Travis County Commissioners Court
Tuesday, August 17, 2010,
Citizens Communication
Citizens communication is next. This item gives residents an opportunity to address the court on any item not on the agenda. Kenneth snyder is first, mr. Beet is second and marsha roundtree is third.
>> kenneth snyder. It's been a real busy month. We had a lot of people coming out there want to go see what the problems was. The first five years i moved out there, we was in the city of austin and then they deannexed it because they didn't want to do anything out here. That money we paid in for taxes they are going to get the project and get this done. But we had a lot of people come out there from mexico city and they are talking about the mexico border, i said i only been doing it for 30 years, i don't know it will get your grants going on. A lot of money goes out for administration instead of putting it out for the system. But there was one guy come out there and he says they was going to make some kind of
>> [indiscernible] there, outbreak ridge or something like that he's talking about. But he says waiting for an outbreak. City of austin says they are putting a grant in for us, but i don't have no guarantee of that and everything. But she said there wasn't no guarantee they will even get it if they put in for i i don't know what it's going to take. I took pictures and everything. They couldn't believe we found dead birds out there. Found birds take a picture of and i showed them the cat and a lady lived down the street said she had a cat died out there. I'm going to keep pushing until i get something done. I got a bus tour coming out in about three weeks that's coming out of mexico, i think he said. Just like the one we had once before out there. And they want to see what's going on and see all the mounds, pile of dirt up here and water -- fill a glass full of water and the water will run down and run down the street i guess basically. And it is in williamson and travis county both. We are in precinct 2, i believe. And i just can't understand why we can't get the counties and the cities and the state together to fix this problem. I see so many things on t.v. To put your money out for everything you can think of and just like the guy from mexico, i couldn't understand too much of what he was saying -- i had a lot of iraqi guys, foreigners, and i couldn't understand them, but they said i can't believe you being a few miles from the capitol, the main part of the state and having sewer running down the streets. I've been fighting this for years. I think we will get the problem fixed eventually if i don't die first. I'm getting tired of coming up here all the time and go to all the city council meetings and go to the state. And everybody sounds like they want to do something, but once you leave the doors, that's it. All the emails i get and everything all over the country since i been putting on the website and they cannot believe we can't get this fixed and get it over with instead of being in a colonia, so close to everything.
>> [buzzer sounding] thank you.
>> thank you, mr. Snyder. Mr. Priest.
>> thank you, judge, commissioners, morris priest speaking on my own behalf. I did want to give everybody an important website to check into. It's www.speakupaustin.org/public access. I know that many of you know that time warner is making it a business decision, of course this is a long time in coming, the laws have changed, but it will affect the public access stations as well as the paid stations, channel 6, austin, 10, 11, 16, 19, acc and 22 aisd public television. They had a public notice in the paper yesterday, i think time warner will notify the public of this september 1st in a public notice in the newspaper instead of sending it out with the bills. But we're having some changes. I know back in -- i was down at the history center looking in the archive 7-28-04, i mentioned this date to you when i was down there with jackie goodman and betty dunkerley and raul alvarez. Nine people not counting myself. This is when stefan ray charged stealing money from the access television station down there. But basically this last meeting 8-11-10, austin community technology communications committee, one thing i will say is miss hawkins and the entire staff with the city and the board, they are the best. I mean they are really excellent people who are doing a great job. I know they've been getting a lot of unnecessary flack from certain people, but this started june 29th when the letter was sent out. August 5th they've redone this. But i think that this is going to be -- there's actually two things going on, but this is basically a business decision made by time warner. It's statewide. And i just want anybody that's interested to log on to www.speakupaustin.org public access and there are two things going on simultaneously. I did see the article in the statesman with dale flat, austin firefighter. He says i'm a thorn in their side but i'm not a radical. I'm passionate about what is important to me and he's a fine example as many people are in this community of being active. And i do think that the -- the archives that i have and the documents and the austin history center, we have a lot of information available to us and the documents are important. I know that our county employees are world class and i notice my commissioner was sitting between two republicans last night, but --
>> thank you for calling.
