Local veterans are still waiting for the opening of their Veterans Museum, five years after the idea first came to the table.
Tonight, they're meeting with city officials to see how they can get the project going.
Much of the frustration actually comes from major disagreements between the city and the county. One group claiming they're following the orders of veterans, the other, saying they're being shut out of the process.
“Uniforms, all kinds of equipment...we're very proud that’s why we want a museum.”
For Korean War Veteran Reynaldo Reyna and dozens of other Laredo veterans, the dream of having a local a museum honoring their sacrifices isn't far fetched.
But after years of debating on costs and other plans, not much has changed.
“We’re trying hard to get that museum going but we're having a little problem with the city and county we hope tonight we can sit down and get the problems resolved.”
The entire process has been a very lengthy and tiring one for veterans. The location has been picked, the money is there but five years later, the door still hasn't opened.”
“We never heard back from the county, instead of a negotiation it was turned into a public spectacle,” said City Attorney Raul Casso.
At a meeting between veterans and the city Thursday night, officials commented on the lack of communication on the part of the county.
The City says it drafted a contract about a month ago and are ironing out the details hoping to have a 50/50 agreement with Webb county.
“From day one we've been one-hundred percent behind this project behind this project,” says City Council member Johnny Rendon.
“The city is ready to start working on the museum as soon as we discuss it today I think we'll be ready to go.”
A spokesperson for the county says the city could only provide $500,000 for the project and could only commit for five years, yet they wanted 50 percent ownership of the building.
Veterans are being left in the middle.
“We're gona do it hopefully.”
We spoke with County Attorney Ana Laura Cavazos over the phone.
She says the county was not invited to tonight's meeting between the city and veterans.
Cavazos also says she hopes the city will get on the same page so they can finally move forward with the project.