Speaking of creeks...

And Haltom City...

A Letter to the Editor in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram asks a good question about a recent article on parks in Tarrant County.

High-water mark

The Monday front page shows builders working on a "low-water crossing" along Whites Creek in "Haltom City's new park." (See: "Splendor in our backyard is increasingly accessible")

Please help me understand why they would not build a high-water crossing. It seems like that is the more dangerous condition. Just how low is the crossing going to be? And how will they close the crossing when the water gets high?

-- Howard M. Cornell III, Arlington

That's a good question, sir.  Especially since just yards away from the park, is where the child drowned in one of the Haltom City floods.  We didn't see any mention of that in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram park article. 

We did see every city around has their hand out for park grants.  Why do we have a feeling the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) is involved in them all?  The paper didn't mention that either.

The 20-acre site, whose working name is Whites Branch Park, will have a 20-by-30-foot picnic pavilion and separate playground structures for children 5 and younger and for 5- to 12-year-olds, all surrounded by a hike/bike trail system. Perhaps most important, given the North Texas climate, the park will feature the city's biggest splash pad.

The $1.25 million park project will be partly funded by $700,000 in grants from Texas Parks and Wildlife, Henry said. The city is making up the difference.

The city also plans to join the new park to Buffalo Ridge Park by acquiring 120 flood-prone properties. When the project is completed, park visitors will have access to the Buffalo Ridge hike-and-bike trail, eventually linking to a 15-mile trail system through Watauga and Fort Worth.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/04/15/3885821/tarrant-county-cities-are-adding.html#storylink=cpy

River of Denial

Guess there is a reporter in the county, and his name is Dan McGraw.

Don't miss the Fort Worth Weekly article, Unleashing a Flood of Questions.  You know how we love questions. 

This isn't a PR piece brought to you courtesy of the Trinity River Vision or the Tarrant Regional Water District or the Congresswoman's office.  YOU can't afford to miss it.  After all, it's YOUR $909 million.  Every penny of it.

Projected costs for the project have ballooned to about $909 million. The economy is still in the Great Recession, and federal, state, and local governments are all facing severe budget shortfalls that will leave their mark for years to come. Congress has put a temporary ban on earmark bills, the strategy by which local project funding was routinely added to unrelated bills and that U.S. Rep. Kay Granger of Fort Worth used to get about $60 million for the TRV in the past. And the Corps, faced with continuing fallout from the Hurricane Katrina debacles in Louisiana and this year’s massive flooding along the Mississippi, is dealing with many projects much more critical than improvements in Fort Worth to a river section that hasn’t seen significant flooding in half a century.

The Trinity River Vision Authority is the governmental agency created specifically to oversee this massive project, but the officials on its governing board are appointed, not elected by the public.

WHO was appointed to head it?  Oh, that's right, JD Granger, son of the Congresswoman.

The federal funding component of the TRV is now $487 million of the $909 million. That includes the Corps’ flood control work, along with contributions from federal transportation, economic development, housing, and environmental protection agencies.

In the convoluted world of Washington, as in Fort Worth, it is hard to get clear answers on where the Trinity River Vision stands. The Corps has ruled that the project is “technically sound and environmentally acceptable,” but the funding must be approved on a year-by-year basis. In the past five years, about $29 million has been appropriated for it. But that is nowhere near the Corps’ $466 million price tag to finish it.

“I think this is becoming a bait-and-switch plan, something private businesses would be prosecuted for if they did it,” said Steve Hollern, a local accountant and former chair of the Tarrant County Republican Party. “What the TRV is doing is buying property, tearing down buildings, using eminent domain, and having very little chance of getting the federal funds they need to complete it.

Granger wholeheartedly disagreed. “I am not concerned about the federal funds drying up, because this is primarily a flood control water project, and those have been a top priority in Washington,” he said. “This is not a short-term solution to flooding issues on the Trinity River, but a long-term plan that solves a very real problem.”

There are a number of opponents to this project, but they are very much in the minority,” Granger said. “Most citizens of Fort Worth I talk to see value in this project. It will change this city in so many ways, all of them for the better.”

JD should get out more (we don't mean on 7th street).  The minority is growing.

This land is OUR land...

Read the Arlington Letter to the Editor in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  Then ASK the Arlington City Council, WTH?

Protecting nature

The Arlington Parks and Recreation Board approved a list of recommendations Aug. 9 regarding a proposed gas well next to the Southwest Nature Preserve.

The board was concerned because the pad site violates the Arlington gas well ordinance's setback for parks.

One of the board's recommendations was to "require identification of impacts on native wildlife," but the plea didn't make the letter that city staff then sent to the City Council.

When asked at the Nov. 2 council meeting why this request was sidestepped, the council did not have an answer but still approved the well.

Who's looking out for this glorious expanse of unmarred land?

The parks board is trying to. It is disturbing to see the board's efforts ignored by our elected officials.

At some point, we have to say no more habitat destruction, no more diminishing quality of life, no more waiver of ordinances designed to protect us -- all for one more gas well.

-- John Dycus, Arlington

Help Friends of Friends save your parks!

Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area have joined with other "Friends" groups and many FW residents in opposition to the proposed merger of the FW Parks and Library departments. (see attached letter)


If you agree that this proposal that can harm Tandy Hills Natural Area and other parks, please contact the mayor and city council today.
 
September 7, 2010


Mayor Moncrief and City Council Members

City of Fort Worth

1000 Throckmorton St.

Fort Worth, Texas 76102

Dear Mayor and City Council:

Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area, Inc. (FOTHNA) is opposed to the planned budget calling for the consolidation of the Parks and Community Services Department with the Library.

One of the things that makes Fort Worth special is having more than 11,000 acres of parks and green spaces including the 160-acre Tandy Hills Natural Area. Our parks system is one of the brightest jewels in the City’s crown.

Preserving, protecting, maintaining and enhancing these park areas have been the responsibilities of the Parks and Community Services department for 100 years.

This is a huge and multi-faceted task that is critical to providing a superior quality of life for the citizens of Fort Worth. The most efficient and effective way to continue fulfilling this responsibility is for the department to report directly to the City Manager’s office rather than through another department such as the Library.

FOTHNA understands the difficult budget challenges confronting the City. However, the steps taken to eliminate the projected shortfall should not include the proposed consolidation. Instead, reductions can be taken elsewhere that will not cause such serious, long-term erosion of the City’s park system as will inevitably occur under this proposal. FOHTNA strongly urges the Mayor and City Council to pursue these alternatives.

Sincerely,
Don Young

Director, Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area
cc: City Manager Dale Fisseler

Parks and Community Services Advisory Board

Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting Tandy Hills