CorridorWatch.org MEMBER BULLETIN (05-26-05) (Trans-Texas Corridor)

Transportation Commissioner Johnny Johnson is scheduled to speak to Waller County Republicans about the Trans-Texas Corridor tonight in Hempstead. Open to the public, the meeting will be held at the Waller County Courthouse starting at 7:30pm. Last year Commissioner Johnson told the 800 who gathered in LaGrange to hear about the TTC that it was only a concept, not a real project. Since them the TTC has become very real.

CorridorWatch.org founders David and Linda Stall will be in the audience tonight in Hempstead to hear Commissioner Johnson.

Date: Thursday, May 26, 2005
Time: 7:30PM
Place: Waller County Courthouse, Hempstead

The Desert-Mountain Times reported today that Brewster County commissioners voted to express their concern about the La Entrada al Pacifico trade corridor in the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor. The article quotes Brewster County Judge Val Beard as saying, "Once again, they haven't asked us what we think."

1 Bastrop County
2 Blanco County
3 Bosque County
4 Brewster County
5 Colorado County
6 Concho County
7 Edwards County
8 Falls County
9 Fayette County
10 Gillespie County
11 Guadalupe County
12 Hill County
13 Kendall County
14 Kerr County
15 Kimble County
16 Lee County
17 Limestone County
18 Mason County
19 McCulloch County
20 McLennan County
21 McMullen County
22 Menard County
23 Milam County
24 Navarro County
25 Real County
26 Waller County
27 Wharton County

CorridorWatch.org co-founder Linda Stall was among those who met yesterday in Austin for the first of what will be monthly meeting of the Trans-Texas Corridor Advisory Board. Linda will keep CorridorWatch.org members abreast of the Board's activities.

There's not much worth reporting on House Bill 2702 which has gone to conference committee. Under the leadership of Senator Staples and Rep. Krusee we are not hopeful that the resulting legislation will offer much positive to address the serious concerns we share about the TTC.

Beware of those who are already touting HB2702 as correcting problems of access, property rights, water marketing, toll rate control, toll conversion, etc. Already it has become clear that those attempts may be superficial decorations that provide false political cover for elected officials and organizations who promised to solve those problems.

CorridorWatch.org is now waiting for the final legislation. Thereafter we will provide our members, the public, and elected officials with a complete analysis.

More than 1,000 participants are expected at a giant Anti-TTC 35 Rally organized by the Blackland Coalition on Friday, June 3rd, near Temple, Texas.

Confirmed speakers include: Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn; CorridorWatch.org founders David and Linda Stall; eminent domain attorneys Mike Baron and Steve Adler; Blackland Coalition chairman Ralph Snyer; and, other elected officials.

Date: Friday, June 3, 2005
Time: 7:00 PM
Place: Seaton Star Hall, SPJST Lodge 47, 5 miles east of Temple on Hwy 53

Send TxDOT a message, raise public awareness of the TTC, and help support CorridorWatch.org efforts – Buy and display a No TxDOT Trespassing sign.

We have already sold out once and have gone back to print more large fence signs that read:

No TxDOT Trespassing
The Trans-Texas Corridor Is Unwelcome On This Land
KEEP OFF
Save Texas For Texans
Join CorridorWatch.org

The Large 48w x 32h signs are $25 each.
The GIANT 96w x 48h signs are $40 each.
All proceeds benefit CorridorWatch.org.

Text is black and red silk-screened onto a light-weight white corrugated plastic panel. These signs can be attached to wire fences with cable ties or galvanized wire. Roofing nails work well for attaching these signs to wood fences or frames. A Giant version is available for those who have the space and want to make a BIG statement. The same size as a full sheet of plywood this sign can be seen at a great distance and from fast moving highway vehicles. These large signs will require a frame or some means of support to withstand wind loads.

Call, fax or e-mail us and we'll figure out how to get your signs to you.
Phone: 512.784.6539 or 512.791.4628 / Fax: 512.828.6494 signs@corridorwatch.org

Signs will be available for purchase on a first come first serve basis at these meetings:

Hempstead – Thursday, May 26 at 7:30pm – Waller County Courthouse
Temple – Friday, June 3, 2005 at 7:00pm – Seaton Star Hall (Hwy 53).

From The Daily Times:

Officials express opposition to corridor

By Glenda Taylor
The Daily Times

Published May 25, 2005

Kerr County will join 24 other Texas counties who have passed a resolution opposing the Trans Texas Corridor, a 4,000-mile project unveiled by Gov. Rick Perry in January 2002.

