Sandy Oaks News has received copies of the official incorporation paperwork submitted to Bexar County by the Committee to Incorporate Sandy Oaks (CISO). An open records request was submitted to Bexar County on the behalf of Sandy Oaks News on January 19, 2016. The request was for all forms, documents, and maps included with the […]
When it comes to politics and government in Sandy Oaks, look at who benefits the most to learn who the king is. On the chess board, the king lines up behind the pawns. A smart player makes sure the first few moves of the game ensures that the king remains behind the scenes as much […]
At its April 9, 2015 meeting, the City Council discussed the Mayor’s nomination for City Attorney. At the start of the conversation, Mayor Jim Clement pointed out, for the first time in the meeting, that because Alderman Joel Ortega was absent there might be a tie on a vote and that he would be the […]
A trifecta is a series of 3 ultimate achievements that are related to one another. For example, if a horse wins 3 different championships then that would constitute a trifecta because each singular event was difficult and nearly impossible. The fact the horse could win just 1 event is impressive, but a trifecta takes the […]
Mayor Jim Clement has been ignoring the issue of fireworks now for 4 months. In November of 2014, Aldermen David Tremblay and Micki Ball had an agenda item about adopting a required permit for the sell of fireworks. City Attorney Art Martinez de Vara told them the permit wouldn’t be enforceable because the city didn’t […]
March 21, 2015 the City Council met for a special meeting after having cancelled the meeting it had planned for Thursday, March 19th. The 12th item on the agenda was to “Discuss and consider a proposal from the WPPOA on the transfer of assets of the WPPOA to the City Of Sandy Oaks, Texas.” The […]
On March 14, 2015, City Attorney Art Martinez de Vara announced what the City of Sandy Oaks was paying him as City Attorney. Martinez de Vara was hired as the City Attorney back in August of 2014, but his pay had never been released to the public. Because payment comes from public funds, the Texas […]
On March 14, 2015, the Sandy Oaks City Council used money intended for roads to pay off city debt. The debt included approximately $8,140 to Bexar County Elections Division, $1,100 to the La Prensa newspaper, and nearly $7,000 to Art Martinez de Vara for City Attorney fees. The money being used came from revenue generated […]
On March 7, 2015, Alderman Micki Ball met with citizens at the WPPOA clubhouse in a City Council sponsored meeting. Alderman Ball was directly asked what the City Attorney, Art Martinez de Vara, was being paid. Her reply was That was discussed in executive session and by law I can’t reveal that. According to Section […]
Sandy Oaks News began taking detailed records and recordings for the community directly after incorporation and before there was even a city government. The desire to keep solid records came after the Committee to Incorporate promised the community that it would announce the deadline for people to apply for office, but instead kept the deadline […]
On February 26, 2014 the City Council met to fix the tax debacle they created when they created an illegal amount of sales taxes. The issue was that the city could only create up to 1.5% in sales taxes and instead created 1.75%. The only reason it was 1.75% and not 2% is because someone […]
We live in a democratic republic, a special form of government that allows citizens to democratically elect representatives to represent. When these representatives make decisions in government, they do so not just for themselves, but for the people who placed them into office. Secretly changing a decision that a democratically elected group changes i the […]
At the City Council meeting on February 12, 2015, the City Council was handed an Open Records Request from Don Hormachea. He handed the Request to each of the 5 Alderman, the Mayor, the City Clerk, and the City Attorney. The Public Information Act gives people the ability to access information that the government has. […]
The Sandy Oaks City Council held a special meeting on February 26, 2015 to discuss the illegal amount of sales taxes they created last fall. In their first official meeting, the Council created an election for 3 new sales taxes that, if approved, would equal more than the amount allowed by Texas law. The voters […]
Alderman Earnest Gay was the honorary speaker at a presentation in Austin for the Texas Public Policy Foundation on January 8, 2015. He contributed about 8 minutes to a 2 hour long presentation organized by Jess Fields on the topic of Liberty Cities. Also present, and speaking for a large portion of the presentation, was […]
