Arlington Morning News (Newspaper) - July 21, 1999, Arlington, Texas MACK TAKES LEAD AT FW GOLF TOURNAMENT PAGE IB v i y Own Newspaper Arlington Texas Wednesday July 21 1999 News 2 25 Historic district debate reignites Group resubmits original proposal By Valerie Fields Staff Writer of the Arlington Morning News A year ago a Central Arlington neighborhood fought bitterly over how to preserve the racially segregated history Last month the white and residents appeared to have reached an agree ment over the issue They would seek a historic district designation from the National Register of Historic Places that recognizes the contributions of as the blacks as well those of its white But on Tuesday any unity that was forged between the two sides appeared to be unraveling The Old Town Neighborhood Association a group of white resi dents has requested that officials with the National Park Service which administers the National Register review the white history independently of its history The group filed an appeal with the Please see Group on Page CREEK HOMES The City Council agreed Tuesday to spend nearly million to purchase 17 homes along Johnson Creek The council members agreed to borrow the money from the citys landfill fund City agrees to finish Johnson Creek buyout Council votes to spend million for project By Rani Cher Monson Staff Writer of the Arlington Morning News The city will immediately begin a buyout of 17 Central Arlington homes often plagued by flooding from Johnson Creek the City Council decided Tuesday To fund the buyout council members agreed to borrow nearly million from the citys landfill fund Almost a year ago the city ran out of funds for the buyout This is something we promised residents we would find a solution to and were obligated to do said Deputy Mayor Pro Tern Dixon Holman Weve already torn down half of the neighbor hood and we have a responsibility and a duty to fin ish The buyouts are part of the citys plan to ask resi dents to approve a sales tax increase on Jan IS The money the amount of not been determined would fund the revitalization of Johnson Creek including a San river walk with hotels and shops and trails stretching along the creeks 11 miles in Arlington The creek begins at Interstate 20 near The Parks at Arlington mall and runs north through the city near Six Flags Over Texas to the Trinity River In May last year voters rejected a Please see City on Page Railway debate favored Council wants to talk about Trinity plan By Kevin J Shay Staff Writer of the Arlington Morning News City Council member Robert Cluck pressed Mayor Elzie Odom to discuss the Trinity Railway Express project on Tuesday during a some what tense exchange At one point Dr Cluck pointedly asked Mr Odom Why are you so opposed to meeting about this Mr Odom replied It would be a waste of time to discuss this before we have all the The Arlington mayor said he and eight other area mayors plan to meet with North Central Texas Council of Governments officials in the near future to review the com muter train project and it would be best to wait until after that meeting before the City Council discusses it Arlington Grand Prairie and seven other cities are reviewing whether they want to help fund the commuter train when it is extended to Fort Worth near State Highway 183 by late 2000 It now runs 10 miles from Dallas Union Station to South Irving Julie Dunbar a transportation engineer and planner for the Council of Governments who is helping to coordinate the meeting said it would be good if the mayors know whether their councils want to help fund the commuter train at that time They dont have to make a con crete decision but it would be good if they knew generally where their councils she said We wont be taking any action But wed like to go back and revise the agree ment based on the input we get from the The meeting of the Regional Transportation Councils Trinity Railway Express Monitoring Subcommittee was originally set for this month However Ms Dunbar said it has been hard to agree on a date when all mayors can attend so they are trying for a late August meeting Mayor Pro Tern Dottie Lynn said she didnt see a problem with the City Council discussing the issue before that meeting Council mem ber Wayne Ogle also said it would be Please see Council on Page School spirit Arlington Morning News Tom Foi Mary Orr Intermediate School Brittany Davis stands and cheers with her team Krazy Kids as they are introduced to the rest of the class Tuesday was the first a three day orientation camp to familiarize the students with their new school surroundings HUD awards Arlington million Grants will provide affordable housing By Jeff Meddaugh Staff Writer of the Arlington Morning News The Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded Arlington million to provide affordable homes and housing reha for families officials announced Tuesday Funds for the Community Development Block Grant Program and the Emergency Shelter Grant program were slightly less than the amount awarded to the city last year although HUD increased its award for the HOME programs from last year to about mil lion this year Last year city officials received just less than million for the program and for the ESG program I am pleased that some of the tax dollars sent by Texans to Washington are being returned to benefit area citizens by financing Gramm improvements to the area where we work and live every Sen Phil Gramm of Texas said in a state ment ing the award The 1999 allo cation is based on a formula Congress uses to determine funding for cities across the nation based on a citys demographics and housing needs said Charles Clawson director of community develop ment Its the federal government that issues available dollars to quality ing he said HUD awarded Tarrant County nearly million in grants for its program The award goes to Tarrant County cities excluding Please see Grants on Page Truck sales boost GMs second quarter Bloomberg News DETROIT General Motors the worlds largest er rose fivefold from last years second quarter on sales of pickup trucks and rising market share in Europe Mike Quinton manager of the Arlington General Motors assembly plant said the strong economic news is great news for GM and great news for Arlington The truck market remains strong and continues to Mr Quinton said Thats a great sign for the expansion of the Arlington The Arlington plant is currently undergoing a million sion so the plant can produce a new class of pickups and sport utility vehicles Profit from continuing operations climbed to a record of billion or a share from million or 47 cents The results exceeded the average ana lyst forecast of a share based on a First Call Corp survey Revenue rose 21 percent to bil lion Profit from trucks such as the Silverado and Sierra helped GM cover discounts on other models and weather losses in Asia and Latin America GM built million Please see GM on Paige GP annexes Ellis County land despite objections By Will Potter Staff Writer of the Arlington Morning News GRAND PRAIRIE City Council members voted Tuesday night to annex acres in northern Ellis County despite opposition from some area resi dents The miles south of Joe Pool Lake is being annexed by Grand Prairie to control future devel including planned expansions of highways 287 and 360 in the mostly rural area officials said extends Grand four miles of The annexation Prairie to within Midlothian Officials cited uncontrolled develop ment around El Paso in West Texas as a reason to annex the Ellis County land Grand Prairie officials said they would be able control building standards trash cellular towers and billboards There is some activity in the area we need to take care of and Deputy City Manager Kevin Evans said referring to potential code violations in the area Plus if we dont act now Please see Annexation on Page INSIDE Classifieds Lottery 2A Obituaries Opinions Sports IB Stocks 5A TV movies Weather 2A 83197 000251 Bid may require public money 2012 Olympic funds need city approval By Ben Tinsley Staff Writer of the Arlington Morning News WORTH INTERNA TIONAL AIRPORT Arlington probably will have to commit public money if the city wants to be a part of the Olympic bid Dallas 2012 Chairman Tom Luce said Tuesday During a media briefing at Worth International Airport Mr Luce said funds may be needed for additional police officers and garbage pickup if The Ballpark at Arlington or the University of Texas at Arlington are chosen as venues Mr Luce who did not have specifics on potential costs said the Dallas 2012 committee will not commit public money without the citys consent City Council member Robert Cluck said he doesnt think increased city services will trans late to a tax increase I definitely dont think we will be raising he said I dont think anyone on the council would be willing tb do that We all support 2012 with everything we can including sharing with other cities because this will have to Luce Hicks be a regional However Eastland a member of People For Accountable Govern ment said he doesnt believe it is Please see Olympic on Page T