>> i don't know if it was my phone and i got cut off, but the voting records of this court i think i have, you know, differed with the court recently last couple of years, and i do know that, you know, we may have our differences, but it's always good to keep --
>> [buzzer sounding] -- relationships intact.
>> thank you, mr. Priest. Miss roundtree.
>> good morning, my name is marsha roundtree and i appreciate this opportunity to address the court. I understand the subject i'm speaking about is in the not on the agenda today and i will return when it's placed on the agenda for consideration. My family owns and lives on a farm and we read race hoists, raise annuals and produce. As well as coastal bermuda hay. We've lived there over 16 years. We became aware of the plans to build a large solar plant on our property on three sides. We were not contacted by the company but were made aware of the proposed facility when a neighbor told us she recently had sold the property. I would like to say i'm not opposed to solar farms or wind farms or any other type of alternative energy sources. I do, however, think these types of facilities should be built with with the least amount of impact to existing communities. We are a community of homes, productive farmland and families. The proposed solar farm will impact our quality of life in ways that haven't even been explored yet. The property boundary of this proposed project lies only 50 feet from my home. And five feet from my driveway. The number of solar reflectors proposed will cost unimaginable damage to my home and quality of life. I've done research on solar farms of this size and these reflect ors could cause the air temperatures to rise 20_ in the surrounding area. Can any of you imagine living in close such close proximity. We go coastal bermuda and the rise in temperatures would be a disaster to the hay production. The reflection from the panels will be blinding. We will no longer see the stars in the sky after 500 acres of planned security lighting in our rural community. We have an abundance of wildlife in our area including the great blue her ron which is a protected species. I've requested information from rre austin solar, the company who will build this project and have in the been provided with any materials. I would like to see the results of an environmental impact study and would like to read.
>> social impact study. This company has bought all of the land that borders our farm. With this type of facility surrounding our farm, our property values and those of the other families in our community will plummet. We no longer have the option of selling our property for fair market value to relocate. Commissioners, my family moved to the country for many of the same reasons that most people relocate to rural areas. We enjoy the peace and quiet, the opportunity to raise animals, to grow or own food and grow the hay that feeds our animals. We raise our children in a clean and safe environment. We love our farm, our homes and our quality of life. And our very way of life is being threat end if we feel we have no recourse. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.
>> thank you, miss roundtree.
>> [applause] actually that item is on our executive session agenda today, isn't it?
>> yes.
>> that's item number 31. Set for executive session discussion. And in my view, it will be late this morning or this afternoon before we get to it. The law does not allow you to participate in the executive session discussion, but any action we would take would be -- would take place in open court. So we do have your phone number here. Let us give you a phone call at 12 noon, okay? Sort of update you. And we'll make sure not to take any action between then.
>> may i give you my cell phone number?
>> you may want to write it on here.
>> write it on here and that way everybody else won't have it.
>> i thought it was less than three minutes.
>> there's one thing that we have continued to impress on folks that live out of the -- well, we don't have land use authority. That's a lot of situations that we have to deal with from this commissioners court because we do not have the land use authority that we can dictate where things go and a lot of other things.
>> we've been told we have no recourse. Whether we like it or not.
>> and unfortunately the county does not have land use authority, per se. And that's a tough call.
>> thank you, miss roundtree. Mr. Reeferseed.
>> thank you, sir. And -- yippee, i'm ronnie reeferseed saying hey, kids, cherish every chunk of your rapidly turning childhood, you will miss it. We all know what that first hit off a cigarette or joint or first swig of alcohol you are the only. No more care free childhood, now it's nothing but bills to pay, time to waste in jail. It just gets worse. Stay out of it. Grownups, cherish our garden planet. We don't have to sacrifice anything to be fair. Many from the 95% of the world that want to be here, we accept more legal immigrants than the rest of the world combined, and hey kids and especially grownups, uncle ronnie needs a cheap pickup truck, it has to run, not be pretty or dent free.
