The author of a letter to the Amarillo Globe-News has sounded an alarm for Amarillo.

He suggests that Lubbock is up to no good in its effort to lure a Double A baseball franchise that is planning to vacate San Antonio. He likens the move to someone who is stealing a kiss.

You see, Amarillo is also trying to bring that same franchise, which is currently called the San Antonio Missions, to the Panhandle. Lubbock has just now joined in the hunt for the same prize.

The headline on the letter to the editor calls Lubbock a “wicked stepsister.”

Interesting description, although it does seem a bit harsh.

But make no mistake, there exists a civic rivalry between the communities.

Lubbock is home to more residents; it has Texas Tech University; it has a first-cabin sports and entertainment venue at the Tech campus. There is this perception that Lubbock is able to land the first-line entertainment acts while Amarillo — as often as not — gets stuck with knock-off “tribute” bands and truck pulls.

Lubbock now it seeks to land a baseball franchise that first came into Amarillo’s sights several months ago.

Amarillo wants the Missions to move here and to take up residence in that downtown ballpark that is set to be built — eventually! — on property across the street from City Hall. The multipurpose event venue is part of the city’s downtown revival effort. The key to the MPEV’s success, though, seems to lie in whether the city can persuade the Missions to come here.

Will the Lubbock initiative get in the way?

I do believe that the time has officially arrived for Amarillo’s City Council to pull together, in unison, for the same goal.

There’s been some signs of fracture among council members since the latest municipal election, which occurred in May 2015. It’s more imperative than before, though, for the governing board to set aside personal differences.

A new MPEV tenant does not want to wade into an environment that — in the words of interim City Manager Terry Childers — has produced a “caustic political environment.”

I don’t yet know what Lubbock has up its municipal sleeve.

However, I do believe it is time for Amarillo to show its chops and ensure this potential suitor that it intends to do all it can to make the MPEV/ballpark a success and that whoever takes up residence in the new venue will enjoy the fruits that success will bring.

Some unity of purpose is in order.