If we don’t plan our future together, chances are that someone else will
Send your comments and news tips to online.editor@valleyspringcomm.net, to Judge Sumter, lizsumter@co.hays.tx.us, and you can click on the "comments" button at the bottom of the story
By Hays County Judge Liz Sumter
When I think about the future of Hays County, I’m often reminded of a few lines from Alice in Wonderland:Alice: Would you tell me which way I ought to go from here?
The Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get.
Alice: I really don't care where.
The Cat: Then it doesn't much matter which way you go.
—Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
For me, there are some important lessons in those few lines. The lessons relate to why I’ve been spending a lot of time lately on a Strategic Plan for Hays County. Even so, I still need your help, so let me give you some of the background.
For the past several months, through partnerships with the Lower Colorado River Authority, Texas State University, Pedernales Electric Co-op, and Bluebonnet Electric Co-op, I’ve been working with a committee of citizens from throughout the county.
The citizens on the committee are Susan Meckel, Whit Hanks, David Glenn, Dianne Wassenich and Monica Garcia. Our goal is the production of a Strategic Plan for Hays County. We’ve already completed some basic elements of the plan. For example, we’ve met with County elected officials and department heads. During the summer months, we met with several stakeholder groups (real estate, developers, conservationist, senior groups, social service leaders, coalition of neighborhood groups, and chamber of commerce / economic development groups). We also developed a community survey that is currently on the Hays County website (www.co.hays.tx.us).
Still, we need your input on several important issues, including the following: Overall quality of life in Hays County; water quality and quantity; delivery of health care and transportation services; and the need for parks and recreation. Attention to these issues in the face of rapid growth in the county will demand a coordinated, well-thought-out plan. Numerous entities in the county will have to work together if we are to find solutions, avoid duplication of effort, and provide a seamless delivery of services to residents.
The month of November is a very important month for the development of this plan. It is particularly important because it involves you. Simply put, I need your help in directing Hays County's future. Your voice, ideas, and participation at one of the community meetings are essential in developing a Strategic Policy Plan for the county. All meetings start at 6:30 pm and should be completed by 9:00 pm that evening. They are working meetings — a time to roll up your sleeves and speak your mind.
** Tuesday, November 10, Wimberley Community Center, 14668 RR12, Wimberley
** Thursday, November 12, Chapa Middle School, 3311 Dacy Lane, Kyle
** Tuesday, November 17, San Marcos Police Department, 2300 S. IH35, San Marcos
** Thursday, November 19, Dripping Springs City Hall, 511 Mercer Street, Dripping Springs
I hope you’ll identify a meeting that you can attend. If you can’t attend one of the meetings, I hope you’ll visit the county website to take part in the survey (www.co.hays.tx.us).
If we don’t plan our future together, chances are that someone else will. Apart from participating in the meetings and taking part in the survey, please feel free to email me, lizsumter@co.hays.tx.us.
I’m always interested in hearing from you. And as I always like to point out, my office is in the county courthouse, but the citizens own the building.
For the past several months, through partnerships with the Lower Colorado River Authority, Texas State University, Pedernales Electric Co-op, and Bluebonnet Electric Co-op, I’ve been working with a committee of citizens from throughout the county.
The citizens on the committee are Susan Meckel, Whit Hanks, David Glenn, Dianne Wassenich and Monica Garcia. Our goal is the production of a Strategic Plan for Hays County. We’ve already completed some basic elements of the plan. For example, we’ve met with County elected officials and department heads. During the summer months, we met with several stakeholder groups (real estate, developers, conservationist, senior groups, social service leaders, coalition of neighborhood groups, and chamber of commerce / economic development groups). We also developed a community survey that is currently on the Hays County website (www.co.hays.tx.us).
Still, we need your input on several important issues, including the following: Overall quality of life in Hays County; water quality and quantity; delivery of health care and transportation services; and the need for parks and recreation. Attention to these issues in the face of rapid growth in the county will demand a coordinated, well-thought-out plan. Numerous entities in the county will have to work together if we are to find solutions, avoid duplication of effort, and provide a seamless delivery of services to residents.
The month of November is a very important month for the development of this plan. It is particularly important because it involves you. Simply put, I need your help in directing Hays County's future. Your voice, ideas, and participation at one of the community meetings are essential in developing a Strategic Policy Plan for the county. All meetings start at 6:30 pm and should be completed by 9:00 pm that evening. They are working meetings — a time to roll up your sleeves and speak your mind.
