Category Archives: local news

local news

Be sure to respond to council overture, public citizen

ama city council

There might be an interesting back story developing once the Amarillo City Council commences its new meeting time at City Hall.

The council says it will start meeting at 6 p.m. each Tuesday to give residents a better chance to attend the meetings. They do, after all, deal with the public’s business.

The back story deals with some of the yammering we’ve heard over a period of time about the so-called “secrecy” that shrouds City Council business. Some of the critics of the downtown revival project, for instance, contend — wrongly, in my view — that too much of it was pre-determined in secret.

Other gripes have concerned the work sessions that precede the official open City Council meetings, where council members actually vote on issues under consideration.

Well, with the new after-hours meeting time, there will be plenty of interest from residents who have been unable to attend the council meeting when they took place at 3 p.m. So, logic would seem to dictate that the City Council chamber spectator seats will have more people in them to listen to council members discuss and act on public matters … correct?

If the interest holds up, then perhaps there might be some credence given to the gripes about a lack of “public involvement.”

If it doesn’t sustain itself and the public doesn’t flock to the third floor Council Chambers meeting room each Tuesday evening, does that suggest that all the grumbling about secrecy was coming from a highly vocal minority of malcontents?

Let’s watch for how this plays out.

 

local news

This City Hall ‘change’ sounds constructive

ama city council

Three new Amarillo City Council members pledged “change” would come to City Hall when they were elected earlier this year.

Some of it has been counterproductive. The arguments and bickering have been distracting if not downright destructive. Two of the new council members took office and then started calling for immediate change at the top of the city administrative chain of command.

The latest effort at change, though, is worth supporting.

The council wants to start meeting at 6 p.m. each Tuesday. The aim is to allow more residents to attend these sessions. The 3 p.m. meeting time made it difficult at times for working men and women to break away from their jobs to hear the discussions taking place at City Hall.

An after-hours meeting time is more conducive to public involvement.

That element of change is worthwhile.

Indeed, it well might expose more residents to the occasional fits of petulance that shows itself among City Council members. Then again, with more people in the audience, the council members might tend to exhibit better behavior.

Still, improving public access to the public’s business is a good thing.

Well done.

 

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Why not play ball at MPEV?

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Amarillo MPEV

Jon Mark Beilue might have laid out what could be a pivotal argument for approving construction of a multipurpose event venue — as it’s currently configured — in downtown Amarillo.

The stellar Amarillo Globe-News columnist — and a friend of yours truly — noted in an essay: “I would bet all the change in my pocket that no less than two years after construction, independent baseball would be replaced with AA Texas League affiliated baseball. From there, the MPEV could be designed in such a way as to draw other events that are the other half in making the venue succeed and attracting downtown crowds to added retail.”

The MPEV is coming up for a vote on Nov. 3. It headed to the ballot on a narrow 3-2 Amarillo City Council vote, with the three newest council members voting to place the issue on the ballot.

The crux of Beilue’s column was that the new guys “whiffed” on common sense, and that they had their mind made up long before taking the vote.

But I’m intrigued by the notion of what might happen if the MPEV design gets voter approval this fall.

As has been noted before — in this blog and in many other forum — Potter County Memorial Stadium, aka the Dilla Villa and now the Thunderhead Park, is a dump. It’s hardly more than a piece of fecal matter as far as athletic complexes go.

Is it unreasonable to believe that a brand new, shiny, state-of-the-art venue could become a magnet for the kind of minor-league baseball organization that Beilue and others visualize for the city?

My answer is “no,” not in the least.

Beilue writes: “Neither I nor most others are married to a baseball stadium as the signature piece of an MPEV, but it’s the most logical. The MPEV needs an anchor tenant, and baseball fits that.

“A Hollywood Bowl design has appeal, but its events would be in direct competition with the Globe-News Center for Performing Arts and Amarillo Civic Center Complex. Baseball is a unique alternative that would draw thousands.”