The court signed the resolution in Monday’s commissioners’ court session, after revising the wording presented in its original form by Pct. 1 Commissioner Buster Baldwin.

In February, a group of Kerr County residents outlined for the court the potential negative impacts of the corridor. Statewide, the project potentially could take more than 55,000 acres of land from Texas farmers, ranchers and homeowners, according to information provided by the Kerr County opposition group.

Baldwin said his purpose for bringing the resolution to the court was to let state Rep. Harvey Hilderbran and the Texas Department of Transportation know that Kerr County “opposes this thing.”

Baldwin said it was the “no compensation” for the state’s acquisition of government-owned property that caught his attention.

“They pay for nothing,” he said. “It just smacks of communism.”

Baldwin said his hope was that the resolution would make its way to the governor’s desk.

“If we’re going to chunk rocks ... that’s where they go,” he said.

The revised version of the resolution reflects court’s opposition to the quarter-mile width of each corridor and the project’s negative impact on the local economy “by splitting farms and ranches.”

The resolution also points to the 2003 legislation, HB 3588, which provided the authority to create the Trans Texas Corridor.

In addition, the court agreed that the projected cost of the Trans Texas corridor, estimated at $184 billion, “will place an unnecessary financial burden on state taxpayers.”

Pct. 4 Commissioner Dave Nicholson said improvements are needed in the state’s highway system. However, he said he had issues with parts of the project.

“I oppose it as it is proposed,” Nicholson said in Monday’s court session. Texas highways are “dangerous and crowded,” he added. “I don’t oppose the concept.”

Pct. 3 Commissioner Jonathan Letz agreed.

“Parts of the corridor are very much needed,” he said. “But I think the scale is ridiculous. I don’t see the need for three- or four-rail systems.”

Letz suggested adding the words “as it is currently proposed” to the resolution.

Pct. 2 Commissioner Bill Williams described the north/south corridor of the project as “ambitious,” but said there was an alternate plan that raised more concern.

“There is another corridor proposed that would cut Kerr County in half,” Williams said. “That is the one that gives me a pause for concern.”

The 25 Texas counties, which oppose some or all aspects of the Trans Texas Corridor, join the Texas Farm Bureau in opposition to the massive project.

The Farm Bureau has opposed the corridor for numerous reasons. Not only will the corridor cut through large areas of farming and ranching land across the state, there is no plan to provide access to those landowners whose property is divided by a corridor.

Other issues include those of emminent domain, said the Farm Bureau, which “directly conflicts with the requirement of the Texas Constitution.”

The Trans Texas Corridor plan would allow the state to lease condemned land to private business interests, preventing landowners from negotiating with private interests, according to the Farm Bureau. Its main concern is the overall impact of the Trans Texas Corridor on landowners across the state.

“There is legislation making its way through that would help address at least some of the issues with the corridor plan,” said Ned Meister, director of Commodities and Regulatory Activities at the Texas Farm Bureau. “It still doesn’t resolve a lot of the issues of imminent domain.”

Excerpt from the Dallas Morning News via wfaa.com:

State highway bill targets corridor, tolls

AUSTIN – The Senate curtailed some of the sweeping powers tied to the creation of the Trans-Texas Corridor and placed public controls on how toll roads can be created in a bill approved Saturday.

Sen. Todd Staples, R-Palestine, said the proposal he sponsored is designed to better protect private property rights by specifying that eminent domain cannot be used to gain land for such nonhighway purposes as repair garages, stores, hotels and restaurants.

The Trans-Texas Corridor is a half-mile swath of new highway, railway and utility lines that has begun east of Interstate 35 and is expected to span from San Antonio to the Oklahoma border over the next two decades.

It's hoped that the corridor, a pet project of Gov. Rick Perry, will relieve traffic congestion between most major city centers. To expedite the project, the Legislature two years ago approved toll roads, bonds and new fees on driving infractions. But officials have recently come under attack for barreling over private property rights and limiting public choices on toll roads.

The bill amended by Mr. Staples has a number of new controls on construction of the super toll road.

It "allows for more accountability and safeguards," said Rep. Mike Krusee, R-Round Rock, the House author.

The bill requires developers who lease a commercial rail facility or highway facility to pay property taxes. Such projects would be subjected to local zoning regulations and building standards.

The House has approved a similar but less extensive plan. The amended measure now goes back to the House to determine whether members concur.

The bill requires a public vote in any county where the state wants to convert a highway to a toll road. If an entity wanted to convert a local road to tolls, the Commissioners Court would have to approve.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.