Tag Archives: North Heights

local news

Will there be a big change in city voting plan?

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For most of my time as an Amarillo resident — it now totals more than 21 years — I’ve been a fairly staunch advocate of the city’s at-large municipal voting plan.

All five members of the City Council represent the entire city. They all answer to the same constituent base. All four council members have as much political stroke as the mayor.

Then my attitude began to change. I posted a blog in 2013 declaring my change of heart and my belief that the time may have arrived to enact a hybrid single-member-district voting plan for the city.

https://highplainsblogger.com/2013/12/re-thinking-single-member-districts/

The city’s population is about to exceed 200,000 residents and perhaps it will be time to consider a serious change.

Then again, the city is embarking on a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization project that city leaders hope will bring some infrastructure equality to a few of the city’s more depressed neighborhoods.

I understand that the North Heights neighborhood is going to get the first infusion of interest, and perhaps some much-needed money, to help improve its appearance.

This is part of a sweeping set of goals the city has set for itself.

The Barrio is likely to be next. Then the city will turn its sights on the San Jacinto neighborhood. Perhaps after that it could be The Boulevard.

Will the city stop seeking to improve its southwest quadrant? No. That work will continue.

The upshot of this might be to stem any possible momentum that could build in the short-term future to change the manner in which voters elect their City Council.

The three new fellows who got elected in 2015 all vowed to be agents of change at City Hall. I’ve commented before about the pros and cons of some of the change they brought.

Will there be a profound change proposed by one of the new guys that deals with the city’s voting plan? Or will the city’s neighborhood improvement plans be enough to forestall a new voting plan?

Time will tell if leaders deliver on their pledge to pay careful attention — and deliver much-needed resources — to all corners of the city.

 

local news

North Heights getting a fresh look

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Every city in America has them.

Good neighborhoods and, well, not-so-good neighborhoods. Amarillo is just like every other city in that regard.

But there’s a bit of a difference here. Our city is governed by five individuals who represent the entire city; they’re all elected at-large. So, when residents of one part of the city feel as though their neighborhoods are being neglected, they tend to point the finger at the City Council and accuse its members of favoring other parts of the city.

It’s been on-going in Amarillo since, oh, probably The Flood.

Amarillo is now launching — one should hope — a concerted effort to revive, rejuvenate and rediscover the North Heights neighborhood.

It’s one of those areas of the city where residents have felt a bit neglected.

Does this effort require a huge change in local government attitude? The fellows who sit on the City Council say “no.” The city always has been equally concerned about all the neighborhoods, not just those with the more expensive homes or those with the leafy streets.

The Heights is long overdue for a serious makeover. The goal is to make residents proud of where they live.

City officials have planned a series of public meetings with residents. They want to hear from residents what they want. As KFDA NewsChannel 10 reported: “It’s really key to get their input because it’s their input that is going to help us get to where we want to be for this neighborhood,” said City of Amarillo Planning Director Kelley Shaw. “It’s their neighborhood. It’s not the city’s neighborhood, so we really need their input to make it all work.”

It’s good to watch how the city reacts to the concerns it hears. Perhaps the victory can be achieved if the city responds aggressively to what officials hear and start putting some serious effort into lifting up a neighborhood that’s felt neglected.

Think of it as a potential hedge against efforts to overhaul the city’s voting plan to expand the size of the City Council and create a single-member district plan for the city.

Let’s get busy.