Travis County Commssioners Court
October 1, 2002
The Closed Caption log for this Commissioners Court agenda item is provided by Travis County Internet Services. Since this file is derived from the Closed Captions created during live cablecasts, there are occasional spelling and grammatical errors. This Closed Caption log is not an official record the Commissioners Court Meeting and cannot be relied on for official purposes. For official records please contact the County Clerk at (512) 854-4722.
Citizens Communication
Citizens communication is next. Following three people please come forward, contend kenneth schnieder.>> capital city colonial. Smart growth i ought to say. Smart growth. We have been trying for nine years trying to get basic human services, basic human services out there. Mike hanson is the only one that ever came out there, took picks, put it on tv, everything, says this is a disaster area. It's a sgrace to the county. That we have to live in these conditions and won't help us out there. I wish that you all would dig down deep in your souls and heart and just think of the kids out there. And we are -- we are at Williamson and Travis County, both. Williamson and Travis County both. And it's been going on for nine years trying to get basic human services, trying to get potable water out there. Sewer running down the hills, ditches out there that look like swamps. It's been going on for nine years. They can raise taxes and everything and -- all this here growth going around us and everything, because i can't never understand how that -- my taxes ought to be going down with all of this development going around and everything. More development around now than you ever seen. Every day they are building everywhere. But -- but we can't get any kind of help out of that north ridge acres subdivision. Capitol city 8 or 9 miles up the road here, the capitol city colonial, we cannot get any help from the county. I just wish that you all would take a -- just take a second and think and look down in your own heart and your souls. And think about how come we can't get some help out there. And while we have got to have a colonial, have kids out there and sick everything, myself have been sick all last week, can't get help out there, find dead animals in the ditches out there, with milo, diseased from drinking contaminated water and stuff, we cannot get any help. You all keep saying, you all work with Williamson county and Travis County, the counties around, but i can't see any work with the county. Of course Sonleitner always tells me, everything, you are in Williamson county, you are not supposed to be up here, you are in Williamson county. That shouldn't make any difference because half it is in track. That's where the water is coming through Travis County. The storage tank is sitting there in Travis County. We need Travis County and Williamson county to get together and fix this problem. I think nine years is long enough to have the capitol city colonial down the street from here. I had a guy from the american legion when i was up -- the consulate from mexico and everything, when we had that dance over there, he came out and took a bus tour. About 30 of them in that bus. He said i cannot believe how the county, with all of this growth around you, look at all of this growth out there. Shopping center, motels, apartments, you are sitting right here in the colonial neighborhood, very few miles from the city of Austin, the capitol building. He said that he was going to do a bunch of e-mail and stuff for me everything. I said that i will take anything that i can get. I said the kids out here shouldn't have to suffer like this. The grownups complaint move away, they can't afford to move away, it's a cheap area to live in. They cannot take -- kennedy ridge is no more important than we are. It's because they don't have the growth out there that we don't have around us, no call we can't get basic human services out there. There's money out there to fix the problem. Grants out there to do this kind of work. No reason why we can't get any help out there [buzzer sounding] because a few people don't like a few people hold a grudge against the whole neighborhood. This is ridiculous, nine years going on like this here. We have -- we zoo have people up there, people instead of being legislators, want to be legislators instead of being up there for the people. We need people running the cities and -- and the county, need to work for the people and not for yourself. We need people like mike hanson to get up there and work for the people. That's what -- elected officials are supposed to be for the people.
>> please conclude, mr. Schnieder.
>> if somebody is going to take 70 and $80,000 a year taxes, that comes out about 8 or $900 -- comes out to about 5 or 6 or $7,000 a month. I bet not a lot of people takes that money up here.
>> thank you, mr. Schnieder.
>> we need help. Think in your heart, think about the people out there suffering. I know you all sleep real good at nights, i don't see how.
>> mr. Pena is next. Would chris ritter please come forward.