** Tuesday, November 10, Wimberley Community Center, 14668 RR12, Wimberley
** Thursday, November 12, Chapa Middle School, 3311 Dacy Lane, Kyle
** Tuesday, November 17, San Marcos Police Department, 2300 S. IH35, San Marcos
** Thursday, November 19, Dripping Springs City Hall, 511 Mercer Street, Dripping Springs
I hope you’ll identify a meeting that you can attend. If you can’t attend one of the meetings, I hope you’ll visit the county website to take part in the survey (www.co.hays.tx.us).
If we don’t plan our future together, chances are that someone else will. Apart from participating in the meetings and taking part in the survey, please feel free to email me, lizsumter@co.hays.tx.us.
I’m always interested in hearing from you. And as I always like to point out, my office is in the county courthouse, but the citizens own the building.
14 comments:
Judge Sumter:
With all due respect, why wasn't the information regarding the County's Master Drainage Plan and the Infrastructure plan incorporated into this discussion so that people would know that there are other plans afoot at the same time as this Master Plan is underway? There are those who are cynical enough to think that there is some unstated plan that is to arrange the development around the east side of the County to the detriment of the north and west (primarily Dripping Springs and Wimberley). What are your comments regarding this?
"coalitions of neighborhood groups" don't represent the residents in those areas. These are typically "associations of associations" with the latter being an involuntary HOA.
The primary purpose of the "association of associations" is to give the false impression that they represent a large number of people - and they do not. These "associations of associations" are a plague and have been working to turn virtually every subdivision into an HOA. No thanks. Politicians need to keep in mind that associations cannot vote, residents can. Although involuntary associations have been used to deprive citizens of many of their property rights and although one doesn't even have the right to vote in an involuntary association, citizens still have the right to vote outside of the association. Time to dump the politicians catering to these despotic "associations of associations" aka "coalitions of neighborhood groups".
Here's an idea. Why doesn't everyone who questions the direction of this county show up on Tues., Nov. 10 at the Wimberley Comm. Cntr.? Offer constructive critism and ideas to the Judge.
Put the time and place on your Daytimer, guys, and bring your wives and friends. Step out of the shadows of this blog; show your faces.
Then I will no longer refer to you as "the dark side".
Seriously, does anyone honestly believe these meetings will solve anything? Things will always keep on keeping on. Politicians and developers will continue to trade favors, taxes will go up and new ones will be created. All the meetings and the quoting the Lewis Carroll isn’t going to change a thing. The only say you have about any of this is your vote. If you like what your commissioners are doing, re-elect them, otherwise vote ‘em out.
At least Judge Sumter asks for input, unlike the other commissioners.
Whether or not our input really matters is open to debate and/or after the plan is realized will show the fact if the input really did matter.
But at least we are being asked.
Yes, I agree, good on Judge Liz Sumter for making an effort to get citizen input on the county's strategic plan.
I also agree with the judge in saying that if we "citizens" do not help in providing some direction in how we want our county to grow, then others will make those decisions for us.
I want to keep our hills region clean and open, with plenty of elbow room, free of overcrowding, traffic jams and smog. I want a big county park along the river. Blue Hole has already been outgrown and the city council is turning it into a business affair.
I want to see the sunset without the glint of rooftops. I want to stand on top of Mt. Baldy and breathe the clean air (sorry to say it's getting increasingly dirty with every new subdivision and school that is added to the countryside).
I want to be able to afford to live here and have a hassle free drive to the grocery store. I want my water well to last for many years and not have it sucked dry because developers couldn't give a rat's arse about proper groundwater management.
I want Judge Sumter to shake things up and tell the sell-out politicians and developers to get the hell off the drivers' seat, because we want to take the wheel, for a change.
I want to make it as difficult as possible to import new water sources into our hill country region, or build big and expensive sewage systems or widen our roads into super highways. I can go to San Antonio or Austin or Los Angeles for that kind of stuff.
I want our cities and county to take control of water suppliers and tell Aqua Texas not to let the door hit them on the butt when they've finally been kicked out of Hays County.
I don't want our western hills to become just like every other over-developed place. How boring could that be?
I want to believe that we average Joes can make a difference in shaping our destiny around here. There's a lot of power in believing. Right now about the only one's with that power are the developers and the politicians they have in their pockets. And that's getting pretty tiresome.
I agree with your wish list and want those things too; however, it is NOT just Judge Sumter who is responsible to do the right thing.
Conley, Barton, Ford and Ingalsbe are bought politicians who do little to stand up to the wealthy interests who contribute to their respective campaigns.
They are useless and should be kicked out of office.
Add to it Patrick Rose and Jeff Wentworth to that mix. Neither of these men are worth their weight in salt.
Providing the Judge with the info she requests does not ensure that it will be approved by commissioners and their special interest vermin.
However, being quiet does nothing to help the community.
Seems there's allot to talk about next ** Tuesday, November 10, Wimberley Community Center, 14668 RR12, Wimberley, 6:30 p.m.
