Keller Citizen Legislature

This was posted today in both the Mayor’s weekly update and the City’s main page.  I didn’t “read” the Keller Citizen, but rather skimmed it today and didn’t see a mention in there.  The timing of the meeting kind of ticks me off as this should have been publicized further out than 6 days.  Heck, besides this blog and the City’s website, all we have is a weekly newspaper to get the word out and the paper won’t come out until after this meeting is over.

The Mayor mentioned the Visioning Project in our interview the other day but he didn’t say the first meeting was going to take place next week…but I’ll give him a pass.  He showed me his Blackberry and the list of appointments and meetings he attends on a daily basis is mind boggling.  I don’t know how he finds time to eat.

I am also a member of P&Z and didn’t get prior notification of this meeting through that avenue.  I plan to ask Richard Ludke at the meeting Monday why this was put out on a Friday afternoon before a three day weekend instead of a week or two ago.

Enough of my rant…..here’s the blurb:

The City of Keller would like to invite you to attend and participate in the Keller Town Center Visioning project, at 7:00 PM, Thursday, October 16, 2008 at Keller Town Hall.

The public is invited to participate in this public meeting to gather opinions and discuss issues concerning the Town Center Zoning District. The meeting will be conducted by Mr. Dan Sefko, FAICP, from Freese and Nichols, Inc., on behalf of the City of Keller. The purpose of the meeting is to receive input from citizens and all other individuals, groups and organizations/associations interested in this process and to develop an updated plan for Keller Town Center. Please come to provide your input.

For more information, call the City of Keller Planning Division at (817)743-4130 or contact Richard Luedke, Planning and Development Manager, at rluedke@cityofkeller.com.

Why is this meeting important?  Because this is the first step in making sure the “Primarily Non Residential” designation stays in the Town Center UDC.  Not only that, if you want to strengthen the language about Apartments in the Town Center UDC, this is your chance to do so.

Because for some odd reason I’ve been posting a lot on this website instead of doing something more productive with my life, I will keep bumping this to the top this week.

Please, get the word out!  The more people that show up to express their opinion on this, the better it will be.

Every ten years or so, the people of Keller, Texas, arise from their great slumber and stage a bloody coup.  In the mid-to-late 90′s, much of the city council, including the mayor, was recalled.  In the 2006 election, three council members were summarily dismissed for one overriding reason: they tried to deny you the right to vote on an expensive library that you had expressly rejected in the past.

In May, the other two council members and the mayor will stand for re-election (presuming they file for candidacy.) For those of you with long memories, here’s a recap of their library positions:

• Mitch Holmes showed political courage by voting against the issuance of debt for the library. His remarks in the November 15, 2005 council meeting made clear that he was in favor of the library, but that it was the duty of the council to send the issue to the voters.
• Mayor Julie Tandy initiated the council’s end-run around the voters by placing it on the agenda. It is unknown whether she or the city manager is to blame for the obtuse wording of the agenda item which failed to mention either the library or the amount of money involved. Just prior to last year’s election, she publicly apologized for her action. Since the election, Mayor Tandy has been, with one glaring exception, remarkably conciliatory to the new council members.
• Steve Trine was, is, and forever will be convinced that his vote for building the library without your vote was the right decision. To this day he resents the rebellious actions of Keller citizens last year.

Here’s the video of that sad episode of Keller politics.

Whatever you think of the library episode, it’s  behind us. City staff are working on ways to make our current library better. I’m more concerned with what’s ahead of us. Keller has outstanding debt of about $100 million, and very much needs to spend tens of millions more on roads, sewers and fire stations.

Keller needs fiscal conservatism. Unfortunately, none of my fellow council members can credibly claim to be a fiscal conservative. A bona fide fiscal conservative votes against excessive spending—not one of my fellow council members voted against any spending proposal last year.

The filing period for city council and mayoral candidates is February 12 through March 12. Keller is 70% Republican. Has Keller presumed the city government is fixed, and gone back to sleep? Without help, I can do little more than lampoon the excesses of those who wish to govern you.

In 2005 the ship that is Keller was going full-steam in the wrong direction. In 2006 we pulled back on the throttle. Will 2007 bring a turn of the rudder?

The polls have now closed. Nearly 5,000 Keller voters showed up for this election. Thank you.

The city secretary tells me the results will be ready about 8pm or later. I’ll post as soon as I know.

Here’s a link to general election results: Click here

Early voting results are in, and all challengers are leading. The library bond is losing 62% to 38%.

10:12 pm: Jessica DeLeon called to tell me that the results are official–all city council challengers win, and the library loses.

Sheila Stephens, City Secretary of Keller, confirms that all challengers have won, the library failed, and the KCCPD tax passed.

Jim Maine has some new information over at www.ourkeller.com. Go check it out.

A very fine dentist here in Keller told me, “Your blog seems library intensive. I’m interested in where you stand on other issues.”

Touché.

I’ve been so obsessed with the proposals on the ballot I’ve neglected to mention other important Keller topics. Here now for your enjoyment are my responses to some emails I’ve received:

continue reading…

From a Fort Worth Star-Telegram article dated October 31, 1999:

Keller officials are optimistic that there will be a strong turnout for Tuesday’s election on a $10 million bond issue to build a new library.

