Keller Residents for 4

I encourage you all to read this article in the Star-Telegram on a proposed 6-lane expansion for North Tarrant Parkway.

Sound familiar? Turn Morriss/Gerault on its side and you have a nearly identical situation on a smaller scale. It is almost surreal to witness this from a 3rd party standpoint. I think the Morriss Rd case against a 6-lane facility is much, much more compelling. There are no schools directly on N Tarrant Pkwy (looks like a Middle school backs up to it); nonetheless, it is similar in many ways:
- 3 primary road sections; central section is the tightest
  - years of development inconsistent with a 6-lane road
  - narrow pathways on sides
  - homes really close to the road
  - neighborhood ingress/egress problems
- west section (compare to Gerault) is newer with ample neighborhood setback
- funding already in place (from Tarrant County)
- Kimley-Horn study says demand for 6-lanes coming in 10 to 20 years
- Construction to be completed in 18 months and pushing forward fast
- Keller Council will be scheduling a public hearing

I cannot blame the early leadership in the DFW area suburbs too much; it was a huge transformation in less than 20 years from rural agriculture to a new suburban model. And even today, we are still trying to figure it out. I understand there were lots of incentives to build a certain way, and we are all complicit to a certain extent. But our suburban model is choking us with traffic and the proper framework to cope with that traffic was not laid when our communities were planned.

The Messenger

I'm glad to see some things do not change in this town. When I ready yesterday edition of the Flower Mound Messenger, I began to wonder if they attended the same Town Council Meeting. I also just recieved a phone call from Lindsey Bever of Neighbors Go supplement of the Dallas Morning News. She wanted to know our reaction to the road expansion plans, like we were in mourning for our loss. I had to laugh.

Not that I am telling them how to write their papers, but the headline should have read; Stop Morriss 6 Group gains huge victory.

How could anything else be the story. Other than the disruptive behavior of a certain group of you adults in attendance. We won, pure and simple. Granted we were not able to STOP the project, but on the other foot, the town wasn't able to ramrod the project through in the next 2 years as the Transportation Commission recommended.
We won. Admit it, write about it, talk about it. The horror of a six lane monstrosity will not exist in this town by the end of 2010. Yes, it might cost between a half million to one and a half million more by doing it in phases, but what does that matter. In the towns own words, Its not our money we are working with.

The actual headline should have read, The residents of Flower Mound win, big money developers with oil and gas interests lose.

And the hopes of this group disappearing? Very slim. Next years election? Watch out, we just got a taste of what hard work and the need to do the right thing can do to make a difference in this town.

I encourage all of you to write letters to the editors of these publications, just as I plan to do to set them straight.

The Name

Some may ask, what will become of the Stop Morriss Six group and movement now that it seems that the road will be planned for 6 lanes of construction.

To answer that question, our name and our group of residents along the Morriss corridor are not going anywhere. We will still remain Stop Morriss Six. We have succeeded on many levels.

We STOPPED the madness of a six lane locomotive that our friends on the Transportation Commission were trying to expedite to completion in 18 months.

We STOPPED the Towns elected officials from discounting our concerns and made them listen and actually come out and walk along Morriss during the busiest part of the day and got them to come and look at the "tunnel" just north of Forestwood Middle School to see actually how disgusting and not a viable alternative to safety.

We STOPPED the Towns staff from continuing to feed us misinformation and flawed data to make their case.

We STOPPED the town from paying more attention to developers than to our residents.

We STOPPED the town from talking down to us and scolding us for not being involved.

We will continue to STOP candidates from running for office unless they truly have the best interests of the residents and not developers.

We will continue to STOP any opaque agendas.

We will never STOP pressing for the best safety and health issues that environmentally friendly to all.

We will never STOP communicating to those that want to listen.

Nothing will STOP us from regaining a strong voice for the people of Flower Mound.

Congratulations

Thank you to everyone who was at last night's Council meeting (and to those who wanted to be there but schedules did not allow attendance). And thank you to our Town Council and the Town's staff. The StopMorriss6 group may put out a more official statement later, but I wanted to put something up here as soon as possible.

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:

1. The project has been split into 2 phases:
2. Phase 1 includes the entire Gerault Rd portion (including the 2499 flyover)
3. Phase 1 includes elements for the entire length of Morriss/Gerault: intersection improvements, safety elements, fencing, and landscaping
4. Phase 2 includes all that remains, largely just 6 lanes of Morriss Rd.
5. Language was added to include emphasis on 8' fencing options where possible and living sound walls.
6. 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.

Our Position, Your Chance

Wow, it has been a weekend of a lot of activity. Many of us have been talking back and forth about how to effect change. I've seen Tom Hayden going up and down Morriss Rd talking to citizens like he is back on the campaign trail. As you know, of the 3 council members elected in May, Tom had the strongest statements against the Morriss Road project. He campaigned with a slogan of "Citizens First" and I think he is living up to that.

+ Tom Hayden said he supports the citizens and the citizens don't support this road project at this time.
+ Mike Wallace said he thinks the road project is needed, but that he wouldn't support turning dirt until 2011.
+ Steve Dixon said he thinks Morriss should be widened some time before it is needed ([Steve's] example: if the road is needed in 7 years, then we should build it in 5 or 6 years.
+ Al Filidoro and Jean Levenick have no [meaningful] public statements on the record.

We as StopMorriss6, we as Morriss/Gerault residents, we as citizens who care about our Town and our quality of life, we have made a difference. It feels to us like we have been speaking, but not heard; that we have serious concerns that are being dismissed. That is not true. Our message is being heard. We forced them to double their efforts to spoon us the same tired spiel about why their first plan was such a good one. And yes, the Transportation Commission rebuffed all of our attempts to have them reconsider decisions made during the 2009 Master Thoroughfare Planning process (where Morriss Rd was not represented). But there is a lot of stuff happening behind the scenes on account of us speaking up for ourselves and our neighbors.

And the Council is very concerned that this project as originally conceived is not viable for the citizens. They might have been hoping we'd go away by now or that the Staff PowerPoints would settle us down; they did not and we will not go away. This is important to all of us and the fact that we are still turning out for Council meetings shows them just how important this is to the Town's citizens.

Here is a dose of reality for us all: the Council will not do an about-face and vote to put the brakes on this project on Monday night. As much as we would like it, we just don't see that happening no matter how articulate our statements are. But that doesn't mean we won't see change on Monday night. They've heard that the original plan was unacceptable and there is a lot of support to make amendments to that plan. We have to stand up and advocate what is acceptable:

(1) That we won't accept a fast-track road construction schedule. The construction of anything on Morriss and Gerault should be commensurate with the need.
(2) That 6-lane roads are fundamentally un-safe for pedestrians. We will only support "improvement" if it does in fact improve pedestrian safety.
(3) That we won't sit back and wait for the design engineers to tell us what we have to live with. We want meaningful input and feedback throughout the design process.
(4) That [nearly] every single neighborhood lining Morriss and Gerault has tough issues created by past development decisions that did not really anticipate a 6-lane road. One-size will not fit all. We have schools, we have access concerns, we have sidewalk problems, we have fencing issues, and more.
(5) That all solutions and options should be on the table.

We point to precedent that the Flower Mound Rd extension of FM 3040 into Wellington was once going to be a 6-lane road but the citizens said no. We are citizens too. Show up at Town Hall on Monday night and we will see change. If we continue to advocate for what is important, right, and just; we will see response.

Anyone can make public comments during the meeting opening, but we don't have to use that this time. The Council has heard our message that this is important to us. They made this a public hearing item, so we will get to both ask questions and state our support/opposition when the agenda item comes up. Our questions will be focused on the meaning and interpretation of the written motion (Agenda Item #8). And our concerns, support, and opposition will be made during the following public comment period. The decision makers will be standing right in front of us, there is no better opportunity to show our convictions.

Position Statement - Coming Soon

Things are always hectic on the weekends, especially for those of us with young children. We are working on putting together a bit of a position statement for tomorrow's council meeting. Schedules and activities have delayed us considerably.

Expect something late tonight or tomorrow morning. Sorry for the short notice, but please do check back.

Thanks to all of you for your support and/or involvement.

6/15 Town Council Meeting

The agenda for monday's Town Council meeting was posted yesterday afternoon. I will pull out a few salient points here. I encourage you all to go read more in full context at:

http://www.flower-mound.com/agenda/TCarchive/TCAgendaPacket06-15-09.pdf

There are 3 items on Morriss / Gerault and about 250 pages of supporting text:

Item 8 : morriss/Gerault Capacity Improvement Project (Public Hearing)
Public Hearing to discuss the recommendations from the Transportation Commission regarding potential design enhancements and implementation of the Morriss/Gerault Capacity Improvement project and consider approval of a resolution providing direction regarding the design and implementation of the Morriss.Gerault Capacity Improvement Project.

