Lake Ralph Hall

Dear Mayor Smith:

I just got home from the meeting in Bonham and wanted to send you an email right away to tell you how thankful I am that you and your wonderful staff attended and presented such a fantastic presentation. Of course I am anti-lake (I live 6 miles north of Ladonia) and have been fighting this project since Leon Hurse started it 5 years ago (even before UTRWD).

It was a breath of fresh air to have professional handouts with facts and figures which lent themselves to reality. Comparatively, the skimpy handout from UTRWD is it's usual "overview" approach with no details which "might confuse" us. Tom Taylor and the rest of those bozos at UTRWD have met with us since 2002 and told us very little, charged us $15.00 for their overview, and took an attitude (which was again on display tonight) that they knew best and that all we should do is trust them.

When Taylor said that nonsense about the lake always being full I thought about the contract they signed with the City of Ladonia (which I had just read the night before) and wished somehow it could be mentioned about their own caveat in their own contract concerning this very thing. So when your side then promptly stood up and read it aloud it was so wonderful. The more people actually find out about this project the worse it looks. We have never had someone come out and explain to the Fannin County citizens that this project is totally unnecessary and will only make matters worse for them.

Tonight we got that information out there and I personally will be contacting each county commissioner with my viewpoints. I will also be encouraging my neighbors and friends to contact the commissioners to ask that they vote "NO" next Monday on this project.

Again, thank you so much for the time, money, and energy you and your staff have given to this issue. I know Flower Mound has their own reasons to fight against this proposed lake but in your struggle you have helped many Fannin County citizens, too. We appreciate you very much!

Sincerely,

Leslie Adams
Ladonia, TX

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Just wanted to thank you and the others from Flower Mound, for the information we received Tues. night in Bonham. We are one of the so called "few" families whose home will be lost because of this lake. When we get info it's all from Mayor Hurse or Upper Trinity, which are all one sided. We oppose this lake for several reasons. The main one, losing the only home our 2 boys, age 13 & 5 have ever known. The other, it's not needed. We can't see this lake boosting Ladonia economy. Anyway, just wanted to say how nice it was to hear yalls very informative info and appreciated the way you conducted yourselves, even though there were times things could have gotten out of hand.

Jeff & Tricia Stoltenberg
Ladonia, TX

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Jody,

I apologize for being several days late in writing this message, but things have been busy, as usual.

I was one of the audience members at the Lake Ralph Hall meeting in Bonham March 8th. We spoke briefly at the end of the assembly. I’m also a land owner in the proposed lake area.

I just wanted to let you know that you & your folks gave an excellent presentation, and the majority of the people in the assembly were staunchly on your side. Please forward this message to Julie, Robert & James. In addition, I want all of you to know that you have allies in Fannin County. Our interest is saving our homes. Flower Mound’s interest is not becoming a major bill payer for this boondoggle.

My favorite presentation was Robert Smith’s of Kellogg, Brown & Root. He cut through the rhetoric & got to the facts. As far as I’m concerned, the entire assembly could have convened & adjourned on his presentation!

At the other end of the spectrum was Upper Trinity’s entire presentation. So shallow. So superficial. So unsupported. Tom Taylor offered no basis for 95% of his claims & projections. He tossed big numbers around to & fro without once citing studies or analyses. A comparison between Flower Mound’s presentation & Upper Trinity’s is a comparison between a careful analysis of the issues & a flim-flam show.

There’s three groups of people in Fannin County on this subject.

1. The largest group is the masses of families outside the lake area who don’t care. They don’t think they’ll be affected until they get their share of the redistributed property taxes from the displaced land owners (11,000 acres with homes!).

2. The second group is the land owners inside the lake area. We see this proposal for what it truly is—an opportunity to grab land @ discount prices using the terror of imminent domain & judicial decree.

3. Unfortunately, the smallest group of people—the Fannin County commissioners—are the only ones who count.

On March 14th, they met, again, and decided to postpone a decision on whether, or not, to support the lake. Thusfar, they have not insisted on studies or analysis for the proponent side of the lake issue. Nor have they pursued negotiations with Upper Trinity on relevant issues, like (1) a more respectable share of the water for Fannin County, (2) funding for a pumping capability, (3) a guaranteed share of the jobs that result from building the lake, and (4) a floor below which reimbursements for land owners will not drop (like original costs).

From a Fannin County point of view, other hilarious issues are Tom Taylor’s unsupported claims about the economic development the lake will bring to the area (like at Lake Cooper?), Ladonia’s contractual agreement to fund 10% of the cost of this multi-million $$$ project, and the hike in property taxes on the other land owners in Fannin County when the 11,000 acres for this proposed lake disappear from the tax roles. Another real laugh is Tom Taylor doubting a study done by Kellogg, Brown & Root—probably the most prestigious engineer firm in the world—when he has nothing to offer as a counter.

If the Fannin County commissioners buy the Brooklyn Bridge (so to speak), we certainly hope that Flower Mound will continue the fight. If any of us Fannin County folks can be of assistance, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

Thanks, again, for the excellent presentation & the critical examination of Upper Trinity’s flim-flam!

Mike & Evelyn Flesher