Taxes More Important Than Churches in North Richland Hills!

by Ron West

    Truth is often stranger than fiction - especially in North Richland Hills, Texas.

        Two weeks ago, at the special request of Mayor Pro Tem Tim Welch, the NRH City Council revisited the rezoning of a tract of land that had previously been denied by the council.  After a couple of weeks of the usual "walking quorum" with Mr. Welch directly contacting three other council members outside of public meetings, by virtue of council "rules" the matter was again placed on the council agenda for January 9th, 2006.  This time the vote was favorable for higher density housing than previously allowed by existing zoning.  Two of the council members contacted by Mr. Welch changed their votes.

        It should be noted that the "walking quorums" are usually more discretely handled by Mr. Cunningham and Mayor Trevino via sequential phone calls.  This is almost impossible to prove, but how else could council members continually vote in lock step without any public discussion or pre-release of issues?

        The passage of the change required a "super majority" or six positive votes to pass due to a petition initiated and signed by adjacent home owners who opposed the change. 

        After the measure was initially defeated, it is reported that "rumors" were circulated that the land owner was going to build a mosque (Islamic Church) on the land if he did not get the required zoning change.  It was also reported that Councilman Whitson went door to door in the opposing neighborhood "advising" citizens of the impending building of this mosque.  This is neither documented nor substantiated.

        Truth is often stranger than fiction in North Richland Hills.  The following is verbatim from the minutes of the January 9th council meeting:

            The predictable outcome was that the ordinance was passed primarily on the strength of Councilwoman Cox's changing her vote.  The citizens of nearby neighborhoods were essentially duped with false and misleading (rumor) information by the developer and perhaps with the help of Councilman Whitson.  There appears to be no factual information to support the mosque rumor that was a bigoted attempt to scare local residents.  Lastly, and most importantly to the incumbents on the council, tax revenue and spending will get to go up with the new taxes that are so very, very important to them.

            The "education" Mr. Welch referenced was technically illegal since he "lobbied" other council members outside public view to get them to change their vote.  There is no public reason known as to why Mr. Welch was so personally interested in over riding a council vote for this developer.

            While in this case the rumor was attributed to a mosque, this council looks at all church locations - since they don't have to pay property taxes - as losses to them.  There appears to be little or no consideration of the positive impact churches and religious organizations contribute to the overall community.  Since they don't contribute to the coffers of NRH, they are just not desirable.  Oh - but they can be useful to local politicos by incorporating pastors with large congregations - to participate in tax raising activities such as the current committee studying just how much the voters will tolerate for new bonds for BISD.  Influence at swaying votes is useful to the council and apparently to BISD also.

            Wouldn't it be refreshing to hear the council consider the current traffic issues created by high density development instead of just how much more tax it generates.  Perhaps a discussion of quality of life and respecting the wishes of the citizens could be considered.  And - as outlandish as it seems - maybe a little truth and honesty from all council members.

            Our congratulations to Mayor Pro Tem Tim Welch for selling this deal.  No one is going to really challenge the walking quorum or the violation of the law so he accomplished his goals. 

            Our sincere congratulations to Councilwoman Bielik, she stood her ground again - against the false information and the pressure from Welch.  We know that the battle against Trevino et. al. is a thankless and difficult task.  If you get a chance, let her know that you appreciate her efforts!