Early voting turnout was excellent, officials said as the polls closed Friday evening.

Keller City Secretary Sheila Stephens said 666 people cast early ballots.

Of course we now know that library bond failed rather badly, 62% to 38%.

In the first five days of early voting in 2006, the total number of votes cast is 1,137. And the polls have yet to be open after 5pm or a weekend.

One of my primary goals in this election was making sure people had something tangible to vote for or against. For too many years my choices in the voting booth were two or more candidates who were both for Mom, apple pie, and economic development.

If I take away from this election nothing but a re-energized Keller electorate, I will still be pleased.

Keep it up Keller. Tell them what you want!

Update 5/6: 1,523 votes cast
Update 5/7: 1,696 votes cast
Update 5/8: 2,008 votes cast
Update 5/9: 2,459 votes cast

Today’s (5/5/06) Fort Worth Star-Telegram features dueling op-eds by Mayor Julie Tandy and freelance writer and humorist Monty Snow. Not to be missed.

She said

He said

It’s the oldest trick in the municipal budgeting playbook: Get the people to vote themselves a tax for the things everyone wants, then you can free up some budget dollars for the things you want.

For many years, Keller’s tax base growth has easily supported the corresponding growth in the budget of the Keller Police Department. Not one cent of the Keller Crime Control and Prevention District sales tax has ever been used to fund the police department.

Yet now we have two members of the KCCPD board quoted in newspapers that repeal of this sales tax will cause an increase in property taxes of about 4 cents per $100. BalderdaSh.

If approved, this tax will raise $25-30 million over its fifteen-year life. I made the charge that without concrete proposals on how all this money would be spent, it’s just a blank check for our untrustworthy city council. Note that I said a blank check for city council, not for the KCCPD board. For the record, I trust the board members to spend this money as wisely as possible.

What I do not trust is the city council, which will continue to receive more and more tax money from our still-growing tax base, but would be relieved from the burden of funding growth and improvement in the Keller Police Department. That’s the blank check I cannot endorse.

Official city brochure

Mark me down as a ‘No’, in pencil

jim@kellercitylimits.com

A recent communiqué from a Keller City Council member states categorically “Our streets and roads are in good shape. ” Hmmm. As recently as this year, the results of a street survey were presented to the City Council. According to the report, 20% of Keller’s streets are graded unacceptable.

To get to the bottom of this dichotomy, I’m launching a Worst Street in Keller contest. Please nominate the street in Keller that you consider “the worst.” I’ll take and post pictures of these streets and then we can all vote for the worst, or decide that Keller’s streets really are “in good shape.”

Please email street names to jim@kellercitylimits.com. First prize will be all the change I can dig out of my sofa cushions.

Of the six candidates seeking seats on the Keller City Council, four now have websites:

Place 2:
Jim Badalamenti (incumbent): No known website
Mark Harness: www.markharness4keller.com

Place 3:
Bob Kirk: www.bobkirk.org
Russell Lake (incumbent): www.russelllake.com

Place 4:
Jim Carson: www.kellercitylimits.com
Sheryl Roberts (incumbent): No known website

Note that all city council seats are “at large.” All voters will be able to choose on all three of these races, as well as the library bond proposal and a fifteen-year extension of the Keller Crime Control and Prevention District and corresponding tax.

If you haven’t read today’s (4/20/2006) Star-Telegram, start with this link.

If you still believe the city’s statistic of 800 people per day visiting the library, read this link.

Nothing stimulates the mind like a good argument. I enjoy making and conceding points with my political adversaries. But sometimes when people begin to lose an argument on the merits, they resort to preposterous authoritarian pronouncement. It’s as if they say, “yes Jim, I see your points, but two plus two is five.” Normally I would politely excuse myself from such an argument, but when this comes from senior city staff—the people in charge of the “facts” regarding a library—I just cannot let it go.

I began this argument over a year ago when I tried to reason with the city staff. I physically demonstrated the deficiencies of the electronic counter at the library. I went back and forth with city staff. When it became clear I would not be persuaded, the conversation abruptly ended with, “In my professional opinion the count is accurate.” Wow.

Hoping that more senior staff or the mayor and council would listen to reason, I publicly challenged the city manager’s library numbers in the second Town Hall meeting in February last year. Not one of the people on the dais asked how I knew the numbers were wrong.

Finally, in January of this year, I pleaded with the assistant city manager to not use this statistic because it’s wrong and I can prove it. Rather than respond with “How do you know?”, I received a placating assuaging promise that the city would take great care to make sure the numbers were accurate. Yeah, right.

Pardon Acronymic Puns!

There’s a new website, www.NoMeantNo.com, that lays out a rational case for voting against the current library proposal. Please consider our arguments alongside those of the Vote YES Committee before you go to the polls in May.

Consider this post to be an open thread for anyone to discuss anything they wish regarding the library. There are very many more readers of this forum than writers and commenters. This election could set the course of Keller politics for a decade. This is no time to be bashful. Speak now or forever hold your peace. Use a fake name if you must. Click here.

Jim Carson jim@kellercitylimits.com