11.16.2004
Pricey parks, history
lessons, impaled Councilors and dull knives.
And Presi’s back! Whadda
meeting!
New Rules
When Richarda Momsen had
read the proclamation into the record for “El Paso Family Week,” she informed
Wardy that two speakers had signed up to comment on the item. Wardy, who has become the chief rule
breaker/bender/ignorer, stated dismissively, “We’re not gonna take speakers on
proclamations.”
Hmmm. I guess that new rule that fell out of the
sky was put in place for Mr. Rubalcaba.
Wonder when it was created.
Moving George Orr Forward
Council recessed their
regular meeting to convene a Special City Council meeting for the following
item:
1. Discussion and action on a resolution that the
Mayor be authorized to sign a Construction Agreement between the CITY OF EL
PASO and SILVERTON CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC., for a project known as
"George Orr Road Street
& Drainage Improvements (Contract
No. 2005-047)" for the sum of $672,698.00. (District 3) (Attachment) [Purchasing
Department, Byron Johnson, (915) 541-4308]
This is the contract between
the new construction company (Silverton) that will take over the work that had
been halted this summer on George Orr Street.
Robert Cushing quickly made
a motion to approve and it was seconded by Lozano. Susan Austin asked City Attorney Lisa Elizondo if the item was
properly posted and Elizondo said it was (hmmm…posting issues are never a problem when certain members of
Council are interested in passing their items).
Noting that Silverton
Construction was receiving the contract, Lozano asked, “Is that a normal
procedure that there was not another bid process in the works? Or is this the secondary bidder?”
Deputy City Attorney Terry
Cullen-Garney explained to Lozano that “Silverton is the contractor on this job
because they were tendered by the surety.
What had happened was the original contractor had defaulted, the surety
came in and made good on the bond and they were tendering Silverton as the
completion contractor.”
“And that’s my question,”
said Lozano. He asked, “Why was
Silverton picked?” Lozano apparently didn’t understand a word Cullen-Garney had
said. She had to explain it to him one
more time. She should have said it more
slowly and loudly, screaming, “WE…DON’T…PICK…THE…CONTRACTOR . . THE
.INSURANCE…COMPANY…PICKS…BECAUSE…THEY’RE…PAYING…FOR…IT.”
But,
out of respect, she didn’t do that.
“It’s their option to choose
the contractor to come in and finish the job,” added Joyce Wilson, who was
getting yet another intimate glimpse into the black hole that we affectionately
call Alexandro Lozano’s mind.
The
item was approved unanimously.
Like Unconsensual Clockwork
I’ve been thinking of
heading to Vegas lately and placing bets on the likelihood of Vivian Rojas
making a motion to postpone minutes every week. If I had only acted on this impulse sooner, I might have emerged
a much wealthier person and I’d be writing these notes on my laptop on a
tropical beach.
This week, Rojas asked to
postpone the minutes of November 2nd for two weeks:
4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: [Municipal Clerk, Richarda Duffy Momsen, (915) 541-4127] Approval of Minutes for Regular City Council
Meetings of November 2 and November 9,
2004 and Special City Council Meeting of November 11, 2004.
(Attachment) - Regular City
Council Meeting 11/02/04
(Attachment) - Regular City
Council Meeting 11/09/04
(Attachment) - Special City
Council Meeting 11/11/04
All
others were approved on the consent agenda.
One Pricey Park
Postponed for one week was
the following item, and it’s one I’ll be sure to document when it comes back next
week:
6J. That the
City Manager, subject to the appropriate land acquisition procedures, be
authorized to enter negotiations with the County of El Paso for the conveyance
or lease of the site of the former Landmark Building as a Cancer Survivors Park,
and that the City Manager enter into negotiations and an agreement with
Candlelighters of El Paso that it will apply and secure sufficient funds to
construct and maintain a Cancer Survivors Park if the City accepts the real
property from the County of El Paso. (Attachment) [Mayor Pro-Tem
Anthony W. Cobos, (915) 541-4123]
In case you haven’t heard,
some County Commissioners have taken a very valuable piece of property just
outside downtown El Paso, invested quite a bit of money tearing down the old
Hotel Dieu hospital that was previously on top of it, and are now going to turn
it over to a local non-profit (the Candlelighters). The Candlelighters plan to convert it into a small park and will
ask the City to take it over and maintain it (http://nbcin.ktsm.com/news/story.ssd?c=93cc7724aa5f43d1).
