Independent Texans understand that I am running for the HD73 seat in the legislature for our Texas Hill Country; water and growth issues being among the most important problems faced by our state - and that I am independent in my thinking, valuing everyone's ideas and suggestions. Water does not know the name of a politcial party. If we turn the tap and nothing comes out, it affects us all equally. And - I intend to operate the same way in the Texas House. No person or party has all the good ideas. We can all benefit by talking and reaching accord so that we can actually address the issues that the people want dealt with by our legislature.
After this excitement, I met many Republicans and Democrats alike at the joint Bulverde Spring Branch, Canyon Lake Chamber of Commerce autumn kickoff meeting held at the GVTC Auditorium in Spring Branch. After the apathy of years past, it is a joy to see people engaged in our political process and interested in discussing the decisions we will all have to make. Voting is what makes our democracy strong and I respect everyone's right to make a personal decision.
A very important meeting I attended was the GMA9 (Groundwater Management Area 9) meeting held on Friday in Kerrville. Though Comal County does not have a water district, I was welcomed as a private citizen to participate in the meeting. To my knowledge, I was the only Comal County citizen present.
Attended by about 100 of the most water knowledgable folks in the area, this meeting discussed planning for the presentation to be made to the 2010 Texas Legislature.
I suggested, along with several others, that the drought of record" (DOR) beginning with 1950, be included in the computer model. Including this drought will provide the "worst case scenario" that we can expect with droughts of the future. The board discussed the fact that inclusion of the DOR would severly skew the model in a direction that is unacceptable in considering any additional drawdown (how much water can be withdrawn) from the aquifer.
The board also determined that including other multiple factors such as expected population growth without the ability of county commissioners to manage this growth is possible and will require significant adjustment to the model and substantial time and resources.
In what I believe was a wise and prudent decision, the board will included a DOR model run as well as less stressful drought model runs. I congratulate the DMA9 Board on their decision. This willl provide valuable data regarding actions that must be taken before and during the next DOR.
By the way, I suggest that hill country residents become aware of the good work being done by the GMA9 Board - and - ask you to take part in solving these water need problems. This board appreciates input from citizens. They believe input from the communities is the best way to find solutions to the substantial water issue facing us.
After this serious meeting, the Labor Day festivities really began in earnest. The Kendall County Fair Parade kicked off on Saturday morning. Enthusiasm and a positive response greeted me and our Booone volunteers in Boerne. Then we drove to Gillespie County. First we were in Harper for their 5:00 pm parade. This was followed by the delicious fried fish dinner put on by the Doss Volunteer Fire Department. Also in Gillespie County, Doss, last year , served over 3,000 people at the annual Fish Fry and they believe that this year will total even higher. Our hats are off to all the VFD folks throughtout our state. What a job they do for us all!
IN addition, great volunteers manned our entry in the Bandera parade as it was impossible for me to be in two places at once. I sure enjoyed the postive reaction in Bandera during their Frontier Days parade in Bandera last May. I was sorry to miss the excitement this time, as Bandera folks really know how to party.
I will try to post new additions to this site often. I expect to discuss pressing Texas issue each time I blog here. Please let me know if there are specific topics you want to talk about.
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1 comment:
Unfortunately, the GMA-9 is only an advisory group. The individual groundwater districts have their own unique set of problems. All of these groundwater districts are under tremendous pressure by developers to ignore the facts and allow high density development. These districts have very small financial resources and no backing by the state. So for all intents and purposes they are ineffective.
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