City of Burleson Tea Party

Below are emails exchanged between my self and the mayor of Burleson.  As you can see from his response, he must have gotten a few undignified emails from some people.

Mr. Shetter,
I am trying to find out before I forward http://www.freedomworks.org/comment/reply/19372 to the national media if the City of Burleson is in the process of denying free citizens their constitutional right to a peaceful gathering.  It is my understanding that you are not the one blocking this teaparty, but rather one of the city employees, an unelected “street supervisor” Ray Gonzales,  that believes the event is "not in the public interest".  To help further this along, Mr. Gonzales reports to city manger  David Wynn.  Please consider having a review this situation and resolve it soon.

Respectfully,
Dennis Kirkland
twitter @dkirkland

      FROM:            Mayor Ken Shetter, City of Burleson

RE:                  Burleson Tea Party

SUBJ:             City of Burleson is Not Shutting Down Tea Party

 

 

Concerned Citizen:

 

The City of Burleson is NOT TRYING TO STOP THE APRIL 15 TEA PARTY. 

 

Members of the Burleson Tea Party group have contacted the City of Burleson wanting permission to conduct a demonstration in an area near the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard (State Highway 174) and Hidden Creek Parkway. The area is across the street from the location of the Burleson Super Wal-Mart, and adjacent to a residential area. The area where the demonstration has been planned includes right of way for the state highway, municipal right of way, and a city street. The organizer said the event is expected to draw between 300 and 500 people to participate in the demonstration.  

 

From the beginning the city has made it clear that no city permit is required for the gathering.  This being said, the city has also made it clear that there are a number of safety related concerns that need to be addressed at the originally proposed location. It is one of the busiest street intersections in the city.  The posted speed limit on Wilshire/SH 174 is 50 mph. It is a 4-lane highway with a center turn lane. It is a heavily travelled highway, particularly during the hours of the planned demonstration (3-7 pm) when school is dismissing and evening going home drive-time traffic is at its peak. The original request also included the barricading of four residential streets to keep group members from parking in the neighborhoods. The city’s main concerns are safety of the demonstrators and other pedestrians, traffic safety,  and the ability for fire trucks to get in and out of the residential streets and hook up to fire hydrants. In speaking with representatives from the Texas Department of Transportation, it is clear that TxDOT and the city share the safety concerns.

 

The city has a special events committee that reviews requests for street closures (for example, neighborhood block parties, festivals). That committee met Thursday to review the request. Due to the topography of the area and the design of the highway, the number of anticipated participants in the demonstration, and the other safety concerns the special events committee has suggested that an alternative site be considered.  In fact, in an attempt to accommodate the group, City Hall, site of many community festivals, was offered as an alternative site. Nevertheless, although the site originally proposed for the demonstration presented numerous safety concerns, the committee was willing to take steps to accommodate the event if certain steps could be taken by the organizers of the event to assure safety for everyone involved.

 

At the time the attached news release from the city was issued this morning, we had not heard back from the organizers of the event. We since have had several discussions with the organizers and it is our understanding that an alternative site has indeed been secured.  You can contact the organizers of the event for the final location.

 

There are a few things that need to be made clear.  First, Rey Gonzales, one of the members of the city’s special events committee,  is a good man and dedicated public servant that works very hard every day to make our city a great place to live.  He is not trying to stop the tea party, and from my understanding has worked hard to accomodate the organizers.  Second, our city functions with a Council-Manager form of government.  As such, the mayor is not responsible for running the city on a day-to-day basis, and I have no authority to try to stop a function like the tea party.  Third, a number of people have e-mailed nasty comments about our city and our city government--Burleson is a great place to live, work, learn and play.  The members of our City Council and staff are concerned with one thing only--doing what's right for our citizens.  If you come to Burleson I think you will agree it's a great place, and I hope you spend some time in some of our great stores and restaurants--you might want to check out our "Old Town" area.

 

By the way, I have read and studied our Constitution--I've even taken an oath to preserve, protect and defend it.  I take that oath very seriously.

 

Sincerely,

 

Ken Shetter

Mayor of Burleson, Texas

Just thought you should know...

Respectfully,
Dennis Kirkland
twitter @dkirkland

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