Source: YouTube auto-captions via yt-dlp timedtext
Meeting: Crockett City Council, 2026-06-01
Title: Crockett City Council Meeting - 06/01/2026
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TPsriBbz6E
Status: verbatim auto-captions. Names are often wrong. Not reviewed. Not for the public site.

[0:00] Thank you to this group of people who care about what is going on and we pray that you will allow
[0:06] us to do the best work under your guidance and we will be careful to praise them in the name of your son
[0:09] Jesus. We claim it all. Amen and amen. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United
[0:20] States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with
[0:29] liberty and justice for all. Okay, we're somewhere here. This is not a good sign. my
[0:43] glasses. Ok. Thank you very much for joining us today. At this time, we are ready to welcome visitors.
[0:53] And naturally , I left my glasses in the car , but we'll do our best. Public comments from the audience. At
[1:00] this time, members of the public will only be allowed to speak on matters related to the city. No
[1:05] personnel matters or litigation matters will be permitted. The time period cannot exceed three minutes. In accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, the City
[1:15] Council will not speak under this item. The Council may not deliberate or act on matters except as properly posted in accordance with law.
[1:26] Having said that, do we have any? Ok. At this time, we don't have anyone from the public.
[1:36] So, this takes us to item number one, approval of the minutes for the May 18, 2026, regular session.
[1:43] Mayor and Council, I want to tell you all that I'm trying to get this down here to
[1:49] where I can even show it on TV in a minute , but I want to bring it up.
[1:53] It was brought to our attention that under item number eight, Council Member [name] was
[2:02] mentioned and it was n't [name], it was actually Council Member [name]. Because it was
[2:17] in Brier Street Council Member [name]'s complex. Therefore, we would request that if any motion is made to approve these
[2:20] minutes, it should be done keeping that correction in mind. I move
[2:31] that we approve the minutes with those corrections. Proposal supported. Well, it was
[2:40] carried forward and supported. Is everyone in favor of this ? Oh, okay. Yes .
[2:49] Ok. i didn't know. Ok. The proposal was passed. Ok. The minutes were approved. Ok. Now we come to the report
[2:59] , the city's administrative report. Mayor and Council, I just wanted to take a minute because this is a
[3:06] slightly shorter meeting than usual. And I realize we have some guests here who are discussing some other
[3:10] issues. So hopefully they will benefit from this as well. Over the past few
[3:20] years since I’ve been city manager, it’s come in waves. As the conversation or discussion about something progresses,
[3:29] people become a little frustrated. We talk about it a bit , address those issues and then they calm down.
[3:36] Okay, but depending on different times and places in our water system , there are times when we have several good months depending on the lake
[3:44] turnover and the amount of lake water we have purchased. If everything is going well with them
[3:56] , then it's usually going well with us too, and I'll explain how things can be different. Tonight I do not want to spend my
[4:05] time blaming anyone , but rather presenting the current situation factually. As you
[4:16] know, we or you may not have known or you may be asking questions. Let me show and
[4:22] tell you a little here. I have a few pipes and I keep a small section of pipes in my office.
[4:28] I keep a small section of pipe in my office because it comes in regularly and I talk to
[4:35] people when they talk about water problems. I think someone might have picked it up. So I went there today.
[4:43] I said, " Hey, you did some repairs today or the day before yesterday. Give me some of those pipes.
[4:50] " I took out some pipes. These are small pipes , not the big pipes that I couldn't
[4:55] get here, but to give you an idea of where we are. So I wanted to talk to you a little bit.
[5:12] As you can see on the screen, here are my messages for tonight. Colorless water does not necessarily mean
[5:21] that the water is unsafe. TCAQ provides us with regulatory guidance. The steps we take every day.