Item 9: Consider approval of Ammendment No. 4 to the Fiscal Year 2008-2009 Capital Improvement Program.

Item 10: Consider approval of a Professional Services Agreement with Halff Associates, Inc., to provide engineering design services for Morriss/Gerault Improvement project, from FM 2499 to FM 407, in the amount of $1,252,890.00, and authorization for the Mayor to execute same on behalf of the Town.

What does that mean?

It means the Council will (1) formally declare their support for the project and spell out some specific directives to the Town Staff as they move the project forward. (2) They will approve the budget to spend the money* they already accepted on May 4th ($10.77M from 121 Toll) along with the TRIP-08 county bond money ($5.5M) and (3) they will approve $1.25M to Halff Associates to actually put the project design on paper in detail.

*Note, there is up to $4.9M from the Riverwalk project but that money isn't garaunteed so it doesn't go into the budget yet. And I think the TRIP-08 bond money is more like a reimbursement program; the Town will request the hard cash from the County as they spend the money.

Should you care about this? Yes, absolutely. This is a critical step in the process. At no other time will your input be more important than now. Remember that the Transportation Commission is only a recommending body; the Town Council has complete authority to do whatever they want. They will, of course, follow very closely to the recommendation of the Transportation Commission.

The Council has [wisely in my opinion] put this item on the agenda as a "Public Hearing" so we will get to comment directly. This is your chance to state your position:
(a) Against the project
(b) In favor of the project
(c) Advocate specific design elements
(d) All of the above (is that possible?)
Are you concerned about the excessive U-turn movements a 6-lane tip-to-tail road will create? Are you concerned about pedestrian safety risks going up? Are you concerned about phasing construction smartly to make any potential work easier to live with? Are you concerned about speeds? Noise? School zones?

Be at Town Hall at 6:00pm on Monday June 15th! The Council made this a Public Hearing item so that they can hear what we have to say. You get a direct audience with the decision-makers 10 feet in front of you. Use your opportunity.

After the 1:00am Transportation Commission meeting, I think everyone will appreciate direct and to-the-point comments to get through this quickly. Just because it has been said before doesn't mean you can't say it again though. No one likes to sit through a repetitious display, but if it is important to you then you need to advocate it. Get a baby-sitter for the kids and come exercise your civic responsibility. This decision WILL affect your quality of life, so make your concerns heard.

Meeting with LISD

On Tuesday, June 2nd, Patti Fennessey and I met with Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, Brant W. Buck. Also in attendance was Tommy Ellington, Dr. Rocky Brookmole and a representive from Durham School Services.

It was a very cordial meeting and I would like to thank the gentlemen again for their time. We asked if they were aware of the project proposed to widen Morriss Rd to six lanes in the area populated by two large schools. They were aware of the project and are very well experienced on dealing with road construction throughout the very large school district. They stated that during the construction, buses would be used to transport students due to the hazards related to major construction and they have many schools in the district where students cross major roads by use of Crossing Guards.

We mainly wanted to use the meeting as an informational meeting and didn't ask for the District to become involved in our fight. We were pleased to hear they had a good plan in place in the case of impending construction. I wanted to make the point to them that MANY of the parents whose children attend Forestwood and Marcus are VERY concerned about the project, not just the increased safety issues that they were prepared for, but the fact that the project, according to a very large group of parents and other residents, don't think the project is necessary at all. I asked if they had received correspondence not only from parents, but from staff at the schools stating this fact. They were not aware of any complaints. I explained that this group of residents are so vehemently opposed to this expansion project, that it brought over 500 first time voters to the May election and have produced overflow crowds at rallies, forums, and Town Council meetings.

Another fact that came out of this meeting was that the LISD operates over 50 hazard operation areas a day that require buses. Each bus route that the district operates cost $36,000 a year. When Forestwood and Marcus become another "hazard area" it will produce at least an additional six bus routes to be operated by the district at the cost of $216,000 a year! That is staggering! And the town is trying to tell us that there is no cost to the residents and tax payers of the town?
That is almost a quarter of a million dollars a year that won't be spent on education.

We asked if Mr Buck would mind receiving letters and emails from parents and residents and TAX PAYERS of Flower Mound. He said "whatever you need to do."

So, this is where you come in...

Please email Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, Brant Buck at
buckb@lisd.net . I'm sure Superintendent Dr. Jerry W. Roy ( royj@lisd.net ) would also like to hear your concerns. Not just about the safety of your children, but why are we going to go to all this expense because of a road project that we clearly don't need. Please take the time and write these gentlemen with your comments.

My thoughts about the Transportation Commission Public Hearing

After a few days of recovery and much thought, I would like to pass on to you my views of this past Tuesday's Transportation Commission Public Hearing. First, I would like to thank Steve Lyda for his valiant effort to have this meeting tabled. It was the right decision and the clear decision to make.

This past weekend, we received a copy of the agenda for the Trans Comm Public Hearing. The agenda was laid out a bit different than how it was initially explained to us. First noticeable difference was the Visitors Comments Section. On the agenda it was listed as Item C, following the Pledge of Allegiance. When Scott Cleland stood up to make his comments on the Morriss issue, he was interrupted by Chairman Paul Stone and admonished that this time is for Public Comments for OTHER business before the board. What other business was before the board this evening except the Morriss/Gerault Public Hearing? (first misstep of the evening for Chairman Stone). Next on the agenda Assistant Town Manager's report at which time Kent Collins launches into the Morriss/Gerault project. Second error by Chairman Stone of the evening. If the Visitors Comments, Section C would have to fall into the order of the Regular Agenda Items, than the Assistant Town Manager's report should have also fallen under the Regular Agenda Items. Kent Collins presented his report by rehashing line for line the exact information with charts and graphs he had presented during the Workshop Session last month. Kimley-Horn's spokesman, also presented the exact, word for word data and charts and graphs he had presented a month earlier without even taking the time to correct obvious errors that were pointed out in the workshop. One example of this was a slide that was posted stating something about 25,000 cars a day and some other data, but no reference date. It was very misleading last month and equally confusing the second time around. The only new data was information about proposed landscaping and wooden fence replacement. This went on for TWO HOURS. The only comments that were made by the Commissioners was about policy of changing street names and whether there would be any rocks or pavestones used in the landscaping. Steve Lyda asked several substantive questions to which Kent Collins and/or the Kimley-Horn associate could NOT answer. Third error by Chairman Stone, this was a session for answers and this Commission was charged with getting them, not "I don't know, I'll have to get back to you". How can this Commission come to the conclusion they did with lots and lots of still unanswered questions? What if they got back to them (which I highly doubt they ever will) and the answer would cause them to change their mind? (not that they didn't know how they would vote at 6:30pm). The meeting should have been tabled then and there.
Next came the Q & A portion (error number 4, not listed on the agenda and no rules or guidelines listed, but only explained by Stone prior to it). It was very confusing as residents lined up to ask questions. We were told to limit our questions to three minutes and wait for an answer, then step away. Many were asking very important, pertinent questions that were going unanswered due to the sheer volume. Resident were trying to get as many questions asked as possible, including myself as Kent Collins sat glassy-eyed staring at them and maybe being able to acknowledge one or two of their questions with the answer, “I don't know or I have no knowledge of it“. When a question was asked about other roads in Western Flower Mound operating under level F LOS, the resident was TOLD "that is a rhetorical question that won't be answered". Why wasn't there someone on staff that could write the questions on an overhead transparency when it was asked so the responders could give an intelligent answer or a tally could have been made to see how many questions were not answered at all? Steve Lyda was the only Commissioner to recognize that while the citizens were being allowed to speak, their questions were being left unanswered. Recognizing this, he made a motion to allow the Commission and Staff to address all of the gaps, but received no support.

The Q & A session went on for at least another 2 hours. During my own question, I respectfully asked the Transportation Commission to table this meeting due to the countless unanswered questions from the public and from the Commission. I was told by Chairman Stone that he would take that under advisement. Sadly, many questions became "rhetorical" due to the lack of caring.

Next, (11:30pm), after many of the residents had left due to the late hour, came the Visitor Comments part of the evening. Earlier in the evening, Stone mentioned the numerous emails that were received by the town from residents and NONE of them were sent to him, The Chairman. He seemed rather perturbed that he was bypassed. He was later advised by me, during public comment, that we were following the instructions from the Town to send the emails to Kent Collins and Harlan Jefferson to be included in the minutes of the meeting.
We, as citizens and taxpayers, couldn't do many things right this evening.

