Council backs down but problem remains

Council thanks citizens but challenges them to stay involved

Last Monday night at Kennedale City Hall, the monthly council meeting began with a packed house that included two additional Kennedale police officers and Channel 5 News with a camera rolling. {{more: Read more …}}

 

It was a tense atmosphere by the time council members had their chance to speak their mind after months of hearing from the public.

 

The question still remains as to what would take its place? There is a new water rate citizens committee that is due to give the Council a report with some recommendations for action to be taken at next month’s council meeting. There will be a public hearing scheduled on the issue.

Mayor Johnson addressing the crowd saying that “We can be wrong.”

But Monday night was the night to hear from the council on the issue that has dominated council meetings for five months. What was expressed was dismay, regret, frustration, hurt and lots of pleas to get involved.

 

Mayor Johnson opened the floor to city council members advising them that while there may be problems with the petition [legally] the issue does require some type of response under the governance model that the city council has been following.

 

“We can be wrong …

 

Johnson went on to say that ?there is a problem here [funding the water/sewer operations in adequate manner] but you [referring to the audience] don?t like our way of solving the problem. And that is okay. We can be wrong. I think what I am hearing is ?look we would like to go another way to try and solve this problem?.?

This is part of what each council member had to said in resonse to the citizens.

 

“We have to answer to the citizens ?”

Council member Charles Rutledge: ?I think there are obligations to respond to the 700 signatures in the spirit of the petition and not necessarily the letter or just it validity, which would lead us to look to a solution, that is clearly a concern to the community and us, about how to deal with our water and structure problem and at the same time not create a burden that is obviously a problem for many citizens. I think my understanding is that where the city council is now. We are and were attempting before the petition came in to look at what potential solutions were.

The Mayor [originally] put together a committee that on purpose had people who disagreed with an increase in water rates and we wound up with this suggestion after we looked at all the data. After we began to institute the water rate increase, we had a lot of push back from the community. So the Mayor put together another group with people who stood right here in front of the council that were against the water rates. So the goal of the process is trying to find a solution.

 

We have to deal with the water rate issue, I don?t think, and this is purely my opinion, it is not responsible to go back to the old rates and just ignore this problem …But we are going to have to find a solution that allows us to continue to develop the master land use plan, develop our city and solve some of our other problems and have an autonomous responsible water system that gets us clean water and predictability and plenty of pressure. That is my take on it at this point, and I think that we will find a solution to this problem.”

 

“We needed to hear from you ?”

Council member Mike Walker: ?Regardless of the legality of the petition, it is very clear that we have a large group of our citizens that have a problem with this current water rate structure. I think there has been some yeoman work that has been done by a group of our citizens to collect 700 signatures out there.

 

I don?t think that has been done in vain. Regardless of the fact that you were unable to speak tonight, the Mayor is right we have heard you loud and clear. We needed to hear from you on this issue. I think without question we over-reached in Ordinance 589. We were too aggressive in our attempts to build a surplus fund too swiftly.

 

I did think at one time that we could adjust, amend this ordinance. I don?t think that is the case anymore. I think the Ordinance 589 has become so toxic to our community that we need to repeal that [ordinance].

 

Hopefully the committee of good people that we got working right will bring something to us that will be better and something that we can all accept and allow us to accomplish the goals that we need and that is not such a burden on the community.”

“Please stay involved ?”

Council member Frank Fernandez: “During the last four months you guys have spoken, you have written and I know how hard that petitions are to get and I know the leg work that goes into that so I am going to say that we listened and that we just need a new solution. I am glad that you guys got involved and I am just going to ask you please stay involved.

 

This is not the only issue that Kennedale faces. This just happens to be the one that really got you. There are other ones, that believe it or not, involve a lot more money and involves [need] a lot more input from you all. I look forward to seeing a lot of you back after this water issue is resolved.”

 

“We overreached ? we are aggressively looking at solving that ?”

Mayor ProTem Kelly Turner: “Things in government whether we appreciate it or not tend to move a lot slower than we want to. We didn?t come to the decision on these rates in a thirty day period. We had consultants to sit with us, we had a committee to sit and discuss with us and had all kinds of input from them before we made the decision on this ordinance.

