An Appeal to the City Council
By Edith Songer - 14 July 2026
Dear City Council Members,
Over the last six months you have been faced with many choices and a lot of opposition. I hope you have also gotten a lot of positive feedback about the work you’ve done and the time you’ve put in. I don’t take it for granted, so let me take this opportunity to say thank you.
I imagine that it has been difficult to balance the feedback you get from your constituents with the choices that have to be made in order for the city to run. Likely few welcome increased taxes but even fewer of us have the big picture to see why they are needed. No one wants the city to be overdeveloped but we each want to use our property rights as we see fit. Some will continue to shout that they didn’t want to be incorporated in the first place and it’s time to disincorporate (despite the clear majority of us who voted in favor.)
All of this may have contributed to those of you in leadership feeling like you can’t afford to give the people what they want. Sometimes, and for some people, that will be true. If we all understood the choices you are faced with, I’m sure fewer of us would complain about them. (The vocal minority often feel more numerous than they actually are.)
However, when it comes to the question of the name for our new city, there should be no question of whether or not to give the people what they want. There is no big picture problem here that the leadership has more insight into. You can afford to give the people the name they chose. The name that got the most support city-wide is Eden.
If anyone questions why you named the city Eden, you can confidently say that, after extensive efforts to find out public opinion, it was shown to be the people’s top choice. The numbers are good. You have a leg to stand on.
On the other hand, if you choose not to change the city name–ignoring the 73% who want a change–or choose to go with a 2nd or 3rd choice name, you will have the majority of residents questioning whether their leaders are actually listening. This is your chance to show the people in your districts that you will represent them in their desires whenever you can. The results are clear:
District 1–voted Eden
District 2–voted Eden
District 3–voted Eden
District 4–voted Eden
District 5–voted Pineview (with Eden as a close 2nd)
Thank you,
Edith Songer,
Huntsville
By Edith Songer - 14 July 2026
Dear City Council Members,
Over the last six months you have been faced with many choices and a lot of opposition. I hope you have also gotten a lot of positive feedback about the work you’ve done and the time you’ve put in. I don’t take it for granted, so let me take this opportunity to say thank you.
I imagine that it has been difficult to balance the feedback you get from your constituents with the choices that have to be made in order for the city to run. Likely few welcome increased taxes but even fewer of us have the big picture to see why they are needed. No one wants the city to be overdeveloped but we each want to use our property rights as we see fit. Some will continue to shout that they didn’t want to be incorporated in the first place and it’s time to disincorporate (despite the clear majority of us who voted in favor.)
All of this may have contributed to those of you in leadership feeling like you can’t afford to give the people what they want. Sometimes, and for some people, that will be true. If we all understood the choices you are faced with, I’m sure fewer of us would complain about them. (The vocal minority often feel more numerous than they actually are.)
However, when it comes to the question of the name for our new city, there should be no question of whether or not to give the people what they want. There is no big picture problem here that the leadership has more insight into. You can afford to give the people the name they chose. The name that got the most support city-wide is Eden.
If anyone questions why you named the city Eden, you can confidently say that, after extensive efforts to find out public opinion, it was shown to be the people’s top choice. The numbers are good. You have a leg to stand on.
On the other hand, if you choose not to change the city name–ignoring the 73% who want a change–or choose to go with a 2nd or 3rd choice name, you will have the majority of residents questioning whether their leaders are actually listening. This is your chance to show the people in your districts that you will represent them in their desires whenever you can. The results are clear:
District 1–voted Eden
District 2–voted Eden
District 3–voted Eden
District 4–voted Eden
District 5–voted Pineview (with Eden as a close 2nd)
Thank you,
Edith Songer,
Huntsville