Let's Go Swimming - At JB WELLS!!!

Ok, it's not that we make mistakes that irks me off to no end, it's that we don't learn from our mistakes, you know the ones that we make over and over again. It's almost as if some people in this town believe that if I bury my head deep enough in the sand the problem will go away, and JB Wells is one of those problems!

One of the simplest things I've mentioned to help control the bleeding at JB Wells is to make sure that there are no more swimming pools put up by private citizens. It is unreasonable that for $20 (or less) anyone could fill up a pool, and have unlimited electricity. You and I can't do it as private citizens living in this town, why are this visitor getting this privilege?

I have asked 2 owners of RV parks that are my friends if they would allow an RV camper to put up such a pool in their park, and surprisingly enough, oh wait that's with NO surprise, they both said "no way, it would kill us financially." DUH!

So why is it that even after the city was notified of this shortcoming do we still have 3500 - 7000 gallon pools being put up at JB Wells? It's insane. It's also another incident of the city manager not taking care of business in this town! Will SOMEONE at the city office please do something about this? I'm tired of hearing that my taxes need to go up and my utility bills need to go up when there is total waste going on!

God Bless,
Dennis Nesser

Respecting our Nations Flag

Recently it was brought to my attention that we have more than an eyesore in our town, we have total and complete disrespect for our countries flag.

Let me start out by saying as a scoutmaster I strive to teach our youth how to be respectful of our nations flag.  Be it during a flag raising, retreat, flag presentation ceremony or proper display of the flag I try to teach the youth how it's done properly.  One of the biggest things I am proud of is teaching the what to do when a flag is beyond repair.  Over the last 3 years we've retired over 500 flags in accordance with United States Code 36, Chapter 10, Section 176 (k) "The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning."  We've retired these flags from small to large in both public ceremonies and over a campfire in a respectful manner.

So when I drive around town and see a flag that is tattered I'm going to stop and ask if the proprietor will allow me to take it and properly retire it.  Over the years I've stopped by dozens of businesses and asked for their flags, and never once have I been refused.  When I explain that it will be properly taken care of they are happy to let me take it.

So with all that said, we have a situation in town that is beyond belief.  The old Quality dealership left all the flags flying when they left.  17 American and Texas flags are tattered down to 1/2 of their original size flapping in the wind.  It is in the least a disgrace!

To make the matter worse this is on Hwy 90A, our main thoroughfare in town.

So what do passersby think of our town? Disrespectful?  Uncaring? Unpatriotic? These are a few words that I can think of that come to mind that a visitor would think looking at this site.

Now this is contrary to the flag display that the Knights of Columbus put up on 6 of our national holidays, where we have flags flying down streets after streets in our town.

I know that the owners have been contacted.  I know that the city has been contacted.  I know that the Chamber has been contacted.  Yet in the last month since this was brought to our attention nothing has been done about this problem.

Now there are only 2 places I'm aware of that have the bucket trucks that could pull those flags down, and that's the City of Gonzales and GVEC.  So what should be done?  Wouldn't it be nice if the owners just took care of this eye sore and disrespect to the flags that are flying and our city wouldn't have the blemish to deal with?

Second best would be for our city manager to have someone contact the owners and either ask them to remove them or ask permission to have them removed.  Even if city employees are doing this task it's better than what it cost the city in bad publicity.

Last would be for someone at GVEC to take some imitative and get permission to remove these flags.  It wouldn't take a crew 15-30 minutes to get all those flags down with a bucket truck.  That would continue their good corporate citizenship they've shown in the past.

Regardless these flags need to be removed.  Bring them to my place, it's easy enough I'm across the street, and I will make sure that those will be properly retired along with the other 100 I have waiting for the next opportunity to do it properly.

God Bless
Dennis Nesser

Coming down to the wire on Liquor by the Drink

So the first initiative to get liquor by the drink is coming to a close.  The 30 days to get signatures is coming up July 23rd.  It will then go to have the signatures verified and if there are enough sent to the voters.  As of last night there were 1100 signatures turned in, and a lot of petitions still out.