While your old friend Sid
loves parks and thinks we need more green space and recreational areas, I
strongly oppose this particular idea.
This property is extremely valuable, is in a very desirable commercial
area, and could be turned into something that could create income for the city
or county.
In case you’ve forgotten
(actually, you, my dear reader
probably haven’t forgotten, but it seems some elected officials have), the City
and County are both in bad financial states and have resorted to the triple
threat: Budget cuts, tax increases and
layoffs. On top of that, the County
can’t take care of the parks it already has, and the City has declared it isn’t
interested in taking them over for the County.
So, in the face of the
triple threat, what does the County decide to do? Why, create another park, naturally. And a park that’s very small and is situated less than a mile
away from a larger park on Montana and St. Vrain.
It just doesn’t make sense
to me. Why not be more creative with
this property and make it work for the community? Why not, for example, put a TIF designation on that block and use
it as an incentive for a company to build on that property and create some
jobs? Call me a simpleton, but there
have got to be some other more creative ideas out there for this.
But now that the County has
voted to say adieu to the former Hotel Dieu, it’s up to the City to reject this
harebrained idea.
But
they won’t.
You know why? Because the guy who wants the County to turn
this into a park for the Candlelighters and have the City pay to maintain it is
none other than Gus Haddad, close friend (and I’ve heard distant relative) of
the Mayor’s…a guy who was in charge of Wardy’s “transition” from candidate to
mayor and a guy who worked hard to oust the previous mayor.
So of course, expect Cobos
to thank the County and Haddad profusely, praising their brilliant idea and
expect Lozano, Cushing and Wardy to go on ad nauseam about how much this means
to El Paso. Then they will approve it. More proof that El Paso is mired in
mediocrity.
Sigh.
Wide-eyed weirdness
The first item up on the
regular agenda was approval of a one-year contract with Patricia Shipton, a
woman being nominated to be our state lobbyist:
21B. Discussion and action on a resolution that the
Mayor be authorized to sign a Professional Services Agreement between the CITY
OF EL PASO and PATRICIA A. SHIPTON for the term of the agreement through
November 16, 2005, to provide state legislative lobbying services. (Attachment) [Mayor Joe Wardy,
(915) 541-4145]
The first to speak was
Representative John Cook, who said, “Mayor, I have a question and it’s in
regards to what our strategy is. I know
we terminated the contract with our last lobbyist. You said that you were going to be lobbying at the agency level,
not necessarily lobbying the members of the legislature. Has your philosophy on that changed?”
Well, one would hope so,
there, Joe. After all, it ain’t the
agency heads who pass bills…it’s the legislators, right? Or did you miss that part of civics class,
Mr. Joe?
Wardy responded, as usual,
with jargon, saying he was looking for a “unique skill set” in a lobbyist,
someone who would have relationships with both legislators and agencies. Wardy’s perennial hope is that talking in
jargon will pass for acumen. It
doesn’t, Joe.
Cook asked how often she
would be reporting to Council, and Shipton came to the podium to say that she’d
report weekly when the legislature is in session and monthly otherwise. She seemed bubbly and nice although a little
unusual. While she spoke she kept
opening her eyes very wide in a most unnerving fashion (Sid’s not being mean,
folks, just trying to create a visual for you).
Lisa Turner asked how much
her salary would be and was informed by Mayoral Assistant Number Three Laura
Uribarri (kind of like “Wife Number Three” in certain traditions) that Shipton
would receive $96,000 per year as a salary ($8,000 per month) and a $4,000
travel stipend.
Wow.
Maybe I’m in the wrong
business…you know…that business of spending numerous hours of my own time
watching nauseating municipal meetings and then avoiding all fun by spending
endless nights documenting the goings on…for free. Yeah, that business.
Let’s see…$100k vs. free labor…$100k vs. free labor…okay, the verdict’s
in. I’m in the wrong business.
Turner also asked for
examples of ways that Shipton, as a lobbyist, has “brought home the bacon.”
Instead of giving examples
of her work “bringing home the bacon”, Shipton gave a brief history of her work
in Austin and for Gov. Perry and a law firm.
She kept referring to herself (without any trace of irony) as a
“hired-gun lobbyist.” I, like, Turner, wondered
if she had ever been a “hired gun” for a municipal government and had ever
secured funding for such a client. (By
the way, she also suffers from David Dobson’s “if you will” syndrome, although
she suffers from a milder version of it, if you will.)
