A little over a year and a half ago as the five of us wrote the words to describe what the hell a West and Clear was anyway, we reminded the people of Fort Worth that Graves once wrote that a whole river is too much to comprehend, but you can understand a piece of a river. West and Clear was our attempt to understand our little piece of the river here in Fort Worth. Unfortunately, our real-life demands have have left us with too little time to maintain this site in the style to which we hoped you would become accustomed. As a result, this post is West and Clear’s farewell.

We’re proud of the work that we have done here together. We wanted to create an online conversation worthy of the people here in our city. We think we’ve succeeded. More people are online, engaging and the conversation and talking about their city. We ask you to please continue with that, to keep on reading, commenting and supporting all of the other blogs and online conversations in Fort Worth.

To invoke Graves one last time, he wrote at the end of Goodbye To A River: “What is, is. What was, was. If you’re lucky, what was may also be a part of what is.” We’re grateful to have been a part of what was and what is.

Best of luck to all off you, and we hope to see y’all on down the line. Adios, Fort Worth.

Join the Discussion: Most Commented Posts

• March 12, 2009 — City Council Elections Shape Up
• August 17, 2008 — A Conversation with Jerry Horton
• June 30, 2008 — Eighth Avenue Showdown Postponed
• March 7, 2008 — Stop Drilling on Eighth Avenue, Sign the Petition
• July 29, 2008 — Discuss: Wendy Davis vs. Kim Brimer
• January 9, 2008 — Will There Be A Lone Star International Film Festival In 2008?
• May 11, 2009 — Goodbye To A River
• March 13, 2008 — More West 7th Tenants Announced
• April 4, 2008 — Berkeley, Mistletoe, and Ryan Place: Are You ready for this?
• September 25, 2008 — Fort Worth Weekly Best of 2008 Awards

Matthew Hudson: First, let me say this. I have not and will not sign a lease for the minerals under my property until the issues below have been addressed. I have been in 3 documentaries including ones on NBC and PBS expressing this very same sentiment. I have been working on the issue since 2003.

Here is a list of some of the issues that need to be addressed and/or evaluated:

* We need an independent environmental study of the impacts of gas drilling (paid for by the city)
* We must have a Master Pipeline Plan for the whole city
* Mandatory monthly inspections of each drill site (include the cost of this in the permit fee)
* Identification of chemicals used in drilling operations and the drilling process
* Use of “odor” gas instead of odorless gas in the pipelines
* Required recycling of water used during the process (answers the wastewater question)
* Required maps of master plan for drill site and pipelines before permit granted
* Utilization of electrically driven motors for compressors
* Effects of low frequency noise
* Air quality as impacted by drilling operations
* Full enclosure of all compressors used in urban gas drilling operations
* Runoff from gas drilling operations near water supplies
* Potential damage to pipelines. The FWLNA recommended an “811 Call Before You Dig” ordinance covering all excavation projects within the City of Fort Worth, including non-gas drilling excavation, but current regulations cover only the pipeline companies which I think is a great idea.
* Saltwater injection wells (not within the city limits until environmental study is complete and then never within 1000 feet of residential)

This is a long list, but as you know I will work to install two new programs.

i) Make the Gas Drilling Task Force a standing committee.

ii) Appoint a Gas Czar (funded by the city’s gas drilling revenue.) This person will be available for questions, comments and advice to direct neighborhoods on these issues. I originally proposed this idea to the Mayor in 2007. He agreed we needed a resource, but wanted the energy companies to pay for it. So what did we get? The Barnett Shale Energy Education Council. While a quality resource for information, the Education Council serves more as a propaganda tool for the energy companies than a support group for neighborhoods. This was not my intention when I approached the Mayor years ago.

By the way, why is so much being spent to convince us that urban drilling is good for us? Between billboards and magazines and radio commercials, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on this campaign. I have never understood why someone needs to spend money to “convince” me something is good for me. Next time you get the chance; ask what percentage of the gas stays in Fort Worth? And why they only showcase people who are getting rich off the mineral rights when the average person in Fort Worth receives a royalty check of about $32 a month?

