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.