By Texas state law, the maximum sales tax that can be imposed is 8.25%. Of that, the state collects 6.25% which means that local municipalities and transit authorities can only impose an extra 2% of sales tax. The Sandy Oaks City Council, however, went beyond the legal limit. The Council Wanted The Maximum Above is […]
The term “Conflict of Interest” is heard often when describing what has been happening in the City of Sandy Oaks since incorporation. A conflict of interest is a situation in which a person (or organization) is involved with more than one set of interests and where one of those interests can negatively affect the person’s […]
There’s quite a lot of lame reporting when it comes to the creation and running of the new City of Sandy Oaks. Some reporters from San Antonio are just too lazy to take 1 hour to drive down to Sandy Oaks and walk around and get some actual facts or actual stories. But when I […]
Sandy Oaks Mayor Jim Clement stood outside Freedom Elementary School on election day November 4, 2014, greeting soon to be voters. Bellow is the 2nd part of a 4 part conversation with the mayor. Mayor Clement admitted that he was in favor of a retroactive property tax on the City of Sandy Oaks. It would […]
This week a new newspaper was presented to Sandy Oaks residents. This one calls itself the “Sandy Oaks Gazette.” In reality, the Gazette is just a new name for the Sandy Oaks Chronicle, which first came out in August. In its first issue, the newspaper had a 2 page spread calling itself a “voter’s guide” […]
On September 18, the City Council met for a Budget Hearing to discuss the first proposed budget for the City of Sandy Oaks. The Committee to Incorporate Sandy Oaks (CISO), the group responsible for the incorporation of the city, never presented a possible budget to the public leading up to the vote for incorporation, so […]
Last night the Sandy Oaks City Council met for a budget hearing to discuss revenue and expenses. The meeting was less formal than a usual City Council meeting and allowed questions and comments from the audience. Mayor Jim Clement, whose job it is to create a budget, presented a budget that included over $300,000 in […]
Last night the Sandy Oaks City Council voted in favor of of a resolution thanking the Committee to Incorporate Sandy Oaks (CISO), the group that pushed for the creation of the new city. On the issue of creating the city, Mayor Jim Clement stated “We worked hard to get this done. Its called perseverance!” But […]
Even though the election of the new City Council is over and there have been a few council meetings, people are still talking about the process of incorporation and the vote that took place last May. No conversation about the change can be complete without discussing the actions (and lack of actions) of the Committee […]
The first two city council meetings of the City of Sandy Oaks were policed by a law enforcement officer from Von Ormy, Texas named Tiffany Aguillen. In the first meeting on August 16, 2014, Aguillen made her authority known when she threatened to arrest Cathleen Recio, who recently lost the election for an alderman […]
At the very first City Council meeting of the City of Sandy Oaks, Art Martinez de Vara sat at the table of the City Council members with his own official paper nameplate that showed his position as City Attorney. The Council had never hired an attorney and the position of City Attorney had never been […]
Starting Monday, July 28th, a newspaper called “The Sandy Oaks Chronicle” was handed out to residents of Waterwood and the City of Sandy Oaks. On page 4 of the newspaper there is a section titled “OFFICE: BOARD OF ALDERMEN” and the second to last sentence reads: All candidates were invited to participate in this voter’s […]
The very first City Council of Sandy Oaks, Texas was elected August 9, 2014. 2014 Candidates Political games started the same month that Sandy Oaks incorporated. The Committee to Incorporate Sandy Oaks had said at a public meeting before incorporation that they would announce the deadline for application for people to run for city office. […]
On July 8, 2014, a “Meet the Candidates” meeting was held in the Waterwood clubhouse. The event was organized by Jim Clement, the only candidate running for mayor. 23 people were present, including all the candidates running for alderman positions except for David Tremblay. Inside the clubhouse, chairs were arranged in a wide oval allowing […]
In the meeting held at the Waterwood Clubhouse on July 8th, many items were discussed. One of the most important was that of revenue. Now that Waterwood and surrounding areas have incorporated into the City of Sandy Oaks, there needs to be revenue to pay for what the city needs. The entire point of having […]