Collin County Engineering is not following
its "mission statement."
"The Department of
Engineering is committed to plan and implement a superior
inter-modal transportation infrastructure by judicious application
of human resources and public funds through a coordinated local and
regional perspective."
This bridge is not a judicious application of human resources.
This bridge is not a judicious application of public funds.
This bridge is not effectively coordinated or discussed at a local
or regional level.
Citizens take
responsibility and are asking Collin County to do the same:
We hold
ourselves responsible for not being informed in 2006 and 2007, but
we are informed now. We ask that Collin County be equally
responsible, follow its mission statement, and do the will of the citizens.
This bridge plan is a mistake
that should not continue.
What
is Collin County's next move?
We can only speculate, but
it's likely that Collin County
WILL
draw a line across the lake. $367,000 has already been
spent, and they have to have something to show for it.
However, it does not mean the actual bridge is any more or less likely.
It can still be stopped.
What do the NO BRIDGE citizens do next?
This line will not turn into a bridge
if we continue to fight.
Continue to spread the word
to all citizens of Collin County.
The bridge can be
voted down by the citizens. Voter outcry can influence
County Commissioners. Our job is to let every Collin
County citizen know about the bridge. It's such a bad idea
that it defeats itself.
VOTE in the March 2, 2010 Primary.
We need "NO BRIDGE" representatives on the Commissioner's Court.
These 5 Commissioners hold the KEY. They make the
spending decisions that affect all of Collin County. At
some point, they will decide whether or not to allocate more
money to forward this bridge plan. It will be up to them
to make the decision to place the bridge on the next bond
package or not. It takes is three votes against spending
any further tax dollars on this bridge. THREE no votes and
the bridge will be "dead in the water." (See the commissioner's race information below.)
As
we go forward it is important to remember the stand our Collin
County officials have held on the bridge plan:
Collin County Engineering has
pushed hard for this bridge and for the current location study
area. Ruben Delgado, Director of Collin County Engineering
published an aggressive delivery date, 2018-2024. He said this bridge plan is very popular
and that folks
never complain about State Hwy 78. He also said it was too bad we were not
involved back in 2006 and 2007, and this is the kind of thing
that can happen when citizens are not involved. In
response to his comments, I said "We are involved now."
Commissioners Jerry Hoagland
and Joe Jaynes have both thought the bridge plan was very
popular, supporting it for ten years. They wanted to hurry the bridge study,
and accept the initial $381,000 price bid. Judge Self, Matt Shaheen, and
Kathy Ward voted to send the bid back to HNTB who lowered it to
$367,000.
Judge Self does not see the need for this
bridge any time in the near future. He has said that if he
votes for the bridge, it will be for good reason, but does not
feel there is good reason for this bridge. Judge
Self has long promoted the importance of improving our network
of State Highway including Hwy 78.
Precinct 2 race for
Commissioner: Mr. Hoagland is up for re-election in the March
2nd Primary:
-
Mr. Hoagland has been a
supporter of the bridge plan for 10 years.
-
Cheryl Williams, as of
the October 7th public meeting, had not made up her mind on
the bridge, and we have no further information to report.
-
Karl Voigtsberger had
a "no bridge" stand before he began working with the SaveLakeLavon group in early spring.
