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Click
on the link below to send your thoughts and ideas to Mayor Kirk W. Francis. So that
we may respond to questions you may raise, your
name, address and e-mail address are required. We are interested in what you
have to say and hope this additional method makes it easier for you.
kfrancis@hcv.org
To contact a member of City Council or Staff by e-mail, click
here for the City Directory.
E-mail correspondence to residents regarding Bexar Met:
Sent March 5, 2007
What
is Happening at Bexar Met and How Will it Affect Hill Country Village?
It is hard to read the paper these days without reading something about our
water provider, Bexar Met. They are in the midst of a political siege from many
fronts to put them out of business (beginning with House Bill 1565). HCV has had
a less than amicable relationship with them over the years, having sued them
twice: once for failure to perform on their contract and once for excessive
rates. However, since the election of a new board and the arrival of a new
general manager, we are enjoying the most responsive and proactive relationship
we have ever had. If Bexar Met is ultimately killed off and restructured as
currently proposed, HCV residents would be disenfranchised as voters when it
comes to their water provider. While it is being proposed that oversight of
Bexar Met will go to our County officials, the ultimate operation will be
handled by SAWS. HCV residents do not vote to elect the City of
San Antonio City Council
, the body that oversees SAWS. In addition, I would anticipate that you would
pay higher rates under
SAWS as they have a
special (read: higher) rate for providing water to those outside the city of
San Antonio
. In addition, while electricity in this area will now be provided in a
competitive environment, our water would now be provided via a monopoly.
In
the meantime, I believe that controlling, or at least influencing, our water is
one of the most important matters that we can do to protect the future of our
city. We have received a letter of intent from Bexar Met to enter into a
contract with the City of Hill Country Village to lease a portion of the
City’s land at Bitters and
South
Tower
for the purpose of drilling water wells. This matter is being added to the
agenda for this Thursday’s Council meeting (agenda at http://www.hcv.org/
Agendas_&_Minutes.htm).
Let me repeat, so there is no confusion. This is a letter of intent, meaning we
think we would like to do this, but we need to explore it further. Both sides
will have the right to cancel before entering into an actual contract or lease.
The City will retain ownership of the land, no matter what happens. Council will
vote on accepting or rejecting this letter of intent before going any further. I
have asked Carl Register and Cliff Eason to join me in doing the due diligence
on the economics of any proposal before it is presented to council. I believe
that their backgrounds in senior management of two very large firms will be
quite valuable in looking out for the interests of the City and insuring that
only something very worthwhile is presented to council. Following are what I
hope to accomplish if we do this:
·
Have additional source(s) of water for the
City as needed in the future
·
Make a non-producing asset (the land)
productive (generate cash flow)
Again, this is only exploratory in nature at this point, but I wanted you
to have the facts in case you started hearing any rumors. To answer the other
obvious question as to what happens to the plans if Bexar Met goes away? I
believe that the same opportunities will be there if we have to start over again
with SAWS or they will honor any contract that they assume.
If
you have any questions please email me at kfrancis@hcv.org.
Thanks
for the opportunity to serve.
Kirk
W. Francis
Mayor
Sent
March 6, 2007
Dear
Citizens,
I have received several emails that indicate the need for further explanation
about the issues of water and water rights in
Bexar
County
. When the legislature created the Edwards Aquifer Authority in 1993, the
concept that those who owned the land owned the rights to the water beneath that
land was eliminated. The
legislation creating the EAA gave the EAA permission to issue permits to
regulate groundwater withdrawals, meaning that water utilities and private wells
alike were then required to obtain water rights to get the water out of the
ground.
The requirement to obtain (buy) water rights
still exists today. If you wanted to drill a well on your own property
under the rules in effect today from the state and EAA you would have to apply
for a permit from the water provider and work through the EAA to obtain water
rights. You will also need to get a well construction permit from the EAA.
Like
a private citizen, water utilities are required to obtain water rights.
If the City wanted to, it could construct a well (at a cost of at least
half a million dollars), purchase water rights (at least $5,000 an acre-foot),
but we would still need a water system for distribution.
Contracting with Bexar Met would allow us to utilize our land, access
available water (good for Stone Oak and HCV), and reserve water only for HCV if
we need it, as we needed last summer.
Thank
you for your responses so far. Please
do not hesitate to e-mail me again if you have any further questions or
comments.
Thank
you for the opportunity to serve.
Kirk W. Francis
Mayor
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