I'm all for civic groups that want to do good deeds for a town. The Lions Club, for example, has a project to donate eyeglasses, which seems pretty worthy to me. But once an organization thinks that public government is not good enough and THEY need to step in to do the job, something is wrong. And that something is called, in my book SHADOW GOVERNMENT. I still feel EXACTLY the same way I did in 2010 where I believe(d) that if you don't like what your government that you elected is doing, you should HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE.

Back in 2009, there as a Shadow Government group that started as a private organization that thought they knew better than the City of Glen Rose and should go make decisions in their private club for what others should be doing. Wrote about it here because I was APPALLED at reading the sheer arrogance and hubris of the people in that group.

So now another self-important, non-elected group has sprung up that apparently believes it knows better than both the elected officials and other people in town who may hold differing opinions. That group is the Somervell County Economic Development Steering Committee. From an article in the Glen Rose Reporter of Feb 18, 2014. First, this group came up with $25,000 somehow to "forge a relationship with CFI- Center for Innovation". What is the Center for Innovation? Appears to be a group that puts businesses looking for investors with those who may want the businesses to come to an area (Reminds me of how you pay an employment agency to find you a job, eh?) It appears from the following that both Prometheus and the attempt by SR2O to come to town were both from CFI. For example, there is an email from Mike Ford to Wes Jurey that references Prometheus and we definitely know that not only did Jurey steer SR20 to Somervell County but he had been pitching on their behalf at least a year earlier in Kansas. Since the contract for CFI shows that whoever was in business with them would pay $25,000 to start, and then $25,000 for the next 2 years, we assume that this private group is the ONLY one that has ponied up that kind of money.

We were under the impression that Mike Ford said Somervell County is partnering with CFI in a PPP (Private/Public Partnership). We got a copy of the CFI document through an open records request and it is unsigned.  (We have not posted it yet) We then asked Somervell County if commissioners court ever put it on the agenda and voted formally to partner with CFI or voted themselves to sign this contract and give CFI the $25,000. The answer for the latter is no so it appears to be only the private group that decided to spend that money. So how was it that Mike Ford was involved in this?

We come back to the email that Mike Ford sent to Wes Jurey on December 17, 2013  in which he talks about Prometheus and Wes Jurey  of CFI says "I am also in connection with Prometheus-They appear very interested in what we can do to support them". So there must have been some previous conversations, perhaps on the phone, about Prometheus, because the email makes it clear this is a continuing conversation. And in fact, there was, this email from December 13, 2013 between Mr Ford and Wes Jurey in which he says

I have sent letters of invitation (see attached) to participants for the January 14th meeting. Our timing couldn't be better. Hopefully by then we will have announced our partnership with Prometheus and folks should be "in the mood".

Mike Ford then arranged, in conjunction with CFI, to have what he called a meeting with a "limited number of invited participants"  . It was listed as an open meeting on the agenda but instead of Mr Ford deciding, for example, to put an ad in the paper to MAKE SURE the public was going to come, he went to the effort of sending a form letter to people he PARTICULARLY wanted to come. The form letter not only did a shmooze to whoever these *invited* people were but indicated that they would be the ones to "determine whether it's activation within Somervell County can make a difference" and to "support this project for the benefit of the citizens of Somervell County".  Because, you know, it required that Mr Ford make a distinction between the ones that he considered would truly know and support what he was doing and the rest of us.

My next question is, what did Somervell County government have to do with this? I spoke with Larry Husley, who told me that Somervell County never voted to form a PPP with CFI, and never voted to spend any taxpayer money to be in a contract with CFI.  And yet, by Mike Ford intimating  that the county is in a parternship with CFI (partly by repeatedly using his title as Somervell County Judge) , he is letting people assume this was done. And it wasn't. What's egregious about this is, and you see this on his emails and form letter, he uses his position as Judge, rather than just some private individual who is seeking to let people know about something. And in fact, he COULD have gone as a private individual to the private group Somervell County Economic Development to push CFI instead of misleadingly making it appear this so-called partnership was done as approved county business.  Here's what was said in that meeting in the paper referenced above.

Following the Jan. 20 meeting with CFI, County Judge Mike Ford said the organization will conduct a study of local demographics, transportation, available real estate, workforce and other assets and provide access to industry connections. CFI essentially provides a "foot in the door," allowing local leaders to "get an audience" with technology-driven businesses looking for a suitable place to set up shop.

"It will still be up to us to sell ourselves," Ford said, adding the establishment of the partnership would be up to private donors.

"I don't believe it should be funded by government," Ford said. "Economic development should be about private enterprise pushing for enterprise."

At the conclusion of the January meeting, about $14,000 had been pledged, according to Ford, who said investors included realtors, builders and other community members who want to "see the county grow in an organized, solid fashion."

"I believe this will be the most effective model for economic development," he said.

You see that Ford is speaking AS JUDGE and not a private individual who is partnering up outside of business.

Somervell County apparently already HAS an Economic Development board, that is supposed to be an appointed board that, in the same way the hospital authority board had people appointed to it, would meet regularly to discuss this type of stuff. You remember that the Hospital Authority board posted meeting notices so that the public could attend, unlike Mike Ford having meetings in his office and deciding who to invite.  It's NOT JUST MIKE FORD on that board, it's other people, so why is he meeting in his office instead of having this BOARD meet? Even then, it seems like the process ought to be that if the Somervell County Economic (appointed) board met and had a recommendation, they would still have to bring it up at Commissioners Court, thus keeping ALL the commissioners in the loop and letting those we ELECTED hear about it, etc. I wonder #1. How many times has the Somervell County Economic Development board met and when and 2. Who the heck is on it and how long have they been on it?

Now, I go back to this private group that apparently believes that money can give them more of a voice in government that anyone else. I suppose everyone is aware that there is ALREADY an Economic Development board at Somervell County that we taxpayers DO pay for.  Here's what Larry Smith said.

"Economic development and the partnership with CFI will be conducted by an independent board set up under the chamber of commerce," he said. "With this planned program, we will get what we want in the coming years rather than having to accept what we get.

"This is the goal of a carefully planned program of economic development, and this partnership will foster wise growth that retains the character and integrity of community that provide quality of life."

Let's see. Can the public go find out what this private group is doing? Nope. What if the public doesn't agree with the direction that this self-appointed beacon of *wisdom* is going? Oh, these guys don't want anyone to put out an opinion, and will definitely whine about it if someone does, because you're supposed to just accept what a private board does on your behalf and shut up.

I say again, if you don't think Somervell County commissioners are doing their job, then CALL THEM and tell them to step up to the plate. THEY are the ones that got elected, they are the ones we can do open records about to see what they're doing. Not Shadow Government