Friends of Blue Hole Announces Great News for Blue Hole Park – And All Wimberley Landowners
On Friday, March 29, the Friends of Blue Hole board of directors voted that if it is needed, FoBH will provide to the City $823,000 to replace the $823,000 the city council recently gave away. This will allow the City to stay with the approved City Wastewater Plan with a VERDANT PARK, NO SEWAGE PIPE UNDER CYPRESS CREEK AT BLUE HOLE, NO AQUA TEXAS, and NO PROPERTY TAX on all Wimberley citizens. Friends of Blue Hole (FoBH) is the local nonprofit group that provided initial funding to purchase and develop Blue Hole Park, and continues to support and advocate for sustainable use and development of the park.
Andrew Weber, chairman of FOBH, explained “Our interest is Blue Hole Park. We received a pledge in February of $1,000,000 to complete planting for the Blue Hole Park master plan. At that time, lack of direction from the City and the Texas Water Development Board made it imprudent to proceed with planting.” Weber further explained “Two recent events, unfortunately, verify our caution and make planting impossible in the immediate future--because planting requires sustainable water. We received permission to instead use a large portion of the planting grant ($823,000) to try to obtain the sustainable, reuse water necessary for the planting and preservation of Blue Hole Park. That is, if the city stays with the City Plan, the Park has water.”
First, on March 24, the Wimberley City Council voted to give back $823,000 of the EDA grant the city had received to help pay for the city-owned waste water treatment plant, and only keep $177,000 of that grant so the city could continue on with their plan to contract with Aqua Texas. The Aqua Texas option does not include irrigation for Blue Hole Park. Weber: “Without sustainable, reuse water, completing the master plan--planting grasses and trees--makes no sense.”
Second, on Thursday, March 28, the Water Development Board agreed to allow Wimberley to proceed with their plan to contract with Aqua Texas--but only if the city agrees to pass a property tax on all property owners in Wimberley (and meet other conditions).
Weber concluded “FoBH has consistently advocated for a wastewater plan that includes reuse water for Blue Hole Park. The City Plan provides that water. The Jaggers Council plan does not. Today we put resources of almost $1M behind our advocacy so that Blue Hole Park can remain the economic engine and environmentally sustainable jewel it has become. We hope our $823,000 offer will persuade the Jaggers Council to stop its fiscally irresponsible march over the cliff to Aqua Texas, which as of last week imposes a property tax on all Wimberley landowners.”
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