I refuse to heed the naysayers who insist that Amarillo “isn’t a baseball town.” It hasn’t been a baseball town for years largely, in my view, because that rat hole at the Tri-State Fairgrounds is a lousy place to play — or watch — a baseball game.

The ballot measure states: “Should the Multi-Purpose Event Venue (MPEV) to be constructed in downtown Amarillo include a Baseball Stadium at the approximate cost of $32 million?”

It works for me.

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Millennial movement a plus for the city

Amarillo Millenial

Win or lose when the ballots are counted this fall on Amarillo’s proposed multipurpose event center, I see a victory in at least one important sense.

This campaign will have energized a voting demographic that historically is more prone to sit these events out than take an active role.

The MPEV has captured the imagination of a group calling itself the Amarillo Millennial Movement. It comprises young people who claim they are committed to supporting the downtown Amarillo revitalization project as it’s been presented.

AMM favors the MPEV design that currently includes a ballpark for minor-league baseball. It favors the downtown project’s three tiers — which also includes a convention hotel and a parking garage. The latter two items no longer appear to be in jeopardy, as the Amarillo City Council this week approved the go-ahead on the construction.

The MPEV remains an open question. But if AMM can get itself mobilized, it hopes to persuade enough of Amarillo’s voters to support the project as it stands.

Why is this a victory for the city? Because for longer than any of us can remember, young voters as a bloc haven’t been energized enough to organize into a positive force for change. It’s not just an Amarillo phenomenon. This voter lethargy has permeated communities all across the nation.

Many of us heard the naysayers suggest that the young adults are being used. They’re puppets of some well-heeled, deep-pocketed interest group that wants this project to proceed because of some mysterious enlightened self-interest.

My reaction to that? Big deal.

Have you tried to tell a young person to do something when he or she doesn’t want to do it or they lack at least some measure of commitment to the task? Anyone who’s ever reared children into adulthood knows that is a virtual impossibility.

AMM says it wants the downtown project to proceed. It has developed a campaign logo. It is using its members’ considerable social media expertise to spread the word.

That a group of young residents would take the time to become involved in the political process is good news for an old hand — such as yours truly — who occasionally has lamented young Americans’ seeming lack of interest in civic affairs.

Once this campaign ends, it will be my hope that members of the millennial generation keep their interests high … and stay involved.

 

 

local news

Ballpark … or no ballpark?

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the debate over whether to put a ballpark near the heart of downtown Amarillo.

It’s called the multipurpose event venue. MPEV, for short.

It’ll be up for a key decision on Nov. 3. The city will ask voters if they want the MPEV to include the ballpark. If they say “no,” the ballpark won’t be built; a “yes” vote, of course, means what it says.

I believe the ballpark is a good deal. It can be a potentially great deal if we use our imagination, employ some creativity and relearn how we can enjoy the downtown district.

I keep hearing numbers about the cost of the MPEV. It’ll be around $32 million. The city plans to issue bonds to pay for it. It plans to retire those bonds with hotel-motel tax revenue and lease payments from the tenant who agrees to run the place. Bill Gilliland and Laura Street, a pair of big-hitter fundraisers, told the City Council they have received pledges totaling around $2 million from private contributors; there might be more in the wings.

Amarillo’s political/business/civic brain trust isn’t reinventing the wheel with this downtown ballpark concept. Cities all across the country — big cities and mid-sized cities, just like Amarillo — have enjoyed varying degrees of success with downtown ballparks.

There’s nothing particularly original or groundbreaking in the city’s effort to revive its downtown district.

Now, for the record, I’m not going to suggest that Amarillo can copy cities such as Oklahoma City in developing a downtown ballpark. The OKC project was paid for with a public tax levied specifically to raise money for the construction of that city’s ballpark in its Bricktown district. And I am acutely aware that OKC is a much larger city.

If we step back, though, we need to understand that no one with a lick of sense is suggesting that Amarillo’s downtown project can function on the same level as the one in OKC. It can, though, function nicely at its own level.

