South Lake Worth is Getting Offers

Gale Cupp, Steering Committee Chair of the Neighborhood Association of South Lake Worth has notified me that our neighbors down there have been getting gas offers. I would encourage everyone to get your friends and neighbors plugged in to what is going on. If they want to receive these emails, they can send me a quick note at MDallas@ScenicShores.net. Offers should start in our area before the end of the year.

Sincerely,
Michael Dallas

Here is Gale's email to her people:

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From: Gale Cupp Date: Sun, May 18, 2008 at 12:43 PM
Subject: NASLW: It's Now Here: Negotiations for Gas Drilling/South Shore

Sunday Morning, May 18, 2008

Hello All,

Since November 2005, we residents have known that the gas drillers would start to get serious with offers for lease signing bonuses..... That time has now arrived with several property owners that own their mineral rights receiving letters this weekend from an agent for XTO.

All of us have witnessed on the news these past many months neighborhood groups staying together to negotiate the very best terms for such leases.....and those of us on the South Shore are now faced with similar decisions. Recall our meetings in the past that have emphasized that all of us in the south shore Association area can benefit by virtue of improvements we could negotiate with the developer of the drilling site. The competitiveness of financial offers of lease bonus and royalty interests to mineral rights owners is of major importance as well as:
Weighing the offers/benefits to our neighborhood (many of us don't have mineral ownership) in terms of

(1) Impact on property values

(2) Neighborhood Improvements

(3) Protection and enhancement of our quality of life

(4) Maintenance of environment (including anything to help us advocate for Lake Worth improvements)

PLEASE consider these things and evaluate this against any individual gains that one property owner might be able to get negotiating individually. And consider that if we stick together as ONE VOICE, the benefits will markedly impact us all. I urge that the check draft in the recent mailing not be cashed yet.....rather, let's meet as one voice to discuss potential options. This has been what other Neighborhoods have done thru'out the City..... so PLEASE>>DO NOT SIGN An Individual LEASE YET.

NASLW Steering Committee will arrange for an open meeting shortly to discuss options. It is possible we could benefit from legal Counsel on such lease terms, and that is a part of the process that has been successful with other Neighborhoods. So, look for a meeting announcement very soon.
What a wonderful opportunity we have to improve Lake Worth and right outside our doors, preserve the green space we all enjoy.

Gale Cupp*, Steering Committee Chair

www.naslw.8m.com

Manual Email Moderation

Sorry about the junk mail. Google's junk filter has been VERY good in the past. Unfortunately, some bonehead in China somehow emailed a slug of junk onto the blog. I am now moderating the email manually. Your comments will show up on the web site immediately but will not go out to the group by email until I have reviewed it. I'll forward the comments to the group manually so no junk mail will go through.

Sincerely,

Michael Dallas

Questions

I am posting this notice So that everyone knows what's going on. Last Sunday, the neighbors on Love Circle and I met informally. I wanted to hear their concerns and share the information that I had. I wanted everyone to be up to date. The meeting was productive with about a dozen neighbors present.

Neighbor concerns included:

Drilling:
I emphasized that: 1) it will be important for the neighborhood association to be involved in the engineering process for the gas drilling, 2) the neighborhood association needs to form a gas committee with representatives from each part of the NA. It will help with the negotiations for those who own minerals as well as address environmental concerns of everyone.

Since Love Circle is not on city water and the neighbors get their water from wells, the issue of clean water was foremost. Questions about the water included:
How will drilling affect well water?
Will it contaminate the water?
Will drilling use ground water? If so, will this drain the wells?

Water and sewer installation on Love Circle:
About half the people were anxious for water and sewer to arrive. About half wanted to wait.
Are water and sewer going to be installed at the same time?
Will property owners be compelled to hook up?

Nature Center changes:
Is the nature center planning on adding a new entrance on Love Circle?
Is the nature center planning on banning boats north of Jacksboro Highway?

Dredging:
Will dredging affect the docks?

Crystals:
Neighbors are tired of pornography blowing into the park.

I have not heard from the engineering department this week. As I learn more, I will post it here. The blog contains a long list of questions that already have been submitted by neighbors. You may want to review these and add more. Please post your questions soon. I will be submitting a question list in the near future. The more questions I can get answers to, the better.

Also, anyone who would like to serve on the gas committee, please let me know. I will be posting a date for a neighborhood meeting. We will elect the committee at that time.

