Port Neches Park Cross

[PhatMack19]

The athiest are at it again trying to find things to be offended by.  

 

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[BS Wildcats]

The athiest are at it again trying to find things to be offended by.  

 

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And someone will bow to their demands and remove it.  Conservatives in this country need stop granting these liberals every wish.  It is time to stand for what we believe in and not these liberal a- holes.

[baddog]

Solution......add more crosses.

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

The athiest are at it again trying to find things to be offended by.  

 

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lmao!  Who are they??  23K members seems inflated, I never heard of that organization. 

[PhatMack19]

lmao!  Who are they??  23K members seems inflated, I never heard of that organization. 

They are the people that go around suing everyone that offends them and they usually win.  

[LumRaiderFan]

Let Superintendent Cavness give them an answer.

[baddog]

They are the people that go around suing everyone that offends them and they usually win.  

Who are these people? I am willing to pay for a frivolous lawsuit suing them because they offend me by being offended so easily. I cant sllep at night and I have nightmares when I do sleep. I have heard that those two things lend credence to my case.

[Hagar]

When the mere presence of a Cross scares a group like this, what they don't realize, it's a tribute to Jesus Christ, and validates his Resurrection.  Why else would they be so concerned about a Cross in Pt Neches, Tx?   Since I believe in Jesus' Resurrection and Angels, I also believe in the Devil and his demons, and it's just a dumb country boys opinion that groups like this are most likely organized and lead by those demons.  The majority of the group are probably just progressives who want to think of themselves as superior to most other folks. Unfortunately, I have explanations and reasons, not the answers (at least not the answers the current mores of society will accept).

[Bigdog]

I hope Port Neches tells them where to stick their demands.

[5GallonBucket]

how are atheist offended by anything?

[gohornets23]

I'm not a religious guy...but this one seems like a stretch to me. I don't know much about Port Neches, but I do know that it is a lilly white community where the majority of the people are probably churchy charlies. If you don't dig the cross at the park then don't go to the park, or if you do go, don't look at it. As non-believers we do have the accept that most of the people we come in contact with in our day to the day lives are Christians to varying degrees. Particularly if we choose to live in small town Texas. Each his own, just because we have decided we don't need religious principals to make a good life for ourselves, doesn't mean we need to disparage others who choose to do so. 

[PhatMack19]

Awesome news!  I bought a house in Port Neches a few months ago. I haven't really told anyone that I moved to the wrong side of the tracks, but this makes the move a little more bearable.  

 

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[77]

Well played !

 

[Hagar]

2 hours ago, 77 said:

Well played !

 

Amen!   Tip of the Evadale hat to Pt Neches City Council and the Methodist Church.

[tvc184]

On 11/16/2015 at 7:32 AM, 5GallonBucket said:

how are atheist offended by anything?

I suspect that most are not but for the ones that feel obligated to protest, they are offended that someone disagrees with them. 

[Hagar]

1 hour ago, tvc184 said:

I suspect that most are not but for the ones that feel obligated to protest, they are offended that someone disagrees with them. 

Another profound statement tvc.  Enjoy your bits of wisdom.

[BLUEDOVE3]

I don't think the cross should be on public land financed by tax payers because we are associated with other religions here, but I do think it was a smart and legal move to see the land to private owner.

[NDNation]

17 hours ago, PhatMack19 said:

Awesome news!  I bought a house in Port Neches a few months ago. I haven't really told anyone that I moved to the wrong side of the tracks, but this makes the move a little more bearable.  

 

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I can't believe you admitted this on a public forum..lol

This is why I love living in this area. They don't back down.

 

[Whoa]

22 minutes ago, NDNation said:

I can't believe you admitted this on a public forum..lol

This is why I love living in this area. They don't back down.

Im a Nederland fan BUT I am jealous ya'lls school board/Superintendent and city council got it going on 

I ride your teams, pretty kids, etc...like I have said before great community and athletic programs  Now that we have port Arthur north and land to the west we are not the same community.

 

Hats off to you all 

22 minutes ago, NDNation said:

 

 

[PhatMack19]

3 hours ago, NDNation said:

I can't believe you admitted this on a public forum..lol

This is why I love living in this area. They don't back down.

