Say No to Central Texas Airport

Bringing new jobs to the area and protecting our beautiful rural landscape do not need to be mutually exclusive! Development should be intelligently sited along existing corriders that are able to handle increased commercial traffic. The juncture of FM 969 and FM 1704 is a very poor site for a large commercial project. The project proposal includes an airport projected to handle 250 flights per day, an industrial park, and other commercial development will undoubtedly follow in the years to come. If we don’t act now to stop this development, in just a few years our neighborhoods could look like something along Hwy 290. Contact your neighbor, your local papers, your county commissioners, and your representative and let them know that this is not appropriate land use.

On April 20th of this year The Lazy River Neighborhood Watch Association held a meeting. Our featured speaker was Lee Dildy, Pct. 4 Commissioner for Bastrop County. While the initial purpose of the meeting was to discuss neighborhood safety, it rapidly morphed into an intense question and answer session focusing on the proposed Central Texas Airport (CTA).

Our apprehension was understandable in that the plans for the pending airport called for it to be located literally in our own backyard. The questions posed included realistic concern over safety, air pollution, health for residents the land and the river, and our overall quality of life.

Throughout the meeting Mr. Dildy made consistent assurances that the “deal” for the proposed airport was all but dead. Further, that in his mind, and as far as he was concerned, we had nothing to worry or concern ourselves with. He comforted us with his personal feeling and statement of, “If I lived out here, I wouldn’t want it (the airport).”

I was more than surprised and also extremely disappointed to hear and then read his statement regarding the Central Texas Airport, printed in the Elgin Courier on May 24, 2010, that plans for the CTA were proceeding. I was even more disturbed to read that the Commissioners are having a closed door “Special Session” on Monday the 7th of June about the CTA Recycling Equipment. Then again, on the 8th, yet another “Special Session” on the Economic Development Agreement with CTA. LLC.

It was suggested that these closed door, “Special Sessions” were for development negotiation purposes. Further, that “a final approval of agreement will not take place at this meeting.” A reasonable person would conclude that an agreement will be made and a unified front will be presented. Are these closed doors, “Special Sessions” an extension of the “transparency” currently exhibited by the present administration in Washington?

Stan Simpson
President, Lazy River Neighborhood Watch Assoc.
190 Lazy River LN.
El gin, TX 78621
Hm # 581-3913
Cell # 992-9196

Saw your letter in the Advertiser today. We went through a similar situation on a site near this when our organization GUARD (Groups United Against Rural Destruction) worked for two years and paid a lawyer over $10,000 to petition and argue our case before the Commissioners Court.
This court AND the EISD is in favor of the CTA because it’s a cash cow for both, and to hell with the residents that live in the five established subdividions surrounding this site.
Judge McDonald promised a “public hearing” on the CTA before any substantive action was taken. The vote for the tax break, was, IMHO, substantive action, so we may be assured that McDonald favors this over our local welfare.
Write letters to the Advertiser and the Elgin Courier, call and write the Commissioners Court requesting a public meeting on this site, and it needs to be in THIS AREA. 969 VFD or the Cedar Valley Church would be a good place.
Past experience shows that if the meeting is out here, more people will attend rather than driving to Bastrop.
We could also place flyers and signage as we did with the defunct subdiivision, which alerted many people that knew nothing about the proposition.
It’s gonna take a long time and cost $$ to defeat this, particularly since it’s going to be tied to the upcoming Austin F1 race track for the high-rollers to come and see.

From Elgin Courier:

“Carpenter also provided some third party figures to the Chamber. He said an airport could generate 43,000 new jobs and $8.3 billion in annual spending in Bastrop County, and could be completed in between seven to nine years.

My Comment:
If anyone believes this, I have a bridge in Brooklyn New York you might be interested in purchasing.

From Bastrop Advertiser:

The 381 agreement approved on Monday contains provisions that both parties – the county and CTA – brought into ongoing negotiations. Included in the agreement is a prohibition against CTA ever becoming a commercial airport like Austin-Bergstrom Airport.

My Comment:
The Commissioners Court can change this at anytime in the future.

From Elgin Courier:

“We are not obligating our taxpayers in any way; the airport and its businesses must create taxes and then the company will get a portion of the revenue,” said Dildy.

From Bastrop Advertiser:

Once the airport’s infrastructure is built and the land’s value improves, CTA will receive 75 percent of its property tax back for a period of 30 years. After that, the county will receive 100 percent of the property tax.

“Any taxes that are returned to him are paid by him originally. This is not subsidized by citizens’ property taxes and not until a substantial asset is on the ground.”

My Comment:
Dildy says “We are not obligating our taxpayers in any way…..” This is just plain wrong. Bastrop County Taxpayers will be picking up the slack this entity would have been paying for its government services. Someone needs to ask Dildy how much he got paid off for his vote.

