Councilman invites input on regional water plan

Dear Editor:

As an elected councilman, I started attending meetings in August, 2007, with Canyon Lake Water Service Company (CLWSC) and Comal County officials. The discussions were about obtaining a regional water system for the city of Bulverde, and providing water for our schools, citizens and businesses. In a briefing given by the general manger of CLWSC to the City Council on Jan. 8, a map was shown that projected a regional water system for Bulverde. This planned regional water system would provide good water and continued flow of water for all our city’s needs.

Since the last time I have reported to the citizens of Bulverde, the CLWSC general manger, Guadalupe Blanco River Authority (GBRA) executive manager of water resources and utility operations, and Bulverde representatives met on April 17 to discuss and determine the current contract negotiations between CLWSC and GBRA. The representatives from CLWSC and GBRA determined that within a four-week time period, GBRA would have the draft contracts to CLWSC for their review and approval.

When the contracts between CLWSC and GBRA are finalized, the city and CLWSC could continue their negotiations and finalize the contract(s) for the delivery of water to all the schools and business in the city of Bulverde. With the signing of the CLWSC and city contracts, pipeline construction to the schools could commence with an estimated completion time of about nine to 10 months. The construction of the water pipelines should be completed in a timely manner so the Amman schools would be able to connect to the lines during their construction phase.

Currently, CLWSC is negotiating with Bexar Met for the purchase of the Bexar Met pipelines and storage tanks currently existing in the city of Bulverde.

If the purchase of the Bexar Met infrastructure could take place before the contracts are finalized between CLWSC and the city, the construction time for the pipelines to the schools could drastically be reduced.

Also, when CLWSC obtains the Bexar Met infrastructure, the Bexar Met lines could be finished and connected to make a loop for a constant water flow.

Our citizens could help achieve obtaining the water for the city now and for the future by becoming active and attending council meetings and asking questions when water is on the agenda.

By doing this, I will have input from our citizens and you will give me the opportunity to continue to develop a regional water plan that all our Bulverde citizens would be proud of. Come to the council meetings to become more informed on what the city is doing for you. By getting first hand information, you will not have to rely on second-hand information from any of our citizens.

Jim Binkley

Bulverde City Councilman

Dear Editor:

In the May 10 Bulverde city election, you can vote to put special interest groups and political action committees in charge of our city, or you can re-elect the only candidate who won’t owe any favors after the election, Mayor Stevick.

You can vote to elect a part-time mayor who is busy with a full-time career, or may even be out of town when we need them, or you can re-elect our full-time Mayor Sarah Stevick.

You can put someone in charge that has no experience with million-dollar budgets and hasn’t spent one day on our City Council. You can give the highest position in Bulverde to someone who wasn’t able to keep their seat on City Council, or you can re-elect a proven leader, Mayor Stevick.

You can “catch the vision” of one person, or you can have your own dreams for your city.

You can believe the vague promises of a political action committee that wants to “impact Bulverde,” but remember, “impact” is a term used to describe car crashes too.

If you believe, as I do, that Mayor Stevick is the only candidate who has proven she deserves the job of mayor of Bulverde, then please, go to City Hall and cast your ballot. Our support only counts if we get out and vote.

LaDona Mamber

Bulverde