I encourage all the anons on this blog to attend. If you want to call it a TOWN HALL MEETING, that's fine. Bring your facts and figures, different points of views, summary of the past 3 years, and what you want done.
The irritating and potentially deadly traffic issues now springing up due to the Wimberley bypass and the new Jacobs Well Elementary School are perfect examples of the poor planning now occurring, both of which were essentially development-interest driven. Many of our locally elected officials and their developer friends still have a 'law west of the Pecos' mentality. "The only good plan is a dead plan." Insofar as growth is concerned, it is not the kind of thinking and "planning" I support in my vision of a country lifestyle. The two traffic problems will eventually necessitate a new, western loop. Watch Conley lead the charge on that one. And guess what that will cause? Yep, more opportunities for developers.
Poor planning also includes the traffic issues that will materialize as the Salt Lick's development grows.
FM 1826 and FM 150 can not sustain that sort of traffic as they now physically are.
I have not seen any plan to modify these 2 roads for the proposed and pending development.
If the Judge and commissioners have reviewed this pending traffic catastrophe no one has publicized or resolved it.
Anyone have any info?
I have only lived in Hays County for a little over a year now and it looks to me as if they just make it up as they go. Many posters on this Blog seem to be the “No Growth” types cloaked in Green. Hardly anything the politicos can do will ever satisfy them. Well … maybe if we build a fence around the County and don’t let anybody in until somebody leaves…
This is not the only place in the US that development interests collide with the status quo. Hopefully we can elect some Commissioners that can at least think ahead and plan for the growth that will surely come. They show weakness if they have to have meetings and run polls and then decide by compromise. What we want are leaders with brains and courage, not those that stick their finger in the air all the time to see what’s popular or not.
Right now, I’d say the Will Conley seems to show the most courage and does not wimp out. The others, to one degree or another are just mediocre. The fact that he is criticized here, by Mr. O’dell accounts for a lot.
You had me going for a sec. For the most part I agreed with your first 2 paragraphs; then, you took a 360 degree turn.
I do like the honoristic title "the Will Conley" you use; similar to the British knighthood title, as in Sir Winston Churchill.
And as for the poster forseeing the huge, new traffic problem created on 1826 and 150 by Salt Lick City, I suggest you address this with the Pct. 4 commissioner Karen Ford. She endorsed the Salt Lick City plan over 2 years ago.
Spencer, I DID discuss this and other such issues with Karen Ford.
That's the reason I will NOT vote for her next year. In fact, I will contact my neighbors to vote for her opponent.
She is afraid to stand up for what is right, afraid to create any sort of waves even if it is the right thing to do.
Others feel the same as I do. I feel she is worthless in moving this county forward.
I am pro intelligent development. So far, this has NOT been done in our county.
I also am a fiscal conservative, which our commissioners are not. Look at the ongoing massive expenditures without trimming the county fat.
In a lot of ways I like Will Conley, but I don't like his approach to throwing money into extravagant road bond packages.
I will vote for the Judge and Conley, but would like to see the other commissioners out of office.
Anonymous #6 - you sure have misperceptions of what is "ours" or what is "yours". Shouldn't the actual owners of the property have the right to decide what they want to do with their property?
As for your water conservation diatribe, your beloved county judge and other county commissioners voted to ensure that every new groundwater development will be forced to have a central water system. They demonized all residential well owners in an effort to bring more money to the coffers of HTGCD and to the privately owned water utilities (like Aqua Texas) to the great detriment of the residents that live here. These investor owned utilities are in the business of making money by selling water. HTGCD gets paid when the IOU sells the water. Do you think the for-profit water utility (mandated by your county commissioners so that homeowners have no alternative) is interested in conserving water or selling as much as possible as quickly as possible before it's all gone? In many of these newer subdivisions, the developer owns that IOU or controls the MUD "serving" the area AND uses a homeowner association to force residents to use as much as possible under threat of fine and foreclosure on their home. Your county commissioners are responsible for forcing these abominations on homeowners.
As for your desire not to see the glint of rooftops, your right to dictate what can be built ends at your property line. You have no reasonable expectation of prohibiting others from building and living in homes in Hays County in order to suit your aesthetic expectations. How would you like it if someone demanded that your house be torn down or that restrictions be imposed on your property at their whim because you didn't live up to their aesthetic desires.
Your water well? Take a look at what HTGCD and the county are trying to do - outlaw residential wells. How long before you become of victim of those you support?
You want the city and county to take control of water suppliers? Ha!! Your city and county are mandating these things in order to avoid having to provide the service to the taxpayers.
Finally "our western hills"? Who is "our"? Unless your name is on the title, it AIN'T YOURS.
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