Wellborn, my hometown

When you talk to someone from Wellborn, they will usually let you know that they are 'from' Wellborn. In the last few months, I have come to know so many in our town and we interact in social settings and at political speeches, in fundraisers and fun times. We are so diverse, but so much in common because we are Wellborn.

Many in Wellborn were born here (or nearby), some went to school here, but most, like me, are 'transplants'. But Wellborn is my hometown. However, unlike some places, people move to Wellborn on purpose. Something draws us here and gives us roots. It is definitely hard to describe to non-Wellborn folks what this means, how it feels. My best analogy comes from my Aggie side:

From the outside looking in, you don't understand it.

From the inside looking out, you can't explain it.

In Wellborn, you will find a first-generation American next to someone from an original Austin Colony family, standing shoulder-to-shoulder, hands on hearts, confirming our pledge to our country and to one another. We are old, we are young. There are some with a ton of money and others with lots less. No matter.

We are Wellborn.

Our newcomers aren't carpet baggers, they are just folks who took some time getting here. Whether they are from Ohio, Michigan, the Middle East, or College Station, they came here and stayed because something holds them here, because they want to be part of whatever it is that we have. Maybe it's the working class roots of our town, or simply the ability to be yourself that draws a certain type of folks here.

We all seem to appreciate and value a thing done well, whether it is a turned wooden bowl, a bluegrass performance, or world-changing scientific discovery. We believe that good manners are important and wisdom comes with age. Hard work is a means to an end, and there ain't no free lunch. Men and women who serve in our military deserve our best. Every time.

We love the land and all God's creatures and sometimes just sit and listen to the world. On a fall day, you can hear the Aggie cannon roar from Kyle Field when the 12th Man makes it across the goal line, imagine all the students kissing their dates. But sometimes, like now, in early spring, you begin to anticipate the small peep of a chickadee, the whirr of a hummingbird, a bleating calf in search of its mother. We can still see the stars on a clear night and wonder what the original settlers thought long ago.

Wellborn is a special place. We have a lot to offer and a lot to share.

We are Wellborn. Please let us vote.

Karen

City of College Station : Strategic Plan '09 - '14

Browsing around the CS website and their plans for citizens of CS and the disenfranchised ETJers, I found their Organizational Values in the 2009-14 Strategic Plan:

City of College Station : Strategic Plan '09 - '14: "ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES
Respect everyone
Deliver excellent service
Risk, Create, Innovate
Be one city, one team
Be personally responsible
Do the right thing - act with integrity and honesty
Have fun"

I like these! I think that most Wellborigines would too!

I hope that the city council members will look at these and decide if they can believce in these, too, or if they just want to give some lip service (or lip) to them.

Nonetheless, I have colored another map with my crayons to show how Wellborn's incorporation WILL NOT impede the growth of College Station. The yellow-ish stuff down highway 6, south of Wellborn, north of Wellborn is all available to CS. Heck, they can spread on out in Grimes and Washington Counties if they wanna and I didn't really color those!

They worry about the comprehensive plan, but, hey!, risk, create, innovate! You have a good set of values-- just follow them!

I truly believe that the incorporation of Wellborn might just be what is needed to shake out the citizens of CS from their sleepy hollow...

Finally, I got my invite from the Citizens for Wellborn to the members-only meeting on Saturday, 7 p.m., in the Wellborn Community Center. I know a lot of folks have been involved with helping raise money and raise awareness, but you haven't filled out your membership form yet! They are available online and they will have some at the door on Saturday.

Who cares about the US Census?
Get counted in Wellborn!

This afternoon was just gorgeous. Went outside at lunch and let the sun stir up that Vitamin D in my skin while I looked at the green grass that was pumping oxygen into the air. A good day to be alive: I have a job, I live in a community that cares for one another, I have a wonderful family.

The great weather got me moving things around on this page. Notice that The Weather Channel gadget to the right says WELLBORN. I typed in Wellborn, TX, and it popped right up. Seems that the Weather Channel knows where Wellborn is. They are located in Atlanta, Georgia, which is 883 miles away according to Google maps (who also know where Wellborn, Texas, is located). I've also added a feature at the bottom where you can sign up with your email to be notified when one of us posts. This will make it easy for those who like a little reminder!

Now, for our final work for the day:

Incorporation is nearly irreversible. Decisions made now will significantly impact College Station’s growth pattern into the future. Cutting off the city’s only area for expansion essentially means that growth and development must occur entirely within the current city limits. It’s projected that College Station will reach a population of 100,000 by 2013.

Well, lots of things are nearly irreversible. Incorporation IS reversible. Residents of an incorporated city can vote to unincorporate. Residents of adjoining cities can vote to merge their cities. If no one runs for council positions, resulting in zero council meetings, poof!, it's gone.

Next is my favorite phrase...Cutting off the city's (CS) only area for expansion....

I look at the map I posted yesterday and laugh. How stupid do they think people are?

