The comments below are taken from the Dallas Observer post, where citizens were pretty upset about only deferring XTO/Hensley Field Gas drilling vote until next Wednesday.
Video will be available when city releases it!
Lets see who's on Exxon Mobil/XTO's or any affiliates payroll.
pic from Dallas Morning News
Only one word comes to my mind when I reflect upon today's City Council meeting - BIZARRE!
Last week, I got a call from Councilman Neumann in which he specifically told me that he was going to motion for a 6-9 month moratorium on gas well drilling so that scientific evidence and independent, professional analysis could be done to determine the pros and cons of drilling in the city. I was told that we would be allowed to address the council with our concerns prior to his motion, which would take place immediately before a vote was cast on overturning the CPC denial.
One week ago I called Deborah Watkins, City Secretary, and requested a speaking slot during the discussion on the XTO gas well drilling permit application for Hensley Field. I was assigned speaker slot number 1, and I was also told that I would have 3 minutes for my comments.
Today, the mayor got the afternoon session started more than 20 minutes late, then quickly zipped through 4 items on the agenda is about 2 minutes or less, skipped the next four items and immediately leapt to the gas drilling application which was being appealed after the City Plan Commission voted to deny the permit with prejudice. Nobody called my name, and I was actually caught off guard when I realized that we were suddenly discussing the gas drilling permit.
Before we began Mayor Leppert announced that City Manager Mary Suhm was not properly prepared with come mystical paperwork, and that the discussion would be delayed by one week. Anybody wishing to speak anyway could do so, but they could also hold their comments until next week. Probably 10-12 stated that they would hold their comments. At least 15 people spoke, mostly opposed to gas well drilling and urging a moratorium, though that specific word was never used, until more is known about the health and safety issues surrounding natural gas well drilling in a densely populated urban area.
Now, it has only been 3 months since the CPC denied the permit, and it was put on the council agenda the following week so that an appeal could be heard in November. That hearing was delayed until December, and then finally until today - we thought! Apparently, it takes Mary Suhm more than 90 days to get her "paperwork" in order! It is this level of incompetence that makes government fail to work for the people and gets people upset with their leaders. Ms. Suhm wasted no time in getting the paperwork done to collect the XTO share of the $33.8 million that the city received for the leases at Hensley Field and FM 1382 at Camp Wisdom Road near Joe Pool Reservoir in 2007, but she could not get the "paperwork" done in time for the scheduled vote on this crucial issue facing Dallas citizens. To make matters worse, nobody bothered to notify those of us who were signed up to speak that a delay would be requested. It was rudeness and inconvenience heaped upon the citizens of the city who just wanted their 3 minutes to let elected leaders hear our concerns.
I was the second or third speaker, and I had a carefully written and timed presentation that would take about three minutes and 5 seconds. At about two minutes Mayor Leppert rudely interrupted me and told me to wrap it up. Just the day before he had spent hours talking in private with representatives of ExxonMobil and XTO Energy, and today he could not even give a citizen and native Dallasite three minutes to tell why I thought drilling was a bad idea, and why we should wait a little longer to allow such activities within the city limit. Mayor Leppert or Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway interrupted almost every speaker opposing drilling before their allotted 3 minutes, and the way the tally lights were set it was obvious that this was an advance decision intended to suppress public comment on this matter.
Well, as much of an inconvenience as it is, I will be back next week and I WILL expect my full 3 minutes, and hopefully my other minute from today, as well! And, many others will be back, too, but some cannot make it. One even came in from the Lubbock-Amarillo area. He is a key player who cannot return next week. Hopefully, a few more interested citizens will appear next week to show their concerns and demand accountability. We need your support to help defeat this insidious attack on human health and safety, environmental health, personal property values and other things that really matter to us.
Now, I want to know exactly who on the Dallas City Council owns any stock or other security interest in XTO Energy, ExxonMobil (the parent company of XTO Energy) or any other company affiliated with either. By law, that information has to be made public, and any council member owning such stocks is required by law to recuse themselves from any discussion or votes on these matters relating to the XTO permit requests in order to avoid a direct conflict of interests. Such conflicts would be violations of federal, state and local ethics laws. We MUST know that our elected leaders are acting in an ethical and legal way when they do the business of the city.
