Tag Archives: Amarillo City Council

local news

Public safety, streets get city voters’ endorsement

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Parks, ball fields, the Civic Center and administrative needs are “frills,” apparently, according to Amarillo voters.

Public safety and street repair? Bring it on!

This is a bit of a disappointment to me that only two of the seven measures on the city’s ballot passed on Tuesday. I considered all of them to be “quality of life” issues that needed voters’ endorsement.

City residents, though, apparently are continuing their crankiness about spending issues.

They did approve the largest single measure among the propositions presented by City Hall: the $90 million street repair, rehabilitation and maintenance project. Also getting voters’ approval is a $20 million project that seeks improvements in fire and police protection.

http://www.newschannel10.com/story/33662878/only-2-of-7-local-propositions-gained-support

Voters made some significant strides in seeking improvements in city services. I’m sorry to say they weren’t quite enough.

It might be that City Hall has more public-relations work to do to assuage voters’ apparent angst over the way its management is doing its job.

 

business news, local news

MPEV takes another step forward

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They’re starting to knock down a vacant building in downtown Amarillo.

What will take its place? City officials want the new occupant on the property next City Hall to be a ballpark where a minor-league team will play some hardball.

http://www.newschannel10.com/story/33652423/demolition-begins-on-coca-cola-building-to-make-way-for-mpev

It’s called for the moment a multipurpose event venue. There will be other activities taking place at this venue than just baseball. But the city is in the midst of negotiating for a relocation of the San Antonio Missions to Amarillo, where they would play ball in the $45 million venue.

It’s not a done deal just yet.

San Antonio is trying to lure a Class AAA team to replace the AA team that wants to relocate. In order for the Missions to head north, someone will have to take the field in the Alamo City.

Meanwhile, the now-vacant Coca-Cola distribution center is being knocked down in Amarillo. They’ll clear the lot of debris in short order.

Then it gets serious. The city needs a design. It needs a firm cost for the venue. It needs a team to suit up and take the field.

I will admit to skepticism that the current City Council would be able to move this project as far along as it has. It has proven me wrong — which at some level is no great shakes, given that I’m wrong more than I am right. I believe I had reason to be skeptical, given that the new council members had expressed some doubt about the wisdom of the entire project.

The demolition of the Coke center, though, does give me renewed hope that Amarillo’s downtown revival is proceeding more or less as projected.

We’ve got that hotel going up across Buchanan Street next to the parking garage. Voters will decide several propositions on their municipal ballot; one of them includes a proposed renovation and expansion of the Civic Center.

All we need now is an affiliated baseball team to sign on the dotted line. Then we need them ready to play ball.

My optimism is strong.

business news, entertainment news, local news, Sports news

AirHogs take wing … they’re out of here

MPEV

Well, that’s a surprise … not!

The Texas AirHogs, a baseball outfit that this past season split its home schedule between Amarillo and Grand Prairie, has decided to take its game solely to the Metroplex.

The AirHogs aren’t going to play in that rat-trap of a so-called ballpark called Potter County Memorial Stadium.

The reason reportedly is that visiting teams coming here were too repulsed by the lousy condition of the stadium and of the field on which they had to play hardball.

Hmmm. Do you suppose that maybe, perhaps, possibly that Amarillo would be served better by having a shiny new ballpark in, say, its downtown district?

Oh, wait! That’s coming along, yes?

The multipurpose event venue, a $45 million ballpark to be built next to City Hall, received voters’ endorsement a year ago. The City Council has proceeded with efforts to lure a Class AA baseball franchise to the city. They have a franchise in mind, the San Antonio Missions, which is looking for a new place to play ball once the Alamo City secures a Class AAA franchise to take its place.

I remain cautiously optimistic that the city can pull this deal together.

As for the AirHogs, good riddance.

That cockamamie notion of splitting its home games between two communities didn’t serve anyone in Amarillo worth a damn.

There might be an interim period where minor league baseball fans will have do without some ball while the MPEV gets built and the city works out the details of landing a legitimate minor-league franchise.