The motion to approve the
contract by Representative Cook (who said he was impressed by her credentials)
passed unanimously.
Before the vote was taken,
Cobos asked how the City’s state legislative agenda would be drafted and Laura
Uribarri said that the City is asking staff and looking to other entities to
determine what its agenda would be.
I couldn’t help but wonder
if our state agenda would look anything like Wardy’s bombshell federal agenda
(which, in a nutshell, boldly asked the feds for busses and money for Project
Arriba). I think I now know where El
Paso’s creativity gap originated—it’s a large office on the tenth floor.
Before Council moved on to
the next item, Wardy enthusiastically encouraged the Council members to
lobby. He exclaimed that he thought it
would be “prudent for Council to go to Austin” to represent El Pasoans.
Yikes!
Do you want Alexandro Lozano
anywhere near the Austin City Limits?
Do you want that man to be the face of El Paso in Austin? Do you want Robert Cushing expectorating all
over the state capitol? All those smart
folks would have to speak loudly and slowly for Lozano and then recoil in
disgust at Cushing. Everyone in Austin
suspects El Paso is an ignorant backwater as it is. Having certain of our Councilors lobbying there would remove all
doubt in their minds. Good Lord.
Wham Bam Thank You Ma’am?
The following item was taken
off the consent agenda by Lisa Turner:
12C. The installation of one street hump between 7352
and 7356 Dale Road, and a second street hump between 7352 and 7356 Franklin at
an estimated total cost of $5000 to be provided by District 3 Discretionary
Funds. [Representative Jose Alexandro Lozano, (915) 541-4515]
“I’m against spending any
kind of money to put obstructions in the roadway,” said Turner. “These speed humps violate the Americans
with Disability Act,” she explained, adding that “You have failed to look at
the legal liabilities that cities face.”
(At this point I wanted to turn to my neighbor and whisper “That’s ‘cuz
we don’t have a real City Attorney on staff.”
But I didn’t. I just sat there
imagining that I said it instead.) She
explained that cities have lost lawsuits involving speed humps.
I must confess, dear reader,
that for a moment my mind wandered and I found myself pondering the fascinating
sociological question of whether “speed humps” are what follow “speed
dating.” Such are the lonely, sick,
tortured thoughts of your City Council chronicler.
Anyway, back to the issue at
hand. It turns out Ms. Turner was, as
usual, right on the money. I did a
little of my own research on speed humps (not that kind, the traffic control
device kind) and in no time, I found the same information that Turner
cited: Speed humps divert traffic to
other already congested roadways, they increase pollution, slow EMS response times,
damage fire trucks, decrease pedestrian and bike traffic, and in some cases,
increase accidents. But I guess that’s
this Council’s definition of “progressive.”
“These things do not solve a
problem, they only create more problems,” said Turner.
Lozano said, “I disagree
with you almost 100%.” (I didn’t even
know he could count to 100.) He
complained that there are speeders and called it a shame and said that it’s
impossible to stop speeders. “A hump
forces them, to kinda, you know, stop,” he said. Oh, that’s what they do?
Thanks, Alexandro, I wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t explained it to
me. I’ll bet you’re so proud that you
figured that one out, Al. Lozano went
on to explain that these neighborhoods don’t have any curbs or sidewalks (which
made me wonder how wheelchair-bound residents would go over those huge
humps…another ADA issue).
Daryl Cole, Director of
Streets, explained that this Council adopted a speed hump policy in October
2002. (I think every city should have a
speed hump policy, don’t you? Better
yet, I think the El Paso Times should do a poll? Speed humps—for or against? Or:
Are Speed humps a cause or symptom of our society’s decline?) Anyway, sorry, dear reader (can you sense my
desperation?). Cole then told Council
that they tested them with the fire and police departments. He also informed them that this same
newly-adopted policy does not allow for speed humps to be placed on streets
(like this one) without curbs and gutters.
Cole recommended that Council send the policy back to staff so that they
can create a new one to be adopted (why the Streets Director didn’t raise this
issue when the first policy was adopted a year ago is beyond me). Timing is everything, Mr. Cole.
Terry Cullen-Garney from the
City Attorney’s Office stood at the podium and admitted that she didn’t know if
the humps violated the Americans with Disabilities Act or not. (At this point, I would’ve leaned over to my
neighbor and whispered, “See! I told
you”, but I didn’t.)
