Serving Kerr County with a Conscience
Taxes
***TAXPAYER WATER ALERT***
10/17/2011 21:05
A public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, October 19 to gain public opinion on Headwaters Groundwater Conservation District board member Pratt's proposal to switch the cost of well sample collection and analysis from new subdivision drillers to the HGCD thus the taxpayers of Kerr County.
Attention Private Well Owners: Calls to Kerr County Conscience indicate a continuing pattern of misinformation by the usual suspects i.e. a few unscrupulous developers, realtors and investors in Kerr County. The unfortunate pattern is to convince private well owners the HGCD is trying to meter, regulate pumping or assess fees to current or new private wells. That is not the issue.
The Issue: If Mr. Pratt's proposal passes the cost of well samples and analysis for large well permits (new subdivision/commercial/industrial development) will become the responsibility of the HGCD and thus the county taxpayers. Under current rules the driller/developer pays the cost of collection and analysis.
Background: Development, whether residential or commercial needs to take place where there is an adequate well water supply. Unlike surrounding counties our Kerr County Commissioner's Court does not require new subdivision developers to establish a reliable water source before building. The HGCD is largely dependent upon well samples to determine areas of future sustainable water sources within the county. This information is currently obtained by securing well samples during the drilling of new large permitted wells which are usually for a new subdivision and public water supply for the subdivision. The information collected does not affect the well being drilled but allows for mapping of availability and future planning and wise development within the county. A fee for the collection and analysis of the well sample is $4000 to $6000 currently paid by the driller/developer. There is no such requirement for domestic well drilling only those developments/new public water systems with multiple connections or pumping huge amounts of water.
Questions: 1) Should the county taxpayers bear the expense of well samples for large water systems who will be selling the water for profit to the new subdivision residents thus making a profit from the same taxpayers main water supply--- the Trinity Aquifer?
2) Can you expect private well owners as taxpayers to bear the expense of well samples and also live with the new subdivision residents next door pumping their aquifer to the point of depletion?
3) Do county residents deserve appropriate data collection to assure reasonable growth where there is a reliable water source?
Beware: Board member Pratt has been joined by board president, Gordan Morgan, in suggesting we may not need this information at all. Just stop collecting the samples.
1) Would the absence of any absolute scientific information on groundwater stores in the county lead to the same unplanned growth and water shortages Kendall County is experiencing.
2) Is it fair to sell new county residents property without a reliable water source supported by scientific data?
Taxpayers should attend this meeting to voice their opinions. Developers, realtors, and investors will be there in force and they carry a lot of weight with some board members.
October 19th 1:30pm UGRA building
F. Lovett
Attention Private Well Owners: Calls to Kerr County Conscience indicate a continuing pattern of misinformation by the usual suspects i.e. a few unscrupulous developers, realtors and investors in Kerr County. The unfortunate pattern is to convince private well owners the HGCD is trying to meter, regulate pumping or assess fees to current or new private wells. That is not the issue.
The Issue: If Mr. Pratt's proposal passes the cost of well samples and analysis for large well permits (new subdivision/commercial/industrial development) will become the responsibility of the HGCD and thus the county taxpayers. Under current rules the driller/developer pays the cost of collection and analysis.
Background: Development, whether residential or commercial needs to take place where there is an adequate well water supply. Unlike surrounding counties our Kerr County Commissioner's Court does not require new subdivision developers to establish a reliable water source before building. The HGCD is largely dependent upon well samples to determine areas of future sustainable water sources within the county. This information is currently obtained by securing well samples during the drilling of new large permitted wells which are usually for a new subdivision and public water supply for the subdivision. The information collected does not affect the well being drilled but allows for mapping of availability and future planning and wise development within the county. A fee for the collection and analysis of the well sample is $4000 to $6000 currently paid by the driller/developer. There is no such requirement for domestic well drilling only those developments/new public water systems with multiple connections or pumping huge amounts of water.
Questions: 1) Should the county taxpayers bear the expense of well samples for large water systems who will be selling the water for profit to the new subdivision residents thus making a profit from the same taxpayers main water supply--- the Trinity Aquifer?
2) Can you expect private well owners as taxpayers to bear the expense of well samples and also live with the new subdivision residents next door pumping their aquifer to the point of depletion?
3) Do county residents deserve appropriate data collection to assure reasonable growth where there is a reliable water source?
Beware: Board member Pratt has been joined by board president, Gordan Morgan, in suggesting we may not need this information at all. Just stop collecting the samples.
1) Would the absence of any absolute scientific information on groundwater stores in the county lead to the same unplanned growth and water shortages Kendall County is experiencing.
2) Is it fair to sell new county residents property without a reliable water source supported by scientific data?
