Time Stamped 4-29-01 @ 6:52 PM

E-Mail to the Editor

I am a citizen of Colleyville for the past fifteen years and have never been involved in politics. I have attended several council meeting in our City and I must say I am alarmed at what I see. Our mayor, Donna Arp, made a long speech about the fact that we have not raised taxes in five years. I would ask each citizen of Colleyville to please look at your taxes for each of the last five years and tell me if you paid more or less tax, I will let you decide if this is a true statement. When you pay more in taxes, that's a tax Increase - and - we paid a 14% increase in in 1999 alone, Colleyville will received approximately $800,000 more in taxes in 2000 from the citizens than they did In 1999. Four of the surrounding cities have reduced their tax rates.

The Council moves the City Hall to The Village of Colleyville, The Mayor states we will save $700,000 because we do not have to build a road. If my facts are correct, the City is giving Patsy Smith nothing in tax dollars but they have already given The Village $5,500,000 of your tax money, plus a bonus of another $2.5 million. If the Council will give me $7,500,000 1 will donate the land, build the street, and put the City Hall in my front yard. The statement that the City is saving money by moving the City Hall to The Village is simply false and suspicious.

The emergency ordinance on box retailers is another false alarm. The Mayor and Council have said repeatedly Colleyville does not want to be like Southlake, Grapevine, Hurst, or Bedford and yet the Mayor says she wants to adapt their ordinances. There Is no rush from developers to get permits - the only rush Is retailers running away from Colleyville. I challenge the Mayor and Council to publish a list of box tenants of 66,000 that are rushing to build In Colleyville.

The only building close to this size will be the  two story parking lot, in the Villages, necessary to park cars at the new City Hall. I suppose this will be put on hold as well.

The citizens of Colleyville better wake up and take action because this Council is leading us down a path of destruction. These Council People will all move back up North in a few years and us long-term citizens will be left to pay for their mistakes.
Burk Collins
Colleyville citizen

Time Stamped 4-28-01 @ 4:54 PM

To the Editor:

It is most interesting that Colleyville Councilman Marlin has recently felt it necessary to defend the sale of bonds by the city in February. These
bonds were sold a year before the need for the funds; nine months, or so, before knowing how much was going to be needed: and worst of all, they were sold in a down market that continues that way, and likely will for many months.

But, aside from the sordid details, the deal is done, so why does Councilman Marlin bother to defend it now? The reason is that he wanted a public
platform from which to attack a candidate for mayor, running against his  boss - Mayor Arp. Most of Mr. Marlin's letter, in fact, is just that, a
political attack on his fellow Councilman, Mr. Taylor, who is running for mayor against Ms. Arp.

Before Mayor Arp, and her hand picked 'majority,' there was an unwritten  agreement that Colleyville office holders would not be actively involved in
the council or mayoral elections of other candidates. One of the very good  reasons for this widely respected agreement was that it tended to reduce  animosities on the council after the election.

If, however, we look at the current election, we find one of Mayor Arp's  'majority' acting as her campaign treasurer, and the other two doing
everything they can to publicly derail Ms. Arp's opponent. This is what  comes from allowing a politician to pick a majority on the Council. She
tried the same thing two years ago, but the people turned her candidates  down then by two to one. Unfortunately, we were asleep a year ago, and we
got what we deserved.

I hope we have the sense this election to limit Ms. Arp to one term, and to  eventually throw out this 'majority,' and return to sound, balanced
representation.

Clif Holliday
Colleyville, Texas

Time Stamped 4-30-01 @ 9:12 AM

Dear Editor,

I am puzzled. I submitted a letter early Sunday, April 29th. My letter was critical of Mike Taylor, however, instead of Donna Arp, as all of the other letters on this site.

I quote"your views are posted every time on this site."

There was a letter that was submitted after mine that was published on this site. Is it just a coincidence that it is another letter critical of Mayor Arp?

It is your right to have whatever website you wish, but it is unethical and misleading to proclaim all letters will be aired and then only publish the ones that coincide with  your viewpoint.

I have little hope of this letter being posted, but I expect to receive a call explaining why my letter is absent or I will seek other ways to inform people of your apparent bias.

Jill Van Over
Colleyville

E-mails to the Editor are screened for appropriate language by a programmer prior to being forwarded to the editorial department.  These responses are typically bundled together every few hours.  This site  also receives e-mails sent directly to the editor.  In the case of the latter, this may have resulted in a letter being time stamped earlier than the e-mail below, therefore getting an earlier posting.  It is the commitment of this site to provide the most responsive coverage possible. Your e-mail to the Editor will be posted on this site, sometimes within hours, versus days or NEVER with the typical newspaper.

EDITOR

Time Stamped 4-30-01 @ 9:12 AM

Dear Editor,

I have just received Mike Taylor's latest campaign "literature." I believe he is wasting his time running for mayor of Colleyville. He needs to relocate to Washington D.C. and become a political spin doctor! His facts are massaged so much they bear little resemblence to the truth. If he had worked for Clinton, he wouldn't have any impeachment worries, there would have been talk of adding him to Mt. Rushmore.

