We already know the Lubbock city council has trouble communicating with the electorate; now we find out they have a problem with their “hearing” too?

Well check that; we’ve always known citizen’s opinions and views fall on deaf ears; unless of course we are agreeing with them; right Ms. Jones?

But sure enough, we now have a group which calls itself “Listen Lubbock”; their goal according to their Chairman Greg Bruce is “to listen”, Mr. Bruce told the local daily paper.

The group which is made up of members from several local organizations, like the Lubbock Chamber and LEDA among others, plans to hold several town hall style meetings to get citizen’s input on the recent recommendations presented to the city council by a citizen’s bond committee appointed by Mayor David Miller. They will then report their findings back to the council.

I listen to people all the time that have some choice words they want the council to hear; wonder if I can forward those to the council and not get a visit from the boogey man? Hmm, probably not a good idea…

At face value, I say a listening group is unnecessary; let the council conduct their own listening tour and let residents tell them what they think about the $300 million dollar bond proposal; let them get an earful. Why filter the information through a “middle ear”?

To me, it looks more like an advocacy group in “sheep’s clothing” trying to garner voter support for the passage of the recently announced bond recommendations. If that’s the case, fine, just call it what it is.

But what it does do is it takes responsibility away from the council, especially those who are up for re-election next year, like Mayor Miller, who may not be thrilled about going around asking potential voters to pay higher taxes for a wish list developed by their own council appointed committee. That it does do; it takes the heat off the council and it provides cover for those who want to continue to “serve with humility” (yeah right); like Miller, Price, Jones and Gilbreath, who are up for re-election in 08. (Don’t worry Mr. G, you can just spend the thousands of dollars you have in your war chest)

Recent history tells us that resident’s opinions fall on deaf ears anyway; do they really expect us to believe that the council will take our opinions into consideration

when considering whether or not to call for a bond election?

Let me save you some time and answer that for you; NO!

And speaking of the “pie in the sky”; Pollyannaish wish list presented to the council last week; what can one say?

Actually there’s quite a bit that can be said; but I’ll delay that until I can study the “wish list” a bit more; like after I stop gagging on the $300 million dollar figure.

To begin with, the first thing that caught my eye was the proposal to spend money on streets. The fact that our new commercial and residential growth has not generated enough tax revenue to support the basic necessities like new street construction and maintenance is not a good sign for the future. Don’t we already pay taxes for street maintenance; isn’t that one of the basic services our taxes pay for?

According to the committee’s recommendation, some of the bond money, $52.56 million, will be used for street maintenance, street widening, or other projects associated with Lubbock streets.

Wonder how the folks who live in central, north, and east Lubbock will feel when they see they will have to contribute tax dollars to pay for street projects which are all located in Southwest and South Lubbock?

Then we have 3 projects which would take up one third of the whole proposed amount. A new performing arts center, $55mil; Civic Center renovations, $85 mil; and a multi-purpose arena at a cool $60 million dollars; comes out to a grand total of $200 million smackers.

Yet public safety, again another basic service we already pay for, only gets $10.85 million; does anybody need reminding of the crimes we have witnessed here these past couple of weeks?

And then there’s the timing of the bond vote. Already, the council, the committee and the local press is granting the council’s first wish. And that is that the bond election be held in November of 08. My question; why November and not May?

Is it because they don’t want it to interfere with their re-election chances? Is someone fearful that when that person goes to vote for Mayor, they will remember that the incumbent is in favor of a bond package which will raise their property taxes by over $200 per year by some estimates?

Naw, it couldn’t be that, our Mayor would never even think about those things; would

he?

Not the man who “forgot to look under the hood” before he ran for Mayor…?

Meanwhile on the “other side of the tracks”, the farthest thing from people’s mind is a bond election. Why; because for most people the wish list itself has about the same impact as a flea landing on an elephant’s back. They know they will not benefit from the proposed projects and they know that if they own a home their taxes will increase to help pay for the things on the wish list; for others to enjoy.

These are the folks that are just busy trying to survive; trying to keep their heads above water before they drown in economic despair. These are the folks who never will for whatever reason; never travel the many streets which the bond committee wants to build in SW Lubbock; never will attend an event at the new all purpose arena or performing arts center if they are ever built.

Yet, what does it say about us if we don’t acknowledge that people in dire straits live a few short miles from the grandiose developments and buildings some people dream about when coming up with a wish list for this city?

That’s it for this week; we’ll take a closer look at this bond election nonsense in a future column or story and try to make some sense of it all.

See I’m having a bit of trouble understanding things right now. For instance I don’t understand the inner workings of a city and city leadership which for whatever reason does not recognize that less than a mile from city hall are neighborhoods deteriorating more and more each day; neighborhoods where crime and living in rat infested houses is the norm for some people.

Yet, they seem to be disinterested in these types of things.

Here’s a suggestion Mr. Mayor, next time how about appointing a committee to examine why 20% of this city’s population, or over 40,000 people, lives under the poverty level; or how about a committee to make recommendations on how we can make our city safer and reduce the number of rapes, assaults and murders; or how about a committee to study why a family in East Lubbock has to lose their 2 year old child to toxic poisoning because the rat and cockroach infestation in their home became so

bad they had to try and exterminate them with a toxic pesticide because they couldn’t stand it anymore; lets find out if there are other families in similar situations and report that back to the council?

Dreams and wish lists are great, wanting one’s city to prosper and grow is an admirable goal; but we cannot become disconnected from reality in our pursuit of imaginary windmills.

Here’s a dose of reality; an excerpt from a story posted Wednesday night on lubbockonline.com:

“The family home “had a foul odor” and “was infested with rodents, roaches, flies, lice and other pests,” the affidavit reads.”

“There was old food, trash, and dirty diapers at least a foot high in all areas of the home. In the closet were piles of dirty soiled diapers nearing four feet high. There appeared to not be any food that was edible in the home ... The children stated they ate a hot dog weenie for breakfast because the (miscarried fetus) was in the fridge, and they were only allowed to open the freezer,” the affidavit reads.

When the children were found, they had lice and appeared dehydrated and malnourished, according to authorities.”

The home is located less than ¾ of a mile from city hall and probably a mile from the Lubbock Civic Center; you know, the one some people want us to spend $85 million dollars on.



Email: acruztsc@aol.com