We already determined that folks in CS City Hall don't have much imagination yesterday and here's proof. Maybe that's because they see FM 2154 as the major gateway to College Station.

Bingo! I've solved the mystery of why they think we're gonna fence them in. We just need to let them see that Highway 6 (running both ways) is actually a major gateway to their city... and CS is already on both sides of Hwy 6.... they can move that direction and can even push westward to the Brazos River, just south of Wellborn.

So now it's time for action. Wellborigines Unite! On Saturday, February 20, we will convene a meeting of the Citizens for Wellborn Committee at the Wellborn Community Center in...... yup! Wellborn! at 7 p.m. It's members only, but you can join at the door for $5 (larger donations appreciated). We will, as a community, determine our marching orders. Oh, you don't have to live in Wellborn to be a member. In fact, we have members from Houston, Somerville, Bryan, and, yes, College Station. We didn't want a fight with City Hall. We like College Station and the people of College Station. I wish CS City Council would listen to their constituents. Then this whole council-made drama would be over.

Sigh. I just wish we could be part of what happens to us.

City Council? Give us a holler. We'd love to participate in the workshop on March 11. See ya in the funny papers.

Love,
Doris

They Want our Money

Okay, we are not artists, but we tried to do a county map. Bryan is blue, CS is yellow and Wellborn is pink. Kurten and Wixon Valley are also pink, shown on Hwy 21, with Kurten being easternmost. Please note that my highlighter made some of the Wellborn parts too big. Note that CS is not 'fenced in' by Wellborn-- they have a clear shot down Hwy 6 and down FM 2154 south of Wellborn. Their claim that our incorporation would cut off their only area for expansion is not supported by the evidence of our eyes. Now, more refutations.

Loss of future tax revenue
Like all cities, College Station relies on revenue in order to provide services for its citizens. Those revenues come from a variety of sources, such as sales tax, property tax, sanitation bills and permit fees. Should Wellborn be allowed to incorporate within our ETJ, College Station would forfeit any future revenues from that growth area.

Okay. Sure, they will miss not have our ad valorem tax. I miss having theirs.

Are they trying to say they cannot run the city of CS without our money? We are not asking for them to provide anything to us. The only service we currently enjoy that is provided by the city of College Station is emergency medical service. This is not a gift from CS-- it is paid for by Brazos County through interlocal agreement.

So, what services can they provide that we don't already have? None. Some of Wellborn east of the tracks might might get sewage service. Of course, the cost to tie into their sewage line might be pretty pricey. In fact, Wellborn would cost CS money to annex. We will demand full services, including sewer and police. I think they are pretty bottomed out on both right now. Talking about annexation, members of CS city council have said, Oh! We have no plans to annex CS any time soon! Maybe ten years.... Yea, right. You want the tax money we will provide and you will provide nada. Folks who've lived in Brazos County for a long time, or grew up here, think, what's the big deal? Why is CS being so cranky? We've always thought of Wellborn as, well, Wellborn. This leads in so perfectly to their next objection:

Deviates from growth plan developed by CS citizens
In May 2009, the College Station City Council adopted a new Comprehensive Plan, which outlines the city’s vision for future growth and development. The plan was directly influenced by significant citizen participation. Chapter 8 of the Comprehensive Plan speaks to growth management and includes an extensive discussion on how and when future annexation should occur. The plan never envisioned a scenario where Wellborn was allowed to incorporate within our ETJ.

Wow. The last sentence says it all. They never had the imagination to think, hmmm, what if Wellborn, or Millican, were to incorporate? So possessive, no sharing, no sense of community. CS Council are not Big Brother, they are Big Bully. They remind me of junior high kids. Remember the snotty ones, the ones who thought they should be class president? When you put in your bid they were astonished. They could not imagine you in a leadership role, even at the age of 14, because they had been groomed for such a position,


and there can be only one!

(Weird. So many Scottish references. First William Wallace, now the Highlander. I don't see any of us grabbing a claymore or painting our faces blue, but the daydreamy thought is kinda nice....)

We'll get to the final reason that incorporating Wellborn hurts CS tomorrow. It will be fun to look at the survey they did in 2007, where the top three 'needs and desires' were traffic, public safety, utilities and environmental protection, and the top four 'negative' things impacting quality of life were traffic, taxes and utility costs, loss of green space and safety. I'm pretty sure I'm seeing a pattern and it sure don't include denying Wellborigines the right to vote on issues involving their own land....

We begin to refute them

I promised to begin countering the College Station 'negative impacts' as they have stated on their own webpage. Here's one take on what they write.

From the www.cstx.gov/wellborn webpage--

Negative impacts of cities allowing communities to incorporate within the ETJ

While allowing Wellborn to incorporate within College Station’s ETJ would reduce city staff’s future workload and responsibilities, there are many ways in which incorporation could negatively affect College Station residents:

Loss of ability to influence College Station’s growth and development

College Station is a vibrant and growing city, but because the City of Bryan and its ETJ borders College Station to the north, west and east, the only direction to accommodate our growth is southward.