My view is this. The first charge this Commission and Staff had from the Town Council was to LISTEN TO THE RESIDENTS CONCERNS. They failed.


Stone was later overheard saying:
“There is a core group of StopMorriss6 that will never be satisfied with anything other than a 4-lane road; it has to be their way or nothing. SM6 ran their candidate and he lost“.
Its obvious Chairman Stone was already biased from an earlier meeting he was invited to, that he was in favor of the project, and to not make it an election issue. Well, he was wrong, it was an election issue and it drew over 500 first-time May voters to the polls, gave Tom Hayden an overwhelming victory, got Steve Lyda within 29 votes of defeating Steve Dixon and got Bob Butler, who spent 10 times less than Mike Wallace and campaigned almost exclusively in the Morriss Corridor over 1000 votes.
I know the opponents of our group will say, Sour Grapes, get over it, you lost. But, if our words had been HEARD by an unbiased chairperson and commission, it might have been at least fair.

I would also respectfully submit to town council to have the minutes and the validity of The Transportation Commission Public Hearing, dated May 26th,2009 be ruled invalid and the minutes expunged.

May 26th Transportation Recommendations

Here is the exact text of the Transportation Commission's motion:

Move to recommend to the Town Council approval of the Morriss/Gerault Capacity Improvement Project with the following design, engineering, and implementation elements as follows:
(1) the project be designed and constructed in one phase with a recommendation to the Town Council to prioritize improvements to intersections and safety features;
(2) during design the Town will identify visibility issues that may create safety problems and identify solutions that consider both impacts and benefits, including access issues;
(3) explore improvements and enhancements to the below grade crossing;
(4) replace existing perimeter screening fences with the Town-standard wooden fence, and/or explore other fencing options and other methods to mitigate sound impacts;
(5) install trees, sod, irrigation, and decorative plantings in the medians and rights-of-way, with the focus being on the full-width median sections;
(6) commit to establishing the lowest lawful speed limit throughout the corridor;
(7) program the installation of any new warranted signals;
(8) enhance the pedestrian routes throughout the corridor, specifically for school-related pedestrian activity to include pedestrian actuated flashers, reviewing the location of school cross walks, and reviewing with Lewisville Independent School District the pedestrian and vehicular access at schools;
(9) consider ideas that will address safety issues near any schools in the area;
(10) that Town staff review additional input from neighborhood groups, convened for the purpose of additional input during the engineering and design phases of the project;
(11) and that median pedestrian barriers be considered in the design of the project at all areas deemed high pedestrian areas, as determined by professional staff.

This could be your fence

Here is a picture that was sent to me by Matt P. He says he took it saturday morning. It appears that someone jumped the curb and smacked the wood fence just about 100 feet south of some Stop Morriss 6 signs. Luckily it was just a fence.

Important Reminder

Just to keep this fresh in everyones mind, Please plan on attending Tuesdays Transportation Commission Public Hearing. I know it is a days after a Holiday and its winding down to the last week of school, but THIS IS OUR PUBLIC HEARING.
This is our chance to ask and be answered, express our opinion on this very important issue. See the post below with all the details. See you there and have a safe holiday weekend.

The Vote

After a few weeks of digging and lots of hard work, Scott has compiled the data from the election and as we expected, citizens that live along the Morriss corridor had a huge impact on the election. The data showed that in previous elections, the Bridlewood area and West Flower Mound tended to have a higher percentage of voters represent their areas and those voters in the Morriss corridor seemed to have a lower percentage of registered voters turn out. This is probably because in the past few years Western FM and Bridlewood had specific issues that effected them

Up until this year our area really didn't have specific issues or causes that drew them to the polls. We changed that.

Here is some of the data.

Precinct 303, Central Morriss, SE (Tealwood Oaks area)
143 votes cast, a 53 vote increase over the 2008 election.
There are 4336 registered voters and 68 first time may election voters, 5 first time ever voters. Thank you all so much.

Precinct 304, Central Morriss, NE (north of forest vista, east side of Morriss)
364 votes cast, a 145 increase over the 2008 election.
There are 3919 registered voters and 118 first time May election voters. 6 first time ever voters. Thanks you all so much.

Precinct 320, Central Morriss, West (west side of Morriss to 2499)
442 votes cast, a 193 increase over the 2008 election. (highest vote count in town)
There are 4279 registered voters and 161 first time May election voters. 5 first time ever voters. Thank you all so much.

precinct 323, North Morriss, (east of Morriss, north of 1171)
90 votes cast, 5 votes less than in 2008.
There are 2531 registered voters and 25 first time May election voters. 2 first time ever voters. Thank you all so much, there is a lot of work to do in this area.

Precinct 307, North Morriss (west of Morriss and north of College, South of Dixon)
266 votes cast, a 34 increase over 2008 election.
There are 4336 Registered voters and 68 first time May election voters. 5 first time ever voters. Thank you all so much.

Precinct 314 North Morriss (north of Dixon , south of 407)
121 votes cast, 12 less than in 2008.
there are 2572 registered voters and 38 first time May election voters. No new voters. Thank you all so much, lots of work needed in this area.

Precinct 317 Gerault, (south of 3040)
266 votes cast, a 46 vote decrease from 2008
There are 3805 registered voters and 68 first time May election voters and 2 first time ever voters. Thank you all so much.

A few other stats, a 3 percent increase in votes cast over 2008. There are 41361 registered voters in FM. There was a 2 percent increase in first time may voters.

This all shows out power to help shape the future of our town. We need to start working on the other 38,000 registered voters for the next town election.

Smart Growth failures?

FLOWER MOUND PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION MEETING OF JULY 28, 2008

Vice Chairman Wallace said he appreciated everyone’s patience as they went through the process of going line by line on SMARTGrowth. He thought it was their duty as a planning and zoning commission to evaluate these types of projects against what was in their Code of Ordinances. In the final analysis, he only saw three failures for SMARTGrowth, and two of those were in Environmental Quality. Given they qualified as an economic development, incentives could be allowed, and they could request waivers from those two, so it really came down to one, which was the arterial and collector links. That one link was Morriss, because everything else was a state road and exempt from SMARTGrowth. So, the question in his mind was whether they voted to deny this project with all the benefits and value of the hospital, and the destination aspect of it, the high quality retail, the restaurants, the cafes, the amenities being the river walk and Central Park, the jobs, the reforestation, the revenue, the tax base, and the TIRZ impact. He was sorry, but one failure on SMARTGrowth for that one link on that one road to him was not worth denying this whole project.

This was an excerpt from a P&Z commission meeting last summer. Its amazing that even then the commissioners and future town council members used the word failure several times. The fact that allowing The Riverwalk project to be approved would go against most principles of the towns holy grail, Smartgrowth. There are only 2 real aspects that exist today, The Hospital and Morriss Road.

Unfortunately, they chose to exempt RiverWalk from the realm of SmartGrowth but when it came to Morriss, the reason for any talk of it was because SmartGrowth REQUIRES proper infrastructure improvements because of RiverWalk. Shouldn't the words SmartGrowth be exempt from any mention of anything that has to do with RiverWalk? Its only fair.

I have heard the argument that whats the big deal. Once 2499 and 1171 are complete and improvements to 407 and all the other, pardon the expression "concrete" town road projects are complete, there won't be that much traffic on a 6 lane Morriss Rd. You wouldn't believe who uttered that statement if I told you, so I won't.

The idea of high end retail and restaurants and cafes and the countless jobs that will be created out weigh all of this. Maybe in 10 years when our economy improves we will see that. But being able to get MORE cars, MORE trucks to the Champs Elysees of Flower Mound? Is that what matters?

Transportation Commission Public Hearing

Please add to your calendars next tuesday, May 26th at 630pm, The public hearing regarding Morriss Rd project. This is our opportunity to hopefully hear some new data from the town staff and then have an chance to ask direct questions of the commission and town staff and they can comment back directly to you. Please take this time to formulate your specific questions for this part of the presentation. We ask that you type your questions so you can present a copy to the town secretary so it can be entered directly into the public record. After the question and answer session, there will a a segment for you to express your comments as far as your approval or disapproval of the project. During this portion we also ask you to have your comments type written. If you want to read what you typed, that is fine or you can make a comment and submit a written statement for the public record. If you cannot attend the public hearing, you voice can still be heard. We will publish the procedure for you to follow and how to submit by email your comments.

