Putting a Lid on the Trash Talk

Our long municipal nightmare is over. The trash talk has reached consensus on Sixteen Points that make our neighborhoods fit and safe to live in. Peace is at hand. Even though light at the end of the tunnel has been glimpsed before, this time it's for real. Really. For sure. Pinky swear. Probably. Maybe.

After the jump, the good news from the peace talks.

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From the website of the Neighborhood Protection Alliance of Richardson (NPAR) comes the good news.

"November 7, 2010

"After over a year and half of negotiations the COR [City of Richardson], NTMWD [North Texas Municipal Water District] and NPAR LOTS [Lookout Transfer Station] Committee (comprised of concerned citizens dedicated to protecting the surrounding areas directly impacted by the Lookout Trash Station rebuild and expansion) came to a tentative agreement based on 16 protections first outlined by the citizens.

"While there are still questions as to the legal teeth behind the document with areas lacking specificity, Mayor Slagel and City Manager Bill Keffler emphasized the city's pledge to stand behind the Memo of Understanding's (MoU) implicit guarantee to restrict any further expansion beyond 625 tons per day, 1500 tons maximum daily average. On behalf of the city, the mayor has written an adjunct letter to this effect, stating that the quality of life for the surrounding areas will be protected by COR, since the NTMWD has rejected any stipulation to permanently restrict capacity. A public forum will be held on Monday, November 22nd for further input from Richardson citizens. This VERY IMPORTANT forum will be the ONLY local avenue for citizens' comments on the expansion and the pending MoU agreement. The city council as well as NTMWD reps will be present to directly answer questions."

Don't let the fact that the agreement is "tentative" worry you. Or that the guarantee is "implicit." Don't mind that "there are still questions as to the legal teeth" of the understanding. Trust that capacity will be capped at 625 tons even though "NTMWD has rejected any stipulation to permanently restrict capacity." Ignore the fact that, on their own websites, neither COR nor NTMWD admits to any commitments, or even mentions an agreement at all.

The important point is that everybody's happy: the neighbors get their memorandum, the NTMWD gets its permit, and the city council gets peace. This dispute, like yesterday's news, can now be taken out with the trash ... to the Lookout Transfer Station.