STOP Flying L Dollar General
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Sad news...
2021-12-02 21:01:04Sadly, the Flying L PUD called a special meeting Sunday before Thanksgiving and re-voted to sell water to the Dollar General developer. This was one of the most blatant display's of total disregard for what their constitutents and the local community wanted. To read the story in the Bandera Bulletin, please visit this link:
Flying L PUD votes to sell water to Dollar General | Bandera Bulletin
So where does this leave us? Sadly, I wish I had better news. Our 1 major bargaining chip was our water! We all knew once the PUD voted to sell the water to the developer…there was little else we could do. *The PUD keeps arguing that if they did not supply the water, then DG could potentially get it from another source. But what they aren’t telling you is that getting water from other sources is more difficult, more costly for DG, and would take a lot more time. The River Authority has said that due to the huge number of permits they are getting with all the new growth, it’s taking up to 2 years to complete a new well. This means we could have a lot more time on our side to do everything possible to stop this Dollar General project! There were some promising strategies that we were pursuing and a small but very real chance we could prevail. Sadly, now, because of the PUD’s rushed vote to sell water, we won’t get this chance.
STOP Flying L Dollar General
This Sunday, Nov. 21st at 6pm
2021-11-20 13:56:06As we said at the conclusion of the last PUD meeting, the fight isn’t over!
The PUD has called a meeting for this Sunday, Nov. 21st, 6:00pm at the PUD building at 281 Stone Crest Dr. Bandera
On the agenda is public comment, but the bad news is, they also have on their agenda (if you can believe this) a vote to sell water to the developer of the Dollar General...AGAIN!!
The PUD’S last vote to rescind selling our water to the developer, could delay the development for 18 months to 2 years. We can’t allow them to take away this important leverage in our fight to prevent Dollar General from locating a store at the entrance to the Flying L community.
After the passionate outcry from a large number of the PUD Board's constituents and other concerned community members at their last meeting, I am in shock that they appear to have not heard us!!!
What elected body behaves so arrogantly and tyrannically as to ignore the pleas from their own constituency?
Thank God we have at least one advocate on the PUD, June Baker, who is standing with us.
STOP Flying L Dollar General
Nov. 17th, 2021 Update
2021-11-17 22:35:43STOP Flying L Dollar General
Update on Flying L Dollar General
2021-11-03 16:04:02I wanted to update everyone on the proposed Dollar General store and explain what has happened so far and what still might be possible.
Despite our best efforts, the Flying L PUD confirmed their earlier vote to sell water to Dollar General and, to date, have begun formal, written negotiations with the Dollar General developer. We had hoped they would rescind this vote.
As a reminder, we were advised by elected officials and others a lot smarter than us that the #1 bargaining chip we had was our water. We were told the best way to deter this project was to deny them water and force them to either drill or find water from another source. The additional time and expense that a DG might incur could possibly cause them to re-think this project. We were also hoping for a traffic study that would require them to pay for a traffic signal and possible turn lanes, that is still pending. We knew it was a longshot - but with even a small chance that we could force them to expend months looking for a water source, getting the permits and complying with a possible requirement from TxDOT to expend money on traffic controls, we believed it was worth the effort! If nothing else, it would extend the amount of time we had to convince them to find a different location or better -abandon the project!
We had no idea that so many people within the Flying L development as well as fellow county residents would join our efforts to stop DG. To date, we have collected over 280 signatures with many more being collected as we speak!
Some have asked why in the world would the Flying L PUD agree to sell them water so quickly and without a special notification to the community or better yet a public meeting to hear what their constituents were thinking.
The PUD has explained their reasons, which included an agreement from DG to give the PUD 30K plus reimbursement for the cost of running a water line to connect with our utility. While it is understandable the PUD would like to negotiate a financial benefit to their customers, many feel the dollar amount may be way less than could have been negotiated later. This was evidenced by the developer adding an additional 5K to the originally agreed upon 30K and agreeing to additional mitigations after the community started collecting signatures in opposition.
Also, many Flying L PUD customers have expressed a willingness for an assessment in lieu of having a Dollar General at the entrance to our community and the city. Many have said they would much rather raise the 35K than see this DG built.
Unfortunately, the community was never given an opportunity to express their desires to their elected PUD Board of Directors.
To date, the PUD has still refused to call a special meeting to answer questions and listen to the concerns of their constituents. It should be noted that one PUD board member, Nathon Laws, has reached out and worked with leaders of the opposition to DG and has shared our concerns and mitigation suggestions with the developer. In fact, it was Nathan who was able to acquire the additional 5K and concessions.
It should also be noted that PUD board member, June Baker was the lone ‘no’ vote to sell the water. We remain grateful for her brave stance to do what she believed the community wanted.
STOP Flying L Dollar General