Michael Dallas
mdallas@scenicshores.net

Water Questions

Thank you Michael.

Did you get an answer on our aquifer as well?

When they drill through our only water supply (well water), what precautions will be taken?

dan deetz

Signs in the parks

The notices on the parks are not "condemnation" but "conversion." Conversion means that part of the park property will be "converted to another use." In this case, the minerals are converted away from from "recreational use" and are being sold from under the park. The signs clearly state that there will be no drilling units in the park. Moreover, the engineering department told me that the city has made extensive efforts to avoid drilling in the parks and has no (current) plans to drill in the parks. I was told that the drilling for the mineral extraction of the Love Circle area will be done from the other side of the lake.

Good question. These signs have a lot of people wondering.

Michael Dallas
President
Scenic Shores Neighborhood Association

Signs in the Parks

By the park being condemned, can they drill on it?
See attached picture of sign found on access road by Casino Park.

dan deetz

Be kind. We're in this together.

Blogger.com (which is owned by Google) is being used to host the discussion (it posts the comments and sends out emails to everyone). Evidently, the good folks at Blogger.com thought yesterday's message was so good, they sent it out 9 times in a row to everyone. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Please understand that the people working in the Scenic Shores Neighborhood Association are just neighbors who are selflessly volunteering their time. They are not city employees. None of them (including me) make a dime doing this. Their only motivation is to help make the neighborhood better by helping you. I would encourage everyone to be nice to these folks and to offer to help once in a while. You might be surprised how far a kind word goes.

Sincerely,

Michael Dallas

Comment

I have received this email a total of 9 times today. Do you think you fix this error.
Also a previous email sent by one of your staff had everyone's email address listed.
Maybe you could explain "bcc" to her and not share our email addresses with everyone.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Love Circle Meeting

FYI: The Love Circle Meeting this Sunday, March 9th at 2:00 PM will be at 7504 Love Circle.

Michael Dallas
President
Scenic Shores Neighborhood Association
Private email: mdallas@scenicshores.net
817-733-9056

Latest News

Dear Neighbors:

This morning, I spoke with Jean Petr, Land Lease Agent for the City of Fort Worth on the Gas Lease Program. I expressed the neighbors' concerns about the impending gas drilling. Given the intense concerns among neighbors, I specifically asked her whether drilling locations under consideration include Peninsula Club Circle and Love Circle Park. I also expressed my concern that the decision-making process (about where to put wells and equipment) be open and inclusive of neighborhood participation.

She said that (for now at least):

1) The city is following the rules on the 600 foot distances and prohibition of drilling in parks.
2) Peninsula Club Circle does not qualify as a drill site since it is within 600 feet of residences.
3) Love Circle does not qualify for drilling since it is a park.
4) Other potential locations have been identified that would get the gas out from under our part of the lake.
5) The city plans on requiring "closed-loop systems" (instead of "ponds") to minimize environmental impact and chance of pollution.
6) The city's drilling plan is to start the engineering at the south shore of the lake. The city engineers will work around the lake taking "chunks" of the land in sequence. Our "chunk" of land probably will not be ready for engineering until next year.
7) She will be talking to her superiors as to how the engineering department will communicate with us as the decision making process moves forward. She suggested that maps might be provided by the city with potential drilling locations. She also suggested that email notices may be sent to us as events develop.

As I learn more, I will let you know. Please send your questions and suggestions by replying to this email. Your comments will be sent to everyone who is participating (currently about 28 email addresses) and will appear at http://www.SSNAGas.com.

Sincerely,

Michael Dallas
President
Scenic Shores Neighborhood Association
Private email: MDallas@ScenicShores.net

Comment

Below is a great resource link. John Baen is a friend of mine and totally plugged into the gas scene/ Barnett Shale. His opinions are educated and reliable. The video on his webpage was a presentation at the last Barnett Shale Expo.

http://www.coba.unt.edu/firel/baen/

On March 29 from 8:00 am - 4:00 pm, there will be another FREE Barnett Shale Expo at the Fort Worth Convention Center Exhibit Hall. Go to www.barnettshaleexpo.com for more information.

Barbara Wooten

Secretary

Lake Worth Civic Club

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Love Circle Meeting - Sun March 9th 2:00P

FYI: The neighbors on Love Circle have organized an informal meeting on Sunday March 9th at 2:00PM. We will chat about an hour.

If the other neighbors would like to chat, I am available. I'm here to help.

