Upcoming Events & ONA Information

Thursday, August 12, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.

ONA Monthly Meeting - Calvary Academy Library
Speaker: Gailon Hardin on Native Plants in your garden/yard

Gailon retired as an accountant in 1999 and began a new career with an emphasis on native plants. Since her retirement, Gailon has become a:
• Master Gardener • Master Naturalist• Master Composter • Plant Propagation Specialist
• Past President, Native Plant Society of Texas- North Central Chapter • President of the
Native Plant Society state organization in Fredericksburg.
Gailon has developed a sustainable native plant landscape on her one-acre property that requires watering only in times of drought—three to four times a year. She is such a native plant enthusiast, her three dogs Chilie Pequin, Sumac and Lancelota are all named after Texas native plants. Gailon was named “2000 Intern of the Year.” During the year, Gailon volunteered for the Tarrant County Extension Office, Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Howard Garrett's 'The Natural Way' WBAP weekend radio program, the Hulen Library native plant demonstration garden, Landscape Design school and the Wildscape at Veterans Park.

**********************************************************************************************

Tuesday, August 10 - Scrap Metal Recycling Yard Requests
I-35 and Sylvania Location; City Council to vote on proposal

A scrap metal recycling facility which must relocate from the near North Side due to development of the Trinity Uptown project has requested zoning which would allow its location at 2400 Northeast 36th Street.
Continued at its June meeting, the Zoning Commission voted 7-1 at its July 14th meeting to approve the request and sent it to the City Council. Over 25 nearby property owners and Riverside residents opposed to the request attended the Zoning Commission meeting. J.D. Granger, Executive Director of the Trinity River Vision Authority, appeared and spoke in favor of the I-35 and Sylvania location.

ONA President Ginger Bason wrote to the commission: “The Oakhurst Neighborhood Association is opposed to rezoning at 2400 N.E. 36th Street which would provide for a metal recycling facility for the following reasons:

Riverside Park Master Plan to be Considered by City Council

On May 26, the Fort Worth Parks and Community Services Advisory Board voted against forwarding the Riverside Park Master Plan with proposed flood storage to the Fort Worth City Council. Over 25 Riverside residents representing Oakhurst and other neighborhoods voiced support for improvements to the park but against creation of 138 acre-feet of floodwater storage in the park.

At the March 23, 2010 final public meeting on the plan, fifty-nine percent favored the non-floodwater storage version of the Riverside Park Master Plan. A new organization, Friends of Riverside Parks, has gathered more than 250 petitions in opposition to the floodwater storage version of the plan. The Oakhurst Neighborhood Association, Friends of Riverside Parks, and the Carter-Riverside Neighborhood Association have stated their support for improvements to Riverside Park but oppose flood storage in the park.

The Fort Worth City Council had been expected to vote on the plan at its August 3 night meeting, however the vote has apparently been delayed until later in the year. ONA will notify residents as soon as a final decision is known. In the meantime, you can contact Councilman Sal Espino at 817.392.8802 or sal.espino@fortworthgov.org on the matter.

Information to consider before you accept floodwater storage in Riverside Park

  • We will lose use of a substantial part of our park after floods and heavy rains.
  • There is no timeline for cleanup after a flood or heavy rain.
  • The City does not have funds available now to mow the parks we already have more than 3 times a year or edge more than once a year.
  • The Trinity River is contaminated with PCBs, chlordane, and bacteria.
  • This contaminated water will be the flood water coming into Riverside Park.
  • There is no guarantee these chemicals are not harmful once a flood occurs.
  • Fish from the river cannot be eaten because they are contaminated by these chemicals.
  • There is no funding to clean up the contaminated river water.
  • Why would children or adults want to be exposed to the contaminants on land or in the water?
  • Fish caught are to be thrown back, not eaten.
  • No traffic studies have been done to determine the amount of traffic increase on Oakhurst Scenic Drive if a boat ramp, fishing pier, dog park, etc. is installed in Riverside Park.
  • Greenway Park, ¼ mile west, has 2 ball diamonds & a playground and parking.
  • Harmon Field, 1 mile south, has 5 athletic fields, lights, & parking.
  • Bertha Collins Athletic Complex, 1 ¼ miles south, has athletic fields, activities building, & parking.
  • Gateway Park, 2 ½ miles east, has many amenities, including soccer fields.
  • Riverside has many amenities, including a low water bridge at the E. 4th trailhead which has ramps on each side of the river leading to it
  • No plan is in place to mitigate damage to Oakhurst Scenic Drive by heavy equipment necessary to excavate Riverside Park for flood water storage.
  • Verified estimates are that it will take over 13,000 truck trips on Oakhurst Scenic Drive and into and out of the park AT LEAST 4 ½ months to finish the excavation – possible loss of use of Oakhurst Scenic Drive AND Riverside Park during that time
  •  A large amount of the federal dollars for park excavation will be spent on digging, removal and the replacement of amenities that are already in place at Riverside Park (fields, lights, etc.)
  • The City has stated they have other places this flood storage can be placed.
  • How long will the destruction and reconstruction of the park take?
  • What happens if the money runs out before the reconstruction is complete?
  • The section to the north on the master plans showing ball fields DOES NOT belong to the City but they are showing ball fields there.
  • The majority of attendees at all four public meetings on the Riverside Park master plan has been against the flood water storage in Riverside Park.
  • There is at least $170,000. available for improvements to Riverside Park with no flood storage and no loss of park use.


>> See more News & Events!

  • the facility will encourage heavy through truck traffic on Sylvania Avenue, the eastern boundary of our neighborhood. Sylvania is already beseiged by too much traffic in a residential area and this facility would only add to it;
  • the facility could increase the likelihood of criminal activity related to the theft and sale of stolen metal and other materials;
  • the facility could increase the potential for toxic runoff in the area.

We agree with a recent Dallas Morning News editorial that metal salvage operators’ businesses “serve an an important environmental need. But they no longer belong in an urban setting.” Ideally, such a facility should be where, as the News noted, “its efficiency can be improved, where toxic runoff can be prevented and where their eyesore effect can be dramatically reduced on the surroundings.”

At its July 22 meeting, ONA membership voted unanimously to reaffirm its opposition to the I-35 and Sylvania location and asked that trucks over a certain number of axles be prohibited from commuting on Sylvania to the site. 

>> View a copy of the zoning change request. To express your opinion on the case write to Councilman Sal Espino at sal.espino@fortworthgov.org or call him at 817.392.8802.

**********************************************************************************************