Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Public Hearing Announced on Proposed Lincoln Park Transfer~Will the City Commission Listen to the People?

The public hearing scheduled October 30 at Tony Gonzalez Park to consider the future of the city's beloved, needed and much-utilized Lincoln Park may merely be an exercise in futility.  This Tony Martinez led City Commission has shown an inclination to NOT listen to the people on any issue.  

 At the last town hall meeting, 1/22/14, 18 of 20 citizens spoke against the raising of parking meter rates downtown.  At a subsequent City Commission meeting,  the doubling of meter rates was approved by the commission~UNANIMOUSLY!
Martinez and his lackey on the commission, Rose Gowen, have no concept of participatory democracy. Gowen has expressed that viewpoint in arrogant, condescending emails to local citizens:  "If you don't like what I'm doing, elect someone else next time."
The rest of the City Commission simply succumbs to the two bullies, despite an occasional "no" vote or abstention.  Not a single commissioner can stand up and articulate a position protecting taxpayer interests. Not a single one!

 We will repeat the basic arguments as to why "conveying" Lincoln Park to the University of Texas System is not simply a bad idea, but a dreadful one:
Huge Tract of Land on University Blvd.
Already Owned by UT
UTS does not need the property for a building.  The system has shown absolutely no interest in a 10 acre property across the street and owns a huge tract of land on University Blvd. across the interstate.  The current campus has available land currently for a building or two without bulldozing Lincoln Park.

 The amenities Lincoln Park provides for the poorest segment of the poorest community in the United States are irreplaceable;  a garden center with an education corridor, two nature walking trails, a picnic site with metal grills and tables, two softball fields, an amphitheater, two basketball courts and ample parking.









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5 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 1, 2014 at 11:05 PM

    Beautiful pictures Jim.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousOctober 2, 2014 at 2:46 PM

    You want to shut this down in a New York minute? Get the Austin American-Statesman down here to do a cover story of how the big, bad, billionaire UT Board of Regents is going to bulldoze a humble park used by the poorest people in the United States. This, for a satellite campus that is unlikely to grow at all and there is amble vacant land to select if they wish to speculate on "growth".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jim BartonOctober 2, 2014 at 4:38 PM

      That's interesting. I mentioned to someone involved in negotiations between the UT system and TSC that I was considering a letter to the editor of the American-Stateman spelling out the irony of this ultra rich university system needing an irreplaceable park of the poorest region in the U.S.

      The official said that UT officials always seemed surprised when TSC or city assets were put on the table as if to say: "Why would we want to do that?"

      All the impetus for giveaway is local, by Tony and, originally Juliet.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousOctober 2, 2014 at 4:51 PM

      That should be amPle, not amble. Sorry for the typo.

      The impetus may be local but when the big boys get wind of it and see the damage, they react quickly. Last I checked, Antonio is not on the Board of Regents. I think he is still holding out for that Ambassadorship to Bolivia.

      Delete

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