Guadalupe County gives green light for Lake Placid WCID

(Seguin) – Steps in repairing, replacing, and preserving Lake Placid are on the way, thanks to action taken this week by the Guadalupe County Commissioners Court. Commissioners on Tuesday approved the order of petition for the creation of the Lake Placid Water Control and Improvement District (WCID) No. 1.

The action, supported with a petition for creation and signed by over 50 petitioners, temporarily creates the water district until voters can officially decide on the taxing entity during the Nov. 3, 2020 election.

Representing the lake residents during this week’s public hearing and meeting was Stephen Robinson, of Allen Boone Humphries Robinson LLP. Robinson, who also helped lead a similar request last year putting into place the WCID for Lake McQueeney, again laid out the details behind the creation of the taxing entity.

Robinson says this newly approved action now allows the district to begin work toward preventing the potential drain of the lake. He says it can essentially begin the work toward the replacement and repair of lake structure operations that have been put at risk by the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority.

“They do have the ability to levy an ad valorem tax to enter into contracts, to provide that tax or to bond finance directly projects that are within their authorization. They do have the ability to have an operation and maintenance tax to operate and maintain those things that they participate in or that they build. But the whole purpose for this district is to allow for this Lake Placid WCID No. 1 to be a participant in repairing and replacing the gate structure for Lake Placid,” said Robinson.

Everyone who would be a part of the taxing entity would need to have property 100 percent adjacent to the lake. In other words, property in the district would be required to touch the Lake Placid waterfront.

In addition to creating the taxing entity, Robinson says voters will be deciding on the directors for the group along with deciding all the other financial pieces to rehab and continue maintenance of the aging dams which again are at potential risk of failing like those at Lake Gonzales and more recently, Lake Dunlap. The temporary board appointments also approved by the commissioners’ court and whose names will appear on the November ballot include Kevin Skonnord, Ray Thomas, Robin Dwyer, Randall Cox and Jay Hazelwood.

Action by the commissioners’ court was taken following a public hearing held on the issue.

The first to address the court during the public hearing was Ray Thomas, one of the temporary directors. Thomas, a trial lawyer himself, says he knows firsthand why the creation of the WCID is in the lake community’s best interest.

“Nobody wants more taxes and I own two homes on Lake Placid. So, if this petition passes both here and in November, I stand to get hit twice as hard as almost everybody else. But having said that, I’m also one of the plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit against GBRA and after several months of litigation and negotiation, I’m convinced that the sharing in the cost of this dam replacement is the best and surest path forward. It is my firm opinion that the cost, the risk and that the delay that would be incurred in continuing litigation with GBRA would far exceed the cost of this compromise and I think the last thing that this community needs is to spend years embroiled in bitter and costly litigation. Love them or hate them, GBRA is our neighbor and they share our responsibility to be good stewards of our precious lakes and I believe we can accomplish much more working together than
at the courthouse,” said Thomas.

Also sharing his thoughts with the court was director Kevin Skonnord.  Skonnord, also the president of the Citizens United for Lake Placid association (CULP), wanted to acknowledge the invested team of residents who has worked long and hard to get to this point.

“Clearly, one of the big reasons we did this was selfish. We want the lake to stay. We have houses there. We want our property values to stay up but if you talk to the people that are out there, what we also recognize is a lot of us – the demographics have changed on Lake Placid – there are a lot more people that are there on the weekends but a lot of us including myself, we grew up here. We know the value that it has. It’s the most used public lake in Guadalupe County but it’s a highly used public lake. It has great community value. The property values have a big impact on the school districts, and we recognize all of that. We are not just doing this to keep the lake there for us. That’s part of it but in Seguin, it is a big deal. It’s the lake that’s in Seguin. It’s in the county. It means a lot to everybody,” said Skonnord.

Applauding the efforts of the group was Guadalupe County Judge Kyle Kutscher. Kutscher says he too believes this is the right direction for the lake’s future.

“A lot of people have been working really hard on this and there are a lot of secondary and supplemental conversations going on but I think if you stay the course, but of course when you put the homeowners and the effected people’s interest first with the creation of the district and ultimately, the homeowners are in control. It creates the most long-term stability that there possibly could be to make sure that the waterway and the structure is protected forever, and I think that’s what everybody wants. I think that’s the objective and the goal that everybody is trying to achieve so I hope that everybody out there who has been involved and some just paying attention realize that and that’s what we want to support. We here at the county, we are very conservative. We don’t like creating additional governmental entities, taxing jurisdictions – we don’t like imposing additional fees and things on the public but as the same point, like I stated before, I think it’s the most viable and realistic way to get a dam built and protect the waterway which is good for everybody,” said Kutscher.

Prior to approval by the Guadalupe County Commissioners Court, the group had to also bring forward consent by the city of Seguin to move forward with the taxing entity.

Robinson says public hearings and other forums will soon be scheduled in hopes of better outlining the projected costs that are set to come before voters in November.