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Upper Trinity’s proposed rules for acreage draw anger

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By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
Plans to increase the tract size requirement for water wells from two to five acres across the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District drew the most fire Thursday afternoon during a Montague County public hearing in Bowie.
About 20 people attended the hearing on proposed permanent rules as the district board and staff wrapped up a series of meetings explaining the proposals. To read a full description of all the rules visit the district website at: uppertrinitygcd.com.
A hearing also is planned in conjunction with the board’s regular November meeting at 4 p.m. on Nov. 19 at the district office, 1859 West State Highway 199, Springtown.
General Manager Doug Shaw made a brief presentation on the changes before taking questions. District legal counsel Brian Sledge and Board President Tracy Mesler, Nocona, also attended. The district hopes to get the rules approved before Jan. 1, 2019 to avoid any possible conflicts with bills that may come out of the new legislative session.
Leading the changes is an expanded acreage minimum for a well moving up to five acres from the present two acres. Commercial users and public water systems also will go from a registration to a permit system.
The UTGCD was formed in 2007 and serves Montague, Wise, Hood and Parker Counties. The district’s temporary rules were established in 2009 as the district began gathering data to help establish the permanent rules, plus began registering wells and monitoring production and use.
Shaw said they have about 150 wells that are measured quarterly and several that provide daily reports.
“We started collecting data to create well-thought out rules backed by the science,” said Shaw.

Read the full story in the weekend News.

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Amon Carter Lake Board to meet

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Members of the Amon Carter Lake Water Supply Corporation will meet at 6 p.m. on May 26 in the office at 607A Lindsey for a monthly meeting.
Items on the agenda include a consent agenda and minutes and financials. Possible discussion/action may be considered on the following topics: Treasurer’s report, review of finance and current loans; president’s report as to the written agreements with contractual employees; consider current water rates and a possible increase; and review of expenses and areas that need amendment.
An executive session may be entered to discuss personnel issues.

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Saint Jo City Council hires fire marshal

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The City of Saint Jo has a new fire marshal as the city council made the appointment during its May 13 meeting.
Gary Hines, a retired professional firefighter and certified fire investigator, will take the position. City Secretary Debbie Dennis said the post is required by ordinance but has not been filled for a long period.
The council set dates for a budget workshop for 2 p.m. on June 14 and 2 p.m. on June 28 for the ordinance workshop, as the council works to update its rules.

Aldermen gave their support to a proposition by Councilman Jack Dunn who is asking the Legislature to allow Texas’ smallest cities, those with 2,500 or few in population, to receive an additional share of sales and use tax. He would like to see the funds used in these communities to repair and replace aging infrastructure without new taxes or reliance on state grants.
In letter to State Rep. David Spiller, whom Dunn will meet with on June 1, the alderman explains much of the state’s 6.25% share generated locally flows into general funds and is spent on other priorities. He would like Spiller to author this legislation. Dunn gave the letter to the council along with a powerpoint on the plan.
“A single water treatment plant upgrade or sewer rehab carries massive, fixed costs that do not shrink with population size. These communities, often with only a few hundred or a couple thousands residents, simply cannot spread those costs across enough ratepayers or a broad tax based,” the letter states.
Dunn suggests a “graduated sales tax retention policy:” 1% additional share for cities with 2,500 or fewer residents; .75% for those 2,500 and 5,000; and .50% for cities between 5,001 and 10,000. It would be dedicated to infrastructure. Dunn says the overall statewide fiscal impact would be negligible, but could help sustain small, rural cities.

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City of Nocona buys water storage tank, review dam repair

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The Nocona City Council approved a bid for a new 203,000 gallon capacity tank for potable water at the water plant and learned a slide repair to the lake dam is going to be pretty costly.
At its May 12 session the council received three bids on the tank and went with one from Tank Depot of Cleburne for $193,923. It is for a a 217,600 gallon tank usable for 203,000 gallons. The price could change slightly since it was based on estimate freight costs.

Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.

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