>> [indiscernible]. Cheap truck for ronnie. Call (512)264-1379 or email me. Free pot now at gmail.com. Help me find a low cost pickup truck. Need to get back to my house. Apartment lease is about up. Why? Because my water in spicewood is not toxic that has 150 other waste chemicals schemed into our drinking water killing gardens, babies, dumbing us down to where women still favor a rapist and murderer? Rapist? Remember the joke put some ice on it, that's what slick said to miss broderick as he left her behind to deal with her busted lip from her virgin rape. Open surrender to the open chinese of our over the top multi trillion dollar technology like awac technology, key to battles and war management, top flight helicopter technology used by israeli thugs to they can and kill people who were just giving aids, not weapons. Pure brutal aagrees by the negatively biggotted socialistic total erin regime of israel. Time to bring our troops from all over. Instead help guard our nation's border and stop the ongoing invasion of illegal immigration. Again, we already except more legal immigrants than the other 95% of the world combined. Reject the hype, defy the pundits. They are largely unelected stoogees for the highest bidder, in order, organized thugs. Call toll free for weekly updates for george washington channeled through ob-gyn doctor dr. Rand paul.
>> [buzzer sounding] f who has delivered babies, five-year veteran, constitutional scholar, defender, defector.
>> thank you, mr. Reeferseed. Angelos angelou.
>> honorable judge, honorable members of the court, i represent rri austin solar llc and about a month ago we were invited to go and address the black land farmers association. There were more than 70 farmers and representatives at that meeting. It was a good meeting. We explained what the project was all about. We showed them pictures of what the solar farm will look like. We addressed their concerns and we gathered significant input, which is having already some impact on how this project is designed, particularly a farmer suggested that since this is a solar farm and the water that will be reflected whenever it drains over off of these panels, rather than going to the ground waste that it might be better be collected. The project is being designed with a lake inside it to collect all the water for potentially what we were told would be good water for organic farming. Yesterday i did speak with the chair of the association again and we asked to have another meeting as soon as it is possible to discuss the project further as we develop the final plans which will eventually be presented to the county for approval. I am not aware of any request that has been made to my client. I will be more than happy in fact to take the citizens phone number myself and arrange the meeting today if it is all possible or any time that will be physical.
>>
>> [inaudible].
>> we have never been contacted by anyone directly, to my knowledge, and certainly if we were, we would have responded right away. That is my client's business model and that's what they have adhered to to this date with anyone that has expressed any concern, we would like to have a meeting immediately to address those concerns. And definitely any scientific information out there that we have looked at, panels do not generate additional heat, they are not reflective. These were technologies of 15, 20 years ago. In fact, most of the solar panels today are, in fact, at times put closer to airports. And if there was any danger from any reflection, certainly the f.a.a. Would not have ever approved panels locating so close to airport facilities. In fact --
>> [buzzer sounding] -- when you look at solar farms elsewhere in the country, it's almost looking at a lake. It will be very calming, soothing view of when you see the solar farm from afar. It just looks like an ocean, a lake.
>> thank you. I think that after our discussion today what we ought to do is try to figure out when we might make a decision on the request. And maybe post a public hearing on the day that we plan to take action and finally resolve it one way or the other. It's been on the agenda on and off for a couple three months. So in fairness to residents and the requesting party, i think we should go ahead and land on it as soon as we can. But what i will do -- pardon me me, i will give miss angelou your phone number.
>> miss roundtree.
>> i'm sorry, miss roundtree your phone number and ask her to call you.
>> no problem.
>> and that may be the best way to proceed. We'll give her every number we have for you. I think we have a couple three.
>> my client will be ready to have a meeting today if possible.
>> we may as well invite whoever is interested in having another meeting, don't you think? And if we know, maybe we can get the questions that they have in advance so whoever goes to the meeting representing the company will be able to address those firsthand, then take questions from the audience.
>> and we will definitely be willing to be here and bring also a lot of experts to address the court at the time of a public hearing as well.
>> okay. All right. Thanks. By the way, this is posted so normally we don't allow citizens communication on items posted, but the wording is so oblique there's no way to figure out what the item is by looking at it and that was intentional to keep it confidential and eligible for executive session discussion. That does it for citizens communication unless somebody is here for citizens communication who did not sign in.
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.
Last Modified:
Tuesday, August 17, 2010, 2010 2:30 PM
