By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. fielded a barrage of questions and comments about ongoing county water projects during a recent public hearing held as a requirement for the county to apply for additional grant monies.
The hearing was held Jan. 3. About 20 residents of several areas outside the city limits attended the meeting.
Sandra Fuentes, co-chair of The Border Organization, said members of the social action group attended to ask the county to apply for grants to bring water to areas of the county that need it, especially the Escondido Estates area east of Laughlin Air Force Base.
Owens opened the public hearing, beginning by saying he might be able to answer some of the questions of those attending regarding water lines in the Escondido Estates area.
Owens spoke about water lines that have been laid in the area and the current limits of the county’s water extension project there.
Fuentes asked about the name of the grant.
Carl Esser, the county’s grants administrator, replied the grant was a colonia construction grant and had come to the county from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“They’re federal funds that go to the state, and then a state agency, the Texas Department of Agriculture, they set aside a certain amount of funds every couple of years, for colonia construction. Val Verde County has a number of (areas) recognized by the Secretary of State as colonias. Escondido (Estates), Rancho Del Rio and Rise Estates are recognized, so the county can apply for those funds to be used there. There are also funds for Vega Verde. Also Rough Canyon, that’s a colonia. Comstock is a colonia. Langtry is considered a colonia. So there are a number of different areas that the county can apply for,” Esser said.
Owens said the public hearing was “for a grant the county will be applying for in the future.”
“That’s what this hearing is about,” he added.
“So the one that we’re here is for (a grant) in the future. The one you just laid out was from 2021?” Fuentes asked.
“2019,” Esser replied. “It’s already been funded, and we’ve already gone through all the environmental, gone through all the procurement, and the county has purchased the materials.”
Owens said the county has been requesting extensions on the water line extension work being paid for by those previously granted funds.
“Because of the global supply issues, because of COVID, all of that, this project’s been delayed, and that’s why we had to request an extension, and now the county is earnestly trying to complete the existing project and apply (for new grants) between now and April 3,” Esser said.
Esser also spoke about the history of the project, telling those attending the hearing some of them had probably been present when the county first began discussions to extend city water service to the Escondido Estates, Rancho Del Rio and Rise Estates areas on the east side of Laughlin Air Force Base about 15 years ago.
“There’s been a lot of moving parts, not just on that project but on a lot of projects, but I just wanted to comment that originally, that system out there was never intended to be a fire-control system. It was just to provide water to the residents that lived out there. It had been surveyed. There was a Department of State Health Services evaluation done, we took samples, and on and on and on, and so it was designed to provide water to the residents that lived there,” Esser said.
Esser said the size of the lines in that area had to be increased because of a requirement by the city to place fire hydrants and to provide enough water pressure for fire protection.
Owens said the county would need to acquire additional grants to service the areas beyond Quail Trail at sometime in the future.
Esser said the county has a planning grant from the Texas Water Development Board to design service to properties “all the way into the back of” Escondido Estates and Rise Estates. After the planning grant work is complete, Esser said, the county would again need to apply for and receive another grant for the construction work.
But Owens cautioned, “When you ask how long, there’s really no telling.”
Owens also shared with those attending the meeting there are already concerns about property owners in that area with larger tracts of land subdividing their lots into smaller parcels to sell and said the water system being placed by the county is not constructed for that.
“Then you have also people who don’t want us to continue to put any more water lines out there because of encroachment on Laughlin,” the county judge said.
He said the county would complete the ongoing study paid for by the planning grant, which will be brought back to commissioners court “to figure out which projects the court wants to move forward with.”
Questions arose about an order of pipes that had been delivered to the county. Owens and Esser said the pipe had been delivered to another precinct, and the commissioner of that precinct had used it.
Questions also arose about the length of time it takes for work on the grants, and Owens noted the county had just received approval from the city for plans submitted a year-and-a-half ago.
“It’s just government. Does it move fast enough? No . . . We never move fast enough, I get it,” Owens said.
The county judge characterized the work being done to bring water to the Escondido Estates area as “taking one bite at a time,” and acknowledged that some residents have waited decades for water.
Esser noted he works “with multiple counties, doing these projects to try and provide people with a better quality of life, and there is not another county in the state of Texas that is as dedicated and has done what Val Verde County has done in the last 10 years to apply for funds and to provide a better quality of life for people who live in the unincorporated areas.”
“It’s just not a priority with other counties, but it is a priority for Val Verde County,” he added.
Another resident asked about the continued extension of water lines along Vega Verde Road in the far south of the county, and Owens said it was his understanding after talking with Pct. 4 Commissioner Gustavo “Gus” Flores that it was Flores’ intention to continue extending water along Vega Verde.
“He wants to extend those lines, and we will apply for funds to extend them, but if you’re asking me for a timeline, I really can’t tell you,” the judge said.
Owens went back to the discussion of water lines for the remainder of the Escondido Estates area, noting the design and planning study will take at least another year to complete, and the county will likely begin applying for grants for future water line installation there in two years.
When certain residents complained that the commissioner of their precinct was not present at the meeting, Owens reminded the residents that each county elected official “is the king of his own kingdom” and urged residents to call their commissioners and voice those concerns.
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