>> good morning, judge, commissioners, gus pena, president of east Austin concerned hispanics, a community based organization that overlaps northeast, central east and southeast and vice-president of the rainbow coalition, which is county-wide. I talked to you specifically on one issue. A banquet hall slash restaurant slash bar that's slated or proposed to be built on shady lane and east seventh street. We know that east seventh street is a major arterial to the abia or Austin-bergstrom international airport. The property owner has chosen to go this route and to try to compromise the integrity of the community. You have allen elementary, i attended allen junior high when it was a junior high school back in the early '60's. It is -- it is slightly over 300 feet away from the proposed development. But -- but this issue, this ents tee will be built in a major artery that has seep a lot of collisions, a lot of dwi's and statistical data was pulled and requested from the Austin police department. And it states here, just the course of -- of four months, you have 20 dwi's, 20 public intoxications, you have 12 collisions, serious injury or sic, serious injury collision, then you have m.i.p., Minor in possession. But numbs these statistics should bear and take notice for anybody that wants to build an entity to sell liquor in that area, specifically right close to -- to an elementary school and close to -- within 300 feet of an r.v. Park that has kids that attend allen elementary. The reason i bring this up to you, judge and commissioners, they are going to be coming in front of you and tabc to slit set a liquor license. It will compromise the safety, health, integrity and well-being of the community and the neighborhood. The pta has come out in opposition to this entity. We want to -- in front of the planning commission last Wednesday. Planning commission circumvented the planning process. The planning process has not been implemented or approved yet by the city of Austin yet. The planning commission gave them a c.s. Zoning to allow liquor sales. This is not acceptable. It should have been sent back to the neighborhood plan to dialogue and some sort of mediation should have taken place. What i'm telling you, judge and commissioners, especially you, commissioner Gomez, this is our precinct, yeah, this is not positive for the community. You want to build a restaurant, that's fine. I will support that. But not anywhere or anything that will sell liquor. We already have enough bars in that area. They cater to prostitution, drug dealing, et cetera. I'm not saying this entity will, but there is a potential for that here in this community, we don't want to see any deaths occur in that area. One death already. As a matter of fact, over the weekend, we had a hit and run just on east seventh streets and springdale. Okay. What i'm saying is this, this is not a good issue. Some of the elected officials have -- i have heard are supporting this issue. [buzzer sounding] word to the wise, i will wrap up, this is not acceptable. The Austin police department said this is not good. Anyway we will be looking forward to coming before judge Biscoe and also tabc, remember this: [inaudible], this is a bad entity. Thank you very much.
>> thank you.
>> mr. Williams is next. Then ms. Riter, then florence urdy.
>> good morning, i'm charles williams, conservation coordinator with t.n.r., I have with me mary beth miller for lcra. We are here to talk about the 8th annual Lake Travis underwater and ground cleanup, which was a tremendous success. While i pass out the coveted t-shirts, mary beth is going to tell us of that success.
>> good morning. [inaudible - no mic]
>> all right. Thank you.
>> i would like to talk a little bit about our cleanup that happened Sunday the 29th. We had over 1,000 volunteers come out and clean, not only under the water at Lake Travis, but also at seven park areas around the lake. We collected over 5.57-tons of trash. We were able to recycle over 700 pounds of metal. So i come here before you very grateful for this partnership and for your commitment that you show us every year. I would also like to mention a couple of your staff members who charles right here and dan perry of the national resources division. They are instrumental in -- in helping pull this event off. And -- and i'm very grateful for your support. This is just one of many successful partnerships that we have between the lcra and Travis County. And i would just like to say thank you.
>> thank you.
>> thank you very much.
>> thanks.
>> court, i would like to while i'm sitting here blowing our horn, i would like to say one more thing. We entered an environmental awards package to the Austin sustainable business council, i was notified last last week we were one of the six winners, 3 m, lcra, ... And Travis County. I was notified yesterday that we took best of the best of those six winners. So --
>> all right.
>> super. [ applause ]
>> good job.
>> miss ritter.
>> good morning, [inaudible - no mic] put on by the italian cultural association, food, fun, all of that stuff. Now for the good stuff, i have been asked to take action on this letter i received from a prisoner out at the del valle unit. I have underlined some experts that i'm going to read out of here. It said that i have been in jail since the 18th of August, '02, and the Travis County jail system is out of control. I have been on a hunger strike protest since the 12th of September, i'm going to stay on it until all issues are revolved. Denial of -- denial to practice our religion, denial of access to courts, denial to exhaust administrative remedies, denial of due process, denial of equal protection, denial of liberty interest. He has confiscation of and destroying property without given notice. He talks about the mold and mildew and making him breathe it out there. He says meals not prepared and served properly. Dish water all over the trays and inside, harassment and retaliation by placing me in a cell that has cold air running continuously without stopping. Officers disrespect islamic services, denial to have clean clothes from laundry which cause staff infection. He says yes there is an outbreak at the jail. He says two buildings at Travis County correctional center in del valle recently built are falling apart. He's denied visitation and violation of the americans with disabilities act in risk management policies and regulations. He goes on to say, i samuel lee arnold, tcc 0235368 do swear that the forgoing statements are true and correct, executed on this 23rd day of September, 2002. I swear under penalty of perjury that the forgoing statements are true and correct. Signed samuel e arnold. This is a man with prisoners of america legal aid network. He's a jailivist. And i just wanted to -- jail activist. I wanted to read this, see if you could do anything about it.
