The Conversation is Not Over

The City Council election was primarily about one issue; whether the City of Wimberley or a private company should own and control the sewer system to solve Wimberley’s downtown pollution problem.

In the two contested races, a total of 1,203 votes were cast for the two candidates who forcefully supported the City-owned and controlled System. Their two opponents got a total of 792 votes.

Clearly, a majority of voters want to move ahead with the City plan.

Instead, we may get no sewer system and no pollution solution at all. At least not for several years.

Time is Running Out

The city is in a position to build and control our own system largely because of:

• The exceptional high quality of the proposed plant and the Type 1 effluent it would produce
• A rare long-term, low-interest loan from Texas Water Development Board
• A $1 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration

Unfortunately, all of this comes with deadlines. Other Texas cities and towns want the money that was awarded to Wimberley. Because the planned City System has been delayed so long by efforts to switch to a private company, the City Plan faces several deadlines this summer. In fact, we have already taken an extension on the TWDB loan, and now it is about to run out.

Some of these deadlines come as early as June. If City Council does not take swift action toward implementing the City Plan, the whole project is almost certain to fail. All the fundraising and planning already done by several City Councils will be lost, the low-interest loan will almost certainly be lost and the $1 Million EDA grant will be cancelled. Cypress Creek pollution will continue.

It’s Time for Us to Come Together

This issue has been terribly divisive for Wimberley and the City still has done nothing to resolve the long-time pollution in our beloved Cypress Creek and Blanco River, or the threat that the Federal Court will step in and force much harsher solutions on us. We still have the chance to solve this, if City Council acts now.

Although no one is openly pushing for Aqua Texas at the moment, in the first regular City Council meeting after the election, some members continued promoting already considered and rejected alternate plans and changes almost sure to delay the necessary decision far past our looming summer deadlines. Once the loan and grant disappear, Wimberley will have to get back in a long line to ask for future sewer funding, with no guarantee of getting anything.

Tell the Mayor and City Council to move quickly to meet the City Plan deadlines and save our low-interest loans and grants. Let’s bring an end to the pollution in the heart of Wimberley once and for all.

Let your City Council know you want them to move forward with the designed City Sewer Plan.

Mayor – Mac McCullough mayor@cityofwimberley.com

Place 1 – Steve Thurber Place1@cityofwimberley.com

Place 2 – Craig Fore Place2@cityofwimberley.com

Place 3 – Allison Davis Place3@cityofwimberley.com

Place 4 – Gary Barchfeld Place4@cityofwimberley.com

Place 5 – John White Place5@cityofwimberley.com

Also: Please attend City Council meetings at City Hall, 221 Stillwater Drive, usually at 6 p.m. on alternate Thursdays. The June meetings are June 1st, 15th, and 29th.

Thank you for supporting Wimberley in moving forward.

- CARD Steering Committee

CARDtalks are written and approved by CARD Steering Committee members. We are listed on our website's About page.