Only one word comes to my mind when I reflect upon today's City Council meeting - BIZARRE!
Last week, I got a call from Councilman Neumann in which he specifically told me that he was going to motion for a 6-9 month moratorium on gas well drilling so that scientific evidence and independent, professional analysis could be done to determine the pros and cons of drilling in the city. I was told that we would be allowed to address the council with our concerns prior to his motion, which would take place immediately before a vote was cast on overturning the CPC denial.
One week ago I called Deborah Watkins, City Secretary, and requested a speaking slot during the discussion on the XTO gas well drilling permit application for Hensley Field. I was assigned speaker slot number 1, and I was also told that I would have 3 minutes for my comments.
Today, the mayor got the afternoon session started more than 20 minutes late, then quickly zipped through 4 items on the agenda is about 2 minutes or less, skipped the next four items and immediately leapt to the gas drilling application which was being appealed after the City Plan Commission voted to deny the permit with prejudice. Nobody called my name, and I was actually caught off guard when I realized that we were suddenly discussing the gas drilling permit.
Before we began Mayor Leppert announced that City Manager Mary Suhm was not properly prepared with come mystical paperwork, and that the discussion would be delayed by one week. Anybody wishing to speak anyway could do so, but they could also hold their comments until next week. Probably 10-12 stated that they would hold their comments. At least 15 people spoke, mostly opposed to gas well drilling and urging a moratorium, though that specific word was never used, until more is known about the health and safety issues surrounding natural gas well drilling in a densely populated urban area.
Now, it has only been 3 months since the CPC denied the permit, and it was put on the council agenda the following week so that an appeal could be heard in November. That hearing was delayed until December, and then finally until today - we thought! Apparently, it takes Mary Suhm more than 90 days to get her "paperwork" in order! It is this level of incompetence that makes government fail to work for the people and gets people upset with their leaders. Ms. Suhm wasted no time in getting the paperwork done to collect the XTO share of the $33.8 million that the city received for the leases at Hensley Field and FM 1382 at Camp Wisdom Road near Joe Pool Reservoir in 2007, but she could not get the "paperwork" done in time for the scheduled vote on this crucial issue facing Dallas citizens. To make matters worse, nobody bothered to notify those of us who were signed up to speak that a delay would be requested. It was rudeness and inconvenience heaped upon the citizens of the city who just wanted their 3 minutes to let elected leaders hear our concerns.
I was the second or third speaker, and I had a carefully written and timed presentation that would take about three minutes and 5 seconds. At about two minutes Mayor Leppert rudely interrupted me and told me to wrap it up. Just the day before he had spent hours talking in private with representatives of ExxonMobil and XTO Energy, and today he could not even give a citizen and native Dallasite three minutes to tell why I thought drilling was a bad idea, and why we should wait a little longer to allow such activities within the city limit. Mayor Leppert or Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway interrupted almost every speaker opposing drilling before their allotted 3 minutes, and the way the tally lights were set it was obvious that this was an advance decision intended to suppress public comment on this matter.
Well, as much of an inconvenience as it is, I will be back next week and I WILL expect my full 3 minutes, and hopefully my other minute from today, as well! And, many others will be back, too, but some cannot make it. One even came in from the Lubbock-Amarillo area. He is a key player who cannot return next week. Hopefully, a few more interested citizens will appear next week to show their concerns and demand accountability. We need your support to help defeat this insidious attack on human health and safety, environmental health, personal property values and other things that really matter to us.
Now, I want to know exactly who on the Dallas City Council owns any stock or other security interest in XTO Energy, ExxonMobil (the parent company of XTO Energy) or any other company affiliated with either. By law, that information has to be made public, and any council member owning such stocks is required by law to recuse themselves from any discussion or votes on these matters relating to the XTO permit requests in order to avoid a direct conflict of interests. Such conflicts would be violations of federal, state and local ethics laws. We MUST know that our elected leaders are acting in an ethical and legal way when they do the business of the city.
Only one word comes to my mind when I reflect upon today's City Council meeting - BIZARRE!
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