Georgetown Talk

This post is the first in a series of monthly posts about life in Georgetown.

This summer in the U. S. has been a long, hot, dry one, with fires raging, earthquakes rumbling, and rains and winds from tropical storms and hurricanes wreaking havoc throughout the northeast and the Atlantic and Gulf Coast regions. But here in Van Alstyne, thank goodness, it's only been hot and dry, with an occasional grass fire. Although most of us have been complaining about seemingly endless days of 100+ degree temperatures, and no rain for months, it surely beats earthquakes, wind damage, flooding, and wild fires elsewhere across the country, including here in Texas.  We did have a problem with no street lights in Georgetown Meadows and Georgetown Heights for several weeks mid-summer. The problem resulted from our Homeowners' Association (HOA) not paying the electricity bill.  As a result, our street lights were out from early July until late August. On August 24th, the street lights were back on, and as of yesterday, the vacant lots around us have been mowed. We can only hope that other services provided by the HOA will resume over time.

Cold weather is just a few months away, and the town's streets are still in dire need of repairs. Although sections of Highway 5 were recently re-surfaced, many streets still have large potholes that must be dodged or uneven pavement that makes driving difficult.  And I am not the only resident eager to see the new "pothole truck" out and about repairing some of these problems. Like other homeowners, we pay a hefty amount of city taxes and would like to see some of that money go toward street improvements.  I don't think that is asking too much of our elected officials.  While the pothole truck is at least a beginning, replacing some of the existing infrastructure here, including the worst streets, needs to be on the planning agenda for the very near future.

It appears the housing market in and around Van Alstyne is still very slow, but we have had some activity in our neighborhood during the past two months. One house is under construction and another is planned for later this year, but I don't know if the house currently under construction is being built for "someone" or if it is a "spec" house.  Several bank-owned lots were recently purchased by a local builder, and after sitting vacant for more than three years, a never-been-lived in house near us recently sold. The bottom line is that a little activity is better than none at all, and we can all hope and pray that next year will be better for those trying to sell.

Walking in the neighborhood during the past two weeks of cooler weather has been pure bliss.  Watching the evening sun go down and catching a cool breeze works wonders for the soul. And I'm hoping to see a few garage sales crop us around us in the next few weeks as cool weather slowly wanders in.  What better way to meet your neighbors and find a few treasures at the same time!

Van Alstyne Virtual Town Hall Page on Facebook

Yes, it's true.  Videos of the Van Alstyne City Council meetings are now loaded for viewing on Van Alstyne's Virtual Town Hall page on Facebook.  It looks as if the video of the May meeting was divided into seven segments for posting. When I first discovered the page, I had high hopes this Virtual Town Hall would afford city residents an excellent opportunity to actively participate in city government and community activities.  But what I found instead is that a couple of our City Council members are using the page to lash out at each other.  


Needless to say, I for one, am very disappointed.

Georgetown Vacant Lots Have Been Mowed!

Yes, Spring has arrived, and the grass has been growing on the vacant lots in Georgetown Heights and Georgetown Meadows.  But yesterday afternoon, a very large orange tractor with a mowing attachment suddenly appeared and began mowing the lots. With the rain we have had in recent months, it didn't take long for grass and weeds to grow beyond the height specified in the city's ordinance. This season, I hope the owners will work harder to keep these lots mowed, keeping mosquitoes, snakes, and other insects and varmints from invading residents' yards.

Street Repairs Needed in Van Alstyne

Well, it seems that only yesterday I wrote about the results of Van Alstyne's election of a new Mayor and City Council Members.  And I also wrote that I had high hopes we would see some much-needed street repairs. Well, folks, here it is March of 2010, and my high hopes have been dashed.  With the exception of a few streets in town on which a few prominent citizens (including the new mayor) reside, I haven't seen much progress along those lines.  After one of the harshest winters on record in North Texas, our city streets now have even more potholes and broken pavement edges than ever.  