Currently there is a bill in the Texas House, HB4654, which would require the Texas Railroad Commission to create standards for drilling within the State. This bill would supplant our city’s right to enforce our ordinance as it stands now. Plus, with only our area dealing with urban drilling and the vast majority of the state dealing with rural drilling, the chances that we would get quality text from the RRC is none and less than that.

I will never deny residents the opportunity to better themselves through the leasing of their mineral rights. But the safety and well-being of our neighborhoods and our children are my first priority.

W&C: What is your position on tax incentives and special tax districts being used to entice businesses to relocate and/or expand in Fort Worth? In a few cases, these incentives have gone to businesses (Cabela’s for example) which can more than afford to operate without them, thus costing the City much needed tax revenue. Will you continue this practice?

MH: First, I am in favor of these types of actions. Having been either working or consulting with retail businesses for over 26 years, I can assure you Cabela’s would NOT have come to Fort Worth without the package. We were in competition for the store. Although these large companies could afford to build without help, they will not. Would you if you could avoid it? The store could and should serve as the catalyst for other development in that area. So, while I understand viewing this instance on its own merit, we cannot forget the broader vision impact.

But, let me also say that we need to install better practices around abatements and TIFs in our city. First, we need to make all programs incentive based. If the developer does not meet certain requirements within the appropriate timeline, then we remove the abatement. Second, the programs need to be tied to the developer and not to the property. If the developer fails to live up to their end of the deal, currently, the abatement advantages pass along to the next owner. What assurances do we have that the new owner will fulfill the original commitment that precluded the awarding of the abatement in the first place.

As I travel our District, job creation is an important topic to our neighbors. TIFs and abatements that lure people to our city are the best tool we have for job creation. We also have a tool of Economic Development grants. With these tools, like the ones being considered for Q-Edge Corporation, you do have incentive clauses and requirements such as 50% of all employees at the site be from Fort worth and 20% from Fort Worth central area. We need all agreements to have this kind of teeth to them.

W&C: What is your position on the development of commuter and light rail in Fort Worth?
MH:I am for the test of commuter rail in our city. The most important piece of the economic puzzle is the stability of a home. When home ownership goes up, so does the strength of our economy. When home ownership goes down (as we are seeing with the recent foreclosure rate) then the economy goes down and in our current case, slips into a recession. We need to make housing stability priority in out city. One way to impact this is through public transit like light rail. On the Quality Affordable Housing Task Force for the city of Fort Worth (which I serve on) we make one of the requirements to receive aid or funds from the Trust Fund easy access to public transportation. In today’s economy, it is difficult to own a car and a home. We need a system that allows people to function and make a living without having to own a car.

Following the North Texas Council of Governments for several years now I have been monitoring the Mobility 2030 plan. This plan predicts the transportation infrastructure we will need for the year 2030. It has a core element of light rail. The concern on light rail is two-fold. 1. Will people use it? 2. How will we pay for it? Let me deal with each of these.

1. Will people use it? The design of the SW2NE Rail corridor right now is along a route that is planned for future development. If follows a line that connects the southwest part of the city all the way to DFW airport. Along the corridor in Fort Worth, there is plans to develop housing and Urban Centers as a plan to reduce urban sprawl within our city. If we follow this plan, the people that will move into these spaces are people who will do so with the driving reason of access to the light rail system. It is not “if we build it they will come” but the TRE has been a big success. Light rail is quieter than buses, more energy efficient and the trains can be a Wi-Fi hot spot for all riders.

2. How will we pay for it? First, there are federal and state funds for projects like this. But I would like to explore the privatization of this idea. All over the country, we are getting billion dollar toll roads built by private companies who manage and operate the roads once built. There is little upfront money from the city or county to build these roads. I would like to explore the same principle for light rail. Partner with a company who will front the money to build it and regain their investment through ridership.

The last two comments I would like to say on this is that 1. we need to experiment. Let’s start with the SW2NE rail system (go to www.sw2ne.com) first before we do any other rail in our city. The current study being done on rail connecting downtown to the museum district and the stockyards is more about tourists than it is residents. I am not a fan of this type of rail – only the light rail designed for mobility of neighborhoods. 2. We need to improve our air quality. Currently Fort Worth is on the federal government watch list for our air quality. Our rapid, unchecked development where we allow the clear-cutting of our trees and the installation of miles of impervious surfaces combined with the lack of a public transit system that reduces the number of gasoline powered vehicles on the road has put us in this position. My responsibility is to leave the city in better shape than when I arrived in office. I owe it our next generation.

