Chris John Mallios and his loyal band of Green Team propaganda clowns over on the Facebook Group League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport like to think they have the market cornered on sharing information with the residents of League City. They pretend to have an open forum for discussion, yet shout down, kick out, and silence anyone who is not in agreement with them. Please consider another source for your information - and I highly recommend digging into the ACTUAL source of information instead of their outrageously distorted version of events. Look at the city website for information on projects that are being discussed. Look at the city website for links to council meeting video archives and minutes. Look at the county tax site for receipts for tax payments (to see what items were paid late or whether they were paid on time). But whatever you do, don't bother attempting to get the truth out of the League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport circus. Here's a few examples of the complete distortions presented by the loyal followers of Brother Hallisey.
1) Mick Phalen Can Use Paint. In an attempt to imply that the tax documents which were shared by various outlets regarding Greg Gripon's failures at managing his personal and business finances, Mick Phalen showed that you can (gasp) alter the files on a computer. However, what you CAN'T alter, are the receipts which can also be looked up, showing that multiple years were paid late, the day before Greg Gripon was going to go on Chris John Mallios's radio show. So go check those out for yourself. While it IS possible to edit documents, the manner in which Mr. Phalen presented his information was meant to imply that the documents sent around WERE faked, but they weren't. Good try, Mick, to attempt to discredit the truth through innuendo, that way you can't be pointed out for lying. But as Byram Lass likes to remind everyone, leaving out any of the truth is the same as lying.
2) Sandra Kelley Lies about Votes at Council Meetings. Besides being generally delusional about the popularity of her positions in League City, Sandra Kelley has been flat out lying on LCPIAFCS. After a tirade about the downtown revitalization beginning with the expense of burying power lines (which she somehow thinks are an aesthetic feature as opposed to an eyesore) she was asked who voted to bury the lines. Her reply was 5-2 (which, to anyone who follows the Council meetings would realize is most likely everyone else in favor except Dugie and Hallisey); however, the vote was actually 7-0. Yes, folks, Pat Hallisey and Hank Dugie both voted for this as well. Will Sandra Kelley and her little minion Mel launch a recall effort for this abandonment? Perhaps Pat should remind his wife how he voted, after she liked Sandra's rant about this, then went on to state, "This last Council has voted yes!" Janice - news flash, your HUSBAND voted yes. Of course, you couldn't POSSIBLY be trying to hide this fact by making these comments on Facebook to avoid the rebellion of his loyal army of idiots on LCPIAFCS, right? And then Sandra went on to imply that something nefarious is at play when Keith Gross left the chamber for the vote. He clearly asked if "abstaining" was essentially a vote against the proposal, and if he wanted to actually abstain he would have less impact on the vote if he left the room. So he left. Now, if Mr. Gross fails to leave the room should someone put forth a proposal that is against the downtown revitalization effort, and instead abstains, you could argue that he's trying to manipulate the vote through his various methods of not voting. But if he remains consistent (which he's been VERY consistent on this so far) then nothing is wrong. But again, with a play out of the smarmy politics for dummies book, if you just IMPLY he did something wrong, you can always deny you meant to imply it. So if you're GOING to spread misinformation, at least do it with some conviction.
Here's some more distortions from the Green Team Propaganda Machine
1) Power Lines are "Historical" Charm (Sandra Kelley on FB, regurgitated by Wiccan Cheryl Barr at the Council Meeting on 10/25). I honestly don't need to say too much on this, but you're really stretching for rationale when you are trying to dissuade the council from voting to bury power lines and the best you can come up with is: I've seen them in other downtowns, they look historical. It's power lines, not your grandmother's heirlooms.
2) Yvonne Tibai can't use a map, how can we trust her to collect other information. She claims to have records showing candidates to have not voted in League City elections; however, she also assumed that Kemah address meant non-resident of League City (I guess we can throw out those Dickinson address folks down in Bay Colony as well). How many votes has she failed to recognize because they were cast in League City elections at polling locations/precincts that ARE League City but without League City addresses? (ALWAYS consider the source) I won't ever know, because she refuses to share the information except in private conversations (possibly because she's altered it, or knows it's incomplete?) Ultimately, this points to yet another reason not to trust anything you read on League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport. They're not used to having anyone fact-checking their claims, since they exist in their echo-chamber of stupidity, and are completely manipulated by a couple less than honest puppet-masters.