Unapproved (and Unwarranted) Stop Signs
IN City Council? Ouch!
City Manager Joyce Wilson
said that she understood that there were other traffic items like this one
where Council was violating its own policy and they were not approved, “So,”
she explained, “for consistency purposes, we want to make sure that the actions
that we’re asking you to take are consistent with adopted policies in terms of
guidelines for these types of matters.”
An irritated Lozano
responded, “Thank you, Ms. Wilson, we have also brought into City Council stop
signs and other [sic] that were not approved by staff and yet we approved them
basically because the citizens of El Paso requested it.”
And Mr. Lozano is
correct. They have ignored policies,
rules, research and staff recommendations.
But for him to hold that up as a badge of honor would be laughable if it
weren’t so galling. But I have to
admit…the image of stop signs being driven into City Councilors was one I
couldn’t get out of my mind the rest of the day. How wonderfully symbolic.
Vivian Rojas announced that
she would have a legislative review committee meeting to change the policy
because she wants to put speed humps all over her district. Now that’s progressive government. (Remind me to avoid driving in her
district.)
Council decided to postpone
the item for three weeks, but Daryl Cole warned about the approaching
holidays. Wardy snapped “Why is
Thanksgiving gonna be in the way? It’s
only one day.”
Cole replied, “Very good,
Mayor.” He might as well have said,
“Very good, my liege.”
The
motion to postpone the item for three weeks passed unanimously.
Green Fees
The following item is
funding for a golf course on Airport property, a project championed by many but
started by the previous administration:
22. BUDGET
TRANSFER: (Attachment) [Office of
Management and Budget, David Almonte, (915) 541-4011] BT2005-130 AIRPORT
Transfer of funds to set up funding for the golf
course construction portion of the resort project.
Increase $30,000 to
62620026/PAP002341063/508017 Surveys
Increase $12,875,000 to 62620026/PAP002341063/508027
Construction
Increase $12,905,000 to 62620026/PAP002341063/407001 Intrfd Trf In
Increase $12,905,000 to 62620018/P50000241021/407002 Est Rev
Increase $12,905,000 to 62620018/P50000241021/507001 Intrd Trf Out
The
item was approved unanimously.
Growing Pains
The following item took up
most of Council’s time and is one that has been an issue for a while now:
23B. Discussion and action on a resolution approving
the Westside Master Plan as a guide for development of an 1,850 acre parcel of
land owned by the City of El Paso and managed by the Public Service Board
located in the Northwest Planning Area; to authorize amendments to The Plan for
El Paso regarding the subject property; to require certain conditions be placed
on all future land sales for the subject property, and that the Planning,
Research & Development Department be authorized to accept and process a
land study application for the subject property. (District 1) (Attachment) [Planning,
Research and Development, Fred Lopez, (915) 541-4925]
2. Discussion and action: alternatives and changes to
the "Westside Master Plan" approved by the PSB on May 26, 2004. [Rick
Bonart]
What is this item all about,
I hear you asking? Just how long has
this been an issue, you wonder? Well,
your old friend Sid loves those questions!
Let’s begin our history lesson, shall we? (By the way, I hope you take some time to read through the
articles I’ve provided you with.
They’re very enlightening.)
Sid’s History Lesson OR How Did We Get
Here?
These two items, my friends,
are all about growth and development, issues that, while bubbling beneath the
surface for many years, started coming to a head during the previous
administration, especially when these growth and development issues related to
buildable northeast and northwest land (http://www.sharedwater.org/News/ArchivedNews/pr_sprawl010812.html).
Enter the former mayor, Ray
Caballero, who was vilified by local developers, especially Bobby Bowling,
because he advocated “smart growth” and wanted to curb sprawl.
So
what did Caballero do to so anger the developers?
Aside from openly and
honestly talking about developers, the control they’ve traditionally had over
municipal growth decisions, and the need to think intelligently about how we
grow, he enacted a policy that enraged them.
As a member of the Public
Service Board (the entity that holds city land in trust and sells it off in
pieces when it’s time to create new developments), Caballero argued that
instead of just selling large chunks of land (anything over 50 acres), the PSB
should master plan the property before it is sold off to developers. That way the PSB can ensure that parks, open
spaces, and biking and walking trails are included in the plan. Because in case you haven’t noticed, when
developers aren’t required to create parks and open spaces, they generally
don’t.
