WHO YOU voting for?

We hear a lot of complaints coming out of Haltom City - we say, if YOU want something different, elect someone other than the incumbent. 

Our crew in HC unanimously agreed on WHO they were voting for out there. 

Bob Watkins & Mary Haltom.

"Haltom" is pretty self explanatory, well that and none of our folks have ever seen her opponent. 

Watkins is a longtime resident and local business owner.  He serves on a city board and volunteers all over town, he's been doing both for decades. 

Sounds like just the kind of council member Haltom City needs. 

VOTE!!

"Boneheads"

A letter writer in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram makes some interesting points. 

What it all really boils down to is, they can't add.  Well, they can, they are just betting on YOU not doing the math.  WHAT would happen if YOU started adding it up?  WHO would the city councils and "news" answer to then?

Ask where YOUR money is going.  Then ask, WHY?

In addition to the letter, here are more examples of questionable math -  having to be pointed out by THE PEOPLE.    Isn't that what a newspaper should do?

From Durango and a letter writer concerning streetcars -

The TRV Boondoggle Drive-In propaganda promoters are saying they anticipate around 300,000 TRVBDIT (Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Drive-In Theater) movie goers a year.

That works out to about 822 paying customers a day.

That sounds believable. Sort of like how the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and its propaganda co-horts claimed 7 to 8 million visitors a year to the Fort Worth Cabela's sporting goods store would make Cabela's the top tourist attraction in Texas. With apparently no one doing the math to see how unlikely was a daily average of around 22,000 visitors to a sporting goods store.

_____________________________

Granger could have said 10 developers; it would sound better. He also said they expect 15,000 to 25,000 residents. Why not say 250,000? That's a number pulled out of the air, too.

Another Monday article said 40 units were sold in the past year within blocks of the Trinity Project. (See: "Rising to the challenge," Monday) How do you get from 75 people to 15,000? Oops; it's "streetcars."

_____________________________

Z Boaz costs

The Wednesday story by Bill Hanna had some frightening money facts. (See: "Council votes 6-1 to close Z Boaz")

The bonehead move by the Fort Worth City Council will cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

How? Follow the money. The current annual loss for Z Boaz is $250,000 per year. The capital cost to convert Z Boaz to some kind of park is at least $6 million.

The cost to run the park will be $150,000 annually. Amortize all that over 30 years, and here is what they have done to you: The 30-year cost for a park will be $10.5 million. The 30-year cost for Z Boaz as a golf course would be $7.5 million. The increase is $3 million.

Spread that cost increase over the same 30 years and note that your City Council just saddled you with $100,000 per year in extra costs.

Well done, politicians. And they wonder why we voters say, "Throw the bums out!"

Maybe the Fort Worth voters should let their council member hear their voices.

-- Ken DuBoise, North Richland Hills

One month before the Fort Worth tornado -

In 2000, Councilman Clyde Picht wrote a letter to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  At the time he was the only one in town advocating for emergency sirens.  The mayor, city council and Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editorial Board all were against spending money on sirens that protect people.

What was he basing his position on?  History. It tends to repeat itself. 

A month after Clyde wrote the letter, the tornado hit.  Lives were lost, just like he said. 

Currently, this mayor, council and paper disagree with what Clyde says about the Trinity River Vision.  What's the next Editorial Board going to say? 

Clyde's comment after rereading the commentary he wrote in 2000 - 

It’s too bad we had to wait for the disaster we knew was coming before we made a decision to upgrade our warning system.

Sounds familiar.  The following will too, read about Fort Worth, twelve years ago, before the tornado.

Two million for warning sirens?  A bargain at twice the price!
 
            When German bombers attacked London during the Second World War they lacked the precision guidance of today's weapons. On the other hand, the British radar showed only the general direction the bombers traveled so throughout the city air raid sirens wailed to warn the people of impending attack.

                Now, sixty years later, the National Weather Service has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in high tech equipment that can tell with a degree of precision the path a tornado will follow. The detection of severe weather is in the 21st century but the Fort Worth warning sirens are more suitable for the Battle of Britain. Our sirens will blare throughout our 250 square mile city, if they blare at all. Because of their age replacement parts are not readily available. Ten to fifteen percent of the system fails when tested, and on occasion, the whole system has been known to fail. With the rapid growth of our city some areas on the developing fringe are totally without warning sirens.

