Extra meeting planned due to overcrowding

January 24, 2008

By Holly Green, Staff Reporter, The Huntsville Item

Due to overcrowding at the Texas Department of Transportation town hall meeting Wednesday, an additional town hall meeting is being planned to take place within the next two weeks.

According to Bob Colwell, TxDOT public information officer for the Bryan District, the department hopes to hold the meeting before a public hearing on the I-69/Trans-Texas Corridor’s draft environmental impact statement scheduled for Feb. 4.

“We hope to have another town hall meeting like the one tonight before Feb. 4 so people who couldn’t get into this meeting can have their questions answered,” Colwell said. “While people will have an opportunity to have their questions answered during a brief open house before the Feb. 4 hearing, it still won’t be exactly the same thing as a town hall meeting.

“We suggest that if residents have any problems with roads, they ask questions at these town hall meetings, and as soon as we know when the next town hall meeting will be, we’ll make the public aware of it.”

Gaby Garcia, a TxDOT spokesperson, said the department had no way of knowing how many people would attend the town hall meeting, but efforts would be made to ensure sufficient room was available when the next meeting does occur.

“We’re very sorry for this inconvenience, and we’re going to do everything we can to book the Walker County Fairgrounds for our next meeting,” Garcia said. “Even if people couldn’t get into this meeting, it’s important that they know there are more opportunities to come for them to gain information about Texas transportation.

“We will do our best to organize an additional town hall meeting, and people can still go online or send us an E-mail to let us know what they think or ask questions.”

Even in light of the overcrowding of Wednesday’s town hall meeting, Garcia said the focus of the Feb. 4 public hearing will not be changed.

Also, according to federal law, officials will not be able to answer any questions or respond to comments at the public hearing.

“The public hearing will be much more formal, and the focus will be on the environmental aspects of the Trans-Texas Corridor,” Garcia said. “We’ll be there all night long until we can at least hear everyone’s comments, but the purpose and structure of the hearing won’t change.”

The Feb. 4 hearing, one of 46 statewide public hearings scheduled, will be held at the Walker County Fairgrounds.

“The format for these hearings is designed to gather public comments solely on the statement,” Colwell said.

The Walker County hearing begins with an open house at 5 p.m. followed by the hearing at 6:30.