I have recently served on the Flower Mound Parks, Arts & Library board and the Seniors in Motion board. Presently I serve on the boards of Lewisville Lake Symphony and Baylor Hospital Volunteer Services, as well as various committees. While serving in these organizations I choose not to be a marionette. I serve the community and citizens in the way I would expect to represented, with honesty, openness and independence.
Our parks are recognized among the best in Texas. They signify the pride of Flower Mound. My contribution in two years was my voice of reason. Our highly regarded parks were the combined efforts of many folks, many who are now no longer present in the parks realm. This vacuum occurred just in the past two years.
The expertise of these folks, in a very complex arena, represents over 70 years of park experience which is lost and not being replaced.
We used to have representatives on council who were oriented and focused on parks, including the mayor – but not now.
What is happening now with the care and molding of our children’s sports and recreation programs? A recently removed PALS board member carefully watched over these areas with precision, demanding quality and value in these programs. This experience and dedication is gone. It is not to say that the folks presently on this board are not worthy. However, both areas of parks and child recreation are now deficient in experience.
The recently elected and one residual member of the Town Council have once again disappointed me, and not because of my removal from the PALS board. I support the concept of “serve at the pleasure of the council” but my letter of termination states the council is headed in a different direction. In my opinion, wholesale cleansing of our boards and commissions for dubious reasons is definitely a wrong direction, and is not being done for the benefit of the town and citizens. It’s an agenda lacking a reasoned and non-political basis.
I’ve been a strong advocate of Flower Mounds seniors’ quest to acquire reasonable senior housing and a permanent stand-alone senior center for over five years. My message remained the same regardless of who was in office.
I was very active in promoting the proposed Orchard Flower Village. This 27-acre development represented much needed tax revenue, reasonable priced senior housing, and 1.6 million dollars to the parks fund, which could have gone towards a senior center.
The Planning and Zoning (P & Z) commission understood these concerns and voted 5 to1 in favor of Orchard Flower. Check to see how many of these Commissioners are still on the P&Z. When this item appeared before Town Council, newly elected members and one incumbent voted No to this exceptional development.
It’s time for our citizens to demand honest, open, transparent and independent town council representation, comprised of individuals who will serve all resident of this great town. The service precepts given above are those by which I serve this community and they are standards we should demand of all of our officials, while rejecting any agenda that does not serve the community at large.
Denis Toth
Flower Mound, TX
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