Letters to the Editor
Concerned that Sonic could do harm
I am a citizen of Wimberley and am opposed to permitting Sonic to the City of Wimberley for the reasons below.
1. Permitting Sonic could be the start of “the march” of the fast food franchises in Wimberley. Add McDonalds, Burger King, Whataburger and others and we could have our own Fast Food Alley as other towns have.
2. I expect a Sonic would cause a negative fiscal impact on our local business such as Mimas, our Food Trucks and others.
3. Three homeowners will likely see their homes lose property value and resale value if Sonic becomes their neighbor, and they will have to endure additional lighting, traffic and noise into their home environment.
4. The current local businesses next door and one door down, Linda’s Fine Foods and Kate’s Place will have the same traffic, lights and noise issues but more importantly will certainly lose their HILL COUNTRY ATMOSPHERE that makes them and our town so special.
5. There are SOME MAJOR TRAFFIC CONCERNS of adding a drive in/drive thru business on this section of 2325. It already has significantly increased traffic in this area due to current businesses, the schools and Lion’s Field. Add to that the youthful ages of some of the drivers likely to frequent a Sonic in that location - high school students with limited driving experience - and this becomes a concern for our young and our aging population alike.
Lastly and MOST IMPORTANT, with a school almost directly across the street, it is a reasonable temptation for students to walk across an already busy road endangering them and the drivers needing to avoid them. This situation is a formula for deadly accidents, and a potentially hazardous scenario that must be taken seriously.
Sincerely,
Mary Burke
Don’t send Wimberley down river to Aqua Texas
My husband and I have lived in Wimberley city limits in Paradise Hills for 18 years and raised our son here. I attended Thursday night’s town hall meeting at the Community Center, but arrived too late to sign up to speak, so I am sending my thoughts in hopes you will publish them.
Wimberley is the last jewel in our Hays County crown. Every other small town in Hays County has allowed unfettered development, big box stores and ubiquitous strip malls to turn them into Anytown, America. The fact that Wimberley has not allowed the same will potentially create, in the long run, a formidable economic engine while preserving our quality of life. Our quaint town will be the go-to place for tourists escaping the city, since we’re the last one standing. I beg City Council not to sell that down the river....literally....to Aqua Texas.
We must always have local control of our wastewater system, and preserve our natural resources. Each of us came from the earth, we cannot live without the earth, and we will return to the earth. We are stewards of the earth. I hope Wimberley will achieve notoriety one day for being exceptional stewards of our natural environment. I hope City Council will be leaders who are wise and careful stewards of our irreplaceable Earth, particularly our little piece of it here in Wimberley.
Was the town hall Thursday night just an appeasement or a genuine desire to hear from the people? It was crystal clear by the overwhelming majority of the speakers and the reaction of the audience that Wimberely does NOT want Aqua Texas to operate our wastewater treatment system. I urge City Council to act in the interest of the common good and what most citizens want.
Jo Kathryn Quinn
Standing up for Aqua Texas supporters
Last night, I was witness to a disgusting accusation that members of this community that are in support of a wastewater solution through an established provider are receiving kickbacks for their support. While this type of allegation generates attention on the national stage, it is wholly inappropriate and nothing but divisive at this level. While I support the notion that elected officials should be completely transparent with their financial compensation for the transaction of official business, this is not one of those instances that would warrant the witch hunt. But, the comment last night not only encompassed the elected officials, it liberally painted private citizens with the same brush stroke. This tactic has been orchestrated by those who should know better.
At its core, the comment says that Wimberley citizens are selling their votes to Corporate America. Let us pause for a moment if you please. Many of those who spoke last night detailed to abhorrent shortcomings of corporate entities. At the forefront was the picture of the faceless masses of customers that pay exorbitant fees for substandard services. In this same vein was the allegation that Wimberley customers are not worth the time of any corporate entity because they are too busy raking others across the coals for their shareholder’s interests. Query: how can the same corporate entity that does not have the time of day for Wimberley because we a mere drop in the bucket, take the time to strategically offer kickbacks that must be kept off the books of the shareholders, the IRS, the FTC, and the untold number of state regulatory agencies across the nation? The answer is, it does not. Wimberley is not worth the price of blood that the accusation last night implicated.
Believe me or not, it is your choice—but “words matter.” And the words spoken in passion last night have implications. I am not so jaded that I think that an established service provider would be the complete downfall of civility as we know it. Nor do I think that reinventing the wheel, by getting into the wastewater plant business, is a pioneering activity we should undertake with the budget we have. Reinventing the wheel always involves waste of resources. The presentation I saw detailed the true extent of the waste already created by this full steam ahead mentality.
As a member of the Wimberley community and an official resident of the City of Wimberley, I support what Mayor Jaggers is doing. For the record, I have not now, nor have I ever been compensated by Aqua America, Inc. or its subsidiaries for anything, let alone my vote for candidates that will investigate fiscally responsible solutions.
Beth Mitchell
An open letter to the city on Aqua Texas
Dear Mayor Jaggers and City Council:
Now that you have been sworn in and conducted several meetings, I am hopeful that you have studied the available facts, listened to the citizens, and that you will do the right thing concerning the city’s construction of its own water recycling plant. You campaigned with the promise that the Aqua Texas option was off the table, that you would proceed with construction of the city plant, also you said would honor the city’s long-term Comprehensive Plan. You were elected to these public service positions partly because of those promises. Just last year, the candidates that opposed the plant and promoted AT, were soundly defeated.
During the meeting held on Thursday, June 7th at the Community Center, about 90% of those good citizens who spoke vehemently opposed the AT option and spoke in favor of proceeding with construction of the city’s own plant. All of the information is available: the funding for our own plant is in place, is sensible, and is affordable. The scientific evidence for human waste pollution of Cypress Creek downstream from the old downtown has been presented by David Baker. The need to halt that pollution and to begin recycling our precious water resources ASAP is crucial to the community’s future. The city’s plan is the result of over a decade of hard work, many hundreds of hours put in by numerous good people, and to push it aside would be a disgrace. In fact, the plans for Wimberley’s plant are now held up to all of Texas as the most environmentally responsible such plan ever approved.
We could all be proud of leading the way to a more sustainable future by constructing such an exemplary treatment plant. Clearly, to turn this project over to the outside corporation Aqua Texas, which has not even submitted an actual plan, and has a terrible public record of raising rates and poor service, would only be another disastrous delay. AT also demands that the city turn over its CCN, which would then lead to uncontrolled development in this area, as AT would seek to hook up as many customers as possible. Your actions will have clear consequences, so, please do the right thing by all of us: proceed with construction of our own plant.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
Bruce P. Grether
There is money in budget for the sewer
Opponents of a City-owned-and-operated wastewater treatment facility say that the City budget will not have funds for roads if the plant is built. First of all, ALL the major roads in and around Wimberley are the responsibility of the State or County to maintain. That obligation applies to RR 12, FM 3237, FM 2325, Elder Hill Road, Lone Mountain Road, Jacob’s Well Road, etc. Secondly, City Council is open to putting a line item in the City budget for road maintenance. Lastly, as the wastewater project bonds are paid down, there will be more money in the budget for roads and other services.
Barbara Hopson