Either way, we want to have a huge showing, so please make it a point to come out to town hall for this extremely important forum.

We would like to thank the town for holding this public hearing and hope it is the first of many such public forums. If you do not have a specific question, we will have a list of questions that you can get up and ask, so come on out and see one of us for the list.

Thanks again for all the support and know that we are making a huge difference and they are listening to what we have to say. We will also have voters registration forms available for anyone needing to be ready for the next election.

E Mail to TX Dot

I just sent the following email to the Texas Transportation Commission of TX Dot.

I respectfully request any data regarding public comment and or discussion passed on to TX Dot regarding the funding of the expansion of Morriss/Gerault Rd in Flower Mound. A request for funding from the 121Toll for this project was submitted to you. We as citizens, and upon your request I can provide written testimony from 500 residents, that adequate public discussion was not solicited. I request that documentation be provided, if not I request an independent public meeting be held by members of the TX dot board before any funds be released to the town of Flower Mound. Respectfully, Kim A. Berg

New Council, Same Fight

Last night the new town council was sworn in during a special town council meeting. Details can be seen on FM TV for those that did not attend.

Now that the election is behind us and we are tabulating the results as far as the logistics of the vote. We will post that part of the results as soon as we can. We hope to demonstrate the effect of the Morriss Corridor as far as voter turn out.

One thing we want the town to know and for all of our supporters and those who don't, that we are NOT going away.

In last fridays edition of "The Dallas Morning News" Metro section, reporter Wendy Hundley wrote, "Plan to widen road to 6 lanes forges split in Flower Mound". We would like to thank Ms. Hundley for the story and information that was reported to the entire Metroplex.

Michael Ryan, the town's director of community affairs said, "This is a quality of life issue, its about improving local trips as well as regional commutes,and allowing residents to spend less time in their cars and more time at home with their families." Town officials say the growth of the southern Denton County community requires roadway expansion to avoid traffic gridlock and congestion.

Quality of Life? Has that not been our call for the last 3 months? Quality of Life, I googled that phrase to find a definition, there isn't one. What does quality of life mean to you?
For me? related to the effects of my "quality if life" living 2 doors from a 6 lane major thoroughfare, does not constitute very much quality at all. I see it as a decrease in my quality of life. More pollution? More Noise? More anxiety knowing that I have to cross 3 lanes of oncoming traffic and hoping I can safely merge into the other 3 lanes in order to get to work? More cement? Less tree and grass? Less feel of a real community? Having to have to live with all that severely diminishes my "quality of life". The extra 45 seconds I might have to spend in my car every day because I'm only driving on a 4 lane road as opposed to a 6 lane major arterial roadway, doesn't even cause a blip in my scheme of life.

So Town Officials, Town Council Members, who's quality of life are you more concerned for? Residents of Highland Village? Developers of the Riverwalk? Please answer that question. The town would not receive a black mark on its record if we chose to return the unused money after we improve the intersection at 1171, construct the international parkway flyover, make other improvements without total expansion. Think how much better your "quality of life" will be when you go to sleep knowing you did the right thing for the community. Do the right thing and wait till the time is right.

Town Reception for New Council Members

The Town will host a reception for the new Town Council members this Thursday. It is not on the Town website yet but let's show up as a group to welcome our new council members.
Date: Thursday, May 14
Time: 5:00-6:00 pm
Location: Town Hall

As promised

Since the election is over, I have re-opened the ability for anonymous to post comments here on the blog. We do exercise the right to remove any post that is considered to be inappropriate, we are a believer in free speech.

I would also like to encourage neighbors to join the blog and join us. Very soon we will have MORE yard signs available and an easier way to distribute them. Also we are always looking for people to join in our core group and communications teams and are always looking for better ways to get information out as quickly as possible. If you can help, write us at either stopmorris6@googlemail.com or morrissnixsix@verizon.net . Also if you don't know already how to get in touch with us by phone, its very easy to figure it out without me publishing phone numbers here.

We have lots of work to do and look forward to having many of you join us.

Congratulations to our new Council Members

I would like to take this opportunity to be one the first (on this blog)
to congratulate our newly elected Councilmembers Tom Hayden, Steve
Dixon and Mike Wallace.

I would also like to thank Steve Lyda, Bob Butler, Claudio Forest, Angie Cox,
and Rick Cleland for their well fought campaigns . What an exciting
race this has been. One of the remarkable things about America and
our democratic process is that we come together with our political
leaders regardless of dissension on the campaign trail or how
narrow the margin of victory. We have said it before, and I'll say it
again; all candidates are capable persons trying to do right by Flower
Mound, often at personal sacrifices of both time and energy.

StopMorriss6 will be working with Tom, Steve, and Mike on issues
important to all of us; of course including the eminent decisions
about the future of Morriss and Gerault roads. We will talking and
listening to all of our neighbors north and south along Morriss and
Gerault to make sure everyone's needs and concerns are addressed.

We will not go away, we will not stand down and we will not give up
our fight to keep Morriss Road a beautiful residential boulevard that
supports our quality of life and not detract from it; that keeps our
communities in tack, not split through the middle; that provides a
safe environment for us and our children to live, work, and play.

Scott Cleland

May 9th Election Results

Vote, Vote, Vote!

Saturday will be a gorgeous day to go out and exercise your greatest right and civic duty. Please set aside about 20 minutes of your time to make it over to the Police and Courts Building, on the corner of Cross Timbers and Kirkpatrick between the hours of 7am and 7pm. To vote for the candidate of your choice. As a group and as a moderator of this blog we have our choices. And so do you. In this election, your vote counts and could decide the outcome, so I cannot stress to you the importance of going to make that choice.

For those of you that don't know the process in our town, I will give you a brief explanation.

There are 3 seats up for election. Place 1, Place 3 and Place 5. You will vote for one candidate in each place, so you are voting for all 3 Places. Also on the ballot are 2 seats on the LISD school board.

So come on out on Saturday, May 9th and make a difference. See you there.

Response to RoundtheMound Post

The following was a reply posted on roundthemound message board.


I would like to clear up some misunderstandings about the Stop Morriss 6.

1. Stop Morriss 6 is NOT against road construction or expansion of roads in Flower Mound.

2. Stop Morriss 6 does NOT want Morriss to go from 4 to 6 lanes from 407 to 2499.

3. Stop Morriss 6 is Not against funding fr0m Denton County and the 121 Toll revenue funds.

4. Stop Morriss 6 DID NOT ask our Town Council to refuse funds. We DID ask that they delay their decision on the acceptance of funds until after the Transportation Commission Public Hearing on May 26th.

5. Stop Morriss 6 is FOR the Town Council to make public and let the residents be apart of all aspects of design, funding, and have public input with the Morriss Road expansion. As we all should be when any road is being built, expanded, or improved.

6. Stop Morriss 6 is FOR road improvements (Morriss Road ideas- longer turn lanes at intersections & other viable options rather than tearing out the whole median down Morriss, waiting until proper studies are done when other construction affecting that road are done and so on.)

7. Stop Morriss 6 is FOR having traffic, safety, and funding studies done to improve roads when they are done accurately.

8 Stop Morriss 6 is FOR waiting until other road projects are done before starting a new one. (Examples FM2499, FM1171 and FM407). Having all road construction going on at the same time is not productive for any resident living in Flower Mound or next to Flower Mound.

9. Stop Morriss 6 is FOR having the Town Council obtain money for individual projects, not grouping many roads into one funding agreement so that the residents have to have all or none. (Another example would be Riverwalk. Everyone is for a hospital in our town, but to have the hospital, we were told we had to have 1200 apt/condos and retail development to go with it or we could not have the hospital. This same development is Smartgrowth exempt. Why is that?)

10. Stop Morriss 6 IS NOT just a "single issue" group, we are a group who has finally had enough with being told that it is all or nothing and there are no other choices or options.

11. Stop Morriss 6 IS a group who want to understand how the Council works and why they do the things they do the way they do them.

12. Stop Morriss 6 HAS written to their Council and asked them to educate them on these issues and have been told by the Council that they do not have the time to answer such in-depth questions. If they can’t answer them, then who will?

13. Stop Morriss 6 IS a group of residents who do care and do love the town they live in. These are good people who DO respect the Town Council and what it does for the town. They are also a group of people trying to help out their Council and do what is best for the town.

14. Stop Morriss 6 IS a group of people who are asking for their Council to listen to the residents and respect their ideas and TOGETHER do what is right for the town WE ALL CARE AND LOVE!

Renee
Resident who loves Flower Mound and the people who live here!!!!!

