Monday, December 10, 2007
Friday, December 7, 2007
Report on 12-6-2007 Meeting
Members present adopted Amended Bylaws for the OWNA which will be made available soon.
New officers were elected to the Executive Board:
- President: Troy Tuomey
- Vice-President: Andy Keetch
- Secretary: Amy Raines, P.E.
- Treasurer: Robert Reynolds
The OWNA voted that the Executive Board should appoint a Barnett Shale Committee to represent the OWNA in gas lease negotiations.
Many issues regarding Barnett Shales leases were discussed, including: surface use restrictions, bonus payments, royalty amounts, title risk allocation, traffic issues, enclosure of compressors, limitations on primary term and elimination of shut in terms, possible unity with other neighborhoods, whether an attorney should be engaged and similar issues. The Barnett Shale Committee is expected to examine such issues and report recommendations back to the Executive Board.
Representatives of other neighborhoods came to the meeting and encouraged persons living in our neighborhood to remain unified. Our strength in negotiations and discussions is our unity.
A new neighborhood web site is in the works thanks to Carey Hilton of Boulder Run. When the new web site is ready, a link will be posted here.
Finally, members are strongly encouraged to talk to their neighbors who did not attend the meeting. Please advise your neighbors of the OWNA's plans and 1) the need to be unified; 2) remind neighbors that they should not sign any lease; and 3) refer all inquiries to OWNA president Troy Tuomey. Troy's email address is tuomey AT charter DOT net.
Copy of Agenda for 12-6-2007 Meeting
AGENDA
Overton West Neighborhood Association
Meeting: December 6, 2007, 7:00 pm, Tanglewood Elementary
I. Introduction and announcements
II. Barnett Shale General Issues
III. Status of Overton West Neighborhood Association (“OWNA”)
IV. Recognition of Representatives from the City and Other Neighborhoods
V. Ratification of Amended Bylaws
VI. Election of Officers
A. President
B. Vice-President
C. Secretary
D. Treasurer
VII. Election of Barnett Shale Committee (“BSC”)
VIII. Open discussion
IX. Adjourn
*** IMPORTANT NOTES: ***
1) Keep updated: http://overtonwest.blogspot.com/
2) Do not sign any lease! Wait to hear the recommendations of the BSC.
3) Please provide your name, address, phone number – and most importantly – your email address.
4) Direct any inquiries from gas companies to the OWNA or the BSC.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
City Ordinance to be reviewed
The City of
“Well, as you all know, we have been actively working with the city Council and Mayor to reopen the gas drilling task force and we finally got a commitment this week to do so!
While this is great news, we also asked the city for 2 other things:
- Conduct and independent study of the environmental impacts of urban drilling on our neighborhoods including water, earth, noise, light, etc.
- Declare a moratorium on new drilling permits while the study and task force work.
As you can imagine, the second point did not go over too well. But we will still keep trying. We believe it is time to call a timeout or halftime if you will and dig deep into the impact that gas drilling has had on our city and plan for the future.
To aid in this matter, we have created a new section of our website that lists resources you can use for your NA meetings. As always, all of the League material is open to all members. Which means, feel free to download any of it and use it in your communications or meetings.
We do have one request though. During our last Gas Drilling Education event, we asked those present to send us their concerns about drilling. In other words, we are trying to compile a list of issues we as neighborhoods want the task force to address when they reconvene after the Holidays.
Please email us (president@fwlna.org) your list and we will compile the results.
Also, we will be sending out a survey asking for your support on the two points outlined above. the more people who respond, the better voice we will have with the city.
The FWLNA believes that there are unanswered questions regarding urban gas drilling and we want the city to make sure we get the answers before it is too late.”
I am not so sure I would agree with
You might also be interested in the Startlegram’s Barnett Shale blog: http://startelegram.typepad.com/barnett_shale/
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Arlington neighborhood sets new market for bonus payments
While most homeowners would like to reasonably maximize the financial aspects of a lease, surface operations restrictions are also important. I know some of our neighbors are concerned about the surface location and where the production equipment (specifically the compressors) will be located. I have heard that the current plan is for this equipment to be located near "Hooters" restaurant. I have also heard that XTO has enclosed compressor sites in other parts of the city. We may wish to seek an enclosure requirement in relation to the compressor site. The drilling rig will leave in 60 days, but the engines will be here for a long, long time.
These are just examples of the types of issues that can be addressed in leases.
NOTICE OF MEETING
Topic: Oil and Gas Lease Issues
When: Thursday, December 6, 2007, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Tanglewood Elementary Auditorium
You probably received a letter from XTO Energy and Holland Acquisitions. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the issues raised by the letter and to identify the best way, as a neighborhood, to move forward.
IMPORTANT: You should not sign any lease or related document before this meeting. If you do, you could cost yourself (and maybe your neighbors) money.
The game plan for the exploration companies is “divide and conquer.” Individual homeowners have very little negotiating power. If we organize and work together, our neighborhood can negotiate more effectively and hopefully improve the final terms of any lease document(s).