W&C: What do you believe is the most important city issue that you want to address if elected?
MH:Fiscal Responsibility. We have been going through a tough time financially as a city. Each quarter brings about new reports of missing funds or faulty accounting practices. While I feel we are moving in a positive direction on this issue, we have a long way to go. We need to instill better processes to ensure that we do have these problems in the future. We need to create a fiscal process equivalent to the finest corporations in the country. We need a sunset process for our budgets. We need to incentivize our staff to look for efficiencies and reduce spending. Too often departments follow the practice of “spend the money or you will not get it next year” behavior. Instead, we need a culture that rewards people for not spending money.

We have projected a $50M dollar shortfall in the budget. Now, in a $1B budget, that is only .5% – so not as scary as the media would have you believe. That is not to say it is not important, but with a % shortfall in this level, it is not wholesale changes that need to be made to get there. However, to keep this from happening in the future, we need a culture change within our city government. I have a 4 Part Strategy to change the culture of city government which ultimately will lead to improved fiscal responsibility.

1. Create a Jr. City Council. This advisory board is made up of the next generation of leaders in our city.

2. Term Limits (6 years) for Mayor and City Council.

3. Raise the stipend for serving as city council representative to allow a person to devote themselves solely to this job, without working full time. This allows representatives to stay focused, to make decisions outside of the vacuum. This change would also encourage quality, servant-minded people to hold these positions. The current system rewards the rich and elite.

4. Create a Sr. City Council. This is the advisory board to the current council. So as representatives term out of their offices, they can transition to this position, which requires much less time, but ensures that we have a legacy of our policies.

W&C: Why should people vote for you?

MH: For the last 9 years, I have spent countless hours serving and engaging in neighborhood issues, working for all issues impacting our quality of life from founding NAs to serving as President of the Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods, the umbrella organization for all NAs with the city to working on various task forces and committees appointed by the mayor to serving as a COP in my neighborhood.

Professionally, I have been a Director, a Vice President, and even a COO of multiple companies. The largest division I ran did $750M annually and had 3,000 employees. As a consultant, I have sat in the offices of Fortune 50 (yes, fifty) CEOs and personally advised them on organizational effectiveness and corporate culture.

This unique combination of practical, real-world experience and years of working with the city and council on neighborhood issues makes me the best choice for this position. I can bring my professional experience to the city to help with efficiencies in the organization (which could help reduce our budget) and improve service levels within our city departments.

I also bring an additional, very important item to this position – a knowledge, passion, and understanding heart for neighborhoods. Too many times I stood in the council chambers and spoke out on issues like

* Zoning
* Gas Drilling
* Transportation Impact Fees
* Secondary Dwelling Units
* Trash and Waste Removal
* Sexually Oriented Businesses Ordinance
* Bond Packages
* Tree Ordinance
* ER Zoning
* Signage Ordinance
* Present Neighborhood Awards

only to be drowned out by the voice of commercial, corporate, or developers. I will NOT let this happen. All that to demonstrate that I understand these issues and have led the charge on behalf of neighborhoods.

Lastly, I have the time. In the last 5 years alone, I have been in more than 300 neighborhood meetings dealing with the issues listed above and more. I have been at more council, precouncil and transportation infrastructure committee meetings than all the other candidates combined. I am my own boss. I am a partner in a business consulting firm and set my own schedule. I answer to no boss or employer. I have no conflicts of interests or competing interests when it comes to serving neighborhoods. While the other candidates have worked on some issues and been to some of the meetings, I bring more of this experience to the table than anyone. I can hit the ground running.

