University Park residents packed into City Hall on Tuesday for a regular meeting and special public hearing on a small strip of parkland that could be part of the George W. Bush Presidential Library.
The hearing was the first chance for residents to voice their opinions on the sale of Potomac Park to SMU.
Voters must approve the sale of the three-quarter acre site in a May 12 election. The land and its sale is another chapter in the saga that is SMU’s bid for the Bush library.
Tuesday’s hearing lasted a little more than an hour and featured speakers for and against the sale of the land.
Those who spoke in favor of the sale pointed to the multiple uses for the money gained.
University Park Mayor Blackie Holmes has said any money will go toward purchasing additional parkland or toward improvements at existing parks.
“Is it best to have that strip of land…or to have additional parks or purchases?” SMU President R. Gerald Turner said afterward.
“If they drive by and look at it, it makes sense to convert unusable land into money for parks,” he added.
Residents who spoke against the sale cited either traffic concerns about the Bush complex or political issues with the president as their main concerns.
Madeleine Hervey, who lives on Hyer Street near the Dallas North Tollway, cited articles about Bush’s executive orders that could prevent documents from being released to scholars.
“Why are we asking for a library where no one can research?” she asked.
Turner said that those who cited political issues with Bush failed to address the issue at hand – the vote on keeping or selling the land.
At the hearing’s conclusion, Holmes said the council would take all comments, e-mailed and spoken, into account when it makes a recommendation on the sale of the land.
He said a decision could be expected by the next council meeting on Feb. 20.
According to Holmes, the large majority of e-mailed comments supported University Park selling the land to SMU.
Turner said that informal conversations with council members led him to believe they will recommend the sale to University Park citizens.
The city must have an election on the land because of a charter amendment adopted in spring 2005.
The charter says that if the city wants to use more than 5,000 square feet of any parkland for purposes other than a park, it must seek voter approval.
The strip of parkland and three duplexes on Potomac Avenue are the only remaining pieces of land SMU does not own in the southern part of campus.
