The Holland Bridge is open and the next step.

Friends,

      The Holland Road bridge is open.  Thank you, TXDOT and PSC.

      A huge apology to all of you who had to suffer since summer of last year.

      Today a letter was written to TXDOT asking that the Salado segment of I-35 Construction be completed by December 1, 2015.  It is a fair request.  Last summer,  PSC said they could finish it by Fall 2015.  They have proven they can do it

      In the same letter, it is asked that TXDOT curb and gutter downtown (Stage Coach to Salado Plaza) at no cost to the village.  They have helped communities around us to include Bartlett.  Salado has been fair, understanding, and patient.  We should receive something for the economic damage that has been caused.

     The week of March, 16, 2015, the County, Village, and TXDOT will meet to discuss the above as well as the next step.

     Last Wednesday evening at a Texas Tourist Dinner, sitting next to Texas Representative Jimmy Don Aycock, he offered his assistance.  "Thank you, Representative Aycock, for your offer.  It has been noted and saved for future use."

     Thanks to each of you for your suggestions and recommendations.  They, too, are saved and will be used if needed.  We will take this a step at a time but the steps must be timely.   We will be fair, but we want action not promises.

VR/Skip

They set the standard; a heart pounding performance

Friends,

The building was packed.  Around the wall, they stood.  There were more smiles than clowns at a circus.  Their was a mixture of baby boomers, X-generation, Me-Generation, and No-generation.  When they clapped, it was loud; when they liked something, they bellowed; when it pleased them, they wiped away the tears.  Cameras flashed; cell phones were poised in mid-air; and all took turns in the middle aisle to get the picture that would live forever.  What in the world caused this stir?  Was some famous Hollywood star in town?  Had the candidates running for President got lost going to Iowa and ended-up in Salado, Texas?  Maybe . . .  well here are some clues:

The Single Ladies brought down the house.  Oh, my!  

River Dance has a new star.  WOW!

The Housewives Message:  "You will miss my walk and you will miss my talk."

This young man is unbelievable performing flawlessly in front of a packed house.

Hollywood bound!

You will see her on the VOICE in a few years!

She is a Star!  Tremendous talent!

Can you do this in perfect sync.  They were excellent!

The Blues Brothers are back!

Michael Jackson from the dead!

Boys will be boys . . . . and will be girls, too!  

Stand-up comedian.  When he dropped his notes, he was tremendous.

Dancers and performers!  Clap! Clap! Clap!

    Three hours of heart-pounding talent.  Out of 45 acts, not one was bad.  Salado be proud.  Your elementary, middle school, and junior high delivered the best performance of a life-time -- the 8th Annual talent show! 

     Thank you, for one of the best evenings -- one that will be remembered for a life-time.

VR/Skip

The State of Salado, 22 February, 2015

Friends,

   This is the State of Salado as of today, 22 February.  It is divided into three sections:  Where We Were, Where We Are, and Where We Are Going.  I have tried to give you as clear and concise look into the Village Government as possible.  I am sure some things have been left out unintentionally.  If so, I apologize.

The State of Salado

February 2015

Where we were

      In May, 2014, the issues were sewer vs septic, roads, ordinances, permits, I-35 Construction, lack of business, and citizen depression.  The election had not been easy and the aftermath confusing and frustrating.  People were divided, groups had formed, and people were generally unhappy.

      In a 6-hour workshop with the Aldermen/Lady, we decided it was up to us to turn things around.  We had to become optimistic, positive, and enthusiastic.  We had to decide to stop being a Village that “can’t” and become a village that “can.”

      In that meeting, 5 major issues were identified:  Sewer, Roads, Ordinances, Environment, and Downtown.  Alderman McDougal was the first to say, “I will take roads.”  Alderman Brown wanted “Downtown.”  Aldermen Coachmen and Fields agreed to Ordinances.  AlderLady Dankart was a natural for “Environment.”  Jim Reed and I took on the possibility of a sewer bond election.  We all agreed that what we did for down town, we had to do equal for the neighborhoods.

      At the same time, the Vision Committee was designing a plan to bring Salado together and improve the Village. Their vision was very similar to the Aldermen/lady’s vision; therefore, it was easy to meld them together.

