More than 100 documents have been released by the city to InstantNewsWestU, following a second public information request regarding West U Town Center.
InstantNewsWestU filed its first public information request with City Secretary Thelma Lenz on Oct. 6, requesting to view “any and all e-mails, memos, documents or correspondence to, from or between the city manager, mayor, city council members and West U Town Center committee members and any and all documents generated by the West U Town Center committee regarding West U Town Center from December 14, 2009 to October 6, 2010.”
InstantNewsWestU first reported the committee’s plans of a three-story structure, lining Edloe Street and University Boulevard, on Oct. 5.
According to the Texas Attorney General’s Office, a government body has 10 working days to release the requested documents, ask for an attorney general’s office for a ruling, or provide the requesting party with a reason why the deadline cannot be met.
The city released two PDF documents to InstantNewsWestU, regarding the Town Center, on Oct. 22.
The few documents that were released shed little light on how the committee’s drawings for the proposed town center were developed.
InstantNewsWestU filed its second public information request to Lenz on Oct. 29 because the documents provided by the city did not appear to be fully responsive to the parameters of the request.
“The documents do not reflect any meeting agendas, committee notes or council minutes that reflect the creation of the committee or the appointment of members or any indication of any city funds expended for the committee’s efforts,” read the request. “The documents released include an artist’s rendering of a proposed shopping center and parking garage; however, there are no documents reflecting who engaged the architect to create this rendering, how that architect was selected, invoices for the work or indications of payment. I am again requesting any and all documents in the possession of the City of West University Place that are in any way related to the West University Place Town Center Committee.”
Lenz responded on Oct. 29 with this comment:
“The documents provided were responsive to your request as we understood it. Regarding this request, we will provide you with the documents as soon possible.”
The second set of documents, which included more than 100 new documents, was released by the city to InstantNewsWestU on Nov. 8.
The documents that were released after the second public information request include weekly council reports by Public Works Director Chris Peifer, city council meeting minutes regarding West U Town Center, reports to council by City Manager Michael Ross and 99 pages of e-mails from Town Center committee members.
InstantNewsWestU asked Lenz how she missed more than 100 documents from the first public information request and she responded with this comment:
“I didn’t miss the documents from your first request. As I stated previously, we responded to your original request as we understood it.”
InstantNewsWestU will report on the information obtained from the public information request in a future story.
robert riquelmy says
It is wonderful the way educated city officials can misunderstand “any and all”. Perhaps Mr. Petrov has given them “special” training.
I don’t get it. Who in their right mind would want to have this shopping center smack in the middle of our little peaceful neighborhood? And so close to the school?