Commissioners Court tables resolution calling on Gov. to reappoint GBRA board

A resolution to call on Texas Governor Greg Abbott to reappoint Board Members and Executive Management of the GBRA was tabled on Tuesday, Oct 13 to be discussed with legal counsel and voted on at the next meeting of the Gonzales County Commissioners Court on Oct. 26.

Members of the organization Friends of Lake Wood shared anecdotes of having the GBRA assure them that the dam would be repaired quickly after a spill gate failure in 2016.

Four years later, it still hasn’t been repaired. 

Citizens of Gonzales County spoke about their desire to see the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority repair the Lake Wood Dam.

After a spill gate at Lake Dunlap failed in 2019, a press release from the GBRA announced that all repair work on dams would be paused until a safe repair process could be developed. Since that time, two lawsuits have been filed against the GBRA, and residents of Lake McQueeney have created their own proposed taxing district, to be voted on Nov. 3, to fund repairs to its dam.

Local business owner and Friends of Lake Wood organizer Joe Solansky said this isn’t an option for the residents of Lakes Wood or Gonzales because they “don’t have the assets” to create a taxing district to fund repairs.

Solansky said the responsibility of repairs should fall on the GBRA, as they own the dams.

James Lee Murphy, formerly the GBRA’s Executive Manager of Water Resources and Utility Operations, said that the GBRA has the funds to repair the dams from sales of water, but is choosing not to because the dams don't generate those funds themselves.

In other business:

• The Court approved all bills to be paid by the county.
• Public comment was given by County Sheriff Matthew Atkinson who said the County Jail had passed its annual Texas Commission on Jail Standards inspection for the fifth time in four years, and District Clerk Janice Sutton who said the district may need to utilize county facilities for an upcoming jury selection.
• Monthly reports were received from Constables in Precincts #1 and #3, as well as the Tax Assessor-Collector.
• The 2020 Tax Roll was approved by the Commissioners Court.
• A report of fines and jury fees for approval and filing in the meeting minutes was received and approved was received from the County Clerk, although there were no jury trials conducted in September, so no jury fees were collected.
• The Texas County and District Retirement System plan for 2021 was approved, as well as a retroactive TCDRS deposit for a former employee who wanted to “buy back the time” as stated by County Auditor Becky Weston.
• A resolution for the fiscal year 2021 Gonzales County Indigent Defense Grant Program was approved
• A request for qualifications and public notice for an outside auditing firm was approved.
• Variance and exception requests to the county’s subdivision rules were granted. They were related to simple matters of property lines and gifting of property.
• The County’s Personnel Policy on Equal Employment Opportunity was updated to include sexual orientation and gender identity.