     The 5 Aldermen/Lady begin to make things happen.  Mike McDougal formed a committee of 5 and started working on a plan to improve roads in 5 years.  Fred Brown started a committee to bring “downtown to life” starting with lights and having a Texas A&M class to design downtown.  Frank and Hans started reading and re-writing the Ordinances.  Amber took on recycling and cleaning the low water bridge along with creek environment.

     And in all of this, no one predicted the need for a tax increase, the immediate need of a Sewer Bond Election, the disorganization of the Municipal Office, and the problem of permits.  And, if that was not enough, Sanctuary became a reality presenting an entire new set of opportunities that the Village was not prepared to meet or address.   And, the “hits kept on coming” – closing Holland Bridge, the sale of Robertson Ranch acreage, and the I-35 construction that continues to be torn up and never completed.

     Yet, the Spirit of Salado grew stronger.  It started with the refurbishment of the Golf Course, the Memorial Day Service in the Cemetery, and the beautiful 4^th of July fireworks.  It continued with Blue Lapis in the Park, Keep Salado Beautiful, and College Hill.  The Art Festival in August, the Village Picnic in Sheryl Park, Christmas in October, and the Christmas Stroll featuring the largest parade in history. 

     The Village Voice allowing the Mayor’s article, the editorials, the Salado Mayors Blog were also instrumental in positive communication.

     The Chamber of Commerce and the Village formed a partnership that will reap benefits for the future.  Salado was chosen to become a Purple Heart Village.  The Village Choir’s gave inspiring performances, the art guilds/leagues displayed beautiful paintings and pottery, and Tablerock gave stellar performances that were the envy of Hollywood.

     All of these events began to turn the depression of Salado into the hope of tomorrow. 

Five Town Halls were held giving people a voice, and a Sewer Bond election passed.

Where we are now

                  We are in the greatest challenge in the history of Salado.  At least 750 acres of development will begin between 2015 and 2017.  A Water Treatment plant and sewer lines are in the beginning planning stages and will be implemented.  The I-35 construction continues to cause frustration and hardships.  Businesses strive to overcome slow sales.  The perfect storm has formed.

            Yet, there is progress. 

            For the first time, there is a 5-6 year road repair plan that will begin in March.
 

            Our first Ordinance changes are approved and are in effect.

            A Texas A&M city architectural class will soon visit the Village to talk to the citizens about their desires for downtown.  The first lights have been installed around the Civic Center.

            The low water bridge by Sheryl Park is on the schedule to be cleaned.  Due to permits, this has been difficult.

            The engineers are working the details for the Water Treatment Plant.  The citizens will be very pleasantly surprised.

            To meet the challenge of development, three working committees are preparing the way forward :

            Develop and Economic Agreements are staggeringly huge.  Yet, this committee is already making recommendations on points of negotiation.

            The Water Treatment Plant has very experienced citizens working out the details.  With this committee, you are in good hands.  Again, citizens will be pleased.

            The ETJ and Annexation committee will take on the difficult task of city annexation and the ETJ.  These are not easy subjects and can become controversial quickly.

            The partnership between the City and the Chamber of Commerce is becoming more defined and stronger.  

             The deer and buzzard problems are difficult, but they are being addressed.  The question is not the need, but how and when.  
   

            Most important, all the stacks of papers are now neatly filed; our accounting is on line; and the Ordinances can be found easily.  It has taken 3 months of long hours to organize the Village Office but it is well on its way. There is still much to do.

            In June and July, we will review the budget line by line.

            By early winter, we will re-do our website and update our Comprehensive Plan that was written in 2004. 

            Our Police will soon be in a new Police Station next door to the Village Municipal Building, and our Village Municipal Building will have a new look.  Volunteers did most of the work.

            We do not have the money to hire experience, but we have the experience of smart, experienced Salado people.  In the coming weeks, that will be tapped as the three committees grow.

            Most important, we have an experienced City Manager and a great, committed staff handling the day-by-day activities.  Guessing is no longer a part of this system. 

Where we are going

           This one is most difficult to predict.  There is no crystal ball.  However, we are striving to do the following:

                 

                  By May, 2016:

            More roads will be repaired.

            More Ordinances will be updated.

            Environmental agreements will be reached.

            Downtown will be improved.  At all cost, the cultural, historic district will not be lost.