Also, by granting Wellborn permission to incorporate within our ETJ, we forfeit any ability to employ zoning; therefore, we lose the most important tool in terms of influencing the character of future growth in that area.

Did I just read that? College Station will be hemmed in by Wellborn? Ha. A ha. A hahahahaha.

First of all , the 'line' that separates Bryan and College Station is not an east-west line, more SW to NE, roughly along University Drive (Hwy 60). The eastward 'blocking' done by Bryan's ETJ is only about 5 degrees off level. In fact, College Station is blocking Bryan to the south and east! How dare they. Another thing to consider is that after the 2010 census, if College Station exceeds 100,000 residents, the ETJ entitlement will extend five miles and in fact will begin to curl up around Bryan. Us Wellborigines do know how to read a map for goodness sake. CS planning recently approved the plat of 2200 acres SOUTH of Wellborn, which runs from Hwy 6 to FM 2154. So now who is south of whom? Hmmmmmm?

OK, if you're smarter than a third grader, here's the geography lesson:

Brazos County has 590 square miles.

Bryan is 43.4 square miles

College Station is 40.3 square miles

Wixon Valley is 1.8 square miles

Kurten is smaller than 2 square miles (you'll have to trust me on this).

So, that leaves over 500 square miles of 'county' unincorporated land!

Wellborn is mapped at 3.8 square miles, give or take an acre or ten.

Wellborn is less than 1 % of the unincorporated land in the county!

Now, by their own admission (Mayor White on WTAW on 2/10/10), College Station has enough UNDEVELOPED land already within the city limits to accommodate a population of 125,000 with an estimated 93,000 now. So, the population would have to increase (125,000-93,000)/93,000, or 34%!!!

So, they have 'no plans' to annex anything in the near term. Heck , they plan to develop what they got!

Zoning. Yes, College Station says that they have no authority to enforce zoning in the ETJ. Correct. Unincorporated land is not zoned. If Wellborn incorporates, the Wellborn City Council and the citizens of Wellborn will decide how to zone the City of Wellborn. Therefore, the City of College Station is PREVENTING zoning. They claim that zoning is their most important tool. We agree that zoning can provide predictable results. However, Wellborigines want to zone our own land, land that is not in College Station. By keeping us in limbo status, the City of College Station is implying that the absence of zoning is better than the zoning that would be provided by Wellborn. Gee. Did you just insult me?

People in Wellborn want our city to look great. We live here! Duh, we don't want to live in a slum. But if the City of College Station denies our right to vote and we remain in limbo, anything can happen. We want to promote the backdoor gateway to College Station because it is our home.

BTW, we did not 'spring up' on the periphery of College Station. Most of the 'developed' parts of Wellborn which are east of the tracks have been there since the 1980s, from FM 2154 up Greens Prairie Road through Woodlake. College Station grew up in OUR periphery. We are not sprawl, we are not a doughnut.

We are Wellborn!

Thanks to a fellow Wellborigine for the pic

We're the Wellborigines

Welcome to the Wellborigines blog. I am a Wellborigine, meaning I live in Wellborn, Texas. We are an old community and have been working for nearly two years to become an incorporated community. On the mybcs forums, someone called us the Wellborigines and it has a nice ring to it, sort of like the original peoples from Wellborn.

We're located adjacent to College Station, Texas, hometown of Texas A&M University. Unfortunately, the city council in CS refuses to let us officially incorporate and their reasons are extremely lame. You can read it all here, but I'll be going through the items that they say will 'harm' College Station. Now, I'm not paranoid, but I'll also cut and paste the words separately.

The crux of the matter is that we are asking to be allowed to vote (yup, that good ole American right) on whether the residents of Wellborn would like to incorporate our town. Our land lies outside the city limits of College Station. We have been good neighbors and have maintained our composure.

Until last night.

Over a dozen of us spoke at the meeting, our visitor's 'three minutes' worth. Then we sat through the rest of the meeting, waiting for council to agree to put our request on their agenda. Wow. What a vociferous reaction. One would think we had cooties or were of the wrong caste.

So, now it's game on. I guess they felt alright last night and slept well. Heck, maybe they think it's ok to disenfranchise other Americans who are only asking to manage the land that they already own! We don't want anything from them, and they have said publicly that they have no intentions of annexing Wellborn anytime soon. So. Well.

This council has a history of not listening to the actual citizens. A few months ago, the citizens got together a petition to get rid of the 'red light cameras' which issue tickets through the mail to those who are caught running a red light. A lot of folks saw this as just way too Big Brother. Despite the public outcry, they poo-pooed the petitioners, trying to find any minute flaw. Well, it had to go all the way to the general election before they were forced to undo the cameras. Jeesh.