3 Days Till Ques.& Answer Meet! Could be a Smackdown or A Walk in the Park?
TIP to Interim Mayor: Show them your very best
tricks early in the meeting and then get out of the
spotlight and off the stage. As for Alexander and
Felts what can we say? Their comments in the
3/22/05 paper left us speechless? Loosely put
"Too much misinformation (re:PUDs) out there"
per Alexander our local PUD Spinmaster. Felts
said "I did what I said I would." (could it be he
forgot what he said he would do?) Anyway he
said "He didn't know what to do?" (about PUDs).
As Bugs Bunny used to say "Sorry folks, that's
all there is." (Correction..Bugs really said
"That's all Folks") We wanted to see if any of
our readers caught the misquote and they did.
Guess our readers are more mature than we
thot? Translation: this is it, no more
comedy, no more laughs, no more fuzzy
thinking it is now the end of the line. From
here on until Nov. 06 this is the team we got
to work with. So let's make the best of it.
Citizens it is now your turn. Time to polish your
questions and show up thurs. 3/30 at 7 PM.
It's show time and every local voter is expected
to show up ready to ask some important quest-
ions. Plan now to bring some of your newest
neighbors from Bent Creek, Ballenger Farms,
etc. Come early and introduce your neighbors
to your friends at the meeting. It is time we
all got to know each other and share exactly
What is going on in Nolensville. See you at
the meeting...thurs. 3/30 at 7 PM.
SEND IN YOUR COMMENTS & EMAILS!
posted by Guest Writer at 1:04 AM
8 Comments:
Your "profile" says Nolensville used to be a town of 3,000. It used to be a town of 300! Not long ago. Imagine our shock and awe at all the "improvements".
I've studied this pretty closely, and I think I understand the issues, so here goes:
1. We the voters have said that we do not want any more PUDs at this time, that we want ER (which is approved for Nolensville) and SR (which is not approved for Nolensville because developers could be pre-fabs or mobile homes on the property, which is highly unlikely, but that's what I have gleaned).
2. The voters have said that we want the developers to bear the costs of improvements for roads, schools, and other infrastructure needs to support the additional population. The former mayor and some aldermen have responded that no ones improves the roads ahead of time, which may or may be true, but they do require the funds to do the work if they are smart. I think Nolensville is smart enough to learn from others' mistakes.
3. Nolensville needs to annex neighboring county areas to build the tax roles and tax base, but cannot do this in advance (I’m assuming because until a development goes in, there’s not enough tax money to support the infrastructure) so we only do this when a developer is ready to move ahead with development and then is courting both the county and city to get the best deal. Therefore, it appears that to get the developers to agree to a ‘friendly’ annexation, we have to give them everything they want (PUDs, limited infrastructure $$, tearing up roads with construction traffic, etc.)
4. Nolensville needs to control everything at any cost because we can’t trust Williamson County to make decisions that will keep the developments consistent with our desires, although recently it appears that the county has been more diligent than the city.
5. There some red herrings floating about claiming that the voters don’t really understand what a PUD is, everyone who wants controlled growth is anti-growth, and anyone who disagrees is mean spirited.
6. There are truly some people who have acted in bad taste (cheering at the mayor’s resignation), possibly following the former mayor around, and spreading rumors about people on the take.
7. The voters want an ethics bill to ensure that there are clear guidelines for doing business with the Mayor and Aldermen, that it is clear when an elected official must recuse themselves from a vote, etc.
What’s the solution? Listen to the voters – it’s the way the system is supposed to work.
A. Decide what portion of new housing can be PUDs and stick to that. When PUD permits are available, put everyone’s name in a hat, and draw. Require develop approvals for SRs or get the situation corrected so that a developer must develop the property consist with the community.
B. Require a set fee or % of sales price as a one time levy for improvements including roads, etc. Maybe one development shouldn’t pay the whole amount when other developments will probably come along, but there should be a significant contribution. Also, put the money in an escrow account ear-marked for that specific improvement so it doesn’t disappear into other projects.
C. Nolensville needs to work closely with Williamson County in a non-adversarial relationship to ensure that developers are not playing one against the other and trust that the develops want us more than we want them.
D. Stop insulting the voters. We really are capable of understanding what a PUD is. Find a way to support the changes and publish it as required by current law. By the way, what the voters don’t understand is the agenda of the monthly meetings. Publish that and an explanation in English, not legalese. That will mitigate a lot of frustration.
E. Let’s all have some manners and treat each other in a dignified manner. It does get hard when there’s so much frustration, but we’re all better than that. And although there are some people who really don’t want any more change, most of us are part the changes that have already happened and just want to make sure that it is done correctly. Personally, I’m looking forward to the day when I can have a pizza or some Chinese food delivered to my door.
F. Adapt an ethics bill. Unfortunately, we live in a day when relativity has replaced ethics, and without putting guidelines in black and white, it’s really difficult to know sometimes what is right and what is wrong. For example, I would expect the Mayor and Aldermen to have several meetings with a new developer before bringing an approval to a vote, and it wouldn’t be very productive to have every meeting public, however I would expect guidelines to apply. I would also expect real estate agents with direct interests (developer is a client, even if not for this development, represent adjoining properties, etc) to recuse themselves. It’s hard to say what should happen when an agent may be selling individual houses within the new development.
That’s about all I have to say about that. I am going to try to be there Thursday night, how about you?
God Bless this meeting and of course our town.
Wonderful points 4:01 We thank you for taking the time to share your views.
It takes work for all to make this the greatest town in Williamson County.
The value and quality of life should not be based on the amount of homes or business we can build.
We will probably turn out and hear the masters of spin tell us how we live in misinformation. Well, just check out how these folks have been voting against what we asked on our survey. They remind me of someone making you take castor oil and telling you it's good for you.
Message to you aldermen.....better get it together and you Alexander, stop dosing us with your castor oil.
I voted for you and have been totally betrayed everytime you vote for a PUD. The others PUD voters are keeping with their tradition as we have come to expect. But you Mr Alexander are such a disappointment. There will come a time when you will atone for your sins. Why don't you just resign this fall and let us elect someone else?
Would anyone of them be brave enough to disclose their campaign contributors? Would any of them be in the building industry?
I live on Kidd Road and am not particularly impressed with what I have seen out of Nolensville town government. The last mayor tried to annex us without asking us and then wanted to build more of his jammed up homes. He could care less since he wasn't even living here. But now what will be the attitude of this new mayor, especially with his desire for development like Nolen Park and Bent Creek?
You must not be old enough.
Bugs Bunny said "What's up Doc?"
Ppppporky Ppppig said "Ttttthat's
All Folks!
Funny stuff. Town Hall must understand the residents of this Town want a change of direction and we are serious about our concerns.
Being truthful will set us all free and bring peace back to the community. No more spin please.
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