 He states he is for the library, but has voted against it every time except the one instance he brings up, and that was not a vote to have a library or not.

He has admitted several times that his votes in favor of widening Hall Johnson was to facilitate Patsy Smith's development. After having spent over $5 million of our money, she has yet to turn a shovelful of dirt. I don't believe we will every recoup our investment in this unneeded road.

He states that Ms. Arp refused citizens request to veto the Hall Johnson road contract, but fails to mention that there were clearly enough votes to override her veto, including those of Mr Taylor and Mr Short.

If he is so certain that he refects the will of the people, he should not be so misleading in his campaign literature. Tell it like it is, Mr. Taylor and let the citizens decide.
 
Jill Van Over
Colleyville, Texas

Time Stamped 4-26-01 @ 3:49 PM

Dear Editor,

 As a former elected councilman in the great City of Colleyville, I am rather upset with the present council using the Colleyville Communicator as a political tool. This newsletter is paid for with our taxpayer dollars and the council votes of what articles they want in the newsletter each time it is published. The April 2000 issue which just happened to come out prior to the election features a front page picture and statement about our city from none other than "Mayor/Candidate Donna Arp".

 Why does this not surprise me. Donna speaks about how she wants fairness and equality, but her actions show her true colors. Ms. Arp needs to learn how to practice what you preach. Her actions throughout this campaign have set a new low in the tone of political elections in Colleyville. Ms. Arp ends her letter by stating that Colleyville is maturing. I think that she might need to consider maturing herself and lead by example. 

Now I understand the reason for the recent
discussion about ethics. Mayor Arp, your actions speak for themselves.

 Steven D. Helling
 Colleyville, Texas

Time Stamped 4-25-01 @ 8:11 PM

Dear Editor:

"Proven Leader" is touted as the defining quality of Mayor Arp on her plenitude of election signs stabbed into the sweet elitist earth of Colleyville.  Buttressed against her own, are more ipse dixit banners for Brad Rice and smaller skewered ones with the same claim by Joe Hocutt.  It is evident that the intent is to run another slate candidacy in the war to create a complete oligarchy in our city.

Is leadership proven by a splenetic drive to rid Colleyville of any independent thinking citizens on committees and boards, installing the only those who share the same fixations as the Mayor and Council majority?  Is
leadership proven by dividing the city into Friends of the Mayor and whoever is left standing?  Is leadership proven by anointment of only the library-at-whatever-cost jihad?  Is disenfranchising the findings of advisory citizen committees and recommending new committees be assembled who are more in favor with the high commander and her vicegerents a natural remedy to prove leadership?  Is stirring casus belli between children's' sports associations a high water mark for this slate?

It is now time to balance the power in Colleyville.  Don't listen to the rhetoric.  It is our town, let's take it back.  Vote for Jody Short, Rich Hendler and Mike Taylor.

Linda Baker
Member, Master Plan Committee
Member, McPherson Park Citizen Advisory Committee
Colleyville, TX  

Time Stamped 4-24-01 @ 9:19 PM

Dear Sirs:

The city council and mayoral campaign in Colleyville this year has reached a new ethical low in city politics.  First we have the current mayor, Donna Arp, sending out campaign propaganda with the inclusion of the interim city manager's name and number to try to lend credibility to election rhetoric. Next we are confronted with a poorly written and ill-timed proposal by Councilperson Feldman requiring financial disclosure of candidates under a cloak of ethical reform.  The hastily conceived proposal is approved, but much of it is rejected as it conflicts with the city charter.  Now, to top it off, the citizens of Colleyville received in the mail on April 25, 2001, a
letter from the Colleyville Soccer Association that mischaracterizes the City Park's Board approval of the master plan for the Pleasant Run Practice Complex and of course lauds Mayor Arp for her positions related to practice fields and criticizes Mike Taylor, Jody Short, and Rich Hendler, all candidates in the current race.  

I have had the pleasure of serving with Rich Hendler on the Colleyville Parks Board during the past year.  He is a huge advocate of parks and worthy of your vote.  His opponent has no experience on any city boards or committees.  As for Mayor Arp, her ethical indiscretions of the past and during this campaign concern me, Mike Taylor is an honest, honorable, and hardworking councilman who will make an excellent Mayor.  Jody Short should be re-elected for his expertise in engineering and his even handed approach to issues.  His opponent also has little experience on city boards and committees.

Citizens of Colleyville, please don't be fooled by last minute shenanigans and liar flyers, vote for independent candidates, Mike Taylor for Mayor, Rich Hendler for Place 2, and Jody Short for Place 4.

Steven Magee
Member, Colleyville Parks Board
Chairman, Colleyville Library Advisory Committee

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