So here's the deal.  If those petitions have another 900 or so signatures on them, this goes to the voters of the county for a vote.  If they don't it will be another dead attempt to help the county grow.  And while I respect those who don't want to support it, I still there there is some confusion.  Let me share a conversation I had with a registered voter:

RV - "We need to do something in this town.  We need a good restaurant that's not  Mexican food.
Me - "Like what kind?"
RV - "Like Roberts"
Me - "Don't you think part of the reason they are what they are is because of the liquor?"
RV - "Yes"
Me - "Then wouldn't you like to sign the petition?"
RV - "No, I don't think so. I just want things to change"
*thump thump* The sound of me hitting my head against the wall.

So you want change, but you don't want to do anything that might bring about change.  So I leave without a signature. Sad, because the person is right, we need some changes, and that is one of the areas we need change in.  They are so close to the truth and yet have their eyes closed.  It's like playing pin the tale on the donkey, they know the donkey needs his tail, they know he's over their, they just can't see where it is that it goes because they are blinded by the Gonzales "we don't want change" blindfold.

So here's the deal.  If you want to see this on the agenda and haven't signed the petition then find one.  I've got them till Monday.  Breitschopf Reality, and Shear Design all have them.  If you have a petition with any names on it, send them in! They need to get these turned in immediately so they can be verified.  If you still have empty petitions walk your block, they'll get signed in no time as long as you don't run into RV from above.

God Bless,
Dennis Nesser

Get your own chalkboard

You know there are certain things that just go unsaid in society but are understood.  You don't mess around with another mans woman.  You don't kick another mans dog. And you don't go messing around with another mans chalkboard!

Last week I had put up on the board about the city councils not thinking through the TMRS issue.  Mother Nature I guess is a city employee and removed it for me on Thursday.  Her rains made sure I wasn't able to put anything back up before I went on vacation last week. 

So when I get back it had written on it " "....oh wait, I'm not going to glorify the writing by putting it in my blog. But someone had written on my board. GRRRRRR

You know it's bad enough to be 'that crazy guy with the chalkboard' without help from outside.  And I know there are times there is nothing on the board, either from a lack of verifiable information or just so much I can't choose.  But it's my board!

If you would like to get your message out, and you would like to use my chalkboard, then come talk to me.  If I like what you have to say then I'll think about it.  The board is not for rent.  It is only for what I think the town of Gonzales should be talking about.

And as long as I'm on that subject let me stay there.  My opinions and those facts that I point out are for the discussion of all.  We can all look at the same facts and come to different conclusions. We do it ever election.  What bothers me is when we don't bother to look.  We don't ask questions. We don't want to believe the truth.  Those are the things that bother me.  So if we are honest in our discussions, we can have good, open conversations about what is and isn't going on in this town.  We can see both the great things going on, and the things that need to be fixing, and can focus on those things to correct them.

So if you see someone writing on my board and it's not me, let me know please cause I need to introduce someone to Mr. Smith and Wesson. 

God Bless,
Dennis Nesser

Why can't we?

So I've run off with my wife since we've got a week of kidlessness and weren't able to celebrate our anniversary last month with everything going on.  We choose a town not much bigger than our own to visit. Yes, we go to Austin, Dallas, New Orleans, Houston and San Antonio sometimes, but when we want to get away, we generally pick some place small to visit.

This time wasn't far, and it wasn't new to us either.  We went to visit our friends Skip and Kate at 2 Wee Cottages up in Fredericksburg.  If you ever want a fantastic get away then I would recommend going to visit them.  Along with all the privacy you can mustard up, you're blocks from the center of town.  You have your own cottage, with a hot tub I might add.  But it's not just that, it's the food fairy that visits often.  You leave to take a stroll downtown and some succulent delight could be awaiting you when you return.  Then at night time your morning breakfast is scurried over to awake you.  If you can wait till breakfast to eat the steaming hot delights your taste buds will never quite be the same. We only make it about 1/2 the time till morning to eat breakfast.  If you call to make reservations mention my name and Skip and Kate will take care of you (she will anyway, but she generally has a something extra waiting for you when you are referred)

But I digress.