                Some things are fact. We live at the Southwest end of what weather experts call "Tornado Ally." Tornadoes have caused massive destruction and loss of life to the West, South, and East of Fort Worth. Severe weather caused major destruction in Fort Worth, pelting us with hail the size of baseballs in 1980 and 1995. Weather experts say that we will be struck by a killer tornado similar to the one that raised havoc in Moore, Oklahoma, last year. It's not a matter of whether, but when.

                In a recent commentary (2/21/00), Star-Telegram writer Jack Z. Smith reported that as a consequence of the Moore disaster that city is going to double the number of sirens. In my own conversation with Emergency Management Director, Gayland Kitch, he told me that even though the tornado occurred during rush hour, with plenty of radio and TV coverage, some residents didn't take cover until they heard the warning sirens. Smith reports Kitch said he feels that sirens help save lives and that Fort Worth would be wise to invest in them.

                Some things are fiction. According to Smith, the Mayor and some Council members feel that warnings sirens are not worth the $2-$3 million cost. They think radio, television, Internet, cell phones, E-mail and weather radios will substitute for sirens. It is not uncommon to have power outages during severe weather. With the power outages go your radio, television, Internet, and E-mail. Few computer owners are foolish enough to operate them during thunderstorms without UPS. A battery-powered radio will still work, provided the batteries are good and you have it with you. Cell phones might work if you've got them, but they don't always perform well even in good weather. First-hand reports from Oklahoma demonstrate that cell phones fail when tornadoes are near. Weather radios, like cell phones, are fine if everybody has one. Not everyone can afford or will want to buy a weather radio for $40-$80 (cost according to Smith). Most people probably wouldn't have one nearby during severe weather, in any case. Twenty-two people lost their lives when tornadoes hit Georgia in mid February. They came at night when folks were tucked safely in their beds. Or so they thought. Computers, cell phones, radios - all off. 

                A state of the art warning system has advantages that all the aforementioned devices don't have. The per capita cost is very nominal. A system will last many years and perform with high reliability. It can be used to warn residents in the path of severe weather without alarming those in safer areas. It can be localized to warn of hazardous spills on freeways and rail lines. It has a voice capability to describe circumstances that may require residents to take cover or remain in their homes and can warn children playing outside. With correct placement they are likely to be heard inside the home as well as outside.

                Lives will be lost in the event of a major tornado transiting Tarrant County. Adequate warning will save many lives, which might otherwise be lost. Ironically, the City Council was presented a proposal by the Fire Chief for the 1998 Capital Improvement Program that would have replaced the current warning system. The council turned it down and chose to use some of that money for park improvement. Pity the poor folks in the park who might be whisked away to Oz because they don't own a cell phone or weather radio, and live in a city where they are expected to take more "personal responsibility" for their safety.

                Like the unfortunate homeowner who installs a burglar alarm after the family heirlooms have been stolen, the City of Fort Worth will some day upgrade its woefully deficient disaster warning system after a major storm wreaks death and destruction. It willstill be cheap at twice the monetary price but what's the value of a life?

You can't make this up.

Richland Hills wants to ban cameras in City Hall.  WHO paid for City Hall?

Who's taking bets this will speed up the process of Richland Hills becoming part of North Richland Hills?

Read about it in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  Go down to Richland Hills City Council tomorrow and see it in person.

"Basically what it is, we've had folks come in and do video on the city secretary," Mayor David Ragan said. "That kind of made her nervous."

Gerrit Spieker, treasurer of Consolidate Now, believes that he, Michael Logan and David White inspired the city to consider the proposal. In January, they delivered a petition to City Secretary Linda Cantu requesting that a proposition to consolidate Richland Hills with North Richland Hills be placed on the May 12 ballot.

"We were in the lobby and videotaped delivering the petition to the city secretary," Spieker said. "I think [the proposed recording ban] is trumped-up paranoia."

