What Is Our City Government Doing?

Someone posted that question in the comments recently. Very good question. The answer is a bit vague at the moment. Here is what I can tell you. There was a town council meeting on Monday the 18th. Unfortunately I was out of town and could not attend. However, I did hear from someone that was there and here is a summary of what they reported:



Someone from one of the HOAs in our area did speak. However, it did not seem to go over well with the Mayor as she referred comments and discussion to the Oil and Gas Board (but it is difficult to get information from them as well).

The mayor did make a good statement that single individuals will not have much say, but if groups show a common interest, there would be strength in numbers. Simple, but true. It was also clear several of the town council and employees have vested interests in Northshore club. Not sure where this is all heading, but the drilling companies are hoping enough people sign up and they can have support. There was some discussion of repairing Sentinel Oaks as a shorter more direct route off of Simmons to get to the south entrance of Northshore Club. Truck traffic would be difficult down McPherson/Elmwood with all the sharp 90° turns.


So where does this leave us?

1. I absolutely believe that we CAN make a difference, but it's going to take a solid group of us working together to stop it. I really feel that it's going to come down to whether or not the Oil and Gas board approves the 500 ft. waiver. Please see the criteria for this variance approval in this post. My understanding is that the Oil and Gas Board is the town council. Someone please correct me if that is not the case.



2. The Mayor needs to be challenged. She needs to be extremely clear about where she stands on this issue. This has too much of an impact on our lives to not have an answer. She can't just dodge the bullet by saying that it's all up to the Oil and Gas Board. My understanding is she is running unopposed in the next election. We still deserve answers. We have sent emails and have called. We need everyone else to do the same. All you have to do is click here to see their contact info.

3. We also deserve to know where the council members stand. You can click here for their contact info. Don't forget that there is an election for Place 2 and Place 4 for council members this spring. We need to make sure that this is an issue is part of the upcoming race. You can see who is running here.

Ok, you have your homework. PLEASE contact the Mayor and Council Member. Tell your neighbors to do the same. We need to know where they stand. It will only take a few minutes to type an email asking them were they stand on this important issue.

P.S. Don't worry. The statement "It was also clear several of the town council and employees have vested interests in Northshore club"did not go unnoticed and is something that I have been exploring. If there isn't a connection, I invite them to speak up now.

UPDATE: Someone has infomed me that the town council members which may be members of the Northshore club are what is referred to as "social" members. This means that they do not stand to make any financial gains from the Northshore deal. I really appreciate the information. Although emotions can run high on this important issue, we are seeking open and honest communication. We want to get this right and we intend to be fair in seeking answers to our questions.