Michael Dallas
President
Scenic Shores Neighborhood Association
Private email: mdallas@scenicshores.net
817-733-9056

How to Use this Blog

For those who have not used an open email blog before, it is very easy. Everyone who is interested in the discussion will get emails like this one. To add to the discussion, just reply to the email. That email will go out to everyone also. To review the ongoing discussion, just go to the "blog" website (in this case http://www.SSNAGas.com) to review the emails. This discussion method allows people to join at any point without derailing the group with redundant questions. Occassionally, I will edit out redundant or unnecessary comments to make the website more readable.

This method will come in handy as we move forward. For example, an email with a long list of good questions about drilling was circulated a couple of days ago. Those questions are a good starting point for our discussion with the city. As we get answers to those quetsions, we can put the answers in an FAQ sheet so everyone knows what's going on.

If you would like to test the discussion blog, just reply to this email. Then go to http://www.SSNAGas.com with your Explorer or Firefox browser. Your comment will show up on the site shortly. If you want to try it out by sending "test" emails, be my guest. I'll delete them from the blog later. Even if you don't intend on using the blog, you should try it just for fun.

If you know people who would like to be emailed when new comments about the drilling are added, they can enroll in blogger and subscribe, or they can simply send me an email. I'll add them to my special list.

Michael Dallas
Gas discussion email: talk@SSNAGas.com
Private email: mdallas@scenicshores.net
Phone: 817-733-9056

Important - Please Read

Scenic Shore Neighborhood Association - Gas Discussion
Message by Michael Dallas, President

Dear neighbors:

My mother says I have a gift for stating the obvious. I am going to use my gift today to (hopefully) outline what is known, what is not known, and what we need to start talking about with respect to the drilling issues we will be facing. I've also listed the email and web site for this issue at the bottom.

THE KNOWN FACTS:

1) We are VERY different than other neighborhoods with respect to drilling and our ability to influence what happens. In other parts of the city, most of the land is in private hands (e.g. homeowners, investors, etc.). Since the minerals are in private hands, groups of owners have been able to influence and dictate the price and the method and location of extraction. In this part of town, the City of Fort Worth owns most of the gas and open drillable space. The city - not the neighbors - probably will have the final say in what happens.

2) There is no "WHERE" on well locations right now. That is THE big concern. The city council has put this in the hands of the engineering department. My limited understanding (paraphrased) is that bids come back from gas companies with maps marked with "X"'s (drill sites, etc.) Engineering then "works on it," (whatever that means) proposes a plan, and chooses the bids. My best wild guess is that once engineering proposes the plans (and the drill sites), our "public participation" will have little effect.

3) Right now, we have choices to make on how we participate in the decision:

a) We can wait for the city to "get bids" and "propose" a plan. Since the city owns most of the property and minerals (and doesn't really need our consent to do whatever it wants), I doubt we will have much effect on getting any desired changes after engineering has put x's on a map.
b) We can start talking to the engineering department now. My feeling is that few people at the city want to talk with us right now. The feedback from the city has been, "It's only in engineering. We will let you know when it's your turn to participate." Again, my feeling is that we need to make every effort to work with engineering on this process now or we will have little effect.

4) We need to decide how we will make decisions in the future. The wells will have to go somewhere. There is no "good" place for them. In most likelyhood, we will have a situation where everyone can't be completely happy. If we can't reach a consensus on the issues, we will have no direction and no voice. The city will do what it wants without our input. We need to work on the "how we decide" problem. Every part of the neighborhood wants something different. To be effective, we need to cooperate and speak with a unified voice. I am open to suggestions on how we make decisions.

Here is an example of how we might work together:
Each area in the neighborhood could choose a representative to serve on a committee. The members will discuss problems, solutions, coordinate with people at the city, and talk with their neighbors.

5) We probably want professional help. Knowledge is power. A good minerals expert (e.g. attorney) may be able to help us get more money and influence the drill sites. We may have more leverage than we realize. An expert costs money though.

6) You need to stay informed and continue to participate.

We have been using an email discussion forum. This is good. However, it makes it difficult to "catch people up" if they were not included. So that everyone has access to the dicussion, the comments are being posted to a web site at:

http://www.SSNAGas.com

(You also can get to the site through the http://www.ScenicShores.net web site by clicking "THE DRILLERS ARE HERE!" link.)

