What is Tom Schoolcraft’s problem?

June 24, 2007

Memorial park is in the works for Helotes – San Antonio Business Journal:

The Legislature approved $1,125,000 to establish the Frank L. Madla Memorial Park on 33 acres of land near Scenic Loop Road in Helotes. The Helotes Park Foundation has secured $118,000 in contributions to pay for the purchase of the land. In addition, Pulte Homes Inc. has made a donation of $225,000 toward development of the park.

So the money is all ready to buy park land for the City of Helotes and none of it comes from the city’s budget. So what does the new mayor, Tom Schoolcraft do?

MySA.com: Politics

So, when two council members formerly aligned with Allan tried to put an item on a recent council agenda to discuss appointing someone to negotiate an extension of the expired land deal, Schoolcraft blocked them against the advice of the city attorney and common sense.

Schoolcraft said he did it because the two council members didn’t provide enough necessary documentation.

When asked what documentation, Schoolcraft graciously told an Express-News reporter, “I don’t need to explain it to you.”

So who does he have to explain it to? The 331 registered voters who in 2006 who participated in the Citizen Park Survey? The survey found that over 80% believed it was important for Helotes to have parks and recreation facilities. Or maybe he has to explain it to the voters that he promised:

Vote for Common Sense

I intend to work directly with the members of our boards, committees, and council to make sure we are all working toward the same goals. I will be open for constructive, positive suggestions from any of our citizens to make and keep Helotes the city we can all be proud to call home.

I’m sorry, ignoring the advise of the city attorney doesn’t sound like a “Vote for Common Sense.” If the phrase sounds familiar it’s because it was Schoolcraft’s campaign theme. Maybe he thinks he’s George Bush.

To sum up:

The city attorney advised Schoolcraft to put the park on the agenda.
The governor has signed a bill that would pay for over a million dollars to establish the park.
Pulte Homes, I think they count as developers, has contributed $225,000 for the park’s development.
Schoolcraft won the election by a grand total of 21 votes.

So is this about what’s best for Helotes or is this about Tom Schoolcraft showing who’s in charge?

Technorati Tags: Tom Schoolcraft, Helotes, Frank L. Madla Memorial Park, Helotes Park Foundation, Pulte Homes, Leticia Van de Putte, David Leibowitz, Helotes Mayor