A letter to Kathleen Hicks from a NCTCA Officer. Can't wait to post the response.
Dear Kathleen,
On December 2, 2009, you Co-Hosted a Public Meeting regarding the status of the gas drilling pipeline down Carter Avenue. Your Co-Hosts for this meeting were State Senator Wendy Davis and State Representative Lon Burnam, both of Fort Worth.
Also, present at the meeting (at your invitation) were your respective legislative aides, Fort Worth City Development Staff, TxDot Representative Meribel Chavez, Fort Worth City Engineer Rick Trice, Chesapeake management, engineering and PR staff, Carter Avenue residents and property owners and various other Fort Worth neighborhood leaders. Our NCTCA Officers and Members were also present to hear the information.
During the meeting, a PowerPoint presentation was made by Chesapeake about the status of the "alternative route" along the I-30 corridor which they proposed as a viable alternative to the route down Carter Avenue. During the question and answer period, the Chesapeake representatives and Engineer made it very clear that they were working towards this viable solution, and everyone there was lead to believe that over a period of the ensuing months, all parties would be working out the details with that goal in mind.
Thus, we (and particularly the Carter Avenue residents) were alarmed and shocked to learn that not even ten days after your meeting, Chesapeake (Texas Midstream) was continuing their condemnation legal proceedings against Carter Avenue resident Steve Deuong. Why? If Chesapeake Energy is sincere in their desire and efforts to work cooperatively with both the Carter Avenue residents and the City.....then why are they HARASSING this resident again, and WHY would they need to continue to PUSH for this condemnation? As of this writing, Chesapeake is still engaging in an active pursuit of Mr. Doeung’s property, with another hearing scheduled for March 4, 2010!
It's been a full two months since your Public Meeting, Kathleen, and no one has been able to get a "straight forward answer" about the status - any status - of the proposed alternative pipeline route presented at your meeting, or the previous alternative route directly across IH30, that was forwarded to you my me over a month ago.
As you are aware, when our nonprofit organization “North Central Texas Communities Alliance” was formed in late 2009, the Carter Avenue pipeline situation was a galvanizing community issue. We have steadfastly supported the residents in their OPPOSITION to this pipeline. As I’m sure you do, we consider the Carter Avenue pipeline situation to be a litmus test for every residential street and every neighborhood in Fort Worth….and in the Barnett Shale.
Therefore, (if you cannot personally attend our meeting) we are requesting a written update from you and/or city staff regarding the current status of this pipeline, or the previous route directly across IH30. We will be hosting our monthly NCTCA meeting this coming Thursday, February 4th, and our members are expecting an update regarding the status of Carter Avenue and that of the pipeline. Please email current updates to my email address at your earliest convenience. We will be discussing the subject of Carter Avenue and it's residents with our members, and would like to be able to report something positive regarding pipelines in and through residential areas.
We believe that both the residents of Carter Avenue and the citizens of Ft. Worth deserve better, clearer, and more frequent communications on such an important issue that, quite literally, has a potential impact on EVERY neighborhood in our City. We ask that you, as the Council Member representing this District, work to insure that the citizens receive communications in a more timely and straightforward manner.
Thank you in advance for your help with these matters, and finally would like to extend a personal invitation to our next meeting on Thursday, February 4th. We will be given the opportunity to discuss serious issues with Dr. Al Armendariz, the new Region 6 Director with the EPA. This meeting could prove to be very important to our city, in that we cannot rely on the information from TCEQ as being anything but mildly informative.
Louis McBee - Treasurer
Executive Committee
2320 Oakland Blvd., Ste11
Fort Worth, TX 76103
cc: NCTCA Pres: Esther McElfish
NCTCA-VP; Gary Hogan
State Senator Wendy Davis
State Rep. Lon Burnam
We didn't know those people on Carter Ave. had a council representative? Wow. Does she get out much or even communicates with her constituents (the poorer citizens, anyway)? Wonder who she's pulling for in the David vs. Goliath battle between little Texan Steve D. and billion dollar$ Oklahoma corporation?
ReplyDeleteThis is a serious time for serious people with Abstract Sequential processing! Kathleen Hicks fits the bill, plus she is constantly accessible, honest, and REAL!
ReplyDeleteBefore you attack Kathleen, take a look in the mirror. Are you solving the city's challenges weekly, or are you adding to them by dividing the community. It takes a village to raise a child, obviously the village needs to take you on, as you've not yet matured to adulthood.
Run for office,win, then fight the fight weekly, let the water run off your back like that of a duck, then look in the mirror. You'll see an adult working to better the community. Until then, work on making the community better through unity!
Thanks for reading my thoughts!
I'll be Anonymous #3. I could not understand Anonymous #1. Anonymous #2 was pretty much offensive. I take that back. Anonymous #2 was offensive. Am I to understand Anonymous #2 is saying that the only way to constructively influence what happens in ones world is to run for office? Maybe Anonymous #2 is new to America. See, here we have this power called Freedom of Speech. With this power we can speak to power. And the abuse of power. For Anonymous #2 to suggest the only way one can constructively help ones community is via becoming a politician, well, put simply, I think Anonymous #2 needs to re-enroll in school, because wherever he done his learning, they done him wrong.
ReplyDeleteNow, Star-Telegraph, you ignore the Anonymous pinheads and continue to fight for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. In your own way. Any way you want to.
I am Anonymous 4 and I agree with Anonymous number 3. I think Anonymous 2 was Kathleen.
ReplyDeleteSeriously Anonymous #2, where did you get those fancy words "Abstract Sequential processing"? Did you find them together and in that SEQUENT (order, for the rest of us who have not "matured to adulthood"--whatever that means")or did you acquire them separately and strung them together? Seriously. Why such a personal defense of this professional politician? The obvious response to your rant and rhetorical questions is that no one forced this person, or any elected person for that matter, to seek this office and all the duties/benefits that accompany it. Since you seem so connected to this person, tell her to get out of the council seat if she can't/won't handle the job. There are other citizens who are able and willing to serve their community in this capacity. For everyone else, I think that the style of communication Anonymous #1 was using is called irony/sarcasm, which is a fairly sophisticated form of communication that display elements of critical thinking, constructive analysis, and humor--in a serious way, about a serious matter, during a serious time. Seriously--in a ha-ha kind of way. Call me A. Non Emus. I'm Eskimo, don't ya know :D)
ReplyDeleteHey Lone Star, so what were the answers to the questions raised in this letter? The woman was all over the news in November and December of last year claiming credit for "thinking outside the box" and declaring "a victory for the community". Why has she been so silent? Has she been helping with the dirty scheme by CHK all along? We citizens outside of the B.S. area are keeping our eyes on this. Pretty soon, the eyes of Texas (and the nation) will be focused on all the B.S. stuff.
ReplyDelete