Good evening, friends,
I'm asking everyone to mark their calendars: Tuesday, September 10th, at 6 pm, in the Georgetown City Council Chambers at 101 E 7th St. (See map HERE.)
That is the day that we will be re-visiting the issue of whether or not Georgetown will continue to be a member in the Lone Star Rail District. The Chairman of the Executive Board of the LSRD has stated that he must have something, in writing, expressing Georgetown's willingness to continue as a member, in order to receive all of the benefits of being a member, as this project moves into the NEPA process and the environmental study. September 10th is our deadline to do this. So, I hope that all of you will help as we seek to win over our fellow citizens and our councilmembers, by sharing your vision of Georgetown's future, one that offers us all transportation choices.
Here is a timeline of some of the events that will happen between now and September 10th:
August 21st: The Georgetown Transportation Advisory Board will be holding a special meeting at 10 am, at the Municipal Complex at 300 Industrial Ave. (See map HERE.) The GTAB Board is hoping to make a preliminary recommendation to council regarding our LSRD membership, which will be forwarded to Council after this meeting.
August 27th: Project Connect will be making a presentation during Council Workshop, around 4 pm, at Council Chambers. I am expecting this presentation to have some information that could prove to be very important to this debate.
September 10th: GTAB will make their recommendation to Council, and Patty Eason will bring our membership back for reconsideration.
There is much that can be done in the next three and a half weeks! After speaking with the Chairs of the Lobby/Persuasion, Education, and Research Committees, I think we need to focus on: 1) personal face-to-face contact with your own councilperson, 2) educating and informing members of the public who stand to gain the most from bringing the rail to Georgetown, 3) continuing our "hearts and minds" campaign by writing letters to local publications, e-mailing and meeting with councilmembers, talking to our friends and neighbors, 4) working any contacts you might have with the "decision-makers" in Georgetown, and 5) showing up on September 10th and making your voice heard!
Some of these you can do on your own, and I hope that you will. For those of you who want to be part of a group that sits down for a "rail talk" with your councilperson, approaches local business-owners or student groups, looks for answers to concerns raised by councilmembers who voted to leave the LSRD, or any other idea you can think of that aligns with our goals, then you need to contact one of our committee chairs, and sign on for this amazing opportunity to help shape the very future of this city!
Research Committee: Jim Mann, Chair (while Jay Pierson is out of town)
Meeting: This Saturday, August 17th, 10 am. Please contact Jim for address/directions.
Lobby/Persuasion Committee: Carl Westerfield, Chair
Meeting: TBD. Please contact Carl to volunteer.
Education Committee: Sarah Brackmann, Chair
Meeting: TBD. Please contact Sarah to volunteer.
With such a short time left, I hope that everyone who can will make some time to donate their knowledge, their energy, and their passion to this issue. We need everyone on track if we are going to bring transportation choice to Georgetown.
All aboard!
Rachael