Press Release

Fact vs. Fiction by Tom Hayden

At the Flower Mound Town Council Meeting, May 4th, 2009 my opponent's supporter, Patsy Mizeur's political action committee (PAC), maliciously misrepresented facts regarding an Investment Partnership in which I, Tom Hayden, was the General Partner. Mayor Smith prohibited me from speaking.

Ms. Mizeur and her PAC do not understand how these types of investments work. Because of my foresight and skill I took action prior to the stock market crash and over the life of the fund, investors averaged double digit returns. Clients were extremely pleased with my performance. My ability to identify economic cycles well in advance is why I have been successful for 20 years.

In 2006 Chaparral Capital Partners voluntarily closed and returned all capital to investors. The Investment Partnership was closed because I, the manager did not like the direction of the economy and believed the Equity Markets were becoming Frothy at the time. A copy of the returns is attached.

In addition:

- The State of Texas Securities Board performed routine audits of the Partnerships and found no deficiencies.
- All investors in the Partnership remain references.
- There were no Franchise Taxes due in 2007 because the business ceased to operate in 2006.

As a town councilman I would bring valuable financial skills to help Flower Mound thrive during troubled economic times. I would also treat residents honestly and with the respect owed them.

My attorney will be ready to take action following any additional misrepresentation, slander or libel. The political bullying of Flower Mound should end now.

Respectfully,

Tom Hayden
Flower Mound Town Council Candidate Place 5

Attached is the portfolio statement that Mr Hayden was referring to...click image for a clearer view of the document.

View Last Night's Town Council Meeting

If you were unable to attend last night's Town Council meeting, you can see it on http://www.flower-mound.com/. Interesting viewing.

Election Night Party

Saturday evening, May 9th, starting at 7pm, we are going to have a post election gathering at The Z Grill on 1171, next to Sprouts. Come and join us for what we hope will be a victory celebration. More details to follow, but mark it on your calendar. Vote, then party.

WAY TO GO

I just want to personally thank everyone one of you that took the time to show up at tonight's Town Council Meeting. It had a major impact and I hope that you will respond in the same manner next time such an important issue will be on the agenda.

Before I call it a night I just want to remind everyone that the StopMorriss6 group is not opposed to the town's effort of securing "free" money for our Town (even though it is tax dollars anyway you want to look at it). All we were stating is that the Council has not been transparent in their process and could have done a much better job of keeping us informed. No one can expect individual residents to have the knowledge of how all these processes work.

I feel that asking the Council to delay this issue, by tableing it, until the new Council was elected was a reasonable request - You are talking 10 days. They would have still had time to decide on this prior the Spinks project deadline.

Town Manager Jefferson did put some light on the fact that the agreement can be re-negotiated so we must continue to ensure that our concerns are heard.

Bottom line. Multiple residents made requests of the Town Council to defer this decision until the new Council is in place. Tonight's Town Council voted to accept the funds tonight.

Good Night and Good Luck.

Kim & Holly Berg's Personal Endorsement.

In light of the fact of the agenda for tomorrow's Town Council meeting, it is more important than ever that we get the right candidates elected. Not only for the Morriss/Gerault expansion, but ALL of the issues that are best for ALL of the citizens of Flower Mound.

Since the next week could be very heated here on the blog, we have suspended the ability to post comments as

anonymous

. If you have something to say about a candidate or a view that differs from mine and others here in the stopmorris6 group, I urge you to simply sign up with a google account. This doesn't mean you have to use your full name or disclose personal information, it just puts an identity to your thoughts. I am glad we chose to allow

anonymous

postings up to this point and we will resume that practice after the election is over.

Holly and I are endorsing Steve Lyda, Bob Butler, and Tom Hayden for Town Council for the reasons stated above. Please get out and vote monday for Lyda, Butler and Hayden.

SHAME ON YOU TOWN COUNCIL

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.

Early Voting

Earlier today I went up to the Police and Courts building to vote. It was so easy. That was a good thing and a bad thing. It was quick and was in and out in 10 minutes. The bad news was the numbers are behind last election as far as early voting. I can't urge you enough to get out to vote. It is the only way to insure we have a council in place that is concerned about the future of our town. If you were at the Candidates Forum on Thursday, you should have a pretty clear cut idea of who would be best for us. If you don't yet, we will have video posted here soon so you can see for yourself what the candidates had to say.

We will be coming out with personal endorsements soon.

You still have an hour to go today, the polls close at 5pm, the rain has ended, so run on up and cast your vote now. If not today, early voting continues on Monday and Tuesday.

Please get out and VOTE.

March and Meet

After spending much of today trying to unwind after the last few weeks of planning this event, I would first like to say it was an overwhelming success. The sight of over 100 people walking down Morriss was something I don't think this town has seen before. I want to thank everyone that participated and hope they had as much fun doing it as I did.

I would also like to thank Bjorn, Young Scott, Tall Scott, Holly, Carmen, Renee, Diane, and Doris for making this all come together. After all our planning it made it all look simple and it all came off without a single glitch. It was unfortunate that the Swine Flu hysteria hit at the time it did. I feel that was the only glitch that caused us not to hit the heights of participation we had hoped for. Regardless, Rain or Swine, it was still fabulous and I think I can speak for all, it was spectacular. Thanks to Jim Tullos for emceeing the event and to Christy at Little Petes for the use of the PA system.

A very special thanks to the Candidates, all 8 of them for coming out for the largest crowd they have faced in the campaign season, as I predicted.

Thank you to the press that came to cover the event, all the local news outlets were there tip to tail, taking pictures and following us for the mile long stroll. CNN didn't know what they missed.

I would also like to thank current Town Council members, Jeff Tasker and Jean Levenick for coming out for the lovely evening in the park. And a shout out to Mayor Jody Smith for the drive-by, sorry you couldn't stay, but was nice to see you. Sorry I was standing in the middle of Garden Rd stopping traffic when you were coming by.

Thanks to Michael Ryan for helping us set up at the park and all the other town staff I dealt with to make sure we were doing everything right.

Thanks to the Parks department for making sure we had power and helping us get set up. We have incredible parks in our town and everyone should utilize them as often as they can.

Everyone for bringing their kids and pets and making an evening of it. It really was a great night.

Thanks again,
Kim

p.s. please post here your experiences and what you thought.

Forum at Wilkerson Field

We would like to thank everyone that took the time to join us at

Wilkerson Field last night

The evening started with 100+ residents together with the candidates marching from the corner of Morriss Road and 1171 southbound towards Wilkerson's Field.

Arriving at the field was all eight candidates running for council place 1, 3 and 5.

After a short brief with the candidates, moderator Jim Tullos of Flower Mound got the Forum started.

Each candidate got 4 questions with a specific timeframe to answer each question. At the end each candidate was alloted 2 minutes for a closing statement.

Here are the four questions that was asked:

1. Do you support future amendments to SmartGrowth for future commercial developments?
and Do you support exceptions to SmartGrowth without amendments?

2. As a Town Council member, will you vote to stop the Morriss/Gerault expansion project? And why?

3. Under what circumstances would you support the expansion or improvement of the Morriss/Gerault road ways?

4. If you had complete control to set Town policy regarding urban drilling, what kind of policy would you advocate? Would you fight proposed legislation before the Texas House of Representatives? If so How?

The evening ended with the moderator thanking everyone for attending and reminded us all to vote in the upcoming election.

StopMorriss6 would like to thank each of the candidates for attending and for their answers. For those of you that could not attend we will have the transcript or video available shortly.

We also like to thank Little Pete's for providing us with a PA system for this event.

Looking Good for Tonight

Thursday, April 30th weather.com hour-by-hour forecast

5 pm
81° F
Precip:10%
6 pm
81° F
Precip:10%
7 pm
80° F
Precip:10%
8 pm
78° F
Precip:10%
9 pm
77° F
Precip:0%

Cam-Pain

This blog has invited all the candidates to a place to state their views and have offered equal time to all. We have invited the Candidates to attend an open forum to discuss their views, not sponsored by anyone, not presented by a local newspaper, or a big HOA or a well organized seniors organization or the Republican Party.

It is being offered to the community by some ordinary people, whos only financial stake in the outcome is the continuing value of their homes and the preservation of the community that they are proud to call their home.

I will say now that it will probably have the highest turnout of any of the organized events so far this political season.

This blog has as much traffic on it as many local businesses in this town with over 500 hits a day and that number increases each day.

Their are 8 very qualified individuals running for the office of Town Council in our town. Each one of them spending a lot of time out talking to citizens, spending time away from their families to serve the best interests of the community. My hat is off to each of them for their diligence and commitment.