 

Don't tell anyone.  My kid is only 3 so I have a few years before I have go move back to the winning side of the tracks. 

[tvc184]

I am curious as to what legal standing the city has to sell public lands or any property without an auction.... unless they had an auction and no one paid attention to it. 

[PhatMack19]

6 hours ago, tvc184 said:

I am curious as to what legal standing the city has to sell public lands or any property without an auction.... unless they had an auction and no one paid attention to it. 

I believe it was voted on at the public city council meeting.  Usually no one attends those so it's a non issue.

These protestors need to step up their game and attend meetings if they want to get stuff accomplished. 

 

The cities sell land all of the time btw and no one notices.  The land the Wheelhouse is on was given away.  At least the church paid $100 to cover the filing of the deed!

[tvc184]

32 minutes ago, PhatMack19 said:

I believe it was voted on at the public city council meeting.  Usually no one attends those so it's a non issue.

These protestors need to step up their game and attend meetings if they want to get stuff accomplished. 

 

The cities sell land all of the time btw and no one notices.  The land the Wheelhouse is on was given away.  At least the church paid $100 to cover the filing of the deed!

Not so fast.

I am sure that they voted on it in an open meeting. That is the law, however..... the law also states how property can be sold all the way down to auctions like for found property like bicycles. 

For most sales of government property in TX, there has to be a public notification of the sale and an auction with the sale going to the highest bidder. It is not that it can't be sold but how it can be sold. I know that the law says that there does not need to be bids for very limited circumstances like one government selling to another. An example might be like the city selling property to the school district. If PN had a lot of land and PNGISD needed it for something, the city could sell it to them without opening it up to a land developer who could afford to bid more than a school district is willing to offer. 

I am not certain that a private church is in the list of entities that can purchase property of any kind from a city government without the required bidding process.

I am not familiar with the law other than I have read it a time or two in the past and that where I work we have to comply with city sales to the public. I might look it up and see if I can find it. I am not saying that the sale was unlawful but it might have been. I just don't think in many situations a city can makes sales like that to the general public. 

[tvc184]

..... and for all I know, maybe the did put it up for bids and no one noticed.  

[tvc184]

Well, that took a few seconds on google to at least find the chapters. It is in the Texas Local Government Code chapters 272 and 253... I think.

Some of this stuff is interesting according to what I am reading. In 253 it says about park land... "Land owned, held, or claimed as a public square or park may not be sold unless the issue of the sale is submitted to the qualified voters of the municipality at an election and is approved by a majority of the votes received at the election; provided, however, this provision shall not apply to the sale of land or right-of-way for drainage purposes to a district, county, or corporation acting on behalf of a county or district.". 

I am fairly certain where the cross is located was part of the park. This section alone says that land owned as a park may not be sold without an election by the voters of that city. Hmmm.... maybe it is not the council that can approve of the sale but the citizens and I do not think such a vote was ever held. And what I mentioned above, it if it to another government entity such in this case, a drainage purpose, that negates the need for the vote. 

In 272 it says.... "......before land owned by a political subdivision of the state may be sold or exchanged for other land, notice to the general public of the offer of the land for sale or exchange must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in either the county in which the land is located or, if there is no such newspaper, in an adjoining county. The notice must include a description of the land, including its location, and the procedure by which sealed bids to purchase the land or offers to exchange the land may be submitted.". 

It then goes on to list exemptions to that requirement and one of which seems to be that the land has to be appraised and not sold for less than market value. I am wondering who appraised that land at $100. The chapter lists things like education, old roadways, low income housing, selling to other political subdivisions (that would make no sense in this case as that entity would also be public just like the city which is threatened with a lawsuit in the first place) and so on. 

Anyway, I am tired of reading but I would like to see where the sale can be made to a church without requiring bids. Simply saying that it was voted on at a council meeting does not necessarily make it legal. The Government Code and Local Government Code lists all kinds of requirements and limitations on the political subdivisions. A city council can not simply vote on anything it wishes. 

So maybe it was completely legal but I can see where someone might have a claim from what I have read. Therein lies the problem with some laws. When you think that you found something, there might be another law that says the other law that you just read does not apply. I have personally been involved in issues where a city attorney was wrong on something, resulting in the issue being overturned.