5 Comments

  1. Lisa, thank you so much for this intelligent contribution to this news venue. These are the kinds of questions our public officials have yet to fully adress because they are so busy trying to distract the public with ever-rosier misleading pronouncements about how great these MUDs will be for our city.

    I really wish you would cut and paste your questions in the FCNP’s most recent “articles” (Mark Kaye had to do that to get his article/press release to appear in that venue because Nick Benton would apparently not publish it). The article was a very slanted expose about a petition filed with the Arlington Courts against our School Board by parents, one of whom is a candidate in the upcoming elections.

    Comments by readers were immediately aimed at Becky Smerndon and then Alison Kutchma, who was not even part of the filing group. The beratings, marginalizations, and vicious character bashings are, in my opinion, clearly meant to further distract and confuse the public into thinking that there is no relationship beyond MUDs and the Council, yet the dots to the School Board are plainly visible, and these lead to developers, in a circular systemic pattern.

    The Council and School Board and FCNP will malign anyone who deigns to expose these entities and what they are doing with our money. The attacks serve to distract and confuse the public further about the issues such as the ones you are raising that are not being adressed by our pro-MUD officials, and exactly how these MUDs are systemically connected to and supported by our School Board, Council, and other public officials, who have ethically inapropriate and coddling relations with every developer that winks an eye their way.

    Sadly, FCNP is probably the most widely read and intensely biased publication coming out of the city, and your article and others like it may never see the light of day there, very intentionally. And this is how questions like yours, and the individuals who bravely ask them are marginalized, and characterized as being fringe voices. As I see it, the battle of meaningful, accurate, and honest words and ideas meant to properly inform and educate the public must be taken to the front of the battlefield, or excellent questions like yours will continue to be sung to your choir, and the lies by your opposition will continue to be peddled as being main stream and therefore worthy of publication in the most widely read sources.

    I believe we can not put into separate silos the incestuous relationships between MUDs, schools, the council, top city admin officials, and development. Those who want to siloize the connections between these entities are doing so very intentionally, because it serves to conquer and divide. Ergo, they are winning the PR battle, and this article will not get much exposure. Unless you stand on a corner and keep reading it through a megaphone.

    God love your li’l heart for your bravery in publishing herein. You may be shamed mercilessly for doing so.

    1. Having lived in the City almost continuously since 1964 , I have seen many changes. Some of the changes were for the good, but many (such as selling the Madison school property to a developer) were shortsighted. I fear that will be the case with the MUDs – not enough thought put into the long term impacts the developments will have on the City.
      If someone can tell me how to get these questions posted to the fcnp.com site, I’ll certainly do so. I tried to do so yesterday, but the site denied the post as it was too long.
      I have also posted them on Facebook and sent them to the Council, Boards and Commissions.

      1. Lisa-
        Funny you should mention that. Last night at the candidate forum, when the candidates were discussing “Plan B” in light of the Mt. Daniel debacle, I could not help but think back to the sale of the site (Whittier? cannot remember for sure) on Hillwood Avenue that I believe was a former school site and would have been a great plan B.
        Back to your statement about “not enough thought put into the long term”.

        1. Yes, Mark, the Whittier school property, and fields, on Hillwood Avenue were sold for development.
          My initial thought for a Plan B is to hold on to the land acquired in the sale of the water system and use that for future school expansion. There should be plenty of space there for all of the schools, plus playing fields, parking for teachers/staff/students/school buses while still allowing a separation of the different schools. Again, just an initial thought as I hope there are other options.

  2. Oddly enough, or maybe not, I haven’t heard anything back from any of our elected officials, commissioners, board or staff. Hmmm

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