My optimism is still springing eternal that it will come to pass.

local news, political news

Battle of political groups shaping up in Amarillo

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I love seeing grass-roots politics take shape in communities.

It’s where one can see activism at work. It involves people who have things in common as well as things that keep them apart. They may be neighbors, friends, they might attend the same church, their kids might attend the same schools.

But they argue over local politics.

I’m seeing a smattering of lawn signs around my neighborhood and around Amarillo. Unite For Amarillo is pitching its support for the seven municipal propositions on the ballot this November. SaveAmarillo is pitching its opposition to them.

Unite For Amarillo wants all of them to pass. I’m on their side, but you knew that already.

SaveAmarillo wants all of them defeated.

There’s an interesting element to this intra-city squabble. Neither side is willing to split the difference. It’s all or nothing for both sides. Does it remind you of anything? It reminds me of the fight for single-member districts that pops up on occasion in Amarillo. Some folks want the city to divide all four City Council member seats into wards, with only the mayor running at-large. The current system elects everyone at-large. No one in that fight seems willing to discuss a hybrid version: increase the council from five to seven seats, elect the mayor and two council members at large while electing the other four from wards.

Look, the city broke up the $340 million spending package into seven separate categories, enabling us to choose which of them to support. I think that’s a wise way to proceed. I plan to vote for all of them, because they all represent progress for the city, allowing City Hall to make important infrastructure improvements.

I am having trouble understanding why SaveAmarillo wants to toss them all aside. Street repair is not important? More funds for police and firefighters won’t improve public safety? Improving parks doesn’t boost our quality of life?

Why not look at them individually, line by line … and then decide which of them to support and which of them to reject?

But, hey, it’s grass-roots politics. I still like the idea of waging these skirmishes at the local level.

May the better side win. I have made my decision already.

local news, political news

AMM: Flash in the pan? Yeah, probably

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Two groups have taken the lead on opposing sides of Amarillo’s next big municipal election challenge.

Unite For Amarillo is favoring the seven propositions on the ballot that would pay for some extensive infrastructure improvements.

SaveAmarillo.org has formed to oppose the measures.

I am on the sidelines, offering commentary from the peanut gallery. I plan to support the propositions.

I also am wondering: What has become of the Amarillo Millennial Movement?

You remember AMM, yes? A young Amarillo woman, Meghan Riddlesburger, became the face and voice of this “movement,” which arose from nowhere to support the ballot measure that sought voter approval of the multipurpose event/ballpark venue the city plans to build in downtown Amarillo.

The measure passed. The Amarillo Globe-News honored Riddlesburger as a Headliner of the Year for 2015. She took a lot of flak from those who opposed the MPEV measure. The criticism was unduly harsh, unfair and it was hurtful … bordering on hateful.

Then she left the city for new opportunities in Fort Worth.

AMM’s status? As near as I can tell, it evaporated the moment the young woman departed Amarillo.

This is a disappointment for me. I actually bought into the notion that AMM represented a legitimate “movement” of young people dedicated to improving their city’s quality of life; that they were motivated to get behind the MPEV as a lure for other young people to stay here after getting their education.

Some of us — I include myself in that group — saw AMM as a potential deterrent to the “brain drain” that has been depleting the city’s intellectual wattage.

Here we are, a year after the MPEV vote. The city is asking residents for permission to improve its quality of life on a whole array of fronts: street repair, Civic Center expansion, park improvements, police and fire protection enhancements; athletic fields; municipal office improvements. The City Council broke the $340 million package into seven components and has asked its constituents to vote on them separately.

Where in the world has become of AMM, if it ever actually existed in the first place?

local news, political news

‘Trickery’ didn’t bring city these ballot measures

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I cannot get past a word I saw on a website formed to oppose a set of ballot measures set for Amarillo’s municipal election next month.

The word is “trickery.”

The website titled saveamarillo.org has accused Amarillo City Hall of duping voters into deciding on seven-part package of propositions aimed at making some improvements throughout the city.

