FBN: Poats Addresses Missouri Cities Major Concerns

FBN: Poats Addresses Missouri Cities Major Concerns
Poats Wants To Focus On Existing Development, Creating Term Limits
by Jamie Mock, FortBendNow

Missouri City mayoral candidate Greyling Poats says he thinks the focus of the next two years should be improving existing commercial and residential areas within the city and creating term limits for city council.

“You have to find ways to improve the older business structures as well as the commercial development, as well as the older neighborhoods,” said Poats, adding that many of the older neighborhoods lack “curb appeal” that he says the city has not addressed. “You don’t fit each neighborhood into the same box. Each neighborhood has a different character – you have to work on the positives of each neighborhood. We have never reached out to these different neighborhoods to find out exactly what we can do as a city to bring them up. What they need in those neighborhoods, what they don’t need.”

Poats is running for a second time against incumbent Allen Owen, who has been mayor for 14 years. He ran against Owen in 2006 and garnered 1,027 votes to Owen’s 2,239.

“The vote was 66 percent to 33 percent, and that sounds like a large number, but basically it is 2,000 votes to 1,000 votes,” said Poats, who also said fewer than 4 percent of Missouri City voters turned out for the election. “If we have turnout, I will win. People are looking at the real issues – what is the quality of life we have now opposed to the quality of life we had in the past?”

Poats says the current administration has ignored the smaller requests of the residents, and spent too much time focusing on the city’s extra-territorial jurisdiction, which includes area such as Sienna Plantation.

“If the city is not paying attention to the citizens on the small things, what about the large things?” said Poats. “…The city has started moving towards Hwy. 6 and people are dying on the vine. You have to be proactive in thinking about who is coming into your town – what they are coming into your city for. Are they coming in here to try to help, to make money – because all businesses are in it to make money – or are they coming in to extract money and leave? Had you looked at Quail Valley and the golf course six years ago, would you be in the position you are in now? Where are our tax dollars going …does it serve people who pay taxes in Missouri City, or the people who don’t? Our ETJ is an ETJ that probably won’t be on our city for 20 or 30 years.”

Poats says it is also important for council to have term limits.

“You have a lot of idea here,” said Poats. “My ideas, while I think they are great, if I stay in office 14 or 16 years, things are going to bypass me. You have to get people to come in with newer ideas.” . . . get the full story at http://www.fortbendnow.com/pages/full_story?page_label=home&id=54688&article-Poats-Wants-To-Focus-On-Existing-Development--Creating-Term-Limits%20=&widget=push&instance=home_news_bullets&open=&