WASHINGTON CO. COMMISSIONERS ADOPT ON-SITE SEWAGE FACILITY REGULATIONS

  

Washington County Commissioners unanimously approved an order today (Tuesday) to update the county’s regulations for on-site sewage facilities.

The order covers the standards for installing and maintaining septic systems.  Some of the rules cover gallon-per-day usage for septic systems when they are being utilized by multiple dwellings or units per an acre; prevent holding tanks from being used on properties with more than one residential or commercial structure per property; and clarify the definition for single-family homes to include tiny homes, cabins, casitas, cottages and park model recreational vehicles. 

One of the main points of discussion from the court’s previous consideration of the order on April 15^th, which resulted in a 3-2 vote of denial, revolved around the suspension of a septic system installer’s ability to submit new project applications if they fail two inspections during a 12-month period.  The proposed rule led to worries that newer septic installers would be put at a disadvantage to other installers who are more familiar with how the county operates.  County Engineer Wesley Stolz said that provision has been removed from the order.

Stolz said the county extended an invitation for a workshop to septic installers who have performed 10 or more installations in the county over the last five years.  He said the workshop was productive and led to the creation of new transparency measures that clients can use, including how many installations a provider has done and how many failed inspections may have occurred over a period of time.  He said these measures can provide a more open-market solution and will be available in brochures and on the county’s website.

There were no comments during a public hearing for the item, but Commissioner Kirk Hanath said he appreciated Stolz meeting with septic installers and coming to an agreement with them, adding, “Compromise is always a great thing.”

Also at today’s meeting, the court canvassed the returns from the May 3^rd emergency services district election for the Chappell Hill and Meyersville Volunteer Fire Departments.  Elections Administrator Carol Jackson said a total of 994 ballots were cast, including 189 for the proposal and 805 against.  There were 3,506 registered voters, meaning the turnout was 28 percent. 

The court also:

• Approved a contract with the General Land Office for the Community Development Block Grant Mitigation Program.  The contract is to reimburse the county in the amount of $1,119,800 for the work it will take on with the South Meyersville Road bridge project over New Year’s Creek.
• Approved stipend pay for Kyndal Hadash of the auditor’s office for one two-week pay period, pertaining to her assistance with the human resource department due to vacancy.
• Accepted the 2023 annual comprehensive financial report for Washington County by the outside auditing firm Crowe, LLP.
• Declared some Engineering and Development Services equipment and items as surplus property and agreed to sell through GovDeals, the county’s online auction service.
• Tabled updated pricing through the OMNIA cooperative for the county’s rental service agreement with Cintas for uniform and workplace services products.  The court opted to table in order to attempt negotiating a shorter-term contract than the standard five years.
• Held workshop discussion on the Texas Association of Counties health and employee benefits pool mid-year review for the 2025 plan year.  They also discussed TextMyGov, which is texting software meant to open up communication between municipalities and citizens.