Join the Discussion: Most Commented Posts

• March 12, 2009 — City Council Elections Shape Up
• August 17, 2008 — A Conversation with Jerry Horton
• June 30, 2008 — Eighth Avenue Showdown Postponed
• March 7, 2008 — Stop Drilling on Eighth Avenue, Sign the Petition
• July 29, 2008 — Discuss: Wendy Davis vs. Kim Brimer
• January 9, 2008 — Will There Be A Lone Star International Film Festival In 2008?
• May 11, 2009 — Goodbye To A River
• March 13, 2008 — More West 7th Tenants Announced
• April 4, 2008 — Berkeley, Mistletoe, and Ryan Place: Are You ready for this?
• September 25, 2008 — Fort Worth Weekly Best of 2008 Awards

Below are Picht’s answers to West and Clear’s email with a few questions about his campaign:

West and Clear: What is your position on urban gas drilling? Do you believe the current ordinance offers enough protections? Do you believe that injection wells can be safely operated in the city? If not, do you have a position on disposal of wastewater from the fracking process?

Clyde Picht: I favor urban drilling but the ordinance is inadequate in addressing public safety and environmental issues. I frankly don’t know that much about injection wells but there have been instances of blowouts in rural areas so I am concerned about them and the potential damage to water tables and such in the urban setting. Nobody knows much about the problems concerning that fracking wastewater. We do know it is a proprietary formulation containing toxic ingredients and disposal should be a big concern. Another issue to be concerned about is the total water usage. With each well consuming an average 3M gallons of water for fracking and a potential for 7000 wells, that’s 21B gallons of fracking water gone to total waste. There needs to be a recycling and recovery effort.

W&C: What is your position on tax incentives and special tax districts being used to entice businesses to relocate and/or expand in Fort Worth? In a few cases, these incentives have gone to businesses (Cabela’s for example) which can more than afford to operate without them, thus costing the City much needed tax revenue. Will you continue this practice?

CP: I have not favored tax incentives to bring in new business. The best reasons for business to move to Fort Worth are: educated work force, transportation hubs, low cost of doing business, and low cost of living for employees so you don’t have to pay them so much. All the aforementioned exist without tax breaks except that as neighborhoods deteriorate they become less than attractive for new resident workers. By increasing the effort to improve our residential stock we will still be an attractive destination for business.

W&C: What is your position on the development of commuter and light rail in Fort Worth?

CP:We don’t have the mass to support mass transit so we must realize that any commuter or light rail will require being subsidized by the taxpayers. If the taxpayers want to pay extra for the fun of riding a trolley, etc, that’s okay as long as they have an opportunity to vote on it knowing what they are paying for.

W&C: What do you believe is the most important city issue that you want to address if elected?

CP:All issues are important. We collect substantial taxes to provide a range of services. We are not doing a good job on street maintenance, storm water runoff and drainage, controlling spending, contracting for services, prioritizing the expense of government, providing services commensurate with growth, and guaranteeing our residents an ethical and honest political leadership.

W&C: Why should people vote for you?

CP:Because my education, experience and integrity are superior to the others, especially our unethical, conflicted, dishonest incumbent mayor.

Related Posts on West and Clear

• January 27, 2009 — Why Do Editorial Boards Still Exist?

Last year they held a major fundraiser at the Rahr Brewery, and they’re doing it again this year, from 7-10 PM this Saturday, April 11th.

Tickets are $10 pre-sale and $15 at the door. Don’t be a jerk, buy your ticket at the door and give a little more. The Rahr brews will flow freely, there’ll be grub available for purchase, and soft drinks for teetotalers and young’ns.

More details, like who are these brave bicyclists, and why are they doing this? are available on their website: http://www.mseventtx.org/

Related Posts on West and Clear

• April 9, 2009 — Pints for Prairies
• December 9, 2008 — Magnolia Avenue Goes On A Diet
• April 7, 2008 — West and Clear Podcast – “Prairie Fest Preview”
• April 2, 2008 — Heads Up For The Weekend
• March 31, 2008 — Springtime In The Abbey
• March 5, 2008 — How Not To Ride Your Bike At Night
• February 28, 2008 — All Sorts of Politickin’ In Fort Worth This Week
• January 28, 2008 — West and Clear Podcast – “Crickets”
• January 25, 2008 — Rahr Pint Night On The West Side
• October 29, 2007 — West and Clear Podcast Episode 2: “The Brew Crew”