I have tried to stay out of the fray and avoid responding to some of the propaganda that has been expressed on Facebook and now in this newspaper. However, as your county judge, I must now set the record straight.

Based on the comments made by Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack in a recent guest column in The Courier, it appears that he is either misinformed, confused or is choosing to deliberately misrepresent several issues.

* Noack throughout his article refers to the Mansions Way project as a project jointly created by

Commissioner Riley and myself. Not true. This project is one Commissioner Riley has proposed in order to meet the needs of the constituents he represents. I was never a part of its creation.

* Noack further alleged "Doyal has wasted your tax dollars on a project many never wanted." Not true. On June 30, 2006, in a document titled "A resolution in Support of Right-of-Way Acquisition for the Extension of Woodlands Parkway," the South Montgomery County/The Woodlands Chamber of Commerce Mobility Committee stated in item 4 of their resolution:

"Whereas, acquisition of R.O.W. early in the implementation process will result in significantly reduced cost for the county and expedite the project implementation when construction funding has been approved." This resolution was received long before Noack was elected to office and in fact may have been drafted before he even was a resident in Montgomery County. This ROW will be utilized for this new proposed roadway.

* Noack states "it would be beneficial to share the traffic study that warrants this road," implying this information had been withheld from public view. This is false. A brief review of the contract he voted for on the Jan. 10 court agenda would show that the very traffic analysis he was asking for is what had been proposed, and is to be released publicly once complete. Noack either failed to do his homework and misunderstood what he was voting on – or is intentionally mischaracterizing it.

* Noack suggests that Pine Lane, 368 feet south of Mansions Way, is an option for connecting FM

2978 with Dobbin Huffsmith Road. This is false. While I find it interesting that a route 368 feet to the south is acceptable to Noack, even a casual observer can see that Pine Lane dead-ends into

Long Lake and Inverness Crossing before reaching Dobbin-Huffsmith Road and is prone to severe flooding. The last thing we need to do is build a roadway that floods.

While I could go on, I think the point is made.

The idea of pitting one community against the other and being antagonistic to the rest of the court, particularly with misinformation or a lack of due diligence, is extremely counterproductive. I remain hopeful that those negative and destructive voices that we hear on occasion will be able to see the bigger picture and redirect their efforts.

The focus at this time must be placed on preparing Montgomery County for the future growth we all know is coming.Meanwhile, it is my intention to reach out to surrounding counties and to all elected officials who share a positive vision for our future to ensure we are focused on building an even better Montgomery County as we go forward.

Craig Doyal is the county judge in Montgomery County.