If a candidate would like to publicize their web-site on this blog, please feel free to ask and I will oblige.

It is not fair to all the candidates for some local businesses and land owners to only offer exclusive display rights to some of the people running for office, even though it's their right to do so. This final 10 days of campaigning should allow all candidates equal displays throughout the community.

For those that find all these signs to be another form of pollution, be thankful it's just for another 10 days.

These are my own personal views and do not reflect the views of others associated with the stopmorriss6 group.

Thank you,
Kim A. Berg

Perfect Day For A March

Just checked weather.com and Thursday's forecast looks great for the "Meet the Candidates" forum. I love Texas weather.

Apr 30 Thursday
Partly cloudy. Highs in the low 80s and lows in the upper 60s.

Public URL for the Evite

Now you can pass this on to all your friends and neighbors.

Let me know if it doesn't work.

http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/GONDCXCSOAIALCXAKGMI/sm6meetandmarch

Petition Web Site

There is some interesting reading at our electronic petition web site. Check it out.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stopmorriss6

Tom Hayden's Position on the Proposed Morriss Road Expansion

Hello, my name is Tom Hayden and I am a candidate for Flower Mound Town Council, Place 5. I have had the opportunity to meet many of you as I visited your home to ask for your support. If we haven’t met I would encourage you to contact me at 214-384-1105 (cell) or (972) 899-0655 (home).

It seems that all candidates running for Town Council this year have said they support Flower Mound’s Smart Growth initiatives. There are three items on Smart Growth that I believe directly apply to Morris Road.

· Ensure growth is served with adequate public infrastructure, services and facilities

· Ensure growth contributes to the attainment of the community, character and quality of life objectives established in the Town’s Master Plan

· Ensure growth does not occur at the expense of environmental quality, community character or quality of life.

I am of the opinion and I believe the majority of residents along Morriss Road have said that if Morriss is expanded to six lanes it will totally alter the Community Character for the residents in that area. How do you balance adequate public infrastructure with the preservation of a community’s character?

The widening of Morriss Road is directly tied to the “projection” of additional traffic from the Riverwalk. I believe it is absolutely wrong to alter the safety and character of Morriss Road. Not only is this bad for Morriss Road, but it would conflict with our Smart Growth initiatives based upon projections. Citizen’s first, my pledge on all my signs, means that I will not support a project that literally thousands (and that is a low estimate) of our residents have said they strongly oppose.

If elected to council I have said from the beginning that I will put the citizens of our town first and that means being your representative, your voice. I will fight to preserve the character of your community. I will not support the widening of Morriss Road. If in the distant future “Projections” turn into need, and you the residents say “Tom we need to widened Morriss Road” then the issue can be revisited.

Lastly I urge you to vote. Many of you have said you oppose the widening of the road. Signs opposing the expansion, public opposition, and rallies all have increased public awareness of the problem. However, the only truly effective method to stop the six lane expansion of Morriss Road is to vote in a mass block against those supporting the expansion and to support those on a new council who favor your position. There is no clearer and lasting message to the political body than a mass voter turnout. The expansion party is counting on you to not deliver a massive vote based on your convictions. You can NOT count on your neighbor to vote for you. Every vote is crucial – a bare majority is not sufficient - your opposition must be overwhelming.

Thank You,
Tom Hayden
Candidate for Flower Mound Town Council, Place 5

Evites, Flyers and Phone calls, oh my!

Many of you have already recieved a really cool evite for the March on Morris and the Meet the Candidates events this thurday. You may evite any friends you might know from the evite request if they already haven't recieved their own. Please feel free to evite anyone and everyone you can think of.

Also early this coming week, you might also be recieving a flyer and also phone calls from you neighbors informing you of this event.

I know its a bit of overkill and I apologize if you receive many of these request, but it is so important that we have a HUGE crowd for this event. Like the firehouse times two please would be really cool.

Help us get the word out.

Help!

As many of you know, our group is grass roots effort with no budget. We are looking for anyone that might have access to a PA system that we can use at the park rally. If anyone has one to lend or knows anyone that might be able to help us, email to stopmorriss6@googlemail.com . Thanks
Kim

Keep the Faith

If you were in attendance at the Transportation Commission workshop on Tuesday or at any of the recent Town Council meetings, you heard town staff talking as if the checks are signed and the bulldozers are in position.

In spite of what the town staff members said and any of the FAQ's issued by the city, this is FAR from a done deal. We ARE making a huge difference. We have to stay energized and involve as many people as we possibly can.

Most importantly, everyone has to vote. Two hundred votes can decide this election and our impact in the results could be closer to 1000, if we all get to the polls. I urge each of you to wait until after our forum if you are not sure of who to vote for. Come see what each of the candidates have to say, then, in mass, we can head to the Police and Courts building on Friday, May 1st early voting)to show our power.

This blog is receiving close to 300 hits a day, from not only here in Flower Mound, but from Austin, Washington DC, New York City, Boulder, Houston and even Finland. Please comment and join in.

I'd also like to thank every one that has taken time away from their families to attend the town meetings. Getting up to speak, it's not an easy thing to do but the impact is immeasurable.

So, when you hear a neighbor say "what's the point, it's already a done deal", tell them adamantaly that they are mistaken!

Bridlewood Candidates Forum

Id like to thank the residents of Bridlewood for allowing me to pass out our flyer concerning the Stop Morriss 6 "Meet the Candidates" forum and March on Morris information. We invite all residents of Flower Mound to join us and everyone is welcome to attend our forum. Besides, this is more than just an issue that effects the citizens in the Morriss/Gerault corridor, but ALL residents of our town.

Transportation Commission Meeting Update

Last night approximately 40 concerned citizens attended the Transportation Commission’s Morriss/Gerault Road Improvement Project Workshop. Of those attending, 22 citizens addressed the commission with their questions and concerns during the citizens/visitors comments section.
Assistant Town Manager Kent Collins then presented his report followed by presentations by engineers Brian Shamburger of Kimley-Horn & Assoc. and Dharmesh Shah from Lee Engineering. Following are the Transportation Commission Board Members names along with some of the questions they posed to the Assistant Town Manager for followup at the public hearing.

Board Members
Paul Stone – Chair/Place 1
Stephen Lyda – Vice Chair/Place 2
Ted Beaman– Place 3
Doug Rice – Place 4
David Henderson – Place 5
Jim Robertson – Place 6
Thomas Walker– Place 7

Q1. Ted Beaman: Is the 121Toll money all or nothing?
A1: Kent Collins: Contractually, the project must be COMPLETED in 10 years. Before answering, Mr Collins asked if Mr Beaman meant "scope change" (ie, don't widen all of Morriss) and Mr Beaman restated his question without including the question of "scope change".
Q2: Steve Lyda: What is the expected amount of developer fees?
A2: Kent Collins: Total roadway impact fees for the entire Riverwalk project are expected to be $5M. But the Town only receives that money as the permits are pulled (ie pay-as-you-go). Mr Collins stated that the exact number is unknown and could be considerably less if the development build out is reduced or delayed.
Q3: Paul Stone: Want to hear more about noise mitigation options.
Q4: Paul Stone: Want to hear about options for public input after the public hearing (ie in design phase). Perhaps staff-level meetings with HOA's.
Q5: Paul Stone: Want to hear more about "traffic calming" techniques that could be used.
Q6: David Henderson: Want to see comparison of air quality from flowing traffic vs gridlock traffic.
Q7: David Henderson: What happens when traffic reaches FM 407? Where does it go?
Q8: Thomas Walker: Want to see options to enhance safety on the roadsides, especially in the areas where there is very little offset or right-of-way.
Q9: Ted Beaman: Want to hear about landscaping options for the road sides (not the median).
Q10: Ted Beaman: What is feasable as far as phasing is concerned? The intersection of FM1171 and Morriss is a high priority and we would like to do it first along with the Gerault Road portion (flyover?). But if we don't do the whole roadway at once, how does the bottleneck effect play out?
Q11: Ted Beaman: Want to know the feasibility of reducing the speed limit from 40 to 35 in the center section of Morriss.
Q12: Steve Lyda: Want to see more detailed cross-section views that DO INCLUDE sidewalk configurations, especially between FM 1171 and FM 3040.
Q13: Steve Lyda: Want to see all of the trail access points and understand options for creating additional access points to get more children and pedestrians off the roadway and onto the trail system.
Q14: David Robertson: Can we address the condition of the existing roadway lanes in conjunction or coordination with this project?
A14: Kent Collins: There is a 1/4 cent sales tax funding mechanism for road maintenance. Morriss Road reconstruction is on the list of road reconstructions to be funded by this, but it is at the top of the second set of projects, about 4 years away.
Q15: Paul Stone: Can we do add/alternate options to improve the existing roadway lanes?
Q16: Jody Smith: Want to see previously presented data on the noise mitigation effects of greenery vs sound walls (that show greenery is more effective).

