Latest News on the Water Plant

Here's the latest news that Dolores just e-mailed to me. She is having some technical difficulties signing on to Blogger. I'll help her get that straightened out when I get back from my business trip to Connecticut on Friday. Hopefully, you'll start seeing entries directly from her on here by the weekend!

ARW

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Flyers have been distributed. Thanks to everyone who helped. We are still finding people who do not know about this water plant. Please let your neighbors know. Get out the vote! This board needs to know how the people feel about this project. Your vote will get their attention. We need a change in this board.

Jack Curtsinger, Dick Judge, two board members (don't know which ones), the engineers and Richard Ramirez will meet on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. to discuss the alternate location. Jack will be given one hour to make his presentation.

On Monday, May 5, at 4:00 p.m. at the RPMUD office the decision will be made on the location of the water treatment plant. This is an open meeting. Please plan on being there. The election is May 10. Don't you think they could wait a week?

If you haven't voiced your opposition to the location of this plant, now is the time to do so. You can make a difference. RPMUD's e-mail address is riverplantationwater@consolidated.net. As before, please copy or blindcopy us at ddj306@hotmail.com. We will make sure the board receives the hard copies.

You might also want to write a Letter to the Editor at the Courier. Send it to letters@hcnonline.com with your name and phone number for verification. Some of your letters really sent the message loud and clear to the MUD board and the RPCIA. This would be a good way to get that message out to our community.

The more pressure we can put on this board the better.

Before the last meeting, Rep. Kevin Brady wrote a letter requesting a delay. Together Rep. Brandon Creighton and Senator Tommy Williams' office called all five directors. They were only able to talk to two. The other three have not returned their phone calls. We have asked Ryan Larue with Senator Williams' office to call the other three again. Please contact our reps and ask them to help put pressure on this board to at least wait until after the election to make a decision on the location of this plant. Their e-mail addresses are: rep.brady@mail.house.gov, tommy.williams@senate.state.tx.us and brandoncreighton@aol.com.

The contacts by our political leaders and all of your e-mails helped to get a two-week extension on this decision.

TCEQ, which gets blamed for a lot, was actually trying to help us with this situation. Not all MUDs are perfect, but I don't think anyone has seen one like this. Our contact advised us to have people run for the board positions, which we already had in motion. He also advised us to get a copy of their insurance policy. We did, and found it was insufficient. He told us this agency is under the Open Records Act, and all information is available to us. Just make a request in writing. He also said that just because the project is built, it doesn't mean it can't be moved. Take this fence, for example. This was a project of RPMUD, not of the plant contractor who has not yet been awarded the contract. RPMUD wanted it up to make everyone think that this was a done deal, so it's too late to object. Not so.

Remember to VOTE for Dick Judge and Jack Curtsinger. Early voting times and locations: http://www.co.montgomery.tx.us/election/earlyvoting.shtml. Election Day, Saturday, May 10, voting will take place at the fire station next to the club parking lot.

Reed Watson has been kind enough to make up a blog for this forum - http://riverplantationforum.blogspot.com/. I'm on the low end of the learning curve on this, but hope to get up to speed soon.