It would be handy for me if you would email your comments directly to the site at:

talk@SSNAGas.com

Your emailed comment will be automatically added to the web site.
Note: This is a public forum. Use good judgement in your comments (e.g. Don't say, "I'm a single female and live alone at ___").

Please contact me any questions or comments that you may have.

Sincerely,

Michael Dallas
President
Scenic Shores Neighborhood Association

Hi circle,

Some of you may or may not have received the email below and the emails yesterday about setting up a meeting to discuss drilling. I thought of some important questions we need answered before meeting. Most important question of all is WHERE ARE THE PROPOSED DRILL SITES? If we don’t know this answer we will all just sit around speculating about where they will drill and whether or not they can drill in our circle which I think all of us would be against. And to be clear, I am against drilling in the circle!

I called David at the Parks Dept and he clarified for me that as of right now drilling on parks is not allowed in Fort Worth and that this conversion is only to allow them to lease out the mineral rights owned by the city of FTW under the parks. He did not know where the possible drill sites might be, but gave me Jean Peter’s number who is in charge of gas leasing for the city. I left her a message.

The next important question is CAN THEY DRILL IN THE CIRCLE? and HAS ANYONE FILED FOR A HIGH IMPACT PERMIT FOR THE CIRCLE? Here’s some information about the permits:

Types of Wells:

High Impact Gas Well Permit is required if the proposed well is to be located within six hundred (600) feet of a residence, religious institution, public building, hospital building, school or public park.

Urban Gas Well Permit is required if the proposed well is to be located between six hundred (600) feet and one thousand feet (1000) of a residence, religious institution, public building, hospital building, school or public park.

Rural Gas Well Permit is required if the proposed well is to be located one thousand feet (1000) or more of a residence, religious institution, public building, hospital building, school or public park.

And from the FAQ page:

How far must a well be from my property or public structures/areas?
The distance requirement is regulated by the city’s gas ordinance. No well may be drilled closer than 600 feet from any protected use such as a residence, religious institution, public building, hospital, school or public park without a waiver from the protected use owners or City Council approval.

What can I expect when a company is going to drill in my area?
A sign will be placed near the proposed well site advising that a permit application has been submitted. Notices will be sent to residents/property owners within 1000 feet of the well site. Additionally, staff sends a separate notice to residents/property owners if a proposed well is to be located within 1000 feet of any protected use. A pad generally 300’ X 300’ will be prepared and a drilling rig will move onto the location. The drilling rig will be on site for approximately 20 to 30 days actually “drilling” the well and running pipe into the open hole. After the well is drilled the drilling rig will move off. The rig move and drilling is a 24 hour operation and is probably the noisiest part of the operation. Shortly thereafter, well “completion” will begin and a smaller portable rig will move onto the location. After completion operations, surface equipment will be installed along with appropriate fencing and gates. From this point there will be minimal activity on the location. Occasionally a small rig will be brought to the location for remedial work.

Several other questions come to mind: How do we find out if we definitely own our mineral rights? Does the site size of 300x300 feet include the mobilization? If not, what is the total space needed to for the drill site? What kind of protection do we have from the workers roaming around the neighborhood- I live alone and don’t want to be harassed by them. Where will the water reservoir be located? Where will they get the water from? Where will they dispose of the water? How do they ensure the water and mud doesn’t runoff into our yards and pollute the lake? How many trucks will be driving in and out daily? Isn’t Watercress protected from truck traffic? How will truck traffic impact our roads? Can we have protected from foundation problems for 5+ years at least since urban drilling is still so new that they have no idea how it will impact our foundations? Was that staking on the circle related to a prospective drill site?
Michael Dalla

I am sure I will think of many more questions, but I think the most important question is Where are they thinking about drilling?


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Response from Michael Dallas
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FACT: There is no "WHERE" on well locations right now. That is THE big concern. The city council has put this in the hands of the engineering department.

My limited understanding (paraphrased) is that bids come back from gas companies with maps marked with "X"'s (drill sites, etc.) Engineering then "works on it," (whatever that means) proposes a plan, and chooses the bids. My best wild guess is that once engineering proposes the plans (and the drill sites), it will be much more difficult to change.

FACT: Everyone wants the money. No one wants a well in their yard.

In the end, the neighbors may have to come up with a proposal of where to put these monsters. Potentially, we could have a situation where everyone can't be happy. We need to start working on the "how we decide" problem. Right now we have no maps with x's. We do have the start of a conversation of questions that need to be answered.

