Brooks is not well-known to many San Luis residents and the change runs counter to the street naming ordinance approved by the council in November.
The regulation spells out streets will be named for people who have have been deceased at least 12 years, or who died in service of the city of San Luis, the state or nation.
“Everything the mayor said is correct, but I think that that is part of his work in his position,” Luna said. “It’s not something extraordinary, it was something he did as part of his job.”
Streets should be named for people “who have really done something for the community, who are wellknown here,” she said.
Torres likewise said she doesn’t believe Brooks is well-know to most residents.