So we run over to Fredericksburg, a town that is less that 2000 larger than we are.  My suspicions are that during the months between summer and the start of hunting season this place is less than Gonzales in size.  Another words, without transient residence they are no bigger than we are.

As we drove the streets this weekend, and even this Monday, they are packed.  There are no parking spaces downtown, and the stores are all hustling and bustling with business.  So I asked myself, why can't we become the next Fredericksburg. 

You know the place people want to come, and visit and shop around. To come stay at the B & Bs and spend 2, 3, 4 or even more nights in our city. 

So I looked long and hard at downtown where most of the action is. Here's what I saw.

1) I see restaurants.  Yes there are the obligatory German restaurants, but there are many others.  You want a good, and I mean good steak, it's here!  I can think of at least 2 restaurants that you could get a good steak at The Navajo Grill or the Cabernet Grill will fill that bill for you.  You want a good home cooked meal.  No problem, how about Wheelers or Andys?  You want sandwiches? Guess what, they are here too.  It's not all one type of restaurant that makes this place tick.  And yet somehow they play upon their ethnicity to make the place thrive.  Don't we have a huge Czech and Spanish background in our city? And for the record they have liquor by the drink available at the nicer establishments. 

2) I see businesses that are open, and supporting the community. But they don't stop there.  There isn't many of the places we went to that didn't have a huge internet presence.  Chocolat ships around the world.  They don't rely purely on local business.  The Olive Shop is no different.  Their store front is small, but they don't care.  What the store provides is an outlet to their internet business.  Amish furniture, toys, jewelry, Christmas ornaments and everything else here is for sale on the internet.  So the business comes to town without ever leaving the comfort of their home.  Now I've spoken to at least one business owner in town that would like to have a web presence, but thinks his brother in law can do it. That's small town thinking! You're competing against the world now, so you have to think that way.  Yes, it will cost you, but your ROI has unlimited possibilities if you find that niche. 

3) I see a Chamber that is pushing the town in a manner which draws people near.  They have billed it as a quaint little town to come visit. It's something the entire town has gotten behind and built.  Now we could go multiple ways with our backgrounds.  A great Czech town or the best Hacienda you'll ever visit.  Either way works, but we have to pick one and go with it. And not just for this year, it will take time to get the word out, but it will.

4) I see a city where the roads are maintained in town, trash is picked up, and overall there is an air of inviting anyone that would like to visit.

So my questions is why can't we?  Why is it that Gonzales couldn't have the social economic environment that Fredericksburg has brought to the county? Are we just so small in our thinking that we can't realize that the stagnation that is occurring will only kill our little town?  You can not stand still like so many have told me they want. You are either moving forward or you're moving backwards. It's just the facts. 

So am I just missing all the town hall meetings asking why are we not moving forward?  Why have so many businesses in downtown closed down?  Why we can't seem to get a real and consistent flow of outsiders to our quaint little town?  We're not talking about spending $5,000,000 in tax payers money, we're talking about encouraging business to thrive in our community.  We're talking about showing them how to make a living selling the specialties they have to the rest of the world.  We have so many great ideas in Gonzales, and it seems like we just can't get them going.

So my question is why can't we?  Why can't we build up to have the same pull as so many others have before us?

God Bless,
Dennis Nesser

How much for TMRS?

I left the city council meeting on Tuesday a bit miffed over a couple of items that zipped right past our city council.

The first was a request by TMRS (Texas Municipal Retirement System) to increase the cities portion of deposits. Now what was said on the floor (and verified through video) was that it was going from 1.8% to 11.8%.  This is percentage of the entire city payroll.

