Mertzon City Council February 24 2025
- G. Noelke
- Feb 25
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 25
Here’s the rub: the geotechnical reports recently done by Hibbs & Todd for IC ISD recommend dumping stormwater into “storm drains or onto paved surfaces” thus giving IC ISD an excuse (but not a legal defense) to dump its stormwater into the streets and flood our community. Hibbs & Todd, however, is also the engineers for the City of Mertzon. What gives? Is it a good practice to recommend dumping water onto paved surfaces when they also represent the City? See additional comments below.*
Below is the agenda for this meeting, and underneath that are my Agenda Analysis and Meeting Review. Here are the meeting documents for this meeting.
A. Agenda Analysis: 1. Date of meeting: This meeting has been rescheduled to February 24.
2. Dead meters, item 6: Again, this about equitably awarding the very limited water meters. The limit on water meters is a major factor on city growth, and it doesn't seem fair that folks would be sitting on them.
3. Spring Creek Pavilion, item 7: The location is being considered here, and TCEQ has a say because of the proximity to the wastewater plant and river. My concern is what the long term commitment the Lions Club, the donor, will be.
4. Spring Creek Beautification Project, item 13: Ashley Hill spearheaded a fundraiser to beautify Brim’s crossing, the bridge going over to Stringtown.
I remember the time in Mertzon when these two cement picnic tables and the 6 man grass football field with a caliche track around it were pretty much all there was at City Park in Mertzon. I recall hearing that these tables were put in by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal program designed to provide employment to millions of Americans during the Great Depression. (The tables at "Roadside Park" at Hwy 67 and Duncan may have also been WPA projects.) Can you imagine that such a thing as the WPA ever existed in light of today's US government where an unelected billionaire is involved in the allegedly illegal termination of millions of federal employees?
B. Meeting Review (Here are the documents for this meeting.) 1. Support of proposed legislation favored by Concho Valley Food Bank, item 9. The Council approved a letter to State Rep. Darby, favored by the Concho Valley Food Bank, showing support of a pending state bill that will increase fresh produce for those receiving assistance from the Food Bank. You can see the letter at page 9 of the meeting documents. Here is more on the proposed bill: HB 2002. Go here to reach Rep. Darby's office to tell him of your support. 2. Dead meters, item 6: The Council approved an amendment to its ordinances that will clarify that those not using their water meters will lose their meter and it will go to the next applicant in line waiting for a meter. This is a significant decision that shouldn't be ignored. Water meters are hard to get in Mertzon, and this makes the process of getting one more equitable. 3. Location of Spring Creek Pavilion, item 7: The Council approved the location of the proposed pavilion immediately east of the baseball field between the road and Spring Creek. Note: See the meeting notes for the Hibbs & Todd engineer's interpretation of TCEQ rules. Because of the wastewater plant nearby, the TCEQ permit requires 17 acres of open land to irrigate the waste water. If you've ever wondered why there is no development of that area of the Creek, this is why. The pavilion is going to be placed in a flood prone area, so FEMA rules are requiring that it have a hard floor. No discussion was had regarding the Lions Club's long term commitment to the upkeep and maintenance of the structure. 4. Brim Crossing, Spring Creek beautification project, item 13: The Council approved Ashley Hill's request to beautify the bridge with a mural, plaque, trash cans, and tree trimming. The Council did not discuss the content or style of the mural, so it is unclear to me whether Mrs. Hill has been given carte blanche authority to install whatever mural she and her donors see fit...or whether there were some discussions about content in the background. Public art can be controversial, no doubt about it. I spent a good part of my formative years helping my father shear sheep and hauling shorn wool to the Wool House in Mertzon, so I have been amused at this 2023 PETA effort to protest sheep shearing by installing their own protest sheep in San Angelo. The First Amendment is an amazing legal concept, even as it relates to public art.
5. Spending money, items 9, 12 and 14: The Council approved moving to a different emergency call program, paying for a new printer and new computers. They did a good job deliberating on how to spend the City's money, which is to say spending taxpayer money. Keep in mind that the City is in the black financially, something that has only been the case for the last 3 or 4 years. 6. Members present: The Council had a full house, excepting the one vacant seat. Present were Mayor Aubrey Stewart and Council members Jayton Lindley, Randy Councilman, Danny Crutchfield and Daniel Harper. I will update who filed for the open seat as soon as I have that information.
More on Hibbs & Todd: *I review the IC ISD check register monthly, and in October 2024 the District paid $5,925 to Hibbs & Todd. I followed up with a PIA for the work product for that payment and received 3 reports for the boring done by Hibbs Todd. This language is from those reports. I became aware of Hibbs and Todd also being the engineers for the City of Mertzon by attending Council meetings. While I view this as a clear conflict of interest, this unusual role is not necessarily unlawful...but, it is at least professionally unwise and not taxpayer friendly. In any event, this language doesn't provide a legal defense to either the District or the City. The language does, however, highlight the origin of the permission structure that causes our local government to flood itself at City Park. Indeed, the quintessential topo map that I use to show that local government is flooding itself is done by…Hibbs & Todd for their client, the City of Mertzon. See the map on this page.
Copyright 2025 G Noelke