            The plans for the sewer lines and the water treatment plant will be completed and started

            Construction of I-35 will come to an end.

            Negotiations with Sanctuary and Robinson Ranch acreage will be completed.

            Sanctuary development building is scheduled to begin.

            By the end of the year, an agreement on the ETJ will be reached.

            Hidden Glenn Senior Retirement Home will be completed.  Open House is scheduled for December. 

           

            The partnership between the City and the Village will produce new events, new ideas, and strengthen old events and ideas.  And, as a result, our businesses will find new life and flourish.

            In May, 2015, three Aldermen seats will be up for re-election or new ones elected.  Choose wisely.

            To keep you informed, there are at least three Town Halls planned.

            The way is long; sometimes foggy; often bumpy; and will require both hands on the wheel and absolute focus.  There will be mistakes, there will be hard choices to make, there will be criticism.  However, you will get our best, we will remain flexible, and regardless of the environment; we will remain positive and open.

            We ask your support, your understanding, and most of all your encouragement.  This is a labor of love for Salado and for you.  We do not have all the answers.  We probably never will.  The best we can do is take it a day or an event at a time, while staying clearly focused on our clearly defined goals.
 

            We are committed to keeping Salado a wonderful Village for all of its citizens.  However, change is here now and we must manage it well.

                        Most respectfully,

           

                        Skip Blancett,

                        Mayor   

           

Holland Bridge and Construction News

Friends,

Going by Holland Bridge, west side, it appears that the cavity is filled and that concrete has been poured on top of the cavity to seal it. Not sure what the final layer, about 1 foot, will be -- concrete or asphalt.   Approximately 10-20 locking blocks need to be installed on the remainder of the West side.
Great progress is taking place and, if it continues, they 1 March opening date will be met.

Your suggestions on what our next step should be as far as the remainder of the construction are appreciated.  They are seriously being considered.

In talking to our County Commissioner, Tim Brown, about the situation; he suggested that he and I meet with District Engineer and the Deputy Engineer and discuss your suggestions.  A request has been made for a meeting and we are awaiting an answer.  Based on the outcome of this meeting, the Aldermen/lady will take the next step.

Along with roads and sewer, I-35 Construction is among the top three.  Of course, Ordinances, Development Negotiations, ETJ, and deer/buzzards are up there, too.

VR/Skip

The Water Treatment Plant Meeting, Monday, 16 Feb

Friends,

     At 1 P.M. yesterday, Monday, a very qualified Water Treatment Committee set down to discuss the Water Treatment Plant in preparation for Negotiation discussion with Sanctuary 23 February.

    Our city attorney, city engineer, bond attorney were present along with 2 Aldermen, Fred Brown and Hans Fields, and our City Administrator, Kim.  In addition, were citizens with a tremendous amount of water treatment plant experience, both in building and maintaining.

    Drawings and legends were reviewed.  All had received a copy of a letter from Sanctuary with a proposal for the Water Treatment Plant.

    Discussion centered on what was feasible, and alternatives were discussed.  There was much good, informative discussion along with questions.

    Our City Attorney and Civil Engineer took notes and will begin working toward next week's session with Sanctuary.  In order to give clear and concise, they need time to research and work through their notes, therefore, no information will be given at this time.  You deserve and will receive the most accurate information possible, but it will take time to reach that point.

    There are no secrets; no hidden agenda.  You and the Aldermen/Lady will have the final say.  Just know that the work has begun in earnest.  Thank you for our citizens with vast experience who have stepped up to assist us.  This will take our very best planners.

     If you have questions or concerns, our City Administrator is to be contacted -- 947-5060.

     VR/Skip

"Not Much of Me"

Friend,

Abraham Lincoln wrote this "little sketch" of his fifty years just five months before his nomination to the Presidency.  He composed it as a research tool for a newspaper feature designed to introduce the still largely unknown western politician to the East.  "There is not much of it," Lincoln apologized in a cover letter, "for the reason, I suppose, that there is not much of me."

