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....