Points System And The Projects

MORE low income housing for the Cy-Fair/Bear Creek area, you say?  Yes, it's true.  Hard to believe?  Well believe it!

I recently wrote an article titled, "Plutocracy and the Projects" in which I briefly outlined the process by which low income housing makes its way stealthily into the burbs.  It's a pretty involved process, but I thought I would try to break it down for you, maybe get a little more in-depth on the subject this time.

I'm reporting primarily about the Cypress, Texas area, but I'm sure that much of the targeted areas get close to the same amount of money.  Right now, the federal government had dangled $9,704,613 for the Cypress area.  Each developer seeks $1.5 million.  Only the top six developers with the highest points are awarded funds.    The developers need 118 points to qualify to receive the funds.  What I'd like to do is show where the points come from to show you how important it is for the state representatives to maintain their negative point capabilities.

Last year, the highest points achieved were 133.  By contrast, the lowest points awarded were 125.  The developers were funded or lost on a single point.

There are several entities that can award or subtract points to the developers.  They are:
-School District
-MUD 61 JF-Hofman
281-469-9405
JFHofman@District61.org
-Fire Department
-EMS
-Law Enforcement
-Local Businesses
-Elected Officials
The only other quantifiable community participation is with a coalition, which, thanks to James and Barbara Hardin, Cy-Fair has now; The Cypress Coalition.  It first came to the Cypress Coalition's attention last year and I wrote an article about the first town hall meeting titled, "The Texas House-Representing Voters or Subsidized Developers?"

State Representatives still have eight points, which can have a HUGE impact, as you see that developers were funded or lost on a single point.  As of the current legislative session, State Representatives are proposing to give up their points that serve their constituents.  County commissioners also have the ability to add or take away points; they've been allotted three points.

To further prove the need for the reps to keep their points, especially those that represent Cy-Fair as we have several vulnerabilities as an area.  We live in an unincorporated area, which means we don't have a city council or a mayor to represent us.   That leaves us with, you guessed it, relying on the State Reps and the County Commissioners to be our voice.

Stay tuned as there's a town hall being planned to oppose the two new proposed developments.  If you're concerned, please contact State Representative Dwayne Bohac at:

(512) 463-0727   Austin Office

(713) 460-2800   District Office

I'm sure there's more to come since the 84th legislation is far from over. 

Plutocracy and the Projects

Plutocracy is defined as government by the wealthy, or an elite or ruling class of people whose power derives from their wealth.  I can't think of a better word to describe the government of the state of Texas.  Now, I hear you, you're saying, Texas, right?  Yes, I'm talking about our great state of Texas, and while the government of Texas hasn't done EVERYTHING wrong, there is definitely room for improvement.

I'll start off with one good thing; Texas' decision to refuse the use of Common Core Standards for our public school system.  Not just the standards, but the money that the feds dangled in front of the state.  Let's face it, the government doesn't give anything away for nothing.  They always want something in return-there are always strings attached.  Common Core was no different.  However, the reason that the state turned down the money wasn't just because they were trying to be honorable, and 'do the right thing'.  It was simply a case of not being able to profit from the implementation of Common Core statewide.

Next topic, low income housing.  Yep, I hear you groaning.  Once again, the feds are at the ready to offer up money to the state, in the form of tax credits, but guess what kids, there are strings attached.  The state has an agency set up called Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA), and they hand out the tax credits to the developers who score the most points in order to build the low income housing I mentioned.

Low income housing usually lowers property values, increases crime rates and overcrowds the system; fire departments, schools, EMS services, etc.  However, that's of no concern to the developers who only see dollar signs when they come into the neighborhood they are trying to 'bust'. That's a real term, 'neighborhood busting' and it's a term and an action that has trickled down from liberal Washington, D.C.  Surprise!

So, back to these points that the developers try to accumulate in order to build; you may be asking, who can award those points?  I'm so glad you asked. The state legislators of the designated development area have points to award, as do county commissioners, school districts, water districts and community coalitions, which brings me to my main point.  The state does NOT have to accept this money from the feds!!  If they had courage of conviction, the state would tell the feds to get the hell out of our state, similar to the courage, ahem, they exhibited when they shunned Common Core.  There is one glaring difference here, though.