McDonald never met a tax abatement or other developer scam he didn’t like. He is the head of this “cancerous growth snake.” Unfortunately no one in Bastrop County had the incentive to run against him. I trust Bastrop Taxpayers will have had enough of him and his developer buddies and will trounce him in the next election. We have ourselves to blame for this. It would be easier to elect responsible officials than to have to break our backs fighting every scam these irresponsible officials throw at us. Dildy needs to go as well. He has been there too long and is too cozy with developers.

JET NOISE ISN’T THE ONLY PROBLEM – THE CONTINUED THEFT OF OUR TAX DOLLARS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS WELL

“Once the airport’s infrastructure is built and the land’s value improves, CTA will receive 75 percent of its property tax back for a period of 30 years. After that, the county will receive 100 percent of the property tax.”

This and other tax incentives given by our elected officials should be a criminal offense! What… you say?……..In Ontario, Canada, they are ILLEGAL! They are considered a form of bribery and blackmail – take your pick.

In Ontario, Canada our Commissioners Court would be charged with a crime. There should be a movement to remove those elected misfits who think they have to bribe business to come to Bastrop. If Bastrop is such a great place to live and work, they don’t need tax incentives, property tax abatements and in the case of ACC, actually receive tax dollars to set up their private business. Our local and city officials claim this is the way business is done………well it is not! There are plenty of folks just like us who are fighting or have put an end to these incentives. The easiest way to stop them is to elect responsible public officials who are not on the take from developers and etc.
Pardon me, but we look like a bunch of fools if we ignore this criminal activity in our own backyard and our elected misfits and their developer pals are laughing at us all the way to the bank. When will you all say enough is enough? You worry about jet noise, but these tax give aways steal dollars from worthwhile projects to pay off elected officials and developers.
Let’s contact our State Officials and tell them we are tired of shouldering the tax burden for Fortune 500 Companies. There isn’t even a real economic reason for extending any kind of incentive at this time in our county.

Bastrop County Commissioners/Central Texas Airport
Flying Off Into the Sunset With Your Tax Dollars
30 Year Honeymoon – Granted

After weeks of researching Texas Local Government Code 381 Community and Economic Development Programs in Certain Counties,* I have come to the conclusion; THIS Code screws us property taxpayers to the wall, once again.

To make a very long story short, the Texas Comptroller Office tells me (over the phone) “as long as the county follows section (b), of this one page code AND does not do a tax abatement, their actions fall under section (h) which has absolutely NO DOLLAR OR TIME CONSTRAINTS AT ALL.”

The county can essentially do what ever it wants and we are all the losers in their dealings. Here is a quote from an email from the Texas State Comptrollers Office. “After reviewing the documents you provided, it appears Bastrop County has written the 381 agreement to avoid the limitation on property tax abatements.” This comment is very telling to me. It should be telling to you what sneaky politricksters we are dealing with in Bastrop County Government

In addition the 381 agreement with CTA has no “claw back clause.” Which means after Phase 1 of CTA is completed; the county is on the hook for the tax refund for 30 years. Another loss for “we the people.”

I am recommending all taxpayers write our State Representatives to try and either remove the offending section (h) from 381 or amend section (h) to reflect the 10 year time limit tax abatements have in section (g).
Section (g) is covered by a 10 year time limit in Code 312.
I will call our State Reps and try to feel them out on this one and get back to you. Maybe I will have the letter of request ready to go and you all can decide if you want to sign on or send a similar letter to the Reps.

Personally I am devastated by this ruling and have to wonder why any entity even bothers with tax abatements that are limited to 10 years and not just go by section (h) which drags on the pain for an unlimited amount of time and dollar value.
Remember our local government is working full time, on our dime, to separate us from our hard earned income and we can only work part time to try and stop them. Developers and other carpetbaggers are using the government puppets to steal money from the taxpayers.

Vic Vreeland
info@railroadingbastrop.com

*http://law.onecle.com/texas/local-government/381.004.00.html

I agree with everyone on this! I am 100% opposed to this outrageous attack on our community and environment. I will be contacting all of my representatives as well and look forward to helping everyone to stop this insanity as well. You are all right, the general public just does not understand what this is going to do to our community here. And I might add, this will not just impact a couple of miles around this airport- it will have a devestating effect on ALL of Bastrop county and parts of Travis county as well! We can expect higher taxes, mud fees, a drop in tourism, a rise in crime and a drastic degredation of our water supply and air quality! Our property will lose all of its value, and we may even find ourselves facing condemation from the State! We stand to lose everything here folks!

Let’s STOP this before it’s too late…if it’s not already!

We don’t need this proposed airport. Austin-Bergstrom Intl. Airport is about 12 direct miles from the proposed airport location and already has facilities that serve general aviation. Austin-Bergstrom has an air traffic control tower, has the instrument approaches and departures to serve general aviation aircraft, has two parallel runways, and has two first-class fixed based operators along with training facilities for aspiring pilots. Why in the world do we need a start-up airport that never could compete with the excellence already provided by Austin-Bergstrom?