Surprisingly, even the El Paso Times supported this plan (http://www.rioweb.org/Archive/ept_sprawledit081401.html).
Well, like clockwork, the
developers, whose actions were as predictable as Vivian Rojas’ requests to
postpone minutes, soon created hot and heavy opposition. In an El
Paso Inc. article entitled “PSB to act as Planning Department: Home
Builders and Developers fear the worst,” the developers spoke out. In that 2003 article, the Inc. documents the
fact that at the meeting where the PSB approved the policy, the Affordable
Builders Council of the El Paso Association of Builders (then represented by
Theresa Caballero) voiced opposition.
Randy Bowling (Bobby’s brother) also complained, “‘they did come to us
and listen to our gripes. But did we play a role in drafting the policy? No. Do
we support it? No’” (http://www.elpasoinc.com/Archive/03_02_16/CoverStory2.html).
So the “business community”
(not all of them, but most of them) began their campaign to oust this smart
growth guy (who had angered them on other fronts as well). At the same time, Luther Jones, Martie Jobe,
and others, irritated by Caballero’s “pro-community” stance, began working on
Joe Wardy.
And then came Joe Wardy, who
was supported by…drumroll please…the developers! (http://www.elpasotimes.com/stories/borderland/20030418-102513.shtml)
And
when Wardy won, boy, were those guys delighted!
“…builders in recent
years were frustrated by what they perceived as an ‘anti-growth’ agenda from former
Mayor Ray Caballero's administration, Bowling said. Caballero initiated programs to encourage people to move into
homes in developed neighborhoods in Central El Paso. Also, citing the need for
good long-term planning, Caballero spurred a temporary halt last year to sales
from the Public Service Board's landholdings, a traditional source of property
for developers. Bowling said he's
optimistic the city's new administration under Mayor Joe Wardy will understand
the role of new housing as an economic engine.” http://www.elpasotimes.com/stories/business/20030725-1171.shtml
And Joe Wardy did indeed
understand the role of new housing. In
fact, he understood all the role-playing.
He knew the role of the developers (aside from his personal grudge
against Woody Hunt, they—along with Luther Jones and Martie Jobe--were his
bosses) and he knew his role (he was their lackey). And Wardy has played his role faithfully and loyally the whole
year. So have Anthony Cobos, Robert
Cushing and Alexandro Lozano (all together, the four horsemen of the
apocalypse). They’ve always asked for
permission before sneezing, looked for the approving nod after a speech, and
always, always voted the “right way.”
Wardy threw the developers
the first bone when, in his victory speech, he exclaimed “We're short 30,000
homes in this community, and -- guess what -- we're going to fix the water
problem” (http://www.borderlandnews.com/May2003elex/stories/20030504-109071.shtml). Well, guess whom those newly built homes and
suddenly fixed water situation would help?
Why, the developers, of course.
The Agenda Item
Back
to the agenda item.
So the PSB master plan,
brain child of the PSB in its (all too brief) progressive era, is now up for
the west side. The issue of just how
much the plan would allocate to open spaces first got heated in May of this year. Wardy, of course, never gave credit to
Caballero and the former forward-thinking members of the PSB like Elaine
Barron, Gilbert Moreno and Fermin Acosta (I don’t include Martin Silva, another
PSB member, because he voted against the good policy). Almost trying to insinuate that he had a
hand in the policy, Wardy said, “A few years ago, the city would not have
attempted to master-plan PSB land to save more than 500 acres of open space but
would have simply sold it to developers” (http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/borderland/20040527-123255.shtml). He’s right, but he had absolutely nothing to
do with the policy. Thanks to that
forward-thinking group of folks (Caballero, Barron, Moreno and Acosta), members
of the community now have a say in how an area is planned before it’s sold off
to developers.
Ed Archuleta, General
Manager for El Paso Water Utilities, explained that modifications to the plan
had been made and four major arroyos (that’s right,Mr. Cushing…they’re called
arroyos and they really do exist) would be preserved in their natural state.
Then Dr. Rick Bonart came to
the podium. Bonart is an
environmentalist who had to fight with the new Public Service Board (which included
Joe Wardy) to get them to respect the natural environment and preserve more
park space than they wanted to. He said that the final product, which he had a
huge role in shaping, made him feel “proud of El Paso.” His only concern would be that another area
(“Lost Dog Trail”) be preserved. Aside
from that, he called himself “a happy guy” and called the work he and others
had done with City staff and Susan Austin “a great deal.”