 

And, Mr. Walker said it well, we overreached here. We felt like the city needed to move this direction aggressively to get us in the position financially on the water side so that we can to do the things that we needed to improve the infrastructure and cover the cost of these facilities and we overreached. We hear you. We understand that and we are aggressively looking at solving that.

We want this not to be a just a two way street, we want this to be all of us in the same boat. And if we can do that more consistently, then we will listen to any ideas that you have on how we can communicate to you better, but it has got to be a two way street.

 

So I encourage you, you probably think that we really don?t want to hear from you and your complaints. If we don?t have that communication, we are really shooting in the dark on some of this stuff. We think we are headed in the right direction but until you communicate to us and let us know what you?re feeling are and how you want us to see the future of this community, we are going to have to move in the direction we feel best at the time.

We will go back and we will put Ordinance 587 on the agenda next month and we will deal with that. We will hear from our committee with some of the ones that were sitting out there with you. And, they are going to bring us that recommendation and we are going to look at that. And we going to put this in a situation that does two things. It is going to get us financially and fiscally where we need to be but it is going to give some relief [to the citizens] ? and we can move forward together.”

“Let?s talk about this as a group and find a solution …”

City council member Liz Carrington: “So thank you, if I have not mentioned it before, for the input from you and that some of you had taken the time to have good heartfelt thorough conversation with us. I appreciate that not just in the past but also in the future in any other subjects.

 

I will echo what some, especially Mike [Walker] just mentioned, in absence of our giving out the information from our point of it, what happens is sometime people fill that void with what they think or want to believe the information is. We end up with disinformation, accusations and innuendo.

 

We will give you the right information. It is here and now that we have an opportunity to open up that dialogue with you we will tell you. This is an open book. We want you to have all the information that you can have so that we can all make this decision together.

 

It is very challenging and difficult when we don?t get the input that we need and we are sitting here by ourselves. We have listened to groups that have volunteered and experts tell us that we need to fund the infrastructure for water and waste water. And I will tell you that [with] the current water rates that everyone is upset about, we are still $375,000 in the hole in the [water] fund. ? We are going to be listening to the new advisory committee and they are going to have an open forum so that those of you who want to attend that and give them your input, you will be able to do that.

 

Let?s talk about this as a group and find a solution to this and again I think that 589 needs to be on the agenda next month. We will deal with it and we will move the direction recommended for us.”

 

“In crisis there is opportunity ?”

Mayor Brian Johnson: ?In crisis there is opportunity and part of the opportunity that I have [is to make this plea] is that I can?t get people to sign up for boards. I can?t. I can beg. I can do podcasts on it. Please come out and sign up for a board and give us some input.

I was a little disappointed back in June that when we went back into session after hearing from all of you and we were getting ready to do the master park plan, I think ? a couple of people stayed to hear it. I don?t need just a couple, I need everyone to stay to hear it. Because that park plan is going to cost us money and how you are going to see the parks development is important.

 

I am a firm believer that the more eyes the better and, the more different opinions the better. Because if we are sitting around together with the same information, everyone starts thinking the same way because they are saying the same stuff. You need outside information and the broader that base is the better that decision is. I am more than welcome to have people disagree with me constantly, as long as they are polite about it, to be a part of this decision making process.

If you don?t agree, all the better because then you can come and serve and we get a better point of view. And that is what I am looking for, because, I don?t have all the answers. I want different points of view. I don?t want a bunch of head shakers.

I think that most people on this issue that disagree with us are good honest people. And that is all that it is just a disagreement. It doesn?t mean that we are stupid, at least I don?t think that I am. It doesn?t mean that I am not trying to be open. We are. It doesn?t mean that we can?t do a better job, we can. But we have a lot of issue coming up and if you have ideas we need to hear them, always need to hear them. ? I will meet with you at any time and if you want to bawl me out that is fine or if you want to just talk, I?ll meet you wherever you want me to.

Please don?t drop off the map when after the water issue is done. There are other issues that are important. We are going to start doing a strategic plan in 2017 but what we will do [later this year] we will send out a citizen opinion survey and then we will bring in citizens and say okay let?s look at Kennedale 2025.

 

Let?s get your input and let?s hear what you have to say because that is so important whether than just us saying this is what we want.”