Over the past few weeks, there have been several articles about meetings by the City Council and mayor of the city of Bulverde.

As with any major change in any organization, there is a period of transition and adjustment. Though some things change, adherence to city ordinances and doing right should remain.

If you expect your citizens to do right and adhere to the law, then so should the governing body. There are several items which I question and would like explanations for.

On June 24, the mayor and council scheduled an executive session regarding the police chief. The mayor stated that they would, from time to time, have these executive sessions to evaluate employee performance. Both the executive session and mayor’s comments directly contradict several sections of our personnel ordinance. Why have a personnel ordinance if you’re not going to adhere to it? Why have a city administrator if you’re not going to let him do his job?

A couple of days later, Channel 5 did a news story on lessening the speed enforcement on U.S. Highway 281. The mayor was quoted as saying, “We decided.”

Who is we? Did the council and mayor decide this issue? If so, when was this discussed since there has been no agenda item addressing this issue? Is the personnel ordinance again not being adhered to? Does more neighborhood patrolling versus Hwy. 281 mean that our residents in the neighborhoods will be receiving speeding tickets instead of those driving 81-plus mph on Hwy. 281?

I have been informed that the mayor had refused to allow Terri Hall, founder of the citizens’ group fighting the tolling of Hwy. 281, to give a presentation to City Council. Only after an onslaught of e-mails from supporters did he agree to allow Hall time at Tuesday’s meeting.

In 2005, the city of Bulverde, realizing the importance of this issue to residents, protested the tolling of Hwy. 281 by official resolution. Comal County has taken an active stance against toll roads in the county and the city should support the county in this endeavor.

There are those who would say this is not a city issue, nor is it within our jurisdiction to deal with this issue. The city and residents have a say on every roadway within the city limits. It requires that the city address and work with county officials, TURF, TxDOT and other organizations to resolve this issue.

The city is currently trying to work an agreement with Canyon Lake Water Co., which may or may not be beneficial to city residents. I am concerned that the negotiations have not been made public and question what the city and its citizens will lose.

The distribution system that is anticipated is not going to service city residents for a long time, if ever, but is for new development and ETJ properties. The schools that need water are in the ETJ, not the city. There is not a single area within the city, as it stands right now, that will benefit from negotiations with Canyon Lake Water. These negotiations will not help Bulverde Hills, Bulverde Estates, Hillside Oaks, Oak Village North, Oakland Estates, Windmill Ranch, Saddleridge, or any other subdivision or homeowner in the city. In fact, a contract with Canyon may hurt city residents if the 375 acre-feet reserved for the city is given up.

Also, the city residents bore the cost of reserving this water, and I wonder if the cost will be recouped. CLWS is owned by yet another large California based water conglomerate. What safeguards will be in the contracts to prevent the same situation we are going through with proposed astronomical water rate hikes that people in Windmill Ranch and Oak Village North are facing.

I would hope that the council and mayor would have public meetings on such an important issue before contracts are signed.

Sarah Stevick
Bulverde