If the proposal is approved, violators will not only be fined up to $2,000 but also be deemed trespassers and subject to immediate removal.

Officials in North Richland Hills, Haltom City, Hurst, Euless, Bedford and Colleyville said those cities have no similar ordinances.

"Nor have we contemplated one," Euless City Manager Gary McKamie said.

If a city has 16 candidates....

There's a reason. Be there Thursday and find out what it is.

City Council Candidates will attend first forum Thursday at 7:00 PM

By D. J. Zitko

Sixteen challengers for five seats on the City Council!

It is an extremely rare occurrence to have five seats in contention. Two seats are open due to resignations and three of the incumbents are up for re-election. In total, nineteen candidates are listed in the City Council races.

Fourteen of the challengers will take part in the first city council candidate forum this Thursday night, March 15th. This free event is open to the public and gives citizens an opportunity to meet the challengers and listen as they give timed responses to questions on the issues that face our city. The event will be held at the Odis Pharr Community Center, 3535 Marathon,Pantego, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The event is hosted by the Arlington Tea Party.

The organizer of the event, Kelly Canon, a former candidate for City Council herself, spoke with the Arlington Voice about the forum’s format, “Due to the large number of candidates this year, we will keep answers to timed, one-minute responses. Each candidate will be given an opportunity to briefly introduce themselves and talk about the issues that are most important to them as a potential/future council member.”

Read the full story at the Arlington Voice.

In the long run

Is it worth it?

It's rhetorical.

It's Fort Worth.

Shepherd knows drilling accidents happen, but the nature center needs the money. So, he hopes gas companies can find the value in the wildlife not just the gas reserves below.

Hey, Hey, Hey...Goodbye

Mel LeBlanc is no longer an Arlington Council member and he's no longer in the running for the next election. 

Read about it on the ArlingtonVoice.com.

In response to allegations surrounding his recently cleared drug investigation, Councilman Mel LeBlanc submitted his resignation to the Mayor and City Council and will be stepping down effective Tuesday, February 14th.

Too much to tell...

happening in Arlington.  Packed council chambers, the Rush Creek Drill site vote, the issue of high density apartments, the list goes on.

We can't keep up, but Arlingtonvoice.com can.

"On the other hand, sometimes well-intentioned, government-initiated projects do not go as planned."

 The Fort Worth Star-Telegram got a tip from THE PEOPLE - one at City Hall, about the $50,000 the city is spending to add showers so workers can bike to work.  The tipster is bothered with the cutting of employees and  forced furlough days while adding showers for the few that ride. 

WHAT is the "funding source"? WHAT "designation" is the city seeking?

"I have nothing against riding a bike to work," the tipster wrote. "What I do take issue with is the city, in such dire straits, on a dead run to spend money to build showers so that folks can ride bicycles to work at City Hall.

Funding source: "The scheduled replacement of an air-conditioning system at the Animal Care and Control Center will be deferred until next fiscal year to allow this shower facility to be constructed now," a spokesman said.

Did the city do a survey on need?
No. Mayor Betsy Price, an avid cyclist, told The Watchdog: "Then we would have had to spend money on surveys. ..".

Downtown bike racks are mostly empty, and the lanes are not filled with bicyclists.

City officials say they hope to attain the designation Bicycle Friendly Community through the League of American Bicyclists.

On the other hand, sometimes well-intentioned, government-initiated projects do not go as planned.

Example: North Richland Hills used part of a $2 million federal grant awarded in 1999 to develop its Walker's Creek Park trail. That included money to install lockers under a large canopy near the water park for bicycle commuters to stow their belongings.

In 2009, the lockers were removed because officials feared they could be vandalized or someone could get locked inside. Those lockers remain in storage today.

Don't worry

If you missed the presentation on the NCTCOG this week.  It's coming soon to everywhere near YOU.

Apparently many people are interested in WHO they are and WHAT they do.  For a stormy night, less than a week before Santa arrives, the house was packed!  And more people were visiting that post than you could shake a stick at.

We'll keep you posted.

Behind closed doors...

Is the Fort Worth Way.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram tells you how murky that can be at City Hall.

