Another letter from a resident of Summerlake

The following letter was sent Friday night, February 24th to the mayor, city council members, planning and zoning members the police chief and residents of Summerlake.  There are some very good points in this email.

To Whom It May Concern:

My take is that those who were elected, appointed or hired to act in the best interest of and protect the the citizens of Summerlake have failed to do so and have failed miserably.

1. Planning and Zoning failed years ago when they allowed the rezoning of the property that ultimately led up to "administrative rubber stamping" hearing where our voices were silenced. It is unfortunate that 90+ families have to deal with the ramifications of a decision and a hearing that took place before any of us even thought about buying a home back here. Maybe I am wrong but I thought it was the responsibility of Planning and Zoning to make sure land is properly zoned so that these kind of conflicts do not happen in the past, present or future.
2. The Mayor failed to step in and try to negotiate with the "INVESTOR" to move her store across the street where it made more sense. I personally spoke with the mayor imploring him to step in and his response was that this was something he would not normally do. We needed his leadership and he could not even request a meeting with the "INVESTOR" to discuss potential other options.
3. Mr. Ward failed to take Mr. Wolff's e-mail below seriously since the consideration he showed required a one sentence response sent from his mobile device.
4. Our elected, appointed and hired officials have failed to stand by what they said they would do at the "rubber stamping" administrative hearing by making sure that the Dollar General would follow the rules or else they would step in. I know that there have been many complaints filed during the build because rules were broken with limited action taken.

Now you are being called to act and it is clear you are on the verge of failing again. Step in and do the right thing for your citizens, those that you are here to protect and serve. I could be wrong but I think this "INVESTOR" lives in Tennessee or Florida but definitely not back here in Summerlake or Alexandria. Do not wait until it is too late.

My wife was also almost t-boned by an aggressive driver leaving the Dollar General parking lot. Although I am very concerned about this, I know that she would most likely survive the accident, my question to you is what if the next time the driver does not stop and it is one of our community kids on a bike.  Is this one of those rules written in blood that you so often hear about? Mr. Mayor, what will you say to the mother and father of the child who is hit...I hope it isn't "that is the responsibility of the property owner not the city." I don't care what you have to do, make the Dollar General put speed bumps on the exit lane and put a stop sign in as well. A stop sign is a good step but unless a police officer is posted there when the Dollar General is open, it will get ran but speed bumps will definitely be a deterrent.

Last, I want you to know that the perception is that you think we will go away. You think that we just had to let off a little steam and that time will heal these wounds. Know that it is clear that the residents of Summerlake are vocal and we vote. You can hide behind statements that you had no choice but to approve the site plan and that you were powerless to stop this from happening. This may or may not be true but know that you are being judged and graded on what you do and do not do going forward .

Respectfully Submitted,
Bryan C.