The MPEV as it’s been presented does represent a step forward for the city and presents a fascinating opportunity for the city to progress to some next, and perhaps largely still undefined, level.

Indeed, this project requires a leap of faith. I am prepared to take that leap.

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Mayor Harpole hamstrung by state law

harpole

I had the distinct pleasure today of watching Amarillo Mayor Paul Harpole pull his punches so tightly he almost hit himself in the face.

He stood before the Rotary Club of Amarillo and talked about all the projects that are on-going throughout the city that have nothing to do with downtown redevelopment. But then he would remind Rotary Club members that, yes, there’s this thing called downtown revitalization that’s got him all fired up.

Indeed, he seemed wound tighter than a cheap watch today as he blazed through his luncheon program talking about highway access improvements, Loop 335 expansion, utility installations, drainage excavation, improvements to interstate access.

But you see, state law is kind of quirky. As mayor, he is not allowed to advocate for issues that are set to be voted on in an election. He presented himself today as mayor, which meant only that he could give us information about downtown revitalization.

You could tell — heck, it’s been all over the media — that he’s solidly behind the effort to revive downtown Amarillo. The package that’s been presented will proceed with a downtown convention hotel and a parking garage. During his presentation today at the Rotary Club meeting, Harpole showed slides of what the downtown district will look like when it’s done. He believes a key component to the city’s effort remains the multipurpose event venue — in its proposed configuration, which includes a ballpark.

But that state law prohibited him from proclaiming loudly and proudly what he really thinks of the MPEV.

That’s OK, Mr. Mayor. I got the message.

local news

MPEV debate to turn on ballfield

Amarillo MPEV

It now appears that the Amarillo municipal election referendum this November is going to turn on a specific issue.

Should the city build a multipurpose event venue that includes a ballpark?

I say “yes!” With emphasis.

So, the MPEV-with-ballpark has at least one vote. I’m guessing it’ll get many more when the time comes to vote on it.

But the question came to me today from an Amarillo Millennial Movement member who wanted to know how they can sell the MPEV as it’s been proposed during the next 90 days. Honestly, I have never planned a campaign strategy and I don’t intend to do so now.

But I’ll just say that I am hearing from friends, acquaintances and others who want to talk about that they think the ballpark isn’t needed. They think the rat hole stadium at the Tri-State Fairgrounds is sufficient. It isn’t.

I happen to believe that a downtown venue for some minor-league baseball is a capital idea. And, yes, it can — and must — be used for other events. What might those events be? I will rely on the marketing geniuses around the city, the Panhandle and even the state to figure that out.

Outdoor concerts? Sure. A flea market … maybe? It’s been done.

Perhaps local high school teams could play ball during their regular season. There might even be an open date or two — or perhaps more — for the West Texas A&M University baseball team. Or perhaps the WT women’s softball team. Or maybe even some local high school softball teams.

I understand fully that these events don’t often draw more than a handful of fans. However, is that the way it has to be?

The world is full of opportunities.

I was heartened to hear from the newly elected City Council members this week that they favor an MPEV in some incarnation. They remain skeptical of the ballpark element.

I will continue to argue that a ballpark is a feasible attraction for downtown Amarillo. However, it’s going to require some creativity and some marketing genius to make it work as well as it can for the city.

If voters say “no” in November, my next-best hope is that the city can come up with a Plan B in a hurry and keep its downtown revival project moving forward.

 

 

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Gasoline projected to drop … then it spikes up!

No sooner than I finished reading reports about projected steep declines in the price of gasoline in the United States …

Then the price of unleaded regular gas spikes up 15 cents overnight in little ol’ Amarillo, right here in the heart of the Oil and Natural Gas Patch.

What gives with that?

One of the reports I read said the price decline can be attributed to a number of factors:

* Automakers are making more fuel-efficient cars. My wife and I are driving one now, a Toyota Prius. We’re doing our part.

* There’s a glut of higher-quality gasoline that needs to be used up. Once that supply is gone, then refiners are going to start turning out lower-grade gasoline, which will sell for less than the better quality go-juice.