Today, the council is scheduled to receive a closed-session briefing from city attorneys about how to fill vacancies. The process, as outlined in the charter, is not all that complicated: Except under limited circumstances that don't apply right now, new members must be chosen through elections held in those districts where there are vacancies, either on the next scheduled election day (next May) or on a special date approved by the governor.

But the game of politics is never simple.

Take today's meeting, for example. The council can hold closed meetings only under certain circumstances specified in the Texas Open Meetings Act.

Today's agenda calls for an executive session to get the advice of attorneys about "pending or contemplated litigation or other matters that are exempt from public disclosure" under state bar rules or the open meetings act. There is no such pending or contemplated litigation about council vacancies, and no other reason seems to apply but bar rules that call for unfettered, privileged communication between attorneys and their clients.

Where do you think you're going?

Kathleen Hicks, the same Fort Worth council person who had Judge license plates on her Porsche, even though she's not one, is now running for District 33. (Does she still have the plates? WHO knows, we couldn't find a follow up in the "news").  Sal Espino, who has had his own share of misjudgements, may run too.

Remember what happened last time this race was ran?  Brimer sued Wendy Davis to try and keep her from running. He lost the lawsuit, and the race.

Here we go again.


City staffers have remained tight-lipped about how the council process will work, possibly because the last time it happened there was a lawsuit.

Ah, the Fort Worth Way. 

Read the latest in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Good Question

 In the Fort Worth Star-Telegram letters. 

Whose city?

I was proud to present an overhead slide at the City Council meeting where Mayor Betsy Price said the city is "our Fort Worth" and requested that we "take ownership" of the city and make it better.

During the discussion on whether to let voters decide whether or not to increase the size of the council, we listened to a litany of excuses about why members thought we should stay at nine instead of increasing to 11.

The City Council is powerless to decide the size of the council if we, the people, decide to change it.

How can the mayor tell neighborhoods "it's your Fort Worth," then tell them their vote and opinion won't count?

How does an elected official tell the people to "make our great city even better by taking ownership," then attempt to deny them that ownership?

-- Louis McBee, Fort Worth

Are you smarter than a 5th grader?

Too bad they are buying your 5th graders too.  Read the letter in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Fracking mistrust

Really? We're supposed to believe U.S. Rep. Joe Barton when he says gas drilling isn't dangerous after he's taken more than $500,000 from the gas and oil lobby? (See: "Fracking lobby donations detailed," Friday)

We're to believe the "experts" who say fracking wasn't responsible for recent earthquakes in Oklahoma even though the number and their intensity have increased dramatically?

We're to believe Fort Worth City Council members when they say current gas drilling regulations are adequate while rejecting their own air quality study's recommendations?

Most fifth-graders would be smart enough to see the correlation between fracking and the increase in earthquakes, gas leaks, noise pollution, dirty air, contaminated water, sickened people or dead wildlife.

Why not our elected officials?

Sadly, it appears that the money has rendered them all deaf, dumb and blind.

-- Sharon Austry, Fort Worth

THE Women want to know

Y'all better answer them.  Don't they publish a voter's guide every election?  You go, girls.

Read the letter in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Ordinance revisions

The League of Women Voters of Tarrant County applauds the Fort Worth City Council for commissioning a comprehensive, independent study of air quality in the Fort Worth area, and for charging city staff to make recommendations for additions to the gas drilling ordinance in response to the study findings.

However, we are disappointed that the City Council chose not to adopt any of the proposed revisions.

The health issues raised by the study remain, so we ask: When will changes be made to the ordinance to address these vital issues?

-- Judy Wood, president, LWV
 Tarrant County, Fort Worth

Standing Ovation

For the residents of Mallard Cove.

See what a community can do, if they do something.

Bravo.

Read about the Mallard Cove Compressor Stations being unanimously denied by the Fort Worth Zoning Commission in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  Bravo to the Fort Worth Planning and Zoning Commission.  Good to know not everything goes the Fort Worth Way.

Where will YOU be December 6?  Trust us, it's better than must see TV and who knows, you might even save your neighborhood.

Read the comments from THE PEOPLE too.