Taxpayers should attend this meeting to voice their opinions. Developers, realtors, and investors will be there in force and they carry a lot of weight with some board members.
October 19th 1:30pm UGRA building
F. Lovett
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Kerr County's Bridge to NOWHERE
09/07/2011 17:19
Kerr County Conscience has learned of another old Kerr County bridge scheduled for replacement. This low water crossing at the Guadalupe and Ehler Lane actually goes to nowhere. The road sign on East Highway 27 warns of "no outlet". After crossing the bridge there is a turnaround in a dirt field with a closed ranch gate and a distant house in site.
The bridge is in Texas Department of Transportation plans and funding has been completed. Total cost of this one bridge replacement is $804,727.76. Engineers have already spent $44,881.80 on the project. Because this is a traditionally funded bridge the county pays a portion of the cost. State funded road projects originate at the local level with your elected county commissioner, in this case Jonathan Letz, Precinct 3. Do not blame TxDOT for this questionable expenditure, they will not proceed with any project not requested by the responsible commissioner and approved by the commissioner's court. TxDOT depends on elected County Commissioners to inform their constituents and hold public hearings to secure public opinion prior to beginning any project. How many voters in Precinct 3 have heard about the bridge replacement on Ehler Lane? How many county resident's had an opportunity to offer their opinion?
Yes, your county property taxes are going toward replacement of this bridge.
Is this the best use of your tax dollars? Could this bridge replacement have been delayed while Commissioner Letz was posturing over expenditures for EMS/Fire protection and opposing library funding? Who will benefit from this bridge to nowhere? You can offer your opinion to TxDOT at http://www.txdot.gov/contact_us/form/ and the Kerr County Commissioner's Court at commissioners@co.kerr.tx.us.
F. Lovett
KCC
Are Water Well Meters a Phantom or Reality?
07/23/2010 09:20
I became interested in water issues several years ago when I heard the government was planning to place meters on residential water wells. The threat was real. It could mean a limit on the amount of water I could pump from my own well or maybe a tax on the water I did pump. There was always the possibility of both a limit and a tax.
I was worried and defiant.
I wanted to know when the meters were coming and find out which officials were behind them. What could I do to stop this interference with my own private property rights especially my right to pump water from underneath my own land?
After all, the 2005 Texas Legislature had determined that our state might not have enough water during future droughts if our projected population growth materialized. This was serious. It might not just be the local authorities but the state might really have an interest in my personal water well.
I began attending public meetings, reading, researching and talking to people who really knew about water. A strange reality surfaced. Nobody outside Kerr County was talking about water meters. Reading and research produced nothing on private well meters.
The threat was isolated to Kerr County.
A very ominous pattern finally became evident. A select few investor/developer/realtor types are very skilled at attending local board meetings and water workshops to threaten a citizens uprising when any responsible water planning item is scheduled. One recently threatened to ‘fill up the Callioux’ with people fighting water meters if the board even considered a totally unrelated issue. How he extrapolated the agenda item to water meters was puzzling until I realized his own stake in the issue at hand.
Knowledge gained at meetings in surrounding counties and regional water planning groups has been enlightening. Water meter paranoia is absent.
I have come to the conclusion that any time I spend worrying about a meter on my well means I have been outfoxed into wasting my time and energy on a phantom threat. I now know the water meter threat is a sly diversion from the real issue of whether there will be any water in my well to pump.
I was worried and defiant.
I wanted to know when the meters were coming and find out which officials were behind them. What could I do to stop this interference with my own private property rights especially my right to pump water from underneath my own land?
After all, the 2005 Texas Legislature had determined that our state might not have enough water during future droughts if our projected population growth materialized. This was serious. It might not just be the local authorities but the state might really have an interest in my personal water well.
I began attending public meetings, reading, researching and talking to people who really knew about water. A strange reality surfaced. Nobody outside Kerr County was talking about water meters. Reading and research produced nothing on private well meters.
The threat was isolated to Kerr County.
A very ominous pattern finally became evident. A select few investor/developer/realtor types are very skilled at attending local board meetings and water workshops to threaten a citizens uprising when any responsible water planning item is scheduled. One recently threatened to ‘fill up the Callioux’ with people fighting water meters if the board even considered a totally unrelated issue. How he extrapolated the agenda item to water meters was puzzling until I realized his own stake in the issue at hand.
Knowledge gained at meetings in surrounding counties and regional water planning groups has been enlightening. Water meter paranoia is absent.
I have come to the conclusion that any time I spend worrying about a meter on my well means I have been outfoxed into wasting my time and energy on a phantom threat. I now know the water meter threat is a sly diversion from the real issue of whether there will be any water in my well to pump.