One of the worst spots in town is the westbound lane of Village Parkway at Highway 5.  The street is so sunken in and bumpy that turning the corner there could almost break the axle of a military style Humvee.  And I'm not kidding. It's pretty bad when those who live on the north side of Village Parkway must detour by the school to get to their homes without tearing up their automobiles. I understand monies have been set aside for this desperately needed repair job, but the work is not scheduled to begin until April 2010.  The truth of the matter is that this particular spot should have been repaired months ago.


What will it take to get our city streets repaired - accidents that cause injury to life, limb, and personal property?  I can only hope that Van Alstyne's city leaders take the street repair issue to heart and that we see some action fairly soon.  


If not, maybe another change in leadership is needed.

Tiger's and His Tarts? - Was it Worth It?

Well, it seems another well-known public figure has feet of clay and is now bogged down by the weight of his admitted "transgressions."


Would you have ever believed this man would end up in the public predicament that now has the entire world speculating about his personal and professional future?


Just what went wrong here?  


Wasn't it enough that he was married to a gorgeous ex-swimsuit model with whom he has two beautiful, healthy children?  Not to mention that he makes millions each year from product endorsements alone.


By most accounts, Tiger has wanted his professional and personal lives to be perfect and his privacy protected.  And that certainly seemed to be the case, at least until he hit a fire hydrant and a tree in the wee hours of last Friday morning.  Now it seems that his less than forthcoming approach to the events surrounding the auto accident, and the personal story that has now unraveled, may have changed his life forever.


Just what caused America's squeaky clean super-hero to cave in to being "only human?


Was it having it all that made him look for something more? Did he really think he could live on the edge, keep secrets, and avoid dealing with personal realities? 

I don't have the answers, but what I do know is that this story is far from over.

Are Home Values in Van Alstyne At Risk?

During the last year, several houses near us have been listed for sale. While a small number of these houses are new and have never been lived in, the majority are pre-owned.  A smaller subset of the pre-owned houses are unoccupied, and at least one of these has a sign in the yard, placed there by the realtor, stating a "short sale" is involved. 


So I decided to see just how many houses in the Van Alstyne zip code of 75495 are for sale by searching www.realtor.com. What I found was 88 properties listed, either by realtors or directly by the owner. The properties for sale are varied and range from large new houses on acreage to small older and new houses built on city lots in developments. A fairly large number of houses have been for sale for long periods of time.  I also noticed that some of the asking prices have been reduced, at least once, since the properties went up for sale - some remarkably so.


In one instance, a new home on a city lot that once listed for over $300,000 inow sits for sale at the drastically reduced price of $199,900. And there are two somewhat smaller houses nearby with prices cut dramatically, as well.


What does this mean for home sellers in the Van Alstyne area?  First, it means if these houses with seriously reduced prices sell first, those of us who may sell our own houses will be faced with some ery low comparables.  And this means lower market prices, and definitely lower appraisals, for us all.  


The sad fact is there is very little we can do to change this situation, except hope these houses don't sell first.

Street Repairs Seriously Needed in Van Alstyne

Earlier this year, after the election, I was hopeful the City of Van Alstyne would become serious about making some much needed street repairs. And when I saw re-surfacing begin on several residential streets near the downtown area, I remained hopeful the new administration really meant business. But I lost hope when I learned that a newly-elected city official lived on one of the streets being resurfaced.

And now, months later, I have seen no signs that repairing Van Alstyne streets is a priority of our city government.

Why is repairing our city streets not priority?

Is it because there is insufficient funding available?

Based on a recent city tax increase and the amount of taxes paid by Van Alstyne property owners, it would appear that adequate funding would not be a problem.

Was it naive of me to believe that new city officials would attempt to breathe some life into this town and make improvements where warranted? Unfortunately, it looks that way.

Maybe when the crater-size potholes in the westbound lane of Village Parkway causes someone to have an accident, maybe, just maybe, the city will take notice and take action.