What was meant to be said is that we're going from 11.5% (a max set by the city previously) to 11.81% to 14%.  So basically we will be paying an additional 2.5% of the total payroll of Gonzales into this fund.

Now the general principal of this is not something I'm upset about.  It's a known fact that government jobs come with some perks, and this is one of them.  A retirement that surpasses most businesses by todays standards.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

What does bother me is that Bobby Logan, while making his motions, stated that even though we don't know how much this was going to cost, the percentage seemed small enough, so he made the motion, seconded by Tommy Schurig.  Then Aye, Aye, Aye, Aye and Aye was the vote.

So my question immediately after the meeting to 2 other of the councilmen was, "so did you spend $1,000,000 tonight on TMRS?" The answer from both was "I don't know what we just spent."  The 4th councilman told me today that he also didn't know what we were spending on this proposal. Honestly when I showed him the paperwork he was a bit surprised at the percentages we were talking about.

So here is the problem.  Why would we vote on an matter that you don't know what you're voting on? The appropriate thing to of done would have been to send the city manager back to bring the figures prior to voting.  The issue was not of time sensitive matter, and so tabling it for a month would NOT of been a big deal.  Instead we have approved, some amount, that we don't have a clue how much, to TMRS.

You know if I have to fix my house I don't just call up the contractor and say fix the house.  I ask how much is it going to cost and what's it going to do for me, is it a permanent fix or a quick fix? I don't just hand the contractor a blank check!  Unfortunately those type of questions were not asked, and the city council did write a blank check to TMRS.

The second issue was that of a City Council Retreat.  Not one of the councilmen I spoke with could tell me what this retreat is going to cost for the 7 or so people to run off for the weekend and 'set a vision' for Gonzales.  Again, in a time when were were talking about laying off city employees last time budgets came around, and we're going to spend $1000s for this? Really? This is our priority?

It's time we ask the questions BEFORE we approve stuff. This is how a households get in trouble, and this is how our city is in the shape it's in.  I'm hoping that my pointing out to our councilmen, will in the future, lead to the questions being asked prior to the votes.

So back to TMRS, odds are we need to vote to approve this increase.  Again, as city employees generally expect a better retirement than civilian retirement.  Even Tommy Schurig made the comment that GVEC put in 10% (not 11.81% or 14%) for their retirement.  I think these percentages that were just approved were a bit high, even for city employees, but would sure feel better if we had a clue what this was going to cost us.

Oh, and for the record, I think I have more to rant about tomorrow, so come back and visit again then. 

God Bless
Dennis Nesser

I hope I'm wrong

So the day that Greg Little was released from the Gonzales Inquirer my wifes' first comment was "I wonder how long before he has a city job?"

We both laughed, and both sighed at the same time, because behind that laughter there was a moment of realization that both the city manager and the mayor owed Mr. Little a good deal of thanks for their current positions.  But surely not even they would be so blatant as to try to pass that by the citizens of Gonzales as he's the most qualified.

Now all of a sudden Mr. Little is being seen at city functions and meetings.  As a citizen of the city he is entitled to be at these meetings just the same as you and I are.  But me smells a rat in the closet.

I'm just going to say this once, if Mr. Little is hired by the city of Gonzales for any position, it will be purely because of the above mentioned reason.  A political favor.  I will also put on my chalkboard "I TOLD YOU SO GONZALES" when/if it happens.  You won't even have to bother with the blog, because all it will be is pointing back to this one where I am forewarning you. 

The Gonzales Inquirer didn't fire Mr. Little because of his outstanding citizenship in this town, and we don't need him as an employee of our town!

No, there is nothing behind this other than the facts stated above.  I'm hoping (praying is more like it) that this is seeing shadows that aren't there....but every time I've thought that, those shadows have smacked me upside the head.

By the way, after tonights council meeting I have more to blog about ...so come back tomorrow for more.

God Bless
Dennis