What we witnessed last night was a compromise. Many will be disappointed it was not a stronger compromise or a complete "no" vote; others will feel just the opposite. That is the nature of a compromise.
Despite the name, StopMorriss6 originally was about making this project known to as many people as possible and enabling citizens to be heard collectively. Thanks to everyone's efforts I think we can feel proud that we accomplished this goal.
For those who have not heard, here is what changed last night:
- The project has been split into 2 phases:
- Phase 1 includes the entire Gerault Rd portion (including the 2499 flyover)
- Phase 1 includes elements for the entire length of Morriss/Gerault: intersection improvements, safety elements, fencing, and landscaping
- Phase 2 includes all that remains, largely just 6 lanes of Morriss Rd.
- Language was added to include emphasis on 8' fencing options where possible and living sound walls.
- Phase 2 will not begin until the earlier of 2014/2015 FY or the completion of the Riverwalk Amenity (which is the $6M? main water feature of that project).
The biggest win for the residents of Morriss Rd is that this compromise allows us time to see if we think we can live with this road. If after the design process and the beginning of construction you feel like the road will impact your quality of life too much, then you will have the time to make an orderly and well-timed relocation. It is sad that some may have to consider this, but at least you have the option now.
The other key element here is that the "Riverwalk Amenity" is a good compromise trigger. If completed, this phase of the Riverwalk will prove to everyone that the Riverwalk is a viable project that is on its way to completion. Also, the "Riverwalk Amenity" is required before the developer can begin construction on the last 600(?) residential units.
For the record, the Council voted:Al Filidoro - In Favor
Steve Dixon - In Favor
Jean Levenick - In Favor
Mike Wallace - Opposed
Tom Hayden - Abstained
- Mr Wallace supported the project, but opposed the time gap before phase 2 would increase costs slightly (by our estimates, between $0.5M and $1.5M - a hard number to pin down right now). He stated that 1 phase of construction was his preference.
- Mr Hayden abstained (which is essentially interpreted as a "no" vote on the record) because [as he stated] he made very strong campaign promises to not support this road project. My own interpretation is that he abstained rather than voted "no" because he felt Mr Filidoro's amendment was a move in the right direction. But that is only my interpretation.
Again, thank you to all.
*****Correction/Clarification*****
There was some procedural confusion after the vote. Some persons thought the vote was just on the amendment proposed by Mr Filidoro, others thought the vote was for the entire motion including the amendment. After the recess, a new vote was taken with the scope of the entire motion in its final form which included the proposed amendments (described in the original post). This last vote passed 3-2 in favor of the motion with Mr Wallace and Mr Hayden in opposition.
Agenda Item #9: The Council approved the CIP budget amendments to reflect changes to Morriss/Gerault, West Windsor connection, and the new firestation. Mr Hayden noted that the practice of combining disparate items is sometime not ideal. The item passed 4-1 with Mr Hayden in opposition.
Agenda Item #10: The Council approved funds for Halff & Associates to begin Morriss/Gerault project design. The item passed 4-1 with Mr Hayden in opposition.
I'm actually quite suprised that the Town Council made a compromise of this nature. Not sure why they waited so long, but I give them credit where credit is due now.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see a clarification on the lack of a bidding process.
ReplyDeleteDoes the state law say you can not do bids on this, or what is more likely they do not have to.
If it is the latter, then the city is not doing us any favors other than handing the project over to their preferred vendor even if someone else could do it better and cheaper.
And Kudos to the Swagger guy! Stupid Wild Ass Guessers is right. I am not happy that the traffic study was so limited in scope. Yet they said they would do a through study to determine the lowest lawful speed limit....
The action agenda is now available on the Town website:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flower-mound.com/agenda/TCarchive/actionagenda06-15-09.pdf
This summarizes the outcome of the agenda actions taken by the Council last night. I know some of you were wanting to see the actual text. I am not certain that this is the final text, because of the affore mentioned confusion.
Mr. Hayden campaigned that he would oppose the expansion. His abstention (sp?) is a broken promise.
ReplyDeleteGreg Lane
There was a motion and an ammendment to that motion. For the record, Mr Hayden abstained from the amendment proposed by Mr Filidoro. After the recess, Mr Hayden voted no to the Motion.
ReplyDeleteMr Hayden did not break his promise because he voted "no" to the motion.