[5:32] We have certified and licensed people who are trained to deal with old water systems like ours. Their goal is to
[5:43] balance everything they inherit and everything they are given and try to fix it with the tools we
[5:46] give them. There are always ways to do things better. There are always new technologies. These are things
[5:53] we always try to improve on to improve our situation. If there are any new chemicals or new
[5:58] types of testing equipment , we always try to purchase them within our budget. But budget is usually the
[6:05] biggest obstacle. If it does n't, we can spend money on it and it will all be over.
[6:09] We will replace all our water lines. The water quality is checked every day. Every day people go out
[6:17] and flush the system. We have certain places where they test , they test for lead , they
[6:24] test the water , they test for chlorine and chlorine residue. And then we send those samples to the lab.
[6:33] We regularly take lab samples. By law, we pay thousands of dollars to third-party labs. Public health and
[6:42] safe drinking water are our top priorities. I just want to talk a little bit and I'm going to
[6:48] and I thought about calling some of our licensed operators as well , but to be honest when
[6:52] they talk about water chemistry they're talking about things that I don't understand and I do n't want to talk about that tonight. So,
[6:58] I'm going to do that. I'm going to explain it in my own way and what I've learned from it over the last 10 years.
[7:07] About five or six years ago, we started using something called free chlorine. We treated our water with monochloramine from free chlorine.
[7:17] This is a different type of treatment that lasts longer in the water. It stays attached to water particles for a longer time
[7:27] and disinfectant residues remain in our water for a longer time. As you know, our city has a
[7:35] lot of sprawling areas. So when we treat it here in College Hill , which is north of Hilltop, by the time
[7:45] it gets to the school district or Nottingham Woods or Meadowoods, it's gone through miles of pipes, and the
[7:57] longer the water stays in the pipes, the less of these residues and disinfectants are removed from the
[8:04] water. It falls out of the water and it is no longer sterile. That's why we prefer heavy
[8:09] flushing and we always test it to make sure there's always chlorine in the water. And it's always
[8:17] treated as something that requires it. This creates a by- product. If you're not careful , this creates nitrification.
[8:26] Monochloramine disinfectants create nitrification. We have adopted, under the guidance of TCQ, a nitrification
[8:35] action plan that requires us to go in twice a year and convert it back to free chlorine.
[8:42] This is called chlorine burn or chlorine shock. Basically, sometimes you go out , it's on a small scale
[8:50] , but when your pool starts to change color and you do a shock treatment on it , that's
[8:56] where the disinfectant is. However, it cleans that system and removes all nitrification, which is what gives you the
[9:03] cloudiness you see. Things that are going through our system, we issue notice 30 days before it happens.
[9:09] If and when it's not healthy , but sometimes it's just bad- looking
[9:19] water. It's not the kind of water you want to just pour into a glass of water and drink,
[9:23] but it's not going to harm you. It's not going to harm you. This is treated water. If
[9:28] fact it has two different types of chlorination and it is even more treated than normal. So it
[9:36] certainly wo n't have bacteria, but it is removing sediment that's built up in the pipes. When we switch
[9:41] from lake water to groundwater, it's cleaning those pipes. And I'm telling you this council because I
[9:50] hope you can all be agents of the city because we're there because there are frustrated people. There's nothing
[9:58] more frustrating than the staff there trying their best and then you have to deal with either cloudy
[10:03] or rusty water. They take it personally. They want to fix it immediately. It's not something that anyone else
[10:13] is after. Well, let's go ahead and do it today. They're responding as quickly as possible to fix those things.
[10:23] But when we were making the transition , for example, last week, we made the transition from lake water.
[10:27] Lake called us and said, "We've got to go down for a while. We need you to turn on your wells." They could
[10:33] not do that. They treat their water and they also take samples to the lab. When their samples do
[10:39] n't pass, they call us and say, " We can't sell you water right now. We have to
[10:43] flush our system or we have to do something with their treatment process. " So what do we do?