In honor of President's day, here is the short article, "Not Much of Me,"  written by a humble country genius, Abraham Lincoln:


"I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families—second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks, some of whom now reside in Adams and others in Macon counties, Illinois. My paternal grandfather, Abraham Lincoln, emigrated from Rockingham County, Virginia, to Kentucky, about 1781 or 2, where, a year or two later, he was killed by indians, not in battle, but by stealth, when he was laboring to open a farm in the forest. His ancestors, who were quakers, went to Virginia from Berks County, Pennsylvania. An effort to identify them with the New-England family of the same name ended in nothing more definite than a similarity of Christian names in both families, such as Enoch, Levi, Mordecai, Solomon, Abraham, and the like. 
My father, at the death of his father, was but six years of age; and he grew up, litterally without education. He removed from Kentucky to what is now Spencer county, Indiana, in my eighth year. We reached our new home about the time the State came in the Union. It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up. There were some schools, so called; but no qualification was ever required of a teacher, beyond “readin, writin, and cipherin,” to the Rule of Three. If a straggler supposed to understand latin, happened to sojourn in the neighborhood, he was looked upon as a wizzard. There was absolutely nothing to excite ambition for education. Of course when I came of age I did not know much. Still somehow, I could read, write, and cipher to the Rule of Three; but that was all. I have not been to school since. The little advance I now have upon this store of education, I have picked up from time to time under the pressure of necessity. 

I was raised to farm work, which I continued till I was twenty-two. At twenty-one I came to Illinois, and passed the first year in Illinois—Macon county. Then I got to New-Salem, (at that time in Sangamon, now in Menard county), where I remained a year as a sort of Clerk in a store. Then came the Black-Hawk war; and I was elected a Captain of Volunteers—a success which gave me more pleasure than any I have had since. I went the campaign, was elated, ran for the Legislature the same year (1832) and was beaten—the only time I have been beaten by the people. The next, and three succeeding biennial elections, I was elected to the Legislature. I was not a candidate afterwards. During this Legislative period I had studied law, and removed to Springfield to practice it. In 1846 I was once elected to the lower House of Congress. Was not a candidate for re-election. From 1849 to 1854, both inclusive, practiced law more assiduously than ever before. Always a whig in politics, and generally on the whig electoral tickets, making active canvasses. I was losing interest in politics, when the repeal of the Missouri Compromise aroused me again. What I have done since then is pretty well known. 

If any personal description of me is thought desirable, it may be said, I am, in height, six feet, four inches, nearly; lean in flesh, weighing, on an average, one hundred and eighty pounds; dark complexion, with coarse black hair, and grey eyes—no other marks or brands recollected.

Yours very truly, 
A. Lincoln"

Preparing for Town Hall -- TXDOT and PSC alias James Construction, maybe. They are not sure.

Friends,

To help you prepare for Town Hall Tuesday, 17 Feb, 6:30 P.M., Intermediate School Cafeteria, are these pictures:

Holland Bridge.  "We will finish it 1 Jan, 15 Jan ,31 Jan, 10 Feb, 20 Feb, 28 Feb. 01 Mar 15, who knows.  Let's just start our on lottery on when it is to be finished."

They have been working on it, but it is far from being finished.  James Construction said they knew how to repair it the first week in December but did not start it until mid Jan.

Thomas Arnold Bridge.  They have torn-up all 4 bridges across I-35 and have completed none.

This is trash on the east side of Thomas Arnold Bridge.  "Welcome to Salado visitors."

The road across Thomas Arnold Bridge.  "If you did not live here, would you know whether turning left or right is one way or two way.  On the East side, it is one way."  There are no signs.

"Uhm.  Before two months ago, there were two roads -- Chisholm Trail and Salado Plaza.  Where are they?  I do not see where to turn.  There are no signs."  And, what are all those barricades in front.  That use to be a road in front of the library.  It was suppose to be opened before they started the road from the stop sign right."

Why is the road widen?  Our book store and Episcopal Church are down there some where.  Of course to get there requires a steep grade that, if not careful, will take out the undercarriage of one's car.

The local rock pile complete with weeds

This is really a trade-mark of our Village -- orange barrels and trash

If I go left, I go south.  It I go north, I go through a closed road.  If I go to the stop sign, there is no sign telling me to turn right to go South.  The Maze intersection.

Friends, it is time to speak our mind.  Please make plans to attend this Town Hall.  Individually, you can make a difference.  And, if they do not listen, we take it to the next level.  Enough is enough.

VR/Skip