Though I will argue that by abstaining from the proposed amendment, he was not supporting those of whom he promised he would oppose the road. He should have voted in favor of that amendment or proposed a stronger amendment. Unfortunately, the reality is that a strong motion likely would not have passed.
Luckily, Mr Filidoro, Mr Dixon, and Mrs Levenick all saw it as a valid compromise so Mr Hayden's support was not neccessary.
Abstention is a cheap way of not voting on an issue. He obviously did not want to be on the record, though later his statement of voting no put him on the record as being opposed. Not sure if that's just because he was unsure on how to move on that or what.
ReplyDeleteI still believe going forward we should seek out why there's no bidding process on such an expensive item.
Of course it was a broken campaign promise – he did NOT vote to STOP Morriss 6, an abstention is not a vote. It was as if he was absent!
ReplyDeleteWallace pushed for doing it now – which is exactly how he campaigned
Dixon voted to do it when it makes sense – which is exactly how he campaigned
I was just as confused as everyone else on that vote. There was an amendment to the original motion and discussion about that amendment. Tom thought, like I did, that the first vote was on an "amendment" to the motion... not on a "replacement" to the motion. Aparently, Terry drafted a replacement and not an amendment. Tom abstained from what he obviously thought was an "amendment".
ReplyDeleteI wasn't the only one confused. A lot of us were looking around when they went to recess without voting on the motion itself. After the recess, they did vote on the amended motion as they should have before the recess... and in that vote Tom voted "no".
Anyone who heard Tom's promise to vote NO on the morriss rd project got just that.
For those of us who thought he would support anything that would make an unstopable project a better project for Morriss Rd citizens... well, we were expecting him to support Al's amendment or propose a stronger amendment.
Tom was damned if he did... damned if he didn't.
Take it easy on Tom you guys, he was the only Council member that asked staff the questions we were not allowed to ask due to the Mayor's handling of the meeting. At the Transportation meeting we were allowed to ask several questions, get our answers and then get up and ask more questions. The Mayor made it clear from the get go, that we would not be allowed to speak more than one time, whether our questions were answered or not. Without Tom’s help, we wouldn’t got the delay in the construction of the six lanes we got on Monday night. Obviously there are many people to thank for the outcome, I’m trying to take anything away from those who worked very hard to make sure this road was not a done deal in 18 months.
ReplyDeleteTom voted to abstain on the first round of the amendment, and I can tell you that he felt horrible about it, I know, I was there and I spoke to him as soon as the Mayor called for a 10 minute break. When the meeting resumed and they voted again to make sure they all understood what they were voting on(too easy, I won’t go there), Tom voted NO for the official record.
Something else you need to keep in mind about Tom’s votes. Tom voted NO on the amendment to the CIP that added the funds for the design and construction of the road. And then right after that, Tom voted NO on awarding 1.25M to Halff & Assoc. for the design of Morriss/Gerault.
Tom also went on the record in answer to the Mayor’s question as to why he was voting to abstain (according to the Town Attorney Mr. Welch, a vote to abstain is viewed the same as a NO vote), Tom stated that he was voting against the amendment because he made a promise to the people of Flower Mound during his campaign that he would vote against anything related to the widening of Morriss/ Rd. and he was sticking to his promise, he hadn’t changed his mind.
So please give him some credit here, Tom did something on Monday night that this Mayor has never seen in her time as supreme leader and that was emphatic opposition to her and her plans for our Town. It took a lot of guts to question Staff the way he did and take Mr. Shamburger of Kimely-Horn to task about his statement in 2002 that there wasn’t enough room to build six lanes on Morriss Rd. then, but there is now. It was priceless.
And no, Tom didn’t pay me to write this, it’s how I really feel.
By the way, Wallace was the one who broke his promise, he said he would vote to widen the road, but he voted NO. He didn't say he would only vote to widen the road if it were in one phase, just that he would vote to widen it. And Dixon said if the vote were held tomorrow, he would vote NO, well nothing's changed in the last few months as far as I can tell.
Nice try F.M.
Great point Bob. Tom busted his tail running up and down Morriss Rd making sure he knew exactly what citizens wanted and what they were concerned about. I don't think anyone has talked to as many citizens about this project as Tom has.
ReplyDeleteAnd on Monday night, he stood true with his questions, commentary, and votes.