[10:48] We turn on the well water. When we convert well water to lake water , as soon as
[10:55] we open the tap here and turn on the well water in our system , we still have
[11:03] lake water from the surface water in our system. Mixing lake and well water results in two different types of
[11:08] treatment processes. Water has two different structures. The pH balance of water is different. Therefore, the treatment process of well
[11:16] water and lake water is completely different. But until this is mixed in the system , water does not get drained out of the system.
[11:23] And as you can imagine, we have a lot of water in our system. So it takes a
[11:31] day, two days or sometimes three days to completely clean our system. Then the lake called us and said, "
[11:35] Hey, we're good again. We're ready to go back." So we had to make changes again. And those
[11:40] treatment processes change once again. When they change treatment procedures , that's especially, and I'm
[11:51] showing you this tonight, not to make you feel disgusted, but to show you what we're dealing with.
[11:56] These are pipes and these are small pipes. We have a variety of sizes of pipe, but a
[12:01] lot of our pipes are still from the late 19th century or early 19th century. Those that have been
[12:09] declared hazardous, such as lead piping, we remove. Whenever we come across a situation like this, if you
[12:18] know about lead , we do something called a lead service line inventory. We completed it a few years ago.
[12:25] Now, our goal is that wherever we come into contact with lead , you are not allowed to do lead repairs. You will need to
[12:33] remove it completely from the ground until there is no lead left in the ground. Go back over the joints until you're back to PVC or you know we can convert it back to safe.
[12:41] So we're not dealing with that. But we still have them and as you can tell if these
[12:47] pipes are 100 years old it was a really good investment. These pipes have been in the ground for a hundred years.
[12:54] You have it. They held on and we took advantage of it. As long as it's good , why change it
[12:58] ? You know why reinvent the wheel ? Why do you want to put new pipes in the ground
[13:04] ? These are fine. Until they get well and until they get well throughout the city. If you look at the one here
[13:11] , this is what we're dealing with the most. So, as the pipes rust and we have some, the
[13:17] pressure fluctuates. If there is a leak on one side of town, the pressure drops as we fix it and
[13:23] flush the system and get the pressure back up. There is pressure all over the city. If the
[13:30] fire department calls it water hammer. There will be two different levels of water pressure. And when you're
[13:38] moving around , if the pressure here is at 20 PSI and it's coming down to 80 here.
[13:42] When they meet, they cause water hammer and they blow out the line. They rip through half-inch steel pipe.
[13:51] That water hammer will completely balloon the system. These here, we have them all the time, where these little
[13:59] joints and systems, they rust , they break down , and they stay that way until there's a
[14:05] slight change in pressure, and they leak. So, while we're fixing this here , we're going to make another
[14:10] pressure change. And so, as you can see , these are what we deal with on a daily basis
[14:15] , this balance of maintaining water service. Rust, Scale and Sedimentation. The water we use is either well water
[14:24] or lake water. The lake water contains organic matter which is treated , filtered and then brought to us.
[14:28] So, it is a different treatment process. Well water contains a lot of minerals, a lot of minerals are deposited.
[14:34] Metal pipes tend to rust. So, the rust settles. So, as this pressure changes , this rust builds up
[14:45] and the skills fall out of the pipe. And then when the pressure charges back up , it's in the system.
[14:51] And so we deal with a lot of the complaints that you might hear. Today we do chlorine
[15:03] conversions twice a year. TCQ came to look at our system. He
[15:12] recommended that we do some chlorine conversion. We do daily monitoring. We do third party lab analysis. And
[15:18] as I mentioned earlier, every day we go out and collect residuals , meaning we take samples and test them to see
[15:27] how much chlorine is in the water, how much ammonia is in the water, and all the disinfectant
[15:31] levels. Well, I mentioned the water in this lake is low in minerals but high in organic matter. There are fish
[15:39] in that lake so we have to filter and treat it. The lake contains decaying organic matter such as
[15:49] seaweed and growing weeds that need to be treated. Well , if we talk about water and wells,
[15:56] we do n't have organic matter, but we have a high amount of minerals. We have iron, manganese,
[16:01] different pH levels, we have sulfur in our water that we have to burn off and specially treat.