>> could you send a copy of this to the county sheriff.
>> i'm going to send it to the sheriff and to the Texas -- two Texas agencies that i'm going to send it to. Thank you.
>> thank you.
>> ms. Urdy.
>> thank you all for allowing me to speak. My [inaudible] if you adopt allow me not only to speak, but get respect for when i speak, then nobody maybe will speak for me. I have gotten -- gotten representative, i have gotten information from people have loved ones that are incarcerated, they said the new jail facility, the visitors area that they have out there, there are mice, rats running around in the ceiling up there. Trying to feed and find food. This is a new area. You all considered and decided that it should be built for visitation rights, whatever. You know what? I come here not just for myself, but to speak for the injustice that you all are allowing to exist. And some of you all i think don't know. Some of you all i think will do something about it. You know, and for the rest of you all that don't do anything about it, i will come back and check you, too, because i fear nobody but god. And the only person that i lay down to is god. You know? I'm honoring god. God have us all on a mission and you government and county commissioners and all of you all, you all are going to have to hold accountability to god for what you all are allowing to happen to be done to the inmates and -- incarcerated right now. Something that's -- something is wrong with this picture. Something is wrong with this picture. And those of you who don't see anything wrong with this picture should be replaced. Lawyers! You should be replaced. You are not doing your job. You are a sellout. And when you sell out, anybody can [inaudible], that's all it takes is money to under bid you. We are failing the inmates, we are failing the citizens. Because when we incarcerate someone, we are not doing our job. And in-- in incarcerating them. What's wrong with this picture? I'm sorry. I didn't want -- hell no, i'm not sorry. There's a reason that i got off this picture. Today our inmates at del valle jail are incarcerated. There is rain coming in building 1. Building 1. Rain is just falling down. When they have buckets and blankets. They have to do. The visitation area, the new visitation area that you all have set up, there's a rat crawling up in the visitors go and say they see the rat running up there, trying to get food to eat. And this is a new area. That has been set up. There are people like me, you all don't see how deep this problem is really going. There's people like me at work right now looking at us on the screen. [buzzer sounding] i'm sorry, pat, she wasn't able to be here, but she have collected information [buzzer sounding] but she don't want to lose her job, so she asked me to speak. We and us, we need to check, because either one of our loved ones could be incarcerated right now. I give no disrespect to any of you all sitting before me now or anybody in the citizens communication committee -- communication. I give no disrespect for nobody. But i disrespect those that are not doing their job. If they are not doing their job, then, hey, shame on them and god needs to check up, you all have a responsibilities and god will check you all eventually. Another thing that -- that is doing, the roofing --
>> please conclude.
>> roofing, leak, mold that have been in there, there are -- there are people that are incars rated right now, there is -- incarcerated, there is mold that is in the buildings, nobody is doing anything about that. I came to yul and spoke to y'all about this before, about the mold. This is -- the breathe -- we have seen it on tv, where they took people's own $200,000 home, beautiful woman, her husband, her children, lost their home. The husband is messed up now because of breathing this mold infested stuff in her home. There's schools closed down. Because of this mold infested. There is mold in the prison and del valle. And nobody is doing anything about it. Please tell me, i thought --
>> thank you.
>> sir? Snoopg thank you, you are --
>> thank you, you are out of time.
>> thank you for giving me the little bit of time that you did give me.
>> did you share your information with the county sheriff?
>> i sure will, sir. Thank you for -- [multiple voices]
>> i will be happy to do the same, it would be good coming from you all, too. [inaudible - no mic]
Last Modified: Wednesday, April 2, 2003 10:25 AM