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Editor's Note: We received the e-mail letter below yesterday. Early voting begins today in a critical election for three seats on the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District. Election Day is May 8. Check your voter registration card to see if you can vote in this election. Look for the HT-1, HT-3 or HT-5 box in your voter card. The three seats represent two north and central Hays groundwater districts (Districts 1 and 3) around Dripping Springs and one in Wimberley (District 5). If you haven't got your card handy, call the Hays County Elections Office at 393.7310. The staff say they will be glad to assist.Much is at stake in this election. It is unfortunate that some candidates are playing loose with the facts and using scare tactics. We should NOT be playing loose with the management of our groundwater in western Hays County nor allow ourselves to play into the hidden agendas of some of the candidates. Mr. Reitz (District 5), is a prime example of a candidate who will use false and misleading information to unnecessarily frighten the voters. The claims he makes about the super powers the district will impose on home and well owners are imagined, at best. Neighboring groundwater districts (like those in Blanco County and the Barton Springs district in east Hays County) have far more authority than our Hays Trinity District and they have never imposed such draconian regulations on the people as Reitz would have us believe.
Mr. Reitz says he is "working to protect your rights." Near as we can tell, Mr. Reitz will work to protect the rights only of the big water companies and groundwater wasters in the county, and less so the rights of the little well owners and users who depend on their groundwater being there when they need it.
Please be smart in how you vote and PLEASE VOTE. Every vote will count. We would welcome hearing from the other candidate for the District 5 seat, Joan Jernigan, of Wimberley.
Click here, http://www.haysgroundwater.org/ for the candidates' bios and more information about the groundwater district.
Dear Friends,
My name is in the list of peope to whom Mr. Reitz sent this email, but I am NOT supporting him. I urge you to vote for his opponent, Joan Jernigan, for HTGCD District 5.
Mr. Reitz tells you that HTGCD could impose taxes if it has Chapter 36 authority of the Texas Water Code. What he conveniently does NOT tell you is that you get to VOTE for or against any such proposed tax.
Almost all other Groundwater Districts in Texas have the Chapter 36 authority which he opposes, but the judge (Powers) and commissioners in office at the time the GCDs were set up did not want Hays County to have any real power to oversee water planning, and so they saw to it that Hays County did not get Chapter 36 authority.
I won't go through Mr. Reitz's email point by point to detail his inaccuracies and/or omissions, but, trust me, they are many.
Especially laughable is Mr. Reitz's assertion that he will solve our water shortage problem by "finding new sources of water!" Really?
______________________
Dear Friends
I am running for the Hays Trinity Ground Water District position for the Wimberley area, District 5. I would appreciate your support in this effort.
This is not a “City” election but a County election so even if you’re not in the city of Wimberley you can still cast you vote for me. Early voting starts this Monday 4/26 at the Community Center and lasts all week. Election day is May 8th.
This is a very important position on a Board that is not well known in our community. I would be one of a five member Board. The current duties of the Board are to monitor the ground water aquifer and to educate the public on conservation of water.
My opponent and I differ over giving the District Full Chapter 36 Authority to the District. I am against giving Full Chapter 36 Authority to the District. She has publicly stated she is in favor of such a change.
Full Chapter 36 Authority would allow the District the following power.
Allow levying “property taxes” on your home (up to $1500 on a $300,000 value home).
Allow putting meters on your wells.
Allow putting water use limits on your home domestic well in conflict with state law.
Allow entering your property without your permission to see if you are wasting water.
Allow issuing fines up to $10,000 per day for wasting water in their opinion.
Allow the use of eminent domain to take part of your property if they deemed needed.
Allow banning the drilling of all new wells on private property.
If I am elected to the District 5 position I will promote the following for our community.
Solving our water shortage problem by finding new sources of water for the District.
Take action to stop private and public water companies from wasting our groundwater.
Find practical ways to solve our water shortage problems that are financially responsible.
Promote conservation and Rainwater Collection education of homebuilders and new residents
Find ways to store our surface water that passes through our area for future use by private and municipal water companies.
Provide proper fiscal management of the District funds and not waste it on lawyers and lobbyist.
I need your vote. More importantly I need you to spread the word about this election. Even if you are not voting in the city election you can still vote to protect your water rights and your access to water for your home or business. This is a County election and voting starts this Monday at the Community Center.
Thank you for your support and help. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and email list. I am working to protect your rights.
