Friends of Lake Texoma Letter to the Editor 3.17.09

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March 17, 2009

Friends of Lake Texoma Letter to the Editor 3.17.09

Dear Editor,

The Marshall County TIF review committee met in Kingston last week and heard Pointe Vista officials claim their development could bring in over $531 million in taxes over the next 25 years. But, under the terms of tax increment financing, this money doesn’t benefit the whole county – it stays within the development area to pay for their infrastructure costs. And, if they go bankrupt, it won’t bring in a dime.

The Friends of Lake Texoma State Park (FLTSP) oppose corporate welfare for Pointe Vista’s park conversion, because they haven’t received approvals by the National Park Service (NPS), or the Corps of Engineers Environmental Branch for taking away our public recreation land. (As this paper pointed out in February, NPS’ Bob Anderson said, “We do not have an approved conversion. No conversion request has been submitted to us.”)

We believe Pointe Vista’s efforts to gain public funding prove they don't have the money to build, or, they aren’t willing to risk their own money, in the event it fails. If they aren’t willing to risk it, why should Marshall County?

When asked by one reporter at TIF meeting if Pointe Vista's presentation materials would be made available to her, at first they refused. When she persisted, they agreed to provide them. However, there is a serious problem with what they provided. It's not all there. They omitted something. They left out an important map which incorrectly represented Pointe Vista project boundaries. That map included
Area A – The Chickasaw Pointe Golf Course, etc. (north of US 70), and Area B - Lake Texoma State Park (south of US 70). However, they also deceptively included Area C, the 1,000 acres of federal land which they do not own, and may never own.

We have been accused of standing in the way of progress, and delaying this project. The truth is, the state Tourism Department and Pointe Vista officials have mislead the public by failing to discuss the estimated 18 – 24 months required for the Corp of Engineers to complete their Environmental Impact Study (EIS) on Area C. It will also include a critical economic impact component which the TIF committee should review before doing anything else.

The Land Office Commissioners have the oversight authority and legal obligation to protect our state lands. They were in error when they sold the Park without assuring the state's compliance with the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act. They can void the land sale contracts with Pointe Vista, and take back the entire park, based on the developer’s inexperience and deceptiveness.

Boyd Steele, President
Friends of Lake Texoma State Park

Posted by dop_editor at March 17, 2009 05:53 PM

March 17, 2009

Friends of Lake Texoma Letter to the Editor 3.17.09

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	« NY Times Editorial Supports Increased Funding for LWCF \| Main \| Defense of Place testimony to House Appropriations Comm on LWCF funding and oversight » March 17, 2009 Friends of Lake Texoma Letter to the Editor 3.17.09 Dear Editor, The Marshall County TIF review committee met in Kingston last week and heard Pointe Vista officials claim their development could bring in over $531 million in taxes over the next 25 years. But, under the terms of tax increment financing, this money doesn’t benefit the whole county – it stays within the development area to pay for their infrastructure costs. And, if they go bankrupt, it won’t bring in a dime. The Friends of Lake Texoma State Park (FLTSP) oppose corporate welfare for Pointe Vista’s park conversion, because they haven’t received approvals by the National Park Service (NPS), or the Corps of Engineers Environmental Branch for taking away our public recreation land. (As this paper pointed out in February, NPS’ Bob Anderson said, “We do not have an approved conversion. No conversion request has been submitted to us.”) We believe Pointe Vista’s efforts to gain public funding prove they don't have the money to build, or, they aren’t willing to risk their own money, in the event it fails. If they aren’t willing to risk it, why should Marshall County? When asked by one reporter at TIF meeting if Pointe Vista's presentation materials would be made available to her, at first they refused. When she persisted, they agreed to provide them. However, there is a serious problem with what they provided. It's not all there. They omitted something. They left out an important map which incorrectly represented Pointe Vista project boundaries. That map included Area A – The Chickasaw Pointe Golf Course, etc. (north of US 70), and Area B - Lake Texoma State Park (south of US 70). However, they also deceptively included Area C, the 1,000 acres of federal land which they do not own, and may never own. We have been accused of standing in the way of progress, and delaying this project. The truth is, the state Tourism Department and Pointe Vista officials have mislead the public by failing to discuss the estimated 18 – 24 months required for the Corp of Engineers to complete their Environmental Impact Study (EIS) on Area C. It will also include a critical economic impact component which the TIF committee should review before doing anything else. The Land Office Commissioners have the oversight authority and legal obligation to protect our state lands. They were in error when they sold the Park without assuring the state's compliance with the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act. They can void the land sale contracts with Pointe Vista, and take back the entire park, based on the developer’s inexperience and deceptiveness. Boyd Steele, President Friends of Lake Texoma State Park Posted by dop_editor at March 17, 2009 05:53 PM Comments Post a comment Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out) (If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.) URL: Remember me? YesNo Comments:

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