The Cross Timbers Gazette (Flower Mound, Tex.), Vol. 31, No. 4, Ed. 1, April 2005 Page: 7 of 20
twenty pages : ill. ; page 18 x 12 in. Scanned from physical pages.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
THE CROSS TIMBERS GAZETTE
PAGE 7
NOW HEAR THIS ....WATCHDOG REPORTING FOR DUTY
April 2005
Candidates have made their commitments wishing to be elected to serve on a town council.
A “Candidates Forum” will be held and it really does behoove as many citizens as possible to attend these Forums. Questions need to be asked of the candidates.
The citizens have a right to know what in fact prompted this person to want to serve on a town council.
One recent town council meeting, having scheduled a public hearing regarding amendments to its Zoning Ordinance, was attended by a huge number of citizens.
This appeared to be due to the fact, that some of the issues in that proposed Zoning Ordinance could possibly have effected the way of life for some citizens and it is
certainly understandable that these objections were raised. Consequently corrections were to be considered.
However, and conversely, a “Citizens Forum” held the previous year prior to the election for Mayor and Council Members were attended by five (5) people, two of
whom regularly attend council meetings anyway, and out of those in attendance, only two (2) citizens offered to question the prospective candidates.
NOW, does this not tell us something?
Should one not agree that the issue of questioning and learning about a prospective candidate for town council is just as important as a Zoning Ordinance hearing.
Please, and this is most important to every citizen in a town. Read your suburban/local newspapers and town newsletters to read what the various candidates have to
say and then read between the lines.
Follow this up by reading the “Denton County” section of your daily newspapers and pay attention to what is transpiring in the county, what is happening and what
some candidates are opining in regards to your town. Might possibly a candidate for your town council be connected to zoning matters regarding one of your neigh-
Further, to continue questioning a candidate. Does this person know the laws of the State of Texas. Does this person know or is reasonably familiar with a town s
ordinances. Has this person attempted to follow the rules, regulations and codes of a town. Has this person been a resident of the town for a reasonable length of
time in order for him/her to be familiar with the town’s ordinances, rules and regulations.
Does this candidate person know, that, in order to make any kind of improvement, additions, building on one’s property, one must always check with the town
secretary in order to determine if a building permit is required prior to commencing with a project. And does this candidate person know that septic systems equally
require permits and that certain systems are state regulated as well.
And speaking of “Septic Systems” as we were, it is noted in the March issue of this paper (Gazette) in “The Real Estate Corner” in which a comparison is made
between a “conventional” septic system and an “aerobic” system. It is noted that a maintenance contract is required for this type of system as well as inspections of
the system. The author of the “Real Estate Corner” is to be commended for this information.
Mention needs to be made that, if a property owner neglects to renew the required contract with a licensed septic installer, that property owner will receive notice
from the town and if this is ignored, the property owner will be summoned into the town’s Municipal Court and fined.
Now, this might be another topic of interest and question one could pose to a candidate for office in a town. One might want to know how aware a candidate is of the
above mentioned septic systems regulations.
Further yet, does this person running for office have a hidden agenda? (Red Alert!!!)
Does this person indeed realize that, if and when elected, this council member is required to represent ALL of the citizens in a town if the town is a General Law
City as opposed to a Home Rule City such as our neighboring cities (Highland Village and/or Flower Mound) in which case a candidate may run for a particular
PLACE in that city.
General Law Towns such as Double Oak, Copper Canyon, Bartonville and others, are General Law Cities. So, a candidate must realize that, even though the major-
ity of his/her votes may have come from one particular area of the town, it is a definite NO to try and represent only this certain one segment of a town.
In other words, a particular subdivision is NOT considered a PLACE, it is merely just one part of a whole town. Get the picture?
A candidate may not be in agreement with some of the town’s rules and regulations and may be under the impression that by being elected to a town council, he/she
can now change the ordinances accordingly. No, we don’t think so, and neither will the new council member when he/she finds out that there are certain required
procedures to follow concerning changes, but, and this is a big BUT, the member should realize that he/she is only one vote on a council.
This is not to say that some newly elected officials won’t come on like “gang busters” and if anyone thinks this does not happen, guess again, folks!
Citizens should be cautious of the candidate who has only lived in a town for a short time, not really long enough to know what the citizens of the town want, but
professes that this town needs changes and he/she will see to it that this is accomplished. Is this person aware of previous surveys by the town? Does this candidate
even realize that his/her opinions about what the town needs may just be totally opposite of what the candidate thinks the town should be like?
Further, as previously noted, all or most of the candidates for town council are prone to say things that they think the citizens want to hear, such as they want to
keep a town rural.”
They “do not want any more commercial in the town” and so on and so on. We have heard it time and again. However take a good look at your town, people. What
do you see?!
Election Day is on Saturday, May 7, 2005 at your respective town halls. Early voting commences April 20, 2005 and ends May 3, 2005.
Do vote early! One never knows what might happen to prevent one from voting on Election Day.
This is important!! Protect your property. Protect your way of life, but most importantly, do vote for the Right candidates for council. Two years can be a very long
time if it is not done right.
Annemarie Moore
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Johnson, LaRue. The Cross Timbers Gazette (Flower Mound, Tex.), Vol. 31, No. 4, Ed. 1, April 2005, newspaper, April 2005; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth885015/m1/7/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Flower Mound Public Library.