Politics as usual
Wow! Somebody must've got on the horn late last night to ERic to wipe the TLV thread...I didn't expect it to be gone already this morning! I feel compelled to share with you my take on the Ad Hoc Committee meeting that took place last night at Taylor Lake Village City Hall regarding the TLVDGC. First of all, I'm glad there was a good cross section of residents that were either for or against the course....plus a few "outsiders" (as we non-residents were labeled last night) who were there to put in their few cents worth. There were, of course, legitimate concerns like trespassing into backyards for disc retrieval, urinating in public & safety issues...then there were other things brought up that only showed some residents' true colors that were obviously class prejudices. The guy that lives behind the tee for #3, who has bitched since day one that he can see people playing in a PARK, left before the meeting even got started after finding out that the first three baskets have been pulled....not even willing to stick around & listen to the other side or any options or compromises. Boy..that was easy! Another resident kept bringing up future expenses for the course...as most of us know, the expenses are minimal after the equipment is purchased & put in. But he did have an "a-ha" moment when he determined that the groundskeeper who lives on the property would now have to spend a little more time emptying the trash cans than he used to, thereby incurring an additional expense to the taxpayers! Another expressed concerns that the course will lower property values, while another thought that it would help to increase property values. One woman who jogs regularly at the park told us that she used to feel safe bringing her young daughter out there with her...leaving her ALONE at the playground while she ran a couple of miles around the trails (hello...can I speak to someone at CPS, please?). Now she doesn't feel safe leaving her daughter ALONE with all of these disc golfers around (never mind the fact that with more people around her daughter was probably safer!). Thank goodness she was followed by another resident who has been bringing his son out to play since the course went in & has had nothing but good experiences meeting & talking with players who have been nice enough to give them little tutorials on how to play & how to throw...but also making the point that he always has his son with him & is supervising him like a good parent should (touche' jog lady!). Another runner said that there were a lot of regular runners out there who are now having to dodge discs....followed by another resident who said he was glad the course was there so that finally it was being used by people (he, as a matter of fact, said that what he was hearing from some of the residents was BS...yes, he said the word in full at the meeting...I wanted to hug that guy!). A couple of people there obviously had a political agenda because they don't like the mayor & the mayor had shoved this thing down their throats & pushed it through too quickly...which may even be true! Most of these people struck me as the type that would be all excited if someone had come along & organized one of those tea parties we've been hearing about in the news lately at the park....they'd have no problem with that, I'll bet. It does sound a lot like Oak Meadows....except that out there in Bridgeland the course was planned for the neighborhood before they started selling houses there. Some of these people that were at the meeting last night seem to think that they are the elite....to me, they came off as elitist instead...and there IS a difference! Anyway...politics as usual. The course will go through a re-design....they seem to think that the course & the running paths cannot co-exist, even though most of us are aware of the fact that half the courses in Houston co-exist with running & walking paths....so I don't know how that will work out. I would be surprised if the course survives all of this...or if it does, it will be a course that doesn't challenge anyone & won't attract many players...which will probably make the TLV residents who don't want it there happy. We'll see what happens...but I'm not holding my breath.
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11-19-2009, 09:35 AM
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