We were out walking neighborhoods tonight and there seems to be a bit of misunderstanding. First off Melissa Northern DOES NOT want to make 2499 a toll road. As ludicrous as it sounds, people are seeing the signs.
Al Filidoro is a good man. He sincerely has the best interests of Flower Mound and all of its residents close to his heart. I trust him and I believe in him.
I know that in this country these days there is an incumbent backlash going on. In this case we need his experience and knowledge to lead this town back to the way it was when we all moved here. One of the finest towns in the country. We need to keep Al on the town council.
I want to also clarify some facts about Al's role in the Morriss Road project. Al came to us last June to talk to us and find out what we wanted and what we could live with. After the Transportation Committees total snub of our efforts to make the road work for everyone, it was a foregone conclusion we had lost, the road was coming and no one had listened or cared. Our only hope at that point was to delay as much as we could and hope in a year we could change the face of council and maybe thwart the effort. Those hopes were dim at best. As you can see, in May 2010, one year to the date after its approval, earth is moving. That hope of delaying the project would have been finally dashed and the bulldozers would be digging the median for the total 6.6 miles.
But, early last June, our stalwart proponent in Stopping Morriss Six, Tom Hayden, came to us with a plan. This plan was hatched by none other than Al Filidoro. Al finally had an Ally on the council and some one he could trust. Al had listened and came to us to see what we could compromise on to force it into two phases and get our much needed delay to stall the project. We told him we wanted intersection improvements, safety improvements, new fences, etc. He said done deal. He worked Jean Levenick and Steve Dixon to vote for the two phases and he enabled Tom Hayden to abstain his vote to preserve his promise to not ever vote on the road issue.
It was a very confusing council meeting, the Mayor being the most confused for sure. Yes Al voted yes for the road, but his yes vote was for the two phases. And steam shovels are not rolling town the medians on Morriss today.
Al is the champion for that vote and now we have our wish, a delay, and the strong possibility of gaining a supportive majority on the council.
Face it, Riverwalk is dead. Commercial real estate will be the last part of the economy to come around and no one, except Apartment builders are interested in the land.
Please give your vote to Al Filidoro, he as earned it and deserves it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDo you find it curious that last year the total amount of the Gerault/Morriss Rd "Improvement Project" in the CIP (Capital Improvement Program) was 11 million dollars. But this year the Town Council voted 5-0 to approve the 2010-2011 CIP and it was increased to $21,370,677. On Monday they are going to vote to add another 3 million to it for the Flyover (which is a complete waste of money because it puts you on 2499 southbound about a half mile before the light at the Riverwalk apartments) for a new grand total of $24,370,677. So the price tag has more than doubled and they have no intention of widening Morris Rd.? Has anyone, besides me, actually gone to Robert Pegg's office and looked at all four volumes of "Phase One"? It's very interesting. Did you ever wonder why "Phase One" will cost $18,199,197 (if they approve the extra 3 million on Monday) and "Phase Two" is only going to cost $4,851,480? Do you think they might be building every single they need for "Phase Two" in "Phase One" except for ripping out the median and slapping down some concrete? If you look at the plans you might get that impression. You see, Tom and Al keep voting for all of the money for ROW, eminent domain and everything else for “Phase One”, but by doing that, they are helping “Phase Two” right along.
ReplyDeleteI’m just putting out the facts and asking questions. I ask you all to not just take my word for it, but go do your own homework and make up your own minds. Don’t just listen to what the Council is telling you, because honestly, they might not even know what the design looks like.
I agree with you that the overall cost of this project has grown out of hand. I also agree that building the flyover without solving the stoplight issue at the Riverwalk apartments seems wasteful. I raised several questions about this during the meeting at the Activity Center. I also believe building a one lane flyover is a mistake when the cost of expanding it later will be extremely expensive.
ReplyDeleteWith that said I fail to see you point about attacking Al and Tom for their voting record. You seem to forget that we do not have majority in the Town Council. They have voted along the lines that were agreed upon in the compromise. If Al had not suggested the two phased approach we would have had a one phase construction zone going from FM2499 to FM407. How easy would it have been to stop that? I understand that you disagree with what is going on Bob, but what is you solution. Will a no vote by Al or Tom on phase one change anything? Are you completely oblivious to the fact that Steve, Jean and Mike are calling the shots at this time? Not to speak of our Mayor that has done nothing to prevent this project from going forward.
Can you explain how voting for another term with Smith, Webb and Robinson is going to alter the course of this project? And if you in fact are going to vote for the NFL team (all or part of it) you are not doing yourself or anyone else a service.
The simple fact remains. Neither you nor I work for the city. We are not engineers, council members or any other elected official. We are concerned residents voicing our opinion over this project.
I would like nothing else than to stop certain part of this project (including part of phase one). My best hope is that Northern, Filidoro and Lyda will win this election by a landslide and that phase two will never materialize.