BURTON CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN, WATER OUTAGE PROTOCOLS
The Burton City Council reviewed the city’s drought contingency plan and discussed creating a new one during a busy meeting on Tuesday.
Councilmembers went over the draft of a new drought contingency plan, as well as a set of water outage and water well failure protocols.
Mayor Karen Buck explained in her monthly report that while water well production is fine, as the city wrote letters last month to Burton citizens informing them of the city needing to enter stage 1 of its present drought contingency plan, she found the current plan confusing.
The draft presented on Tuesday was intended to be a broader and more consistent plan from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. It will come back before the council during a special meeting on Tuesday, September 26th.
After recent power and water outages, Buck drafted a set of water outage protocols for the city and updated the water well failure protocol. She said she is also working with the Washington County hazard mitigation team to update the city’s hazard mitigation protocols. The council discussed current procedures, updates on how progress has been made on them, and ideas for the future.
Also on Tuesday, the council approved a letter of engagement and services with Olson & Olson, LLP. Attorney Bridgett Bagle will work with the city on an as-needed/on-demand basis.
The council also voted 4-1 to pass a resolution revoking another resolution, resulting in the dissolving of the Burton Beautification and Compliance Committee (BBCC) in order to resolve issues between the committee and the Laas-Weeren Park Commission. Bagle said the BBCC has been operating outside the scope of its existing resolution and that no park commission had ever been created per the Laas-Weeren Park ordinance. Councilmember Paul McLaughlin, a member of the BBCC, voted against approval.
In addition, councilmembers received a presentation from Washington County EMS Director Kevin Deramus about EMS facilities and the new helicopter landing pad next door to Burton City Hall.
Other business for the council included:
- Holding a public hearing regarding the proposed 2023 property tax rate of $0.28979 per $100 valuation. No comments were made. Another public hearing is planned for the September 26th council meeting.
- Approval of a division order from GeoSouthern Operating II, LLC for decimal interest of production proceeds.
- An update from Councilmember Jeff Eckhardt about the Park Ordinance Committee.