The site at 7429 Randol Mill Road covers more than 40 acres near the Trinity River in a semirural area east of East Loop 820 and north of Interstate 30.

The vote was met with a standing ovation from residents of the Mallard Cove and River Trails neighborhoods, who had packed the city's council chambers.

The zoning request will now go before the City Council on Dec. 6.

Texas Midstream asked for a continuance, but the commission voted against it and then denied the zoning request.

Commission member Ann Zadeh expressed frustration with the company's stall tactics and suggested that it was trying to "wear down" the opposition.

Commission member Charles Edmonds, whose district includes the proposed site, said he received 137 pages of e-mails in opposition to the zoning request. He told Texas Midstream officials that a delay would do little good.

"You have a high barrier. It's not compatible and not consistent with the comprehensive plan," Edmonds said. "In this case, you have the additional barrier that you have a very well-organized, very articulate group that is opposed to this specific site. I don't think extending this conversation any further is going to do any good."

WHO to the rescue?

A letter to the editor in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tells you how things are run in Tarrant County.  Don't be mistaken, it ain't just Richland Hills.

If a Texes hero shows up, they are going to be busy. 

Rescue Richland Hills

Richland Hills has ceased to function as a city, and there's no Superman to rescue us. We have a city charter that is old and outdated but is the current, legal policy voted in by our citizens. It is the law.

Or is it? Various members of the City Council are routinely violating the city charter but there's no way to hold them accountable since they abolished the city's Ethics Review Board. The city manager, who has won numerous awards for management of the city, is under siege by the council. Each week more City Council actions are being hidden in "executive session." Residents loyal to certain councilmen are allowed to misbehave during council and board meetings and are creating a hostile workplace for volunteers and city employees. Councilmen are ordering the replacement of opposing board members without following due process.

Richland Hills has become a Wild West town run by thugs and bullies. We need an intervention! I have contacted various elected officials within Tarrant County and my state representative but so far no one seems able or willing to step in, call this obviously unethical behavior into question and save Richland Hills.

-- Ralph Smith, Richland Hills

When NEWS goes bad...

What happens when the newspaper of record in your town gets its marching orders from the downtown money crowd? They forget WHY they are there in the first place.

This is an exchange between a Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist and a local citizen. Other citizens copied in responded too. This is just one example of many, sit tight, more on the way.

What happens to YOUR city when YOUR news is run by your local "governments" and "the industry"?  What happens when people mistake columnists for reporters?  What happens when there is no difference?

Recently, someone wrote that when a news outlet gets all its "news" from politicians and industry, they make themselves irrelevant.  Poignant, isn't it?

Mitch Schnurman recently wrote a column concerning tax abatements, which prompted a letter from the citizen. Schnurman didn't respond. He then wrote one about the TCC boondoggle on the Trinity River which prompted the citizen to follow up. Below is the exchange.

Act 1 - Citizen to Newspaper
To: "mschnurman@star-telegram.com"
Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2011 9:40 AM
Subject: Thoughts

Mitch,

I had a question concerning your recent tax abatement article - while I finally agree with something you say, I wonder why you are upset with the abatement's but not with the $95 million needed for a new fire/police training facility??  Since the council sold this land to the Tarrant Regional Water District, now the taxpayer has to foot the bill once again.  Would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks,
X

Act 2 - Citizen to Newspaper.  Again.

On Tue, Sep 6, 2011 at 1:49 PM, X wrote:

Although I didn't expect an answer, I would have appreciated one.

Now I just have more questions...

How is the sunken plaza a boondoggle but the Trinity River Vision is not?  The only good thing about TCC is they should walk away with an education, then maybe the next generation will be smarter than selling/sailing our checkbooks down the river.

Also, TCC is leasing space in Haltom City, for I believe - a $1 a year.  Is there not a way they could look for the same deal for an arts center in a nearby city?  With all the vacant space in Tarrant County, there has to be a more affordable choice.

Again, would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks,
X

Act 3 - Another citizen to newspaper.

An excellent point. Why would the city council sell the training academy without first having the funding secured for a new facility?