The website, apparently created by local lawyer Len Walker, seems to imply some star chamber activities. Thus, the word “trickery” sticks in my craw. He recently added this “letter” to the site. Here it is:

http://saveamarillo.org/a-letter-from-len-walker/

When you click on the link, you’ll be able to see the rest of the website. It’s interesting and because I’m a fair-minded fellow, I encourage you to take a peek at all of it.

At issue is a package of proposals totaling $340 million. They’re broken out separately. Voters can approve all of them; they can OK some of them; or they can reject them all. The election occurs on Nov. 8.

If memory serves, the city sought public comment on these proposals. The City Council met in public to discuss them. The original package totaled nearly $1 billion. The council then winnowed them down to a more manageable collection of projects.

All of this was done, again if memory serves, in full public view.

As for Walker’s letter, he seems to suggest that the city — along with Potter County — are going to saddle taxpayers with a mountain of debt to pay for these projects. Perhaps we ought to consider that the city has virtually no debt at the moment and whatever debt taxpayers would assume by approving the projects would be manageable and serviceable.

I’ve noted already that I intend to support all seven of the projects listed on the ballot.

Even if I were to oppose them, it wouldn’t be because of any “trickery” perpetrated on residents.

I believe the city has been up front and transparent on what it needs and is merely doing the responsible thing by asking the taxpayers — those who would foot the bill — for permission to deliver these improvements.

local news, political news

They call it ‘trickery’ at City Hall … seriously?

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My wife and I got a surprise this morning on our walk through the neighborhood.

We saw a house around corner from ours with a lawn sign that urges city residents to oppose all seven of the municipal propositions on the Nov. 8 ballot.

The message is sponsored by a group called saveamarillo.org.

So, when we got home, I looked up the website and found some limited “information” about why this group — which doesn’t have any individuals listed — opposes the propositions.

Here’s what I found under the tab “The Problems with Propositions 1-7”: “The problems with the propositions that Amarillo will be voting on are very simple to see.

“These propositions are loaded with pork. When we say pork, we mean wasteful spending by government officials. Look through the items listed on amarillo.gov and you will see plenty of items that are not well defined, or not needed. We are for buying must haves, but all of the must haves listed in these propositions could easily be taken care of by the City Council. Instead, Amarillo will not be voting only on wants, or only on must haves, but rather Amarillo will be voting on a combo package of the City’s wants and a couple of must haves. This is trickery by the career politicians. And it is yet another reason to vote against on November 8.”

That’s it, folks.

For starters, I’d like to know who the “we” are in this effort to derail the city’s $340 million spending package that covers a multitude of issues, ranging from parks and ballfields, police and fire protection, street repair and Civic Center renovation and expansion.

I also would like for them to identify the “pork” alleged to be contained in the measures.

How about telling us how the City Council could have “taken care of” the items listed in the propositions? Are these folks — whoever they are — suggesting the council could just spend the money without asking voters for their approval?

As for City Hall asking voters to decide the fate of a “combo package,” the city instead has broken out the propositions into stand-alone segments. Voters can approve all, some or none of them.

I intend to support them all.

This group also accuses the city of not defining the projects sufficiently. It’s fair to ask, though, whether saveamarillo.org has defined its objections … at all!

Check out the website here:

http://saveamarillo.org/

They call it “trickery.” I sense a good bit of the same in the vagueness of this anti-proposition effort.

local news

All city ballot props deserve voter support

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I’ve made up my mind … and it was easier to settle on this decision than it has been trying to decide who should become the next president of the United States of America.

All of the Amarillo ballot measures deserve voters’ endorsement.

Some are more vital than others. The city has done a marvelous job of breaking out a total package of about $340 million into separate measures aimed at specific needs.

It settled on a seven-part package.

Here are the seven elements spelled out … line by line:

http://amarillo.gov/pdf/CIP_list_for_ballot_resolution.pdf

Do I rate all of them equally? No. Some are more vital than others. My personal preference would be to place the public safety element at the top of the priority list. The city is hoping to spend $20 million on several elements relating to improving police and fire protection.

The street element also is critical. I do not like driving along pock-marked streets. They are rough on motor vehicles and I much prefer to drive my motor vehicles along streets that are free of those craters.