Craig N Reitz FOR HGTCD #5
10 comments:
I would respectfully disagree with the perspective of the author of the letter stating that Judge Powers and the Commissioners Court in place during the creation of the HTGCD didn't want them to have Chapter 36 power; rather, it was to make them responsible to the Commissioners Court. The scheme was that by making them responsible to another publicly elected body that is responsible to all of the voters of Hays County, the plan was that funding and regulations would have to pass through the Commissioners Court, regardless of who was in charge. (Obviously, it pleased the current Court to have it this way since their new rules were partly crafted by their friends at the Groundwater District.)
So, just a little more insight as to what went into the Court's thinking back in the day.
Good input from Anonymous.
And if true (and I got the letter) that "Nevada" was using voter scare tactics, then he is not the person we want in the position. Lying, assuming voters can even see it, is anathema to good governance.
On the other hand, if the water world candidates don't understand the rules, that is incompetence.
Guess what? Reitz is a no-win situation.
Finding new sources of water is not the job of the groundwater district. Its job is to properly manage and conserve the groundwater we have. What Mr. Reitz is really saying is that he will ensure we don't have any groundwater left, thereby forcing the importation of new and expensive water – for what, more sloppy development? An earlier post in this blog wrote about Will Conley's private planning meetings on our water supply. Reitz must be one of the other "point men" who are trying hard to dry up our "free to most of us" groundwater supply. I hope the voters, including the tea baggers, will see through this sham, and vote in their own best interests. Warning: Do not vote for these misrepresenter types. They are a serious threat to the health and vitality of our natural resources and community.
With all due respect to Jack Hollon, isn’t it interesting that all we see and hear is reasons why Craig Reitz shouldn’t be elected. Where are the complements to Joan Jernigan? Sadly, she is not much of a candidate and to say she is weak and uniformed would be an understatement. At least Craig is motivated and awake. She appeared asleep at the wheel in the League of Women Voter’s Wimberley Forum back on April 13. I really think that Craig Reitz is the correct choice. BTW “Full” Chapter 36 would be a disaster if Andrew Backus is re-elected for Place 3. He single handedly cost the district several big bucks due to his childish attitude last year. Mark Keys is an outstanding candidate with fresh ideas for Place 3, as is Jimmy Skipton for Place 1.
The enabling legislation for the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation Districts (HGTCD) already gives it "Chapter 36" powers with the following exceptions:
a) can't prohibit domestic/exempt wells
b) can't meter domestic wells
c) can't charge production fees on domestic wells
d) can't impose ad valorem tax
e) can't enter property without consent
f) county can overrule decision by Board
Is there really a dispute about this? There is a group of candidates that has made "full Chapter 36 powers" their mantra. This would be Backus and the two women who are Backus proxies.
Backus, Carlton, and Jernigan all strongly supported "full Chapter 36 powers" at each forum. "Full Chapter 36 powers" is the euphemism for their agenda of ad valorem taxes, production fees, elimination of domestic wells, unwarranted searches on your property, and elimination of county veto power over their authority.
What is the deal with the editor of this blog making such remarks about Reitz? I don't even live in Reitz' district but I watched the forums and attended GCD meetings which the editor apparently has not done.
The editor has really misrepresented Reitz. Hollon has clearly avoided addressing Backus' agenda to tax, meter, charge production fees, and eliminate residential wells.
Let's be clear that it is the current regime that has promoted eliminating residential wells and trying to force everyone onto these central water systems. Reitz has promoted the rights of the individuals - not the elimination of those rights in favor of the utility companies as suggested by the editor.
Backus is the candidate that supports Aqua Tex and all the centralized utility systems to the detriment of the property owners who are forced to buy from these organizations.
Backus did try to make sure that no new residential wells would be permitted after June 1, 2009. Backus did try to impose a transfer tax. Backus did try to impose production fees and metering on residential wells. Numerous people have characterized his overreaching legislative fiascos as pursuit of "Super Chapter 36" or "Chapter 36 Plus" powers for his regime. Jernigan hasn't researched any of these issues and she has only bought into Backus' agenda. That's not a leader. Reitz' statements are far more accurate than those made by Jernigan's (or Backus') supporters.