If you guessed the potential for capital gain on the part of the legislators, then you guessed correctly.  Hmmm, let's see, the developers just might sidle up to the legislator whose district they want to build in, and oh, maybe make a campaign contribution.  Gee, I can't imagine why the legislators wouldn't want these developers to keep coming back.

To another point that has my pants in a bunch is that during the last legislative session, the Senate voted to do away with their points.  Now they have no say in what comes into their districts.  The House is planning on doing the same thing this session.  This can only lead the voter to one conclusion; that the representatives WANT the campaign contributions to continue to flow without having any accountability to those they represent.

This issue isn't over.  I'll be following it and sharing with all of you to keep you informed.     

The Texas House-Representing Voters or Subsidized Developers?

Last night at The MET Youth Building, State Representative Allen Fletcher faced a crowd of over 500 concerned, and might I add, a tad angry constituency.  The source of their anger?  Two projected low-income housing units to be built in the Cypress area; one at Queenston and W. Little York called the Catalon, the other to the north of 290 near the Ravensway subdivision, named The Lodge of Huffmeister.

On hand to kick things off was James Hardin, president of The Cypress Coaltion.  He and his wife, Barbara Hardin have started this group in order to fight the possible build of these two facilities.  James had this to say about the reason they decided to start this group, "We had heard about the low income housing on Channel 13, and we recognized the need to do something about this situation.  We signed the Change.org petition and decided we needed to go one step further and chose to do a townhall.  We set up the meeting and never in our wildest dreams did we think that there would be 500 people in attendance.  We then started thinking that we should have a coalition like Cy-Fair and we are in the process of setting up The Cypress Coalition in order to be proactive instead of reactive for future developments in and around our community."  Kay Smith, president of Texas Tea Party Republican Women was also there to help introduce the concept of the housing and information on how concerned citizens can put a stop to these projects going forward.

Nathan Kelly with Blazer Development was also on hand to debunk any and all misinformation that the public may have had about said projects.  Although, by the end of the meeting, I think he had been debunked.  When you boil it down, all he had were talking points and they were delivered as such.  Representative Fletcher took his share of the 'heat' as well.  There was a line at the microphone to share and express concerns from the group.  One of the most popular questions was, "Why weren't we informed of this?"

The concerns that were brought to the floor were all pretty similar, mostly about property value and the potential for the crime rate to go up after said housing is built and filled with subsidized residents, not to mention the potential strain placed on already overcrowded schools and a short staffed police force.  Some residents wanted to know why they hadn't been informed of this.  Good question.  So, Representative Fletcher responded in his defense, that he really felt he had done due diligence on his part by having met with the developer and had checked into it and he said he saw no problem signing on to having these projects built.  Once he heard that his constituency was upset with his decision, he said he would recant his decision to support it.  There were various responses to this, but I think my favorite was a lady named Lynn, a resident of Enchanted Valley.  She had this to say directly to Representative Fletcher, and I'm paraphrasing here, "Shame on you!  Think about all the money you raised to get reelected!  You should have used that money to send out information to the residents to let them know.  Shame on me for voting for you!"  Good point.

Here's the frustrating part, besides all that has already been mentioned: the developer doesn't really care about your individual concerns and your property values.  That's why this is done on a points system run by a large state agency called TDHCA.  They approve low-income/affordable housing projects based on a complex system of points.  Sadly, in the last legislative session, the state senate decided to do away with their “voting/veto” points on such matters, leaving them no sway or say in these project developments and now the House of Representatives of the State of Texas has eight points, which is enough to kill a project, if the representative should choose to write a letter of disapproval.  There are points held by the following entities, so if you care about this, these are some of the important people to contact:

-School District
-MUD 61 JF-Hofman
281-469-9405
JFHofman@District61.org
-Fire Department
-Ems
-Law Enforcement
-Local Businesses
-Elected Officials
The only other quantifiable community participation is with a coalition, which, thanks to James and Barbara Hardin, Cy-Fair has now.

Call Representative Fletcher at 281-373-5454.  Call the developer Chris Richardson at 713-914-9200 or email him at Blazer1@blazerbuilding.com.  Also, a matter of public record is the owners of the property, Edgar and Janis Lester and if you feel so inclined, you may call them at 713-629-2300 or email at ED.Lester@Stewart.com.  This is far from over, so if you are concerned and want to get involved, this is your chance!