Yes, there are some problematical issues on the ballot. The toughest political sell — in my view — would be the ballot proposition dealing with athletic fields. The city hopes to spend a huge chunk of change, about $65 million, to improve current ball fields and build new fields. We’ve been down this road before. Amarillo voters rejected the Amarillo Recreational Center proposal. I’m not yet sure if there’s enough support in the city to back this latest request. I hope it’s there and I intend to support it.

The city’s famously low tax rate is going to increase incrementally, depending on how many of the seven measures win voter approval.

Here are the resolutions that the City Council approved:

http://amarillo.gov/pdf/Resolution_Callilng_November_Election_16.pdf

I happen to be a good place regarding tax rates. My property taxes are frozen, given my age. That ought to bode well for these measures among other, um, more mature voters who enjoy the same property tax benefit granted to my wife and me.

Do I wish others to shoulder a tax burden that is too heavy, too costly? Of course not.

Amarillo residents have benefited for decades with a municipal tax rate of about 35 cents per $100 assessed property valuation. That rate is among the lowest in Texas. Is it time to dig a bit deeper to pay for these improvements to our infrastructure or to improve the quality of life in this vibrant — and growing — community?

I believe the time has arrived.

I applaud the city for the manner in which it has pitched these measures to voters. It’s not an all-or-nothing proposal. We have the option of selecting which of these measures to support.

I plan to support all of them.

local news, political news

City takes correct course with propositions

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I understand fully Americans’ disgust with the presidential election process.

It’s too long. It’s too costly. It’s too negative.

Contrast that, though, with how local governments do the job of engaging in the political process.

In Amarillo, the City Council and the senior municipal staff have done it the right way in the run-up to the Nov. 8 general election.

City Hall has placed seven propositions on the municipal ballot. They all total about $340 million. They cover a multitude of projects that the city has deemed necessary. State law, though, prohibits city officials from campaign actively for these projects. They include such things as street repair, Civic Center improvements, athletic complex improvements, parks, public safety and fleet vehicles.

Here they are: http://amarillo.gov/pdf/CIP_list_for_ballot_resolution.pdf

I’ve commented on several of the propositions and will offer more comment on others in the days ahead.

My point today, though, is to offer a good word to the city for the way it chose to present these items.

Voters have the option of approving all, some or none of the measures. To that end, I congratulate City Hall for breaking these projects down in definable elements, giving voters the chance to decide which of these projects is important.

The city would issue certificates of obligation to pay for them. The level of increased property taxes would depend on how many of the ballot measures get voters’ endorsement in November.

This is good government at work. As I’ve noted many times in the past, it is at this level — the local level — where government has the most tangible impact on the lives of those who pay for it.

The city, to its credit, is acting as though it recognizes that reality.

local news

‘Interim’ city manager going to stay?

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I cannot shake this feeling that Amarillo’s supposedly “interim” city manager is in it for a longer haul than he or the Amarillo City Council is willing to acknowledge.

Terry Childers announced a big hire the other day when he appointed Ed Drain as the city’s new chief of police. Drain had been brought aboard as “interim police chief” from the Plano Police Department.

Drain took some recommendations offered to make the Amarillo PD a better unit and enacted them. Perhaps the most notable reform has been a re-emphasis on community policing, namely the use of bicycle patrols.

Good deal, yes? Of course it is.

Back to Childers.

The police chief appointment is a major obstacle that the city manager has just cleared. Does he just pack up and leave the administration of the city — and its appointment of the city’s top cop — to someone else? My gut tells me no.

My gut — along with my occasionally reliable trick knee — also tell me that the City Council is quite happy with the way Childers is running the city.

Recall that the city embarked on a city manager search. It collected some resumes from a nationwide job posting. Looked them over — I am going to presume — and then tabled the search.

Am I the only one inclined to think the City Council is decidedly less interested now in looking for someone other than Childers to operate the city’s government machinery?

I’m wrong more than I’m right.

Something, though, tells me that Terry Childers is here to stay a lot longer than he and/or his immediate employers are letting on.