Carter Avenue update

City Planning and Development Director Susan Alanis sent an e-mail to East Side residents regarding the discussions about the Carter Avenue pipeline and the Thomas well site, which is next to Tandy Hills Park.

There was lots of reaction among East Side e-mailers to Alanis' description of the dirt work being done at the drill site as "soil testing."

Read it here: Carter_Avenue_Alanis_memo.doc

Comments

[shesfullofgas]

On this national holiday to recognize and honor the value of the labor of Americans from all racial and socio-economic backgrounds--from billionaires who also had and has to labor to build up and protect their large private property to the countless blue-collar workers, whose sweat and honest efforts not only provide for their families' basic needs and future security by owning some private property but is the foundation for our nation's current prosperity and the groundwork for an even better future for the next generations--it is worth remembering that the ongoing issue with the Carter Ave. high pressure gathering gas pipeline project at its very core is about private property that were acquired through voluntary honest (and even sacrificial and disabling) labor and fair compensation being attacked by a foreign and very un-American (in its value)practice: that of a giant corporation using all its financial, intellectual, and political power to forcefully "take" private property-- the equity built into owning property (as well as the long treasured concept of being the "master of your own castle or domain" no matter if that castle or domain is just a shack)for a so-called use for the "public good". Not only is a potentially dangerous pipeline project, the key word being project meaning not just major work by Chesapeake Energy but more subtlely signals multiple gas lines--as contained in the permanent easement contract terms-- in the twenty foot easement or right-of-way on our front lawn where many of us blue collar families will celebrate Labor Day because we cannot afford an out of town trip with gas prices hovering around $4 a gallon. Unlike like some, especially people in the industry that is benefitting most from this record high prices..ah-hemm, Chesapeake and the other Barnett Shale "players": remember this is not just a game to us ; it is our family's safety and financial future along with our fellow citizens' right to "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness" which is symbolized by home ownership for the average citizen. Private corporations, developers, and sports-entertainment billionaires have, with the consent and even collaboration of local public officials elected to protect the interest of the people collectively and individually, become increasing bold and pushy in their "right" which they mistake with "might" and money to come into a neighborhood uninvited and displace families so they could put up parking lots, malls, stadiums, and gas pipelines about ten times the size of the ones coming into homes that at such small size have been blowing up homes and killing people in North Texas on a regular basis. Please note that the Carter Avenue controversy and outcry is not just about this allowance by city officials to allow misuse and abuse of eminent domain, which the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution restricts to rare exercise by public entities like cities for road construction or needed expansion and true private utilities companies that serve a real "public good" by bringing electricity, water, and gas into our homes for our good and benefit as a whole as opposed to Chesapeake's in essence turning our cherished front lawns into the same thing as the often neglected and not so "curb appealing" alley way hidden behind our wood fences. The working class, very blue collar inhabitants on this street adjacent to Scott Ave which is dotted with multimillion dollar commercial properties like a major bank, major sprawling hotels and office complexes as well as relatively wealthier and more informed residents, have a valid grievance and deserving of public support in making the wealthy energy giant pay them what the Constitution calls just and fair compensation. Note that the middle class street in the Westcliffe neighborhood near TCU also had a similar situation but they have not complained. Is this because they are more well-heeled, enlightened and less selfish community members willing to sacrifice their safety and property for the sake of the good of all of us? Hardly--they were treated with respect and received fair and satisfactory financial compensation for their financial loss both present and future directly linked to having pipelines under their front lawns which make their homes less attractive to potential buyers thus reducing the pool of buyers and pulling down property value and resale prices since sellers needing to sell will have to slash their prices to complete the sale. The Star-Telegram should pursue this glaringly different treatment of two streets with the same unwanted--who in their right mind does, but until state laws are tightened and local public officials are pressured to have some backbone (not an impossibility as seen in Keller , NRH, etc.) the only recourse provided for in the Constitution is to demand that these private entities pay a fair market value for the loss and damage to property owners that their multi-million dollar producing wells and transport lines, not to our homes like retail gas providers like Atmos but to be sold in bulk to retail providers all over the nation. They should be reminded that they are neighbors not invaders and that "it is not O.K."--pun intended for this Oklahoma corporation--to prey on weak and poor neighbors in Texas. Shareholders should ask Chesapeake tough questions about their ethical values and business practices. While we are at it, whether shareholders or not, we should encourage or force them to fairly pay people for forcing themselves on people's private property in order to make millions for their company and shareholders. The few hundred thousand dollars for each project can come from the profits or at worst from the over $10,000,000.00 spent annually to litter the metroplex with ads and signs telling us "citizens of the shale" to "back the shale". A good reputation and public support cannot be bought but can simply be given naturally from people who feel that they and their neighbors are treated with respect, honesty, and fairness. Why spend so much money on propaganda to win our hearts and mind if you are a good corporate citizen and neighbor instead of eliminating resentment and hostility that come naturally accompany invaders and exploiters. Really, shareholders, ask yourselves and Chesapeake what accounts for such a budget since Chesapeake is not competing with other companies to get retail customers like car companies and dealerships. Natural gas is natural gas unlike the variety of vehicles competing for sales and brand loyalty. Why do the dozen or so other "shale players" seem to have no need (they have plenty of money as well)for such a costly p.r. campaign bordering on brainwashing since it is everywhere. Is this a prudent business practice and wise use of potential share values? We won't be-labor (pun intended)the issue but let your sense of decency and fairness and justice be your guide as to how you should respond to these essential facts and pertinent questions. We on Carter Ave. are counting on you, our "neighbor's keepers" with a voice and influence to help (not so much us) Chesapeake Energy be a good neighbor and ethical company when it comes to the need to "take" another person's private property. Tell them that they are in Texas and should "Drill Friendly!" to borrow from our highway signs and "Don't Mess with Texans!"