Keep asking. Keep talking.

Michael Dallas
President
Scenic Shores Neighborhood Association

Michael,

Does this mean its time to start negotiating with the same folks for a settlement on our individual land royalty payments? Or have you already done that for yourself? I'm agreeable to begin speaking with the NG companies so that they don't remove the gas without my knowledge, my permission, or me getting paid for whats under my property. If you have already negotiated an individual settlement, do you have a contact within an equitable NG company that you might reccomend?

I certainly would like to start receiving royalty payments sooner rather than later.

Your thoughts?

Chris Rainone,
8912 Peninsula Club Circle.

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Answer:
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Chris:

First, I don't own mineral rights so even when this is done, I will not be signing any contracts. I am here just to help you help yourself.

Second, as far as I know, no neighbors have been offered any contracts yet. However, since the city owns most of the property (and gas), and the city is opening up for bids, the drillers will be quick to start working our neighborhood.

From what I've seen in other areas, a bunch of "flim-flam men" (there is probably a more accurate and less nasty term) will descend on the neighborhood. They will begin making offers hoping to catch unfortunate souls who are too anxious to wait for negotiations. These guys then "flip" the contracts at a profit to the bigger players. The rest of the neighborhood will probably be patient, stick together, and negotiate with a real player to get more money. I HIGHLY recommended that you participate in all of the neighborhood meetings from now on. I will share any information that I have and listen to your concerns.

As far as timing, the "gas train" is moving very quickly. Since the city owns most of the minerals out here, it is in the driver's seat as far as timing.

A concern I hear from the neighorhood is, of course, where to put the wells. The neighbors need to get together NOW to decide how to make decisions going forward. I will not be taking on the role of "judge and jury" on what happens out here. YOU (the neighbors) will be working together to make decisions. I will only pass information back and forth and oversee the process when necessary.

Sincerely,

Michael Dallas
President
Scenic Shores Neighborhood Association

Here is the letter I received from the city. It states that the city is beginning the legal process for selling the gas from under the parks in our neighborhood.

Michael Dallas

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February 25, 2008

Michael Dallas, President
Scenic Shores Neighborhood Association
6138 Camp Bowie Boulevard
Fort Worth TX 76116

Dear Mr. Dallas:

The City of Fort Worth has been approached by a number of interested parties for the purpose of extracting natural gas from the Barnett Shale Formation. The Parks and Community Services Department has been asked to convert the subsurface of the following parks for the purpose of natural gas drilling and extraction from off site locations:

* Casino Beach Park - 7451 Watercress Drive
* Love Circle Park - 7400 Jacksboro Highway
* Island View Park - 8401 Watercress Drive
* Sunset Park - 8855 Watercress Drive

The City Council will conduct a public hearing, as required by state law (Chapter 26 of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Code), on March 25, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. in the City Council Chamber, second floor, City Hall, 1000 Throckmorton Street, 76102. Within thirty days of this letter, public notice of the hearing will be advertised three consecutive times in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and for thirty days at City Hall.

This letter serves to inform your neighborhood of the requested conversions. These conversions would not have an impact on usable park area because there will be no drilling on park property. Attached for your reference is a map of the above mentioned parks.

If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact me at (817) 871-5744.

Sincerely,

David Creek, Park Planning Superintendent
Parks and Community Services Department

cc: The Honorable Carter Burdette, Council District 7
Parks and Community Services Advisory Board
Harold Pitchford, Assistant Director, Parks and Community Service

On February 18, 2008, the Fort Worth City Council voted unanimously to begin accepting bids for drilling rights to the western and southern parts of Lake Worth. Undoubtedly, this means that lease offers will soon begin pouring in to lake residents. PLEASE, for your own sake, begin participating with the neighborhood association in the drilling discussion.

The Scenic Shores Neighborhood Association will provide the support and structure for members (and non-members) who own mineral rights to use in the negotiation of mineral leases. We are fortunate that other neighborhood associations around Lake Worth have already had the experience of negotiating agreements. The Scenic Shores Neighborhood Association intends on drawing from the experience of the other associations as well as seeking the help of the Lake Worth Alliance.

Even if you don't have mineral rights, the location and quality of drill sites will affect YOU. We are all in this together. Together, we can make sure that the drilling remains a benefit to Fort Worth.

Michael Dallas
SSNA President

Please post your comments and conerns below.