3) Inconsistency. This is a good way to determine bias and verify that the Green Team Propaganda Wing is just that, and everyone should look elsewhere for truth. Prime example - Byram Lass challenges someone from Dickinson who comments on LCPIAFCS group; yet is TOTALLY okay with Gordon Vest of Louisiana and Holly Shelden of La Grange chiming in to the group. An immediate neighbor seems more valid of a contributor than a former resident in discussing the future of our city
4) Immaturity. Just how much discussion could this group of deranged hyper-vocal half-wits possibly have about a tattoo on a city council members arm? Is this what passes for "research" and serious conversation with these clowns? Again, yet another reason to find a different source for information regarding League City politics.
I'm not saying you should trust me. In fact, don't, you don't know me from Adam. This is why I provide references for things I state, or at least point you to where the source is. Verify everything. And if you see something incorrect that I've said, please, let me know. I'm only human.
Ha! Yeah, I too laughed at the sheer stupidity of the comment that overhead power lines add historical charm. Overhead power lines must put Green Team members into a trance of the brain-dead. Remember that Marc Edelman led the vote when he was on P&Z to grant CenterPoint Energy a variance from the city's requirement that power lines be placed underground, so that CenterPoint could string overhead power lines down one of the main roads in the Mar Bella subdivision. That vote to cater to the interests of big business (the main reason given was to save CenterPoint the $6M cost of burying the lines) at the expense of hardworking residents ended up being a huge mess that the city manager and city attorney had to clean up. Only now do I realize that Edelman was just trying to add some historical charm to Mar Bella. All those Mar Bella residents who spoke out against the unsightly overhead lines are clearly just simpletons upon whom true beauty is lost...
ReplyDeleteJust to set the record straight, the arbitrary and capricious enforcement of the requirement to place these lines underground by the city of League City coupled with the fact that local ordinances cannot dictate to a regulated utility what expense the utility will bare to install distribution power lines which are considered part of the utility grid. The only power lines that local ordinances can regulate are from the transformer on the pole to the service entrance of a residence or building. In other words, the City of League City, cannot dictate to the rate payers of Texas how much they will pay to install the distribution grid in our town. The utility company can agree on the method of installation, but it cannot be required to install lines underground for aesthetic reasons. I voted to grant the request for a variance because it seemed a reasonable request in lieu of the evidence presented. Additionally, I was certain that had we not granted this variance that there would be an expensive and protractive lawsuit with Centerpoint Energy and the City of League City. My decision was solely to save the tax payers the legal expense of an obvious lawsuit. Today, fellow citizens, there is a lawsuit over this matter between League City and Centerpoint Energy. It is costing the citizens tens of thousands of dollars and will continue to cost the citizens many more tens of thousands. It is not because of the vote of Planning and Zoning to grant the variance that there is a lawsuit, but because the city overturned the P&Z decision and made another deal and is requiring the distribution lines to be buried. So your complete distortion of the facts of this matter is clearly an indication of your dishonesty and the complete propaganda that runs through all the posts on this site.
ReplyDeleteEdelman is so cute when he tries to play lawyer.
ReplyDeleteContrary to your claims, League City's ordinances NEVER sought to regulate the utility's activities. The city's ordinance placed the duty upon the DEVELOPER to have the utility lines buried (like many cities do all across Texas). When a utility customer (including a developer) requests nonstandard service (like underground lines in lieu of overhead) and is prepared to pay the extra cost, the utility is required to meet the request unless it is not feasible from an engineering standpoint. In the Mar Bella matter, the burden was on the developer Taylor Morrison to request underground lines and pay for them. CenterPoint quoted a cost of $6M to Taylor Morrison, so Taylor Morrison (not CenterPoint) ran to the P&Z to seek a variance. Marc claims that he foresaw a protracted lawsuit with CenterPoint over the matter, except CenterPoint wasn't even involved. Marc's position is that had the city stuck to its guns about burying the lines, the city would be sued. This claim completely ignores the fact that the city in the end DID stick to its guns and sought to undo P&Z decision to grant the variance (what was the undue hardship for the variance, Marc, saving a big developer $6M?) and ultimately forced Taylor Morrison to agree to take down the overhead lines and bury them.
The current litigation by CenterPoint against League City is not about the Mar Bella case at all, or about the ordinance in effect at that time.
Get your facts straight, Marc. And sit down before you hurt yourself.
Ask Marc about the wooden bridge he and his family drove over many many times in Glen Cove! Click clack Xfiles.com
ReplyDeletePs. The bridge has never been wooden.
Or when his God father, aka Pat Hallisey got caught red handed posting as someone else,O'Hallisey claimed someone broke into his apartment (before he moved back to his current residency) and used his computer. Both have serious issues with the "truth factor" . It always seems to get in the way of a good story. They do keep everyone laughing.
Dear Anonymous Please explain The lawsuit that was lost by Pearland for the same issue while our current city attorney worked there.