The official Town minutes from the meeting will be posted to the Town website, but that process sometimes takes up to 4 weeks (for various reasons). So while it is fresh on everyone's minds, we are posting some of the questions asked during the Transportation Commission's 4/21 Workshop. These questions have been paraphrased, so we apologize if we have mis-understood or mis-stated the questions. As is customary in the workshop format, many questions are asked of Town Staff and others with the expectation that they will do the necessary research to provide answers at the next hearing. Some questions are responded to immediately.

It seems we still haven't got the point out to them that no project is our preferred option. As we see from questions posed by the commission, they have heard part of our message and safety, aesthetics, and noise played a big part of these questions.

We still have a lot of work to do and this is far from a done deal.

The dates of the public hearings are yet to be announced, but we expect it to be in mid May. We will be prepared.

TONIGHT Transportation Commission to Hold Morriss/Gerault Road Improvement Project Public Meeting

Responding to community sentiment requesting a public forum regarding planned Morriss/Gerault Road improvements, the Flower Mound Town Council directed the Town’s Transportation Commission to host a workshop and public hearing on the project.

The Transportation Commission’s Morriss/Gerault Road Improvement Project workshop is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21 at Town Hall, 2121 Cross Timbers. The agenda will include staff and engineering presentations. An opportunity for visitors to offer comments will be provided prior to the presentations. Speaker comments are typically limited to three minutes during a workshop. Time limits can be adjusted by the commission chair as to accommodate more or fewer speakers.

Issues that could be considered and discussed during the meetings include project phasing, landscaping, and public safety. A date for the public hearing will also be determined during the workshop. The Transportation Commission is charged with formulating and presenting a recommendation to the Town Council once the community meetings have been hosted.

Your Comments Are Being Seen!

Since I installed the Stat counter on Saturday afternoon, we have received over 500 hits on our blog from all over the state and from other parts of the world, even Spain and Jamaica! Thanks for all your support. Adios Espana.

Meet the Candidates Forum/March on Morriss

Please mark you calendar now for Thursday, April 30th. We will hold our Meet the Candidates Forum as we have mentioned before at Wilkerson Field in StoneCreek Park.
The forum will take place from 7pm-9pm and all candidates are scheduled to attend.

Before the Forum, we would like EVERYONE YOU KNOW to meet at the corner of Morriss Rd and 1171, in the lot next to the WaMu bank starting at 6pm. We will then walk orderly down the sidewalks on both sides of Morriss the approx one mile to the park. Press releases and Media have been invited to attend and our goal is to have 500 people "March on Morriss" to show our support for our lovely, tree-lined boulevard. Let's make this a huge success and have the TV news and media report of our communities displeasure on this road project. We had 250 people at the firehouse - I KNOW we can double that for this EVENT. More details will follow, but we are very excited about this and know that you will be too.

Bob Butler, Candidate, Town Council Place 3

My name is Bob Butler and I’m running for Town Council Place 3 on May 9th.

For everyone that has been reading this blog, been to any of the Candidate Forums, or checked out my website, you already know that I am against the widening of Morriss Rd. In fact, Rick Cleland (running for place 5) and I are the only two candidates that have stated publically that we are against this project. My main opponent Mike Wallace is in favor of the widening and said this at the Denton County Republican Men’s Forum on April 2nd:

Wallace: “I support widening of Morriss, and the reason is because we have a traffic problem. We have too much demand for the supply of the capacity to meet the demand. And, I’ll tell you where it’s coming from. It’s coming from the DFW Connector, one of the largest projects in TxDOT’s history. We also have the extension of 2499 up through I-35E. We also have the River Walk at Central Park, which will have a 100-bed hospital, 1,200 residential units, retail, office, hotel and hopefully a Market Street. And finally, we have additional growth and development in surrounding communities.”

Here’s what I said:

Butler: “I’m against it. I drive it every single day, and I’ve never been in a traffic jam on Morriss Road before. Building the River Walk is a five-six-year project, and when 2499 gets done, a lot of people from Highland Village will stop coming through Morriss Road. Once construction on 407 and 2499 is done, let’s see how it is then. I’ve heard estimates of in five or 10 years there will be 25,000 cars on Morriss Road. Where’s that coming from?”

To read all of the candidates positions, please go here http://www.planostar.com/articles/2009/04/05/flower_mound_leader/news/73fm.txt

One other issue to keep in mind on May 9th is the explosive growth that Flower Mound has been going through. If you think there’s too much construction going on right now as I do, you haven’t seen anything yet. My opponent Mike Wallace currently serves as the Vice-Chair on the Planning & Zoning Commission for Flower Mound. These are the people (along with the Town Council and Mayor) that approve all of the new developments that you have been noticing. So while Mike is a nice guy, he is extremely pro growth and is one of the reasons that east Flower Mound is turning into a giant sea of concrete. I understand that the Master Plan allows for development in these areas, but our current P&Z Commission as well as the current Town Council, are allowing it to happen too fast. I feel that with the current economical times, we need to slow down a little bit to parallel our sagging business climate. Once the economy comes back, we can take another look at things and make certain that when we allow new development, it’s right for the people of Flower Mound.

I’ve had some people tell me that I’m not for the free market or competition and I answer them by saying this: I am for the free market system and I do believe that competition is a good and necessary thing, I simply believe that a more slowed a controlled growth is a better plan for the people and businesses of Flower Mound.

To see all of my positions, please visit my website: www.bobforflomo.com

Thank you and please cast your vote for me on May 9, 2009.

Sincerely,

Bob Butler

Candidate – Place 3

Bye-Bye Old Friends

These beautiful trees are currently in the median just south of Firewheel. It would be very sad to see them go.

Blog Changes

I have made it possible for anyone to post without registering, even anonymous posts. I would prefer if you would at least add your name. Of course, I reserve the right to edit out posts that are inappropriate, but since we are about communication, free speech is accepted..good or bad.

Also, I have invited a few of our other group members to be able to make new posts.

I really encourage comments, please let me know you are out there reading this. Also, even though you don't have to, please register as a member and tell your friends.

Neighbors Go

The following article appears in Friday's Dallas Morning News Neighbors Go edition.
Our thanks to reporter Lindsey Bever.

Because of community concern about the expansion of Morriss/Gerault Road, the Flower Mound Transportation Commission is conducting a workshop on the project April 21.

The four-lane road is expected to be expanded to six lanes between farm roads 407 and 2499 starting in winter 2010 to accommodate the increased traffic flow from the River Walk at Central Park, a future commercial and residential development, said Michael Ryan, director of community affairs.

“Our goal is to proactively address traffic issues before they affect quality of life rather than reactively expand the road once the traffic is already here,” Ryan said.

Ryan said the projected increase in traffic by 2020 is about 37 percent during the day and about 50 percent at night.

“This road was designed to where we don’t have to expand the road,” Ryan said, adding that its median was built so that the road wouldn’t have to widen.

But residents such as Kim Berg, who created a blog (stopmorriss6.blogspot.com) to inform the community on the project, oppose the expansion, asking for additional traffic studies.

“We just don’t think the information is accurate,” Berg said. “We appreciate the city being proactive but only if they have the right data and citizen participation in the entire project.”

Berg said the town’s transportation commission is asking for resident input in the project but Berg is asking for the commission to include the option of no expansion.

“We are 100 percent totally against the expansion and we want it stopped,” Berg said. “It’s going to turn our city into a whole new beast. It’s going to increase traffic, noise and safety concerns.”

Ryan said a preliminary evaluation of safety concerns for ForestwoodMiddle School and MarcusHigh School, which are along Morriss Road, are not an issue.

“We have committed to ensuring the school district stays up to date and involved with this project,” Ryan said.

Lewisville ISD spokeswoman Karen Permetti said the Lewisville ISD board of trustees has no position on the issue because it’s a city project.

The 12- to18-month project is expected to cost between $11 million and $15 million. But taxpayers are not funding the project.

Ryan said the expansion of Morriss/Gerault Road is being funded through the revenue from the Sam Rayburn Tollway (formerly the 121 Tollway), Denton County Roadway Bond revenue and Five Star Development, the developer of the River Walk at Central Park.

