"Here they go again," trying to kill what works for Wimberley.

CARD has long championed the City Wastewater plan because it is the best way to clean up the pollution in Cypress Creek and the Blanco River and protect them into the future, without giving over control of Wimberley to Aqua Texas, an out-of-state, for-stockholder-profits company with a terrible environmental record.

The loan on the project from TWDB was set to close Wednesday, Oct. 11. It didn't, because the special interests that favor turning the city over to Aqua Texas - or even stopping the pollution clean-up altogether - found a last minute way to kill the city project.

An organized and orchestrated last-minute attack campaign to the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) against the city project has caused the TWDB - which is making the loan to Wimberley for the project - to announce it will put a temporary 90-day hold on the loan.

Why will this kill the City Sewer Project ?

1. Because as the planners of this 11th-hour assault know, the city MUST make final awarding of bids to the two system contractors immediately. By law, the awarding of bid cannot be made until the city has the loan funding in hand. Because of the countless earlier contrived delays caused by those trying to kill the city system, Wimberley has already gotten and used up a 90-day extension from the contractors. We must have the loan funding now. The TWDB already committed to this loan in April, but has not begun funding it. If we don't get it, some other city will; we will not get a second chance.

In normal times, those contracts might be rebid, but these are not normal times. Hurricane Harvey made enough work for years for all contractors of this scale. Our contractors cannot afford to wait three months to see if they will get paid; they have other work they can take immediately. If we lose them now, we will lose them for years.

2. Both of our $1 million grants, from the Economic Development Administration, and the private grant from the Way family, have a date certain deadline of Oct. 31. Losing $2 million in free money would be an epic foolishness for any city, but a complete tragedy for a small town the size of Wimberley.

3. If the City project falls through, the city would either have to give up for many more years trying to clean up the pollution from leaking septic systems into downtown Cypress Creek, or be forced to take terms from Aqua Texas, giving them great power to push and control heavy future development in and around Wimberley.

What can you do?

Right now, send one short email to four people at the Texas Water Development Board.

Executive Administrator Jeff Walker:
Jeff.walker@twdb.texas.gov

General Counsel Todd Chenoweth:
Todd.chenoweth@twdb.texas.gov

Staff Member Dain Larsen:
dain.larsen@twdb.texas.gov
Dain Lawsen phone: 512-463-1618

Staff Member Clay Schultz:
Clay.schultz@twdb.texas.gov

Simply address them as Dear Sirs. Tell them politely that as a person living in the Wimberley Valley, you want to see our area's pollution problem fixed, that you believe the City Wastewater system plan is the right way to go and it needs to happen now. Tell them you do not want this destructive hold on the loan by the TWDB, because it will likely kill the whole project, and be against the will of the majority of the people of Wimberley.

If you want to say more, you could add:

1. In the May Wimberley City Elections, the City Wastewater System was the major focus of every discussion, and the city voted approximately 60% to 40% for the two candidates who totally supported the City System, against the two candidates who did not support it. It was the biggest city election turnout in Wimberley's history.

2. This issue has been a divisive one in Wimberley for literally 39 years, since the pollution was first recognized as major problem, and has been especially destructive to city trust and cohesiveness for the last three years. The city must move on to both clean up the increasingly polluted waters and bring unity back to our community.

3. Every possible agency, including the TWDB, has reviewed and signed off on and approved the City system. A hold on the loan would undo years of hard work and effort by countless people.

Thank you for your help. Please forward this Call To Action to your contacts who want to clean up the pollution in Cypress Creek and support the City System. People who voted last May have asked continually how long before this project can start. The first payment was to be made this week, and that can still happen, with your help.

- CARD Steering Committee

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