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Toledo Bend Bi-State Alliance
Minutes February 27, 2006
The place of meeting of the TBBSA was moved to the Sabine County Courthouse and convened at 7:00 P.M. Due to circumstances beyond control, the usual Library facility was unavailable, and a special thanks goes to County Commissioner Lynn Smith for allowing this meeting to be held at the Court House.
The meeting was called to order by Don Driscoll, Texas Co-Chairman.
The opening prayer was given by Joe Griffin
The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was lead by Don Driscoll.
Don welcomed a number of visitors to the meeting and asked them to stand and introduce themselves. He also welcomed State Rep. Roy Blake and candidates for County Judge, Gene Nethery, Lynn Smith and Charles Watson.
Representative Blake was invited to speak first to the group. He has been in the area campaigning for re-election and emphasized he is aware of the importance of Toledo Bend Lake to this area. He feels the most important thing that would help our county would be to get a representative from our area to serve on the board of the TX-SRA. Board members are appointed by the governor, with senate confirmation. The board members serve 6 year terms, on a rotating basis. He went on to explain how backing from the district’s senator is very important to the appointment of a board member. After elections are over, Rep. Blake said he would be willing to get with our senator to set up a meeting with the governor to explain our situation. He feels there is always a compromise that can be made. He discussed questions and comments from the audience.
Gene Nethery, Republican candidate for County Judge, spoke next. Mr. Nethery said, if elected as County Judge, the number one item on his agenda would be to address the economic development of this county. The economic driver in the last forty years has been timber and timber has played a big role in the economics of Sabine County ever since it was founded. He feels timber will continue to be the driver in economics in Sabine County for sometime, but with dynamics in the timber industry changing, the lake will have to become the economic driver for Sabine County. He said the lake has attracted retirees and others to the area. The passage of a state Bill this year to allow areas to certify themselves as retirement communities, will allow them to advertise to attract retirees, increasing the tax base and allowing economic growth. Gene went on to say he realized there are two sides to every issue, but he feels a more constant lake level would better serve the most people. He went on to talk about several occurrences that might cause the parameters of the lake to change, such as down-stream flow, drought, etc., and those should be taken into consideration. He believes getting a representative on the SRA Board is very important, and also believes the SRA owes reimbursement to the watershed counties of this lake. County government needs to work closely with state government, and he would work hard for a compromise to this issue. He also discussed questions and comments from the audience.
Lynn Smith, County Commissioner and Democratic candidate for County Judge, was our next speaker. Mr. Smith said he came tonight just to visit the meeting of the TBBSA, and did not come prepared to make a speech. He did make a great contribution by providing a place for TBBSA to meet tonight. He feels our county has lost its clout in state government and we need to work at getting a representative from our area on the TX-SRA Board. Lynn discussed questions and comments. Larry Kelly noted Lynn Smith did work to try to get a bill out of the Natural Resource Committee in 1999, but unfortunately that bill died in committee. Don Driscoll admonished the people to not let go of the water in East Texas as it is the future of this county.
Charles Watson, Democratic candidate for County Judge, spoke next. Mr. Watson said he also was not prepared to make a speech, and agreed with Gene Nethery and Lynn Smith regarding the need for a representative on the SRA Board and with the need for economic development. He urged people to start a letter-writing campaign to our state senators and state representatives, and send one for every voter in the household. Charles feels flooding the politicians with all those letters will certainly make an impact. He also fielded questions and comments from the audience, and said we need to include all the people from our county in addressing this issue.
Larry Kelly said the way to reach our congressmen is by sending out letters ready for signatures from the county residents, and all the residents have to do is sign and mail. That is how Louisiana was able to get a bill passed in that state. Don Iles, Hemphill City Manager, said the City will continue to support the efforts of TBBSA.
Gordon Thibodeaux, Chairman of Republican Party of Sabine County, said he has had an opportunity to talk with every candidate running for state office for our district, and he has one commitment to have a representative of Sabine County appointed to the SRA Board. Robert Nichols, candidate for State Senator District 5, says if elected he will encourage and support someone from Sabine County for the governor to appoint to the TX-SRA Board. Gordon knows Mr. Nichols and believes if he says he will do it, he will do it. Also, he will help anyone with the paper work to apply for that appointment.
Regular Business:
Minutes of the January 23, 2006 TBBSA Meeting were approved as presented.
Janna Lehman, Treasurer, reported there are 7 organization members and 30 associate members.
The current bank balance is $1,998.42. Letters of solicitation for legal assistance have been sent out. $525 has been collected so far for the Legal Advice Account. This money will be placed in a separate interest-bearing account. Janna explained the reason for this fund and answered questions regarding meetings of the SRA Board.
Old Business: Next meeting.
New Business: Next meeting.
Approval of New Members: Next meeting.
Approval of Outstanding Bills: None presented.
Next Meeting Date: Monday, March 27, 2006
Meeting Adjourned .
Respectfully Submitted,
Betty Griffin, Secretary
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