Well, at the Nov 22d council meeting the item mentioned below about the Southern Star pipeline relocation came up.
Needless to say, many on the council were upset about the cost, feeling that Southern Star was taking advantage of the situation.
When I brought up the safety issue things got quite contentious between council member Jeff Vaught and me. First, when I gave my address, Vaught got real picky. Wanted me to give my complete address. Guess he doesn't like people who live in apartments addressing the council. Also, when I mentioned the safety issue he thought I should be more concerned about the money. When asked if he was concerned about the safety issue regarding the construction beginning before all easement and pipeline movements were handled he indicated that he was not concerned about the safety issue. Also, he lived in the area and I didn't.
His reasoning for not being concerned about the safety issue was, he said, because the contractor was a professional company. Well, professional companies can and have had accidents. That is why they are called accidents and not "on purposes".
I asked Vaught if he had ever witnessed a gas line explosion, and he replied in the affirmative. Now, if he reads this blog, I will ask him here and now to provide us with the info as to when and where he witnessed a gas line explosion. That should prove interesting. If I don't get a reply from him about that I guess I'll have to email him for an answer.
Ya don't mess around an 8" high pressure gas pipeline until ya get all the easements and any necessary relocations done first.
A couple of council members (Vaught included) expressed concern that nobody from Southern Star was at the meeting to answer any questions. Valid point. Question: Since their headquarters is in Kentucky were they notified that the item was going to be on the agenda and that the council might have questions for a representative of theirs?
A side note: If Vaught is so concerned about costs why did he join five (5) others on the recent National League of Cities conference in Denver from 11/30-12/4? Our council does like to compare us to other cities. So, how did other cities handle that conference? I sent inquiries to six, and received replies from three:
Unified Government Wy Co and KCK sent.........................0
Topeka, our state capital, sent..............................................0
Overland Park, sent................................................................1
Comedy line of the night at that council meeting; Kuhn stating that others were being flippant.