* Alternative energy sources are becoming more of the norm across the country. The wind and the sun are heating and cooling more homes, although Texas — one of the sunnier places in the country — needs to get more involved in the solar energy game.

I always have trouble trying to figure out the gasoline pricing structure in Amarillo and the Panhandle. A friend who owns a chain of convenience store/gas stations has tried to explain it to me. It has something to do with the price he pays wholesalers for the gasoline he sells at his stations.

I’ll admit, though, to being annoyed when I read about consumer price projections — only to watch the price of the commodity at issue going in the other direction.

I guess I just need to settle down.

 

 

local news

Some sensibility returns to City Council

amarillo hotel

Well, just when some of us — me included — thought the Amarillo City Council had driven itself into the proverbial ditch, common sense reared its head at City Hall.

The council voted 3-2 Tuesday to proceed with construction of a downtown convention hotel and an adjacent parking garage.

I’m beginning to breathe a bit more easily with this news.

Joining the common-sense majority was new Councilman Elisha Demerson, who voted along with Councilman Brian Eades and Mayor Paul Harpole to begin work on the twin projects.

Councilmen Mark Nair and Randy Burkett voted “no” on the garage-hotel tandem project, saying they oppose the idea of using public money to compete with private, for-profit enterprise.

This, though, is a classic public-private partnership. Any major economic development effort ought to include some public investment. The city wants to kick in $5 million to help develop retail space in the parking garage — but it will get that money back when it fills that space with successful retailers.

Who benefits from the increased business and the revenue it generates? Let me think. Oh yeah … the public!

The biggest of the three-pronged downtown revival project, the multipurpose event venue, remains in question. Voters will decide on Nov. 3 whether to build an MPEV that includes a ball field. Interestingly, all five council members say they support the concept of a downtown MPEV, but three of them — Demerson, Burkett and Nair — disapprove of the ballpark being part of it.

Therein lies the crux of the disagreement … that and the idea that the city would issue public bonds to build it.

But here’s where — in my view — their anti-MPEV argument falls apart: The city will retire the bonds with revenue derived from guests staying at that downtown hotel, guests at other hotels all across the city and lease payments from whoever agrees to run the MPEV.

The vote Tuesday also provides Potter County with some much-needed parking space and opens up retail opportunities. Imagine for a moment the possibility that retail business could return to the downtown district. Doesn’t that possibility whet the appetites of those who seek to make downtown an attraction instead of a stop along the way to somewhere else?

I am somewhat encouraged by the reason that prevailed at City Hall.

Let’s proceed now with a reasoned, rational and responsible debate on the merits of the MPEV.

local news

Constables: still unnecessary

Morice Jackson has quit his job as a Potter County constable and this week the county commissioners voted — in an interesting 3-2 decision — to replace him.

Why?

The county has had issues in the past with individuals holding these elected offices. Some of them haven’t done any work, yet they still get paid. Jackson, to his credit, wasn’t one of them.

Indeed, he dressed the part of a well-turned-out law enforcement officer.

But I remain dubious about the need for this extra arm of law enforcement. Still, counties retain them. Some constables are put to work. Others, well, don’t have enough work to keep them busy.

Their duties as prescribed by law involve serving civil papers and providing court security in justice of the peace courts. Some of them actually take part in traffic stops and issuing citations to motorists. Jackson would do all of that while on the job in Potter County.

The office, though, just isn’t worth the expense that counties pay to fund them. Constables’ duties could be done by sheriff’s departments, which also have duly qualified law enforcement officers on the job and also are run by elected officials.

Potter County Judge Nancy Tanner believes in the constable’s office. She cited the revenue the offices bring to the county. But do they really provide a valuable service that couldn’t be provided by another existing law enforcement agency?

I’ve always thought that less government meant more efficient government. As we’ve seen on occasion in Potter and Randall counties over the years, though, they occasionally present more trouble than they’re worth.