I am sitting here reading the agenda for Monday's Town Council meeting. Our Town Council will be voting on some "non-controversial" and "houskeeping" issues. One of the 14 issues is the Advance Funding Agreement with The State of Texas, acting by and through TxDot, for funding of several projects including the widening of Morris Road/Gerault.
"Non-controversial"????
Has our council NOT heard anything we've said the last few months? If this is a non-controversial issue then you should have no problem leaving this vote to the New Town Council. SHAME ON YOU!!!!!
Why did they send it back to the transportation commission for public hearing?
It is obvious that this Town Council has no regard for their residents and will do whatever is in their power to run their own agenda.
It is imperative that we all show up tomorrow night and protest this vote. I know it is short notice, but we cannot let the Town Council let this happen.
PLEASE SHOW UP TOMORROW AND RAISE YOUR CONCERN ABOUT THE TIMING OF THIS VOTE
For more information you can go to the town website at http://www.flower-mound.com/
Your Government - Agendas & Minutes
Look at the Agenda for Town Council Meeting 05/04/09 page page 2, item K, Consent Agenda - Consent Items. Item 5. If you look right below Consent Agenda it states in small print that this is non-controversial and houskeeping issues.
It also states that any council member can have this removed from the Consent Agenda by making such request prior to a motion and vote on the Consent Agenda .
I sincerely hope that a current Council Member (those that are to represent the residents) has heard from the resident that this is a controversial issue and will vote to have it removed from the agenda.
There is more detailed information in the Packets link for the same date (same location on the website). On page 46 of this 498 page document is where it give more detailed information about the funding
It states that the Town can request funds for any cost overruns, but there is no guarantee that it will be granted. In such a case the Town itself will be responsible for the additional cost.
Page 52 Article 11 of this document mention that the Town must comply with all environmental review and public involvement requirements applicable to the Local Government under state and federal law in connection with the Projects.
What is the point of having public involvement after the Council already approved the agreement?
Page 54 Amendments
By mutual written consent of the Parties, this contract may be amended prior to its expiration. I guess this can be used as the last way out.
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The current Council needs to table this issue until we the people can have a chance to read the agreement. My question is, how can the state and the Town agree on something that hasn't even been designed yet? We need to read this agreement and see how and on what the money can spent. For instance, can we use the money to widen the intersection at 1171 without any other widening of Morriss Rd.? Once the Town has accepted the money, it will be more important than ever that we elect the right people to make sure it doesn’t get spent destroying Morriss Rd. I beg all of you to attend the Council Meeting tomorrow night and voice your concerns.
ReplyDeleteConsider a similar situation in your domestic life:
ReplyDeleteAssume you ask your spouse's parents to give you money to pay for an electrician to re-wire a circuit that you suspect may become overloaded when your noisy nieces and nephews come to live with you next year. When your spouse learns of this, they are upset they were not consulted first.
After a lengthy out-cry of opposition from your Spouse, you agreeably set up some time to re-consider the need to re-wire the circuit and even if you think you will really have as many nieces and nephews as you originally estimated.
In the interim, you shake hands with your in-laws to accept the money. Are you really being inclusive of your spouse's input? Do you think your spouse would be upset? Do you think your spouse will be more willing to work with you cooperatively?
If I did this, I would be divorced! To disregard my wife's input before I even had a chance to hear it; that is not a partnership.
Even if the Advance Funding Agreement (AFA) is a standard legal document for transportation funding, and even if it has to be signed right away or we would lose the funding forever (which I don't think is the case)... even if that is true, is it really prudent to bury this in a Consent Agenda and a 500-page agenda packet late on a Friday afternoon before a Monday meeting; the last Council meeting before an election? It just doesn't give off an overwhelming sense of inclusiveness. I hope it is just another honest oversight. I hope the Council and Town employees really do want to hear our input... or at least hear it before they disregard it.
I've just finished reading all of the Agreement and Attachment A. No where does it say exactly what we can and cannot do with the funds, so I'm guessing as I think Scott was eluding to, that this is a standard or general document used in these situations. I was aware that we would be receiving the money in April or May, what I didn't know was that it would be lumped in with three other projects. So instead of the Council voting on each project separately on the Agenda, they will be voting on all four projects as well as 13 other Agenda Consent Items that aren't controversial or are simply considered Housekeeping.
ReplyDeleteAs Bjorn mentioned earlier, a single Council Member can request that any item be removed from the Consent Agenda. That needs to be the message tomorrow night! We need to get at least one Council Member to request the removal of Consent Agenda Item 5 pertaining to the approval of the Advance Funding Agreement with the State of Texas.
Please come out in force tomorrow night and be heard!
Looks like the town is being non-transparent with TXdot and toll 121 too.
ReplyDeleteHave we thought of e-mailing the Texas DOT & maybe the federal DOT? If it is required as you noted below.
Page 52 Article 11 of this document mention that the Town must comply with
all environmental review and public involvement requirements applicable to
the Local Government under state and federal law in connection with the
Projects.
If we send e-mails to the town council and copy the Texas DOT, US DOT, both state and federal congressman & senators. We need to make sure to mention that it appears that they are not following law by listening to the public comment and note the previous meeting.
Flower Mound Politics as usual. Pick an issue. Stir up the people. Hostile rhetoric. The same key phrases.. “____ and his (her) developer pals.” Heck, the person named is not even running! But who cares. Point fingers. “We need new blood” - ignoring the fact that ALL the candidates are “new blood”.
ReplyDeleteWhat we need is people who have been involved in the community and will be involved no matter the outcome. Do you really think these one issue candidates will get involved? What we need is people who know the process and don’t jump the gun with “Shame on you Town Council”. After discovering the facts will the Town Council get an apology?
John,
ReplyDeleteI love the one issue candidate nonsense. As May 9th approaches, I keep hearing that more and more. Why do we need to apologize to the Council after last night exactly? I’ve already stated that I understand why the money was needed, for some of the other projects that are bundled with the Morriss money. What the StopMorriss 6 people are mad about is the lack of notification of the project. We have been asking for a Public Hearing for the last two months and still have not received one. So instead of tabling the issue until after the May 26th Transportation Commission Public Hearing, they go ahead and approve the money. We know that the Spinks project is ready to go and they need the funding to award the contract, but we also know that they could delay that for a few weeks if they wanted to, it’s government for goodness sake, they never do anything in a hurry.
We do need people that have been involved in the community, I live in Flower Mound, just because I don’t sit on a Board or Commission doesn’t mean I’m involved? So what you’re saying is that 98% of the people of Flower Mound are not involved enough in our community to run for Town/City Council? I beg to differ, it is the 98% that should be running to get the 2% out! Of course that depends on which side of the fence you sit on. I’m for the people, so I give my vote to the common man, not the one that has tried to groom him or her self for the position. We’ve seen that movie too many times and it usually doesn’t work out in the best interest of the people.
I know the facts and I don’t apologize as you suggest that I should. On the contrary, the Council should apologize to us for not listening to we the people that they serve.
Respectfully,
Bob Butler