If you value your well, don't give Backus and his proxies the ability to usurp it from you as he has already spent considerable time and money trying to do. Reitz isn't using scare tactics, he's referencing parts of Chapter 36 and also HTGCD's enabling statutes. On the other hand, Hollon is concealing Backus' agenda. No offense to Jernigan or Carlton, but they are all too willing to jump on Backus' property tax, metering, and production fee bandwagon.
"The scheme was that by making them responsible to another publicly elected body that is responsible to all of the voters of Hays County, the plan was that funding and regulations would have to pass through the Commissioners Court, regardless of who was in charge."
This is just more of the revisionist spin and makes no sense whatsoever. It also happens not to be factual, and anyone who has followed the District would recognize that immediately.
The simple fact is that our Trinity Groundwater District lacks many of the basic provisions provided for in Chapter 36 of the Water Code that are necessary to create a sustainable District---and that was designed in the enabling legislation introduced by then Rep. Rick Green, and followed since then by our current Rep. Patrick Rose.
Green, Rose and their developer interests never intended that there be any impediment to development in the Dripping Springs and Wimberley areas of Hays County. A functioning groundwater district would not only protect existing wells, but also require proving up water supplies by developers so they couldn't make a fast buck and leave unsuspecting homeowners high and dry in the next drought.
A functioning groundwater district would expose commissioners' court for the special interest driven entity it was and is. Judge Powers and commissioners Bill Burnet (Pct3) and Molenaar (Pct4) approved every development proposal that came to court, even when it would result in wells going dry like in Northridge.
What is amazing is that despite all the built in handicaps the HTGCD board as has to work with, the still managed to become more than what the developer interest can tolerate. Their only recourse now is to gain control of the board.
I believe in free enterprise and property rights. I am a fiscal conservative that would much rather see an intelligent free markets economy suffice for our citizenry. Unfortunately, Americans have become too stupid and gullible to implement a sound market economy.
As I watch my Republican Party be taken over by extremist nut cases and opportunist politicians, I must now vote for conservative but intelligent Democrats as the most sensible choice for the future of my child and hopefully future grandchildren. At least they have not totally given up their base principals.
When I see what Arizona did, what Bush and Cheney did, and who Texans have allowed to manage this state, I cannot support such hate and lack of intelligent policy issues from my Party.
And since I live locally, I will vote for the planned growth water conservation folks.
It is just insane to say, “What Mr. Reitz is really saying is that he will ensure we don't have any groundwater left”. Even if you think that Reitz is in the pocket of the evil developers (and I don’t), it makes no sense that he would want to deplete our ground water in favor of expensive imported sources. That would drive the (his) developers out of the area or out of business. No one would gain from such a preposterous and false action. Reitz said many times we need to investigate other sources in the event something catastrophic should occur. He never said it would be a viable and affordable alternative.
His opponent, Joan Jernigan has really had nothing to say about any of this except she wants “Full Chapter 36 Authorization” and favors an ad valorem tax to finance the district. That has been the mantra of Backus and his two puppet candidates since the campaign began. Remember the ill-fated candidacy of Backus for the Legislature. He is still pouting and intends to get his way with the HTGCD no matter what. His picks, Jernigan and Carlton, are far too weak to be working members of the board except to ape Backus’ actions and votes. Luckily, we do have three fine candidates opposing the “Backus Ticket”, they are Jimmy Skipton, Mark Key and Craig Reitz.
This is an important election, which will decide the direction of the HTGCD. Study the candidates and get to the polls on the May 8 and vote for common sense ground water conservation.
So Dr. Chuckie,
Is it your opinion or is it fact that the statement of the Commissioners Court made it so that the District would be responsible to them is true or not? You state nothing that makes this factual or opinion.
Your skewed recall of facts is funny - the County has required water availability testing for ten years, and from my review of the facts of the subdivisions that have been platted since these rules were approved would indicate that has occurred, and even more amazingly, the subdivisions with these reports have not reported dry wells such as you indicate.
The Commissioners Court approves subdivisions that come before it because it has a responsibility by law to approved subdivisions that comply with the law; it it cannot be proven factually that they do not comply with the law, then the Court cannot reject it. (The current Court found that out the hard way with their attempt to hijack and illegally and unlawfully rescind a septic permit for the restaurant owner in San Marcos over which they LOST the lawsuit).
YOUR revisionist history is always entertaining and ludicrous, which is why I enjoy reading this rag of a blog. It is so far left, and over the edge of reality, it ought to be renamed the Twilight Zone.
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