MINERAL WELLS — An incumbent mayor seeking a second full term is challenged in Mineral Wells by a first-time candidate looking for answers in the city’s expensive quest for water.
“My philosophy is proactive,” 15-year Mineral Wells resident Ron Davis said recently. “We’ve got to go in and assess the damage and come up with a game plan and see what we want to do.”
Good advice, says incumbent Regan Johnson who is confident the city has done exactly that.
Mineral Wells, through the district that owns Lake Palo Pinto, has embarked on a $277.5 million plan to ensure future water supplies meet anticipated population growth.
The commitment to build Turkey Peak Reservoir, a new water treatment plant and other water infrastructure began sinking in when water bills arrived in December.
Those included the first of a five-year water rate hike that will total a 146 percent increase once fully implemented.
Johnson, and the rest of the council as well as city staff, say the rate hike is necessary for two reasons: it is needed to both ensure lenders the city can afford to borrow, and with or without a new lake the annual cost of water to the city will rise about $3 million over the next few years.
“Can the city afford that?” Davis asked. “What are the other possibilities? How are we going to fill up two reservoirs?”
Johnson, a native who moved back to Mineral Wells 17 years ago, said the city has been transparent in its actions and in trying to keep the public informed.
That includes town hall meetings and other public avenues where dredging the existing lake and other paths to increase the water supply were discussed.
“There’s not one alternative that hasn’t been vetted,” Johnson said. “That’s the thing that I really think is important about Turkey Peak. This isn’t a half-baked, backyard barbecue idea. The amount of governmental agencies, environmental engineers, the Texas Water Development Board, the (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality), the Army Corps of Engineers — they all took every option into consideration on every issue, from the (Clean Water Act Section) 404 permit to proceed. It truly is the best and most cost effective solution.”
Johnson, who owns a downtown boutique, sees the lake project as one of several key elements that began coming together four or five years ago.
“That takes effort from everyone in the community,” she said. “That includes the hospital, it includes the school district, it includes the city. It includes the police.
“That’s the biggest change that I’ve seen, is a community that no longer feels sorry for itself and is willing to put in the hard work to get things done.”
Davis said the city and council have failed to include everyone in the action plan — except for including everyone’s wallet.
The council could have taken a more inclusive route, he said.
“Most cities, when you have this kind of impact on the citizens, it’s got to be put up for a vote,” he said, adding criticism of a council meeting rule restricting public comment to only items on that night’s agenda. “You can’t bring up anything new. This kind of huge debt they’re talking about, that’s got to be put up for a vote.”
Which way would Davis vote on a lake?
“I’d have to get a lot more information,” he replied. “We’re not getting good information from the city, and we have asked for some solid numbers for Turkey Peak and for the water treatment plant. We get in the ballpark. But we just feel like we need a changing of the guard.”
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