Transportation Commission meeting

When: 6:30 p.m. April 21

Where: Town Hall, 2121 Cross Timbers

Details: The Transportation Commission will talk about the Morriss/Gerault Road project and give the community a chance to comment. A date for the public hearing will be set during the workshop.

Meet the Candidates

When: 7 p.m. April 30

Where: StoneCreekPark on Wilkerson Field, 2800 Garden Road

Details: Candidates for town council will share their views on the expansion of Morriss/Gerault Road as well as other issues such as taxes and oil and gas.

Hi There

I hate scare tactics. We are not going away.

Not even a nice try.

Have a nice day.

Meet the Candidates Forum

The Stop Morriss 6, Meet the Candidates forum will be held on Thursday, April 30th from 7pm - 9pm at Wilkerson Field. Located on Garden Rd, in Stone Creek Park, behind Forestwood Middle School. Bring your picnic blankets, Folding chairs, and make an evening of it. More fun details will follow.

We realize this is after the start of early voting, so if you need to hold off voting till after this event to make the best decisions for this important Town Council election.

Most important of all is, REGISTER TO VOTE NOW! Last town council election had a grand total of 3500 votes cast, that is pathetic! We can make the difference in this election and make a positive change to how things are done in Flower Mound. The time is now to make your voice heard and really make your vote count.

Letters to the Editor

Id like to thank Peggie Kimberlin. Richard and Veronica Needham, Joe McMahon and Nisha and Michael Villegas for taking the time to write and be published in the Flower Mound Leader letters to the editor section. There were several items in this Saturdays edition that pertained to The Morris/Geroux project. As with many peoples predictions and prognostications, saying this is not an election issue. They are wrong as they are with traffic projections. Stop Morris 6 is and will be an election issue.

Steve Dixon, candidate, Place 1, FM Town Council

I drive on Morriss Road and Gerault Road regularly, and I rarely see anything I would consider a traffic jam or even a backup. So I understand when people question the need for making it a six-lane road now. I also agree that the safety of our children is an absolute must. When the Morriss / Gerault project does come before Town Council, I want to see verifiable data on our current traffic flow and have the traffic experts clearly explain the assumptions and modeling projections that show the need for the project. I also welcome citizen input, many times some of the best questions and ideas come from citizens who get involved in a particular issue. I am always interested to hear what our citizen’s offer as suggestions and solutions to improve our projects, and I look forward to the opportunity of getting my questions answered and listening to Flower Mound citizens regarding this project.

With that said, if I am on Town Council when the project is discussed I will consider all options and input. We have time to wait to start the project, we can consider doing the work in phases, we can start with the major intersections, we can wait until the River Walk project along Morriss starts, we can consider only do certain parts – and these are just a few of the options. Flower Mound citizens can be assured that I will carefully consider all options on each and every case that comes before me on Flower Mound Town Council.

Respectfully,

Steve Dixon

Candidates Statements

As you can see in the comments section of the Transportation Committee post I made earlier today, Steve Dixon, candidate for Place 1, Town Council of Flower Mound. We invite each candidate to make similar posts and I will create a separate topic thread with their statements. We will be having our Meet the Candidates forum on April 30th at Wilkerson Field,located in Stone Creek Park, behind Forestwood Middle School. I hope all the candidates will attend to share their views, not only on the Morriss Rd issue, but other issues that impact us, the citizens and proud residents of the Town of Flower Mound.

Transportation Commission Workshop

Here is our next chance to make our voices heard.

Transportation Commission to Hold Morriss/Gerault Road Improvement Project Public Meetings

Responding to community sentiment requesting a public forum regarding planned Morriss/Gerault Road improvements, the Flower Mound Town Council directed the Town’s Transportation Commission to host a workshop and public hearing on the project.

The Transportation Commission’s Morriss/Gerault Road Improvement Project workshop is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21 at Town Hall, 2121 Cross Timbers. The agenda will include staff and engineering presentations. An opportunity for visitors to offer comments will be provided prior to the presentations. Speaker comments are typically limited to three minutes during a workshop. Time limits can be adjusted by the commission chair as to accommodate more or fewer speakers.

Issues that could be considered and discussed during the meetings include project phasing, landscaping, and public safety. A date for the public hearing will also be determined during the workshop. The Transportation Commission is charged with formulating and presenting a recommendation to the Town Council once the community meetings have been hosted.

The Town Council is currently scheduled to review the entire Five-Year Capital Improvement Projects program, including the Morriss/Gerault corridor, in conjunction with the annual budget public hearings in August.

Posted April 9, 2009

Mark your calendars

Set aside Thursday, April 30th for our "Meet the Candidates" meeting.


More details to follow, and I promise its going to be big!

Open letter to councilman Tasker

This letter written to the editors of ACN papers.


An open letter to Councilmember Jeff Tasker:

Sir,

You proudly stated at Monday's council meeting that in the last 14 months the Morriss Road expansion project was on the agenda 31 times. That's nice but let's set the organization first.

You are an elected employee of the Town of Flower Mound. The citizens who attended, and those who did not attend, are taxpayers. In a corporate environment, that makes them your employers or managers.

Managers do not have to attend every meeting nor deal with every detail. That's what the employee is charged with doing. So Morriss Road was on 31 agendas. Where are all the minutes of these meetings? In corporate terms, where are your status reports? I receive mailed paper town newsletters, email town newsletters and subscribe to the bi-weekly Flower Mound Star and the Flower Mound Messenger. Nary a word until recently once the StopMorriss6 effort commenced and made an issue of the matter.

Until Kim and Holly Berg brought the expansion to my attention, I had no knowledge of it at all. It has been the best kept secret in this community. Kindly show me and all the other surprised citizens of Flower Mound the post-meeting reports of this project and we'll all owe you a public apology. Until then I am highly suspicious probably my nature from having grown up in NYC where "don't ask, don't tell" is a way of life that something funny was going on all this time... of course I have no proof to show but not having anything to show seems to be ubiquitous on this matter

Lawrence Jermyn

Success!

First, I would like to thank everyone that came out to support our cause and take a lot of time out of your busy schedules to make tonight a huge success. Over 130 people were in attendance, counting the boy scouts and other locals involved in the business of the evening. Twenty nine people signed up to speak and most used their allotted time, if not more, in very passionate and sometimes emotional speeches. We made a tremendous impact and received raves from reporters and City officials for our professionalism and keeping on point as far as our message.

I would also like to thank Mayor Smith, the 5 council members and all the city staff in attendance for making us feel comfortable and listening to us patiently.

The result of the meeting was the Council and the Mayor sent the Morriss Rd project to the Transportation Committee for study and public hearings starting as soon as May, instead of not being heard by Council again until August. Workshops will begin soon with us involved very soon and we will be involved directly with the Committee from this point on.

Thanks again, and be assured our goal is still to StopMorriss6!

The Agenda

The Agenda is out for mondays town council meeting. You can review it on the towns web site.

The portion of the meeting that is of most interest to us, is the part G Public Particpation.

We welcome everyone to come and address the council. In order to do so, you must fill out an "Appearance Before Town Council" form and turn it into the Town secretary no later than 6:10pm. We are asking to arrive by 5:30pm if you plan to speak. If you like, we will have a few "bullet point" items outlined if you would like to address one of those, or your own comments will be most welcome. We are limited to no more that 3 minutes per speaker, but would like to limit our comments to no more than 90 seconds in order to accomodate all those wishing to speak.

So, show up early and bring all your neighbors, THIS IS OUR CHANCE TO MAKE AN IMPACT.

On another note, I recieved a call today from a Reporter for the Dallas Morning News asking about our cause and will print a Reporters item regarding our participation at the Town Council meeting probably on saturday. She will try to attend the meeting also and is interested in our feedback after the meeting and future media involvement in our "Meet the Candidates" meeting later this month.
I hope they spell my name right.

Traffic Counters?

Whats with the traffic counters at several locations along Morriss?

Another attempt to get faulty data?

Flyers

We have the new Flyers made and have emailed to several of our neighborhood volunteers to distribute them this week. However, there are a few uncovered Neighborhoods that we need to try and get someone for Flyers and Petitions.

If you live or know someone that lives in one of these areas, please call me at 972-355-0677 so we can get you set up

Bakers Branch
Candlebrook Estates
Cedar Bluff
Countryside Estates
Meadows at Cross Timbers
Timberview Estates
Waterford Park Estates

If we can't find someone to help in these areas, We plan on hitting them on friday and could use some help to make sure everone is informed. Call me if you are available for a few hours on Friday to distribute.
Thanks,
Kim