Will they build it with Certificate of Obligations like the Will Rogers parking garage and without public approval?

Another chapter in the TRV folly that should provoke public outrage.

Act 4 - Another citizen responds

How is the TCC a boondoggle and the TRV is not?
GOOD question. Excellent question!

Answer:  Not a dime’s worth of difference.

We made our maiden voyage to the completed TCC boondoggle yesterday.  Pity bad weather and the poor co-ed and 58 steps from Belknap down to her classroom.

Perhaps as a hotel, with a path all the way to the river, it might have been a fine tourist attraction.  But the college as I and others envisioned when we campaigned for its birth circa 1968 was to be a place where people could be trained in local class rooms to enable them to earn a living.

X can’t get over the fact that all the buildings are what on the farm we used to call lean-tos.  An architect friend called me this morning and asked me when they’re going to straighten them up.

In the words of General MacArthur:  I could not answer.

Act 5 - Finally...a response?  (We have to give him credit for the last line, but do YOU buy it?)

I don't know about the police training center, so I didn't have much to contribute to your thoughts on the subject.

I try to weigh in on issues that I have examined. I am not the beat reporter for TCC, so there is much that I do not follow. As for Haltom City having cheap rent, I don't see that as the issue in North Richland Hills.

The money has already been collected for that project; the question is whether TCC will stick to the original budget (or at least close).

I have written many times about the TRV, and I continue to support it. To rehash all that now is a waste of my time and yours.

I expect to revisit it again, in light of the cuts that are coming in federal spending. Perhaps my view will change then.

Thank you for writing,
Mitchell Schnurman
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Business columnist

Act 6 - Citizen responds to news paper.

Mitch,

I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

My point on TCC may not have been clear, my thoughts were we could use the money and look at other options that would provide what is needed while staying within the budget.  The Haltom City campus was just an example of that.

Concerning TRV, while I realize I am just an average citizen, I am somewhat confused by your response.  If you aren't aware of the police/fire training center, which was another known ripple of the TRV, how can you be in full support of the project?

I realize your employer is a large advocate of the project, however the taxpayers and your customers need advocates too.

Thanks,
X

What does the "news" paper say?

Fort Worth road not getting repaired.

"Fort Worth remains way behind on road repairs"

But not to worry.  As of August 23, the Trinity River Vision was right on schedule.  And only a million more.

WHAT happened to the gamble that was taken with YOUR money?  WHAT will happen with the next one?  WHICH one is a priority to YOU?

Of that money, more than $32 million was first approved by voters about seven years ago.

Why wasn't the money spent? City officials say they hung onto tens of millions in an attempt to grab federal stimulus money -- yet didn't know what work, if any, would qualify. In the end, almost all those projects failed to pan out, leaving neighborhood streets and thoroughfares broken despite voter approval of bonds to pay to fix them.

The explanations go on: inadequate debt capacity, a slowdown in projects due to the recession and a lack of accountability within the Transportation & Public Works Department. And, city officials say, the staff didn't push hard enough to get the job done.

"Reports coming through management were lax. Accountability was a major issue. The focus was not there," Councilman Jungus Jordan said.

Another Twisted Tale....

Concerning water, dams, the Corp of Engineers, gas drillers, and city councils...

Hey, Fort Worth, do you see a pattern yet?

Wake up already. 

Check it out on the Westchester Gasette.

Chesapeake's Corn Valley Pad Site was administratively permitted by the City of Grand Prairie in the summer of 2010 with very little fanfare ~ even though it was clearly within the 3,000 foot Zone of Exclusion ~ as  defined by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) ~ with their 1996 publication:  Texas Resource Management Plan and Record of Decision.  This publication defines the Rules going forward for oil and gas drilling activity near the dams and lakes under United States Army Corps of Engineers' jurisdiction.

Two Years Earlier: 2008

On July 15, 2008, Shale gas operator XTO said the following to Grand Prairie, TX City Council (during a Public Hearing about XTO's Lynn Unit):

"...The Corps of Engineers is aware of this activity based on an agreement with the Bureau of Land Management on this property."

~ Walter Dueease, XTO, July 15, 2008