ST9302-CS 941013Coppell, Texas 75019
TOM MORTON
Office of the Mayor
October 13, 1994
P.O. Box 478
Coppell, Texas 75019
214-462-0022
Ms. Becky Chairez
944 Pintail Court
Coppell, Texas 75019
Dear Becky:
Thank you for your letter of October 1, 1994 which was forwarded to me and other members of
the City Council. On behalf of the Council, I would like to respond to the questions, charges
and allegations contained throughout your letter.
You asked why weren't the details of the transmission upgrades not revealed until 1994. There
is no doubt that certain members of the Council were aware of the existence of transmission lines
on Sandy Lake Road. The transmission line upgrade was not revealed to the City Staff until
about February of this year. There is no mention of it in the 1990 Bond issue, because TU at
that time had not acknowledged to us their plans to upgrade the transmission line now in
question. We believe, though, any time a transmission line does exist, citizens who buy property
immediately adjacent to the area should be acutely aware that upgrades and relocations are a
possibility.
In response to allegations in your second paragraph, we know of no nuclear waste facilities, or
other controversial hazardous sites to be located in and around the City of Coppell. I believe our
Planning and Engineering Staff are diligent in their efforts to define and delineate those uses
which can have a negative impact on the environment of our community. We are presently
involved and investigating situations at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport with regard to air pollution,
which could have a negative long-term impact on our community.
You ask in No. 4 of your letter why the City does not send notices of public hearings to residents
regarding the Sandy lake expansion. Notice was given in our local newspapers, as well as on
Channel 19 with regard to the October 3rd public meeting. We will take your point into
consideration in the future regarding future capital improvement projects, but believe a well
informed citizenry would obviously glean substantial information from the three weekly
newspapers, as well as the one monthly newspaper that serve the City of Coppell. It is
unfortunate that those newspapers are printed on a weekly or monthly basis, and the City has no
other regular coverage via the electronic media regarding radio/TV broadcast.
· Becky Chairez
October 13, 1994
Page Two
In No. 5 of your letter, you state that you do not believe the City has done a good job with
regard to the City implemented educational campaign. We take some objection to your comment.
Many citizens have contacted us who have read the articles in the newspaper, called the hot line,
or heard information given to them by a neighbor, or as a result of your petition drive. Their
general concerns have been generated by the information distributed by City Staff to the local
printed media, and information requests have constantly been fielded by our Staff, as well as
individual Council Members.
In inquiry No. 6, you ask why the City has not take the initiative to educate the citizens about
EMF in this educational campaign. In response I must refer to page three of your letter where
you begin a sentence with "There is still much to learn about EMF fields and its effects."
Throughout that paragraph you stress that there are no conclusive studies. I do not believe that
the City has attempted to deflect that issue, but since no conclusive studies do exist, we do not
feel a true educational campaign is possible. I think if you will dwell on that for a moment you
will realize that there are no substantiated long-term facts or conclusive studies, as mentioned in
your letter, that back up a hard core educational campaign.
In No. 7 in your letter, you state "aren't there other financial scenarios?" Yes, there are other
numerous financial scenarios, ranging from a bond issue, issuance of certificates of obligation,
and reducing the scope of the project. No. 9 in your letter addresses property taxes. Becky, we
will provide you with detailed information on the landscaping if you choose to request such, in
order to substantiate that the savings spent by landscaping around the bases does not even come
close to burying the transmission lines.
Finally, in No. 10, you ask why shouldn't the neighboring municipalities pay their share of the
project. Well, that's a great thought. Unfortunately, the City of Coppell has no legal jurisdiction
to force our neighboring cities to share these costs. Quite frankly, I believe, our neighbors will
not feel totally responsible for the rapid growth in Coppell. And, I am sure, the PUC itself will
have some problem assessing neighbors for the rapid growth of an individual community.
We appreciate your continued interest in this matter, and hope that you will work with
Councilmembers and Staff to define further alternatives. In the end, we believe the citizens of
Coppell will make their choice, whether it will be at the ballot box, or through their elected
representatives. We hope that by having an open and free exchange of information, situations
like we have encountered on Sandy Lake Road can be resolved in a positive manner.
Res~ffully,
Tom Morton
Mayor
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cc: Mayor and Couy~eil
Ken Griffin L/
Clay Phillips
Gary Sieb