Category: Devine City Council Meetings

All members of the City of Devine Council (with the exception of Debbie Randall) voted to release details of a confidential report given to the city council back in 2019 by City Attorney Tom Cate who was hired to provide facts and give his professional opinion on the possible Golf Course management agreement with Scott and Shirl Grego. His recommendation of “Do not enter into the proposed golf course management with Scott and Shirl Grego…they do not have the qualifications needed to make the golf course a viable financial project” was ignored by the sitting council who voted 2-2 to give it to the Gregos, with Mayor Cory Thompson throwing the tie breaker vote to 3-2. It was a Debbie Randall- Jennifer Schott motion on November 21, 2019 to give SG Golf Management the contract. David Espinosa and Steve Lopez voted against it. At the time the District 1 seat was vacant.

Continue reading “Devine releases Confidential Report on golf course”

By Anton Riecher
Without appropriate water rate increases the city of Devine could find itself nearly half a million dollars short in covering expenses within the next five years, according to a utility rate analysis prepared by a non-profit consulting group.
The analysis prepared by Community Unlimited, a national organization that provides technical assistance at no cost to rural communities shows that very little growth in water sales is anticipated in the near future.
“Unless I missed something you don’t have too many new customers,” Community Unlimited regional coordinator Raul Gonzales reported to the Devine City Council on Dec. 10. “So that doesn’t help.”
The city council took action to help resolve the issue in November, approving a water rate increase ranging from 21.5 percent for low-end residential customers to 38.8 percent for high-end commercial users effective January 1.
That increase is only part one of a two-step plan that would see the lowest level water rate increase 18.14 percent by October 2025 as required to obtain $11.5 million in state financing to cover the mandated replacement of lead water lines serving local homes.
Mayor Butch Cook prefaced Gonzalez’ report with….

Read the full story at www.devinenewsmembers.com

MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR Butch Cook:
If the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone doesn’t receive a substantial amount of rain in the near future, the City of Devine may find it necessary to implement Stage 5 Water Restrictions for what is more than likely, the first time ever. I was on the City Council when the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) began operating in 1996 when the city was required to pay for its allotted acre feet of water, which is now approximately $6000 per month of tax payer money. The EAA was originally formed to prevent a federal takeover of the aquifer under the Endangered Species Act; to preserve and protect the valuable state water resource, along with the endangered species in the aquifer-fed Comal and San Marcos Springs which satisfied federal requirements.
Even though the City of Devine doesn’t sit above the Edwards Aquifer, most of our public water comes from the Edwards from our two wells on FM 1343, which is pumped into the city storage tank by Warhorse Stadium, and then into our two water towers – so we are at their mercy and must abide by their guidelines for the acre feet we use.

Here is where the confusion comes in with regards to Stage 4 and Stage 5 restrictions: when the aquifer level drops to certain levels at key locations, the EAA reduces its allotment to the City of Devine by pre-determined amounts for Stage 4 and Stage 5. We began the year with an allotment of 911 acre feet which was then reduced 37% to 750 feet for Stage 4, and will soon be reduced even further for Stage 5.
The EAA provides a list of recommendations to consider for compliance; however, they are not individual mandates and each city is allowed to determine which guidelines it will follow, if any. The City of Devine can decide what its requirements are for each stage but if the City exceeds its allotted acre feet by the EAA, there will be a SUBSTANTIAL FINE imposed on the tax payers.
Stage 5 recommendations by the EAA include:

• All outdoor irrigation, including drip irrigation, hand held watering and watering with buckets is prohibited at all times.
• The filling, refilling or adding potable water to private swimming, wading or Jacuzzi type pools is prohibited.
• Use of water to wash any motor vehicle, motorbike, boat, trailer, airplane or other vehicle is prohibited.
• No applications for new, additional, expanded, increase -in-size water service connections, meters and service lines shall be allowed or approved.
• Aesthetic water use is prohibited. Basically any non-essential use of water. My personal opinion is not allowing hand-held watering to keep valuable trees and plants alive is not required at this time. The City of Devine is in good shape to finish the year under the required quota by the EAA with the mandates imposed in Stage 4, but only with a concerted effort to manage and conserve our water usage – especially the watering of lawns with sprinkler systems which currently is not allowed. This mandate does not pertain to those who have private wells which pull from the Carrizo aquifer.
  Recent posts on our City of Devine City Hall Facebook page were intended to alert the community to the Possibility of severe sanctions.
  Fortunately, November and December are historically lower-usage months with less need for watering lawns that are about to go dormant, but we have been in an incredible drought for quite awhile.
  Special Meeting Nov. 7
  This issue will be discussed at length and how to proceed at a Special City Council meeting next Thursday, November 7, 6:00 pm at the Community Center.

By Anton Riecher
A two-step water rate increase of nearly 20 percent over the next year may be necessary for Devine to move forward with obtaining $11.5 million in state financing to replace lead water lines.
The Devine City Council, meeting in special session on Oct. 22, voted to meet again in two weeks to give city staff time to further analyze the results of a long-awaited water and sewer rate study in preparation for a final proposal on the increase.
Investment consultant Mark M. McLiney, senior managing director of SAMCO Capital, told the council that the results of the rate study, ordered as part of the city’s planned application to the Texas Water Development Board for financing, showed that the water utility lost roughly $350,000 in fiscal year 2023.
“After paying all your bonds you are reaching into your reserves to make bond payments,” McLiney said.

City Administrator David Jordan said that prior to the last water rate increase approved in 2018 the council had historically approved annual increases of between two and five percent to deal with maintenance and operation.
However, the increase in 2018 came in the wake of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality determination that local drinking water exceeded minimum contamination levels for asbestos, forcing the city to borrow $9.6 million for line replacement.
“They had one of two options,” Jordan said. “When they did increase the rates, option one was raise it enough to pay for the debt service, and option two was raise it enough to pay for the debt service as well as maintenance and operations.”
Read the full article on www.devinenewsmembers.com