Cushing, who always has to
act as if he’s the expert on everything (and is the expert on nothing…except
pomposity, repugnant public behavior and cronyism, that is) wanted to argue
that bike trails cause irreparable damage to the environment. The members of the El Paso Times editorial board, who, based on appearance alone,
probably haven’t ridden a bike in five decades, praised the policy but argued
that the City should heed Cushing’s warning about bike riders who trash the
environment: http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/opinion/ourviews/20041119-196521.shtml. Go figure.
You know, after someone as
enlightened and intelligent as Dr. Bonart speaks, Cushing should do his best to
just keep his mouth closed because he inevitably ends up sounding as silly and
as irrelevant as Sponge Bob Square Pants (actually, that’s probably an insult
to Sponge Bob; sorry, S.B.).
Stuart Mitchell, who is
definitely up there on my “favorite people” list, rightfully addressed a
problem at the core of this Mayor and Council.
He said, “We have to fight to be heard…and only strident voices are
heard.”
And while it’s great to
congratulate everyone involved, Mitchell’s point should strike a chord in every
citizen. The fact that this Mayor and
Council weren’t pushing for more open spaces, weren’t demanding more
preservation (and still really aren’t, especially of arroyos) is
appalling. These folks should represent
the community’s interests, not the developers’ interests. The fact that they compromised is only evidence
of the fact that they were forced to.
Mitchell also warned that
City staff seems to be much more interested in assisting developers to keep
development cheap than they are in listening to the voices of the people.
Wardy countered that the
City has registered more neighborhood associations and that “sometimes, the
process is painful.”
The master plan was finally
approved unanimously. Once the vote was
taken, Susan Austin, Robert Cushing and Joe Wardy rushed out to be a part of
the group’s afterglow (and then I wondered…is there afterglow after a speed
hump?).
Fair and Balanced?
Some folks might say I’m not
being fair and that I should give Wardy credit, at least for increasing the
number of neighborhood associations, who have had more say in municipal
government. For that, I do give him
credit (although the City, under the previous administration, had already begun
recruiting the neighborhood associations under their Neighborhoods Matter! Initiative in the Planning Department, so
it’s not completely clear which initiative spurred the greatest success).
Wardy’s supporters might
argue that the fact that these positive changes occurred is proof that he’s not
beholden to the developers, that he didn’t stand in their way. I’d argue that they’re wrong. First of all, Wardy did indeed try to curb
the amount of open space in the master plan as a member of the PSB. But as Mayor, he didn’t have a vote so he
couldn’t be put to the test; furthermore, Wardy was never out there, advocating
on behalf of the environmentalists. He
has the bully pulpit, so he definitely could have.
Wardy is able to have it
both ways: He can tell his developer
buddies that he tried but in the end, he didn’t have a vote so there was
nothing he could do; but he sure isn’t shy about taking the credit when the
good work is done (even though he did nothing to further the work).
If You Don’t Get It, Then You Don’t Get
It OR Something Smells in Denmark
And people are buying
this! It seems that the vast majority
of El Pasoans, while they are concerned about growth and development, can’t
seem to understand the root of the problem:
Special interest groups (developers like Bobby Bowling and others) don’t
care about what’s best for the entire community because they are much more
concerned with their wallet. And when
those special interest groups control elected officials, they control votes and
they control the way issues are decided.
As an example, I’d like to
take a look a recent, smart article about growth. There’s a local El Paso magazine that I enjoy called El Paso Inside & Out and an article
in it’s Fall 2004 edition proves my “they don’t get it” point quite well.
In an article called “Dire
Developments” by Laura Kissack, the writer explores the fact that the City has
failed to adopt true smart growth attitudes.
She lauds the change in PSB policy I just outlined and then says that is
“why so many were shocked by the ugly PSB backslide in April in the handling of
the Northwest Master Plan.” (I sure
wasn’t shocked…after all, as of June 2003, Joe Wardy now sits on the PSB.)
She continues, “Just when we
think the beige-ing of El Paso is
waning. Whap! We are sideswiped by the vehicle most in control of the form our
city takes: the PSB, our guardian to
thousands of acres in and around El Paso.”