ReplyDeleteCenterPoint contends that Pearland's ordinance requiring the undergrounding of certain utility service lines and screening of electrical equipment in certain designated districts conflicts with CenterPoint's tariff.' In its appeal, CenterPoint provides discrete examples of projects for which Pearland refused to permit allegedly standard, aboveground service because Pearland's Unified Development Code required that the facilities be placed underground. CenterPoint cites multiple code sections that it asserts conflict with its tariff, including sections 2.4.3.1(r),
2.4.4.3 (j), 2.4.5.1(i) and 2.4.5.1(m).
This ordinance is of the same character in League City almost verbatim. Pearland lost this suit because local ordinances cannot dictate what regulated monopolies will have to pay to install distribution lines. It is in their tariffs. Further, the deal made with the developer called for lines to be buried in the future and aerial lines continue to be installed for distribution systems in the same neighborhood.
Arlo, how is the family doing, we haven't spoken in a long time. Is your mother doing well. It is very nice that you are taking care of her. You know I think it is very important to take care of our aging parents. I hope all is well, best regards, Marc
ReplyDeleteSo here is the problem with the ordinance that requires buried lines. It is very simple, the cost of these lines is only one portion of the total cost of ownership of undergrounded lines. The ongoing O&M is higher and the rate payers of Texas have no way to recoup these costs. You can read it here.
ReplyDeleteAs described in CenterPoint's pleading filed on February 10, 2015, the City of Pearland's
("Pearland") Unified Development Code (the "UDC") requires that "[a]ll utility service lines shall be
located underground" in designated zoning districts within the city. The UDC applies to the utility as
well as to developers and all other customers within Pearland. Under the UDC, Pearland is under no
obligation to pay or reimburse CenterPoint Energy or any customer for any of the costs required to
comply with the UDC. This creates two problems.
The first problem arises when a customer is required by Pearland to request non-standard service.
In those instances, CenterPoint Energy can likely recover the direct costs of non-standard service
directly from the customer to offset most of the increase in costs that is uplifted to all ratepayers.
However, the UDC will have deprived affected customers of their right under CenterPoint's PUCPage
1 of 2
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approved tariff to request and receive standard service at a lower cost. Moreover, CenterPoint does
not have the ability to recover from the customer the indirect costs of the non-standard service, such
as the O&M costs described above. These indirect costs will be uplifted to all ratepayers without any
offsetting charge to the customer receiving the non-standard service.
The second problem arises when CenterPoint must expand its facilities within Pearland for reasons
unrelated to a specific customer or specific customer request. CenterPoint currently has 23
distribution circuits within Pearland that are at or near capacity. Some of those circuits extend
outside of Pearland's city limits. As a result, CenterPoint currently needs to install additional
distribution circuit lines and circuit ties to provide contingency switching options just to maintain
reliable service to all customers within Pearland and in areas surrounding Pearland as those areas
continue to grow and expand their demand for reliable electric service. Under the UDC, some of
these facilities must be placed underground, screened, or otherwise deviate from standard service
facilities. These new facilities are not tied to any single customer, so CenterPoint cannot recover the
additional cost of complying with the UDC from any one customer. Since CenterPoint cannot require
any specific customer to pay the additional costs for such non-standard, underground facilities,
these additional costs must be uplifted to all ratepayers in CenterPoint's service territory, both inside and outside.
Back in the day before the deregulation of the electric utility companies, it was no problem for an electric utility to make a deal with the developer to underground the lines and have the developer pay for it. The utility produced electricity and distributed it through their power lines. They were fat and happy. They practically had a guaranteed return on expenditures. When they electric utilities were deregulated the lucrative production of electricity was separated from the distribution of electricity. Now the distribution companies are still regulated by tariff and not deregulated and here in lies the issue. These undergrounded lines are an unfair cost burden on the rest of the rate payers because the Utility Distribution Company has no method or pathway to recoup the extraordinarily high cost of maintaining undergrounded electric lines. What I would like to know is who is going to reimburse you, I, the rest of the citizens in League City and the State of Texas for the cost uplift in my electrical service to underground the power lines in Marbella???
ReplyDeleteWhy is the cost so high you may ask. Here is a short list of reasons.
1. water infiltration causing insulation deterioration
2. Insect infiltration causing insulation deterioration
3. Difficulty to access and inspect for insulation deteriation.
4. When underground lines fail, the return to service time is ten times of an overhead line. What would be a 1 day repair on an overhead line is 9-10 days on an undergrounded repair.
so here you have a snippet of why Centerpoint will fight tooth and nail to prevent these ordinances from standing in a community in its service area.
Thank you for the entertainment Marc.
ReplyDeleteIs that all you can say Arlo? It is hard to argue with the facts.
ReplyDelete