And then, referring to what
is needed to be a more progressive city, Kissak naïvely proclaims, “Mayor Wardy
appears keen to all this acting on the knowledge that competition has pushed
quality-of-life issues to the forefront of ‘Best Places’ checklists. Wardy’s Neighborhoods First! initiative, the
Tree Board, Greensweep…and reorganization of city departments to include a CAO
of Quality of Life have him looking like a park ranger. So then, why, as a member of the PSB, would
he check off on a product, aptly called Revised Plan E, that is a perplexing
map of blobby, dated, isolated land uses?”
You see? My friends, I guess most people—even smart
people--just aren’t paying attention or connecting the dots.
First of all, I have to
clarify for Kissak that the Tree board and Greensweep are two parts of the same
initiative (which, I agree, is a good initiative – nothing earth shattering,
but good). And Wardy didn’t create the
CAO for Quality of Life; Caballero and the previous administration did
that. In fact, Ms. Kissak, during the
campaign, the public was warned about Wardy’s lack of interest in most quality
of life issues: Wardy didn’t even both
to go to the polls to vote in the Quality of Life Bond election held in
2000! He said he was “too busy” to vote
in that election (and many others).
Second, I’d like to unveil
the secret reason why we were “sideswiped” by the PSB: It’s called an election and it was a pretty
important one and it was held in May 2003.
I don’t want to beat up on Ms.
Kissak or anyone else who doesn’t yet get it.
Obviously, this community is, in many respects, finally awake and aware
of the problems with uncontrolled development.
What they don’t seem to see, however, is that politics and development
are inextricably linked in this town, and the four horsemen have been obstacles
– not instruments of progress. That’s the problem.
And
that problem…well, it has a name:
Cronyism.
And that story, I hope and
pray will change come May 2005. But
it’s up to us, up to the good people in this community to connect the dots and
make wise decisions. But if we are in
the same boat a year from now, with the same corrupt individuals running the
city behind the scenes, and without bothering to truly understand why all this
is happening, then it will be another chapter in the same, sad book.
Cementing the Salaries
And finally, sealing the
fate (or salaries, rather) of the Deputy City Managers are the following items:
9C.
MUNICIPAL SERVICES
Delete
1.00 Deputy City
Manager EX A
Add
1.00 Deputy City
Manager EX AA
(Attachment) [City Manager,
Joyce A. Wilson, (915) 541-4844]
9D. BUILDING
AND PLANNING SERVICES
Delete
1.00 Deputy City
Manager EX A
Add
1.00 Deputy City
Manager EX AA
(Attachment) [City Manager,
Joyce A. Wilson, (915) 541-4844]
9E. QUALITY
OF LIFE SERVICES
Delete
1.00 Deputy City
Manager EX A
Add
1.00 Deputy City
Manager EX AA
(Attachment) [City Manager,
Joyce A. Wilson, (915) 541-4844]
9F.
FINANCIAL & ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
Delete
1.00 Chief Financial
Officer/Deputy Manager EX AA
Add
1.00 Deputy City
Manager EX AA
(Attachment) [City Manager,
Joyce A. Wilson, (915) 541-4844]
Before Council approved the
staffing changes, Cushing asked how the salary increases would affect the budget. Wilson reminded Cushing that the money’s not
yet being spent. Duh.
“I just didn’t want us to
get into something that was contradictory to what we’d approved in the
budgetary processes,” said Cushing, trying to explain his not-so-smart
question. “I just don’t see that
happening,” replied Wilson, probably finally understanding with absolute
clarity that she wasn’t working with the sharpest knives in the drawer. Nope.
Not sharp at all. Except, that
is, when it comes to stabbing the community in the back. They’re expert at that and the knives they
wield are indeed very sharp.
Council approved the
changes, with Representative Cook casting the only dissenting vote.
And that was that.
Hurry Up
and Wait
Although
Presi Ortega was physically present to vote, he said virtually nothing during
the meeting. I’m sure he was just
coming up to speed on everything going on that day. We’ll have to wait and see what role he plays on this
Council. I’ve got my fingers crossed!
Sid’s
Reading List
Because
I obviously didn’t give you enough homework to read, here’s one more
interesting article on El Diario’s
lawsuit against the Dallas Morning News: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000720416
Until
next week…make sure your practice safe speed hump[ing]!
Comments or questions: shmaven@yahoo.com
My commentaries are posted weekly at http://www.thestrelz.com/shm/shm.htm
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