[16:07] Sometimes when you smell that water, there's a well that's about 1300 feet below the ground. One of our wells.
[16:15] It passes through a layer of sulfur. We have a base of sulfur veins in our bedrock. When
[16:27] that water comes up through it , it brings sulfur gas. We burn it. Sulphur gas is burnt in air. The
[16:34] water is thrown up and mist is poured over it, which removes all the gas from the water.
[16:41] But sometimes you might smell eggs, like a rotten egg smell or just an
[16:50] unpleasant odor, especially when the water is heated in a water heater and you take a bath. You
[16:59] can smell it. The treatment between two treated waters causes the water to become discolored. I have to
[17:13] tell you one more thing here. The city of Crockett is the fifth oldest city in Texas and it's a point of pride.
[17:21] We always talk about the history that Crockett has with us. This is one of the histories of our city
[17:29] that we are not proud of and we are not happy with. We have a lot of infrastructure
[17:36] that has n't been replaced. And I'm not talking about the last 50 years. Much of this infrastructure dates back to the
[17:42] early 1900s. We are removing the hydrants and replacing them with hydrant stamps dated 19, 1889, 19, 1900, 1910.
[17:51] We have these old hydrants that have water systems. I understand how we're all
[18:00] bothered by this right now. But I just want to ask the public not to be bothered by those
[18:07] who are trying to fix this problem and the council has now invested millions and millions of dollars in our water
[18:12] system. It's disappointing that we waited until now and did n't replace these systematically and
[18:21] we put it off until deferred maintenance caught up with us. We have 455,000 feet of water
[18:31] lines in the ground. We have 86 miles of water lines throughout our city. We distribute approximately 1
[18:40] million gallons of water to the public every day. However, we only sell half a million gallons of
[18:48] water to the public. There is a loss of five lakh rupees. Losses of Rs 5 lakh occur due
[18:54] to small leakages everywhere. Any major leaks we see on the surface , we fix them immediately. But the small
[19:01] leakages that we cannot see keep seeping into the ground , about which we are not aware. We do
[19:06] n't fix them. We only sell half. We only sell half of what we actually pump. I believe
[19:13] that aging infrastructure is a major reason why we are facing the problems we are facing today. I'll
[19:24] put some pipes here on the screen and in front of you. These have rusted. It is deposited on this.
[19:28] This is calcification , this calcification is calcium. This is a mineral deposit. I'm not going to put it in my mouth
[19:36] , but it's not something that will kill. These are organic. This is not poison. This does n't look good.
[19:45] This is not something you want to see in a glass of water or at the bottom of the tub while taking a bath.
[19:51] I understand this. I like it. But these are pipes. These were installed when we installed them.
[20:04] These are horse-drawn carriage rings that were placed on the sidewalks around the city. This is from the
[20:08] same era. The horse-drawn carriages and horses and dirt roads are gone now, but we're still using the same infrastructure
[20:16] that was put in place at the same time as people rode horses into town and visited the shops of the dukes
[20:25] and heirs. So this is the era we are dealing with and all of this has now been
[20:35] accounted for us. Those sidewalk horse rings and hinges, uh, hitching post hinges, they're gone , but the pipes are
[20:44] still in the ground because they're easy to forget. It's easy to ignore them. And, you know , when you're
[20:51] walking down the sidewalk and you see these, why are they still there? Let's remove these. A new
[20:56] concrete pavement is built directly over these old lines. And this is what we are seeing. So ,
[21:02] these are pipes. This is 1910. This is a 1910 pipe. It is rusting. As long as the pressure remains constant
[21:09] and solid. If anything , it acts as additional filtration as the water flows through that pipe and more
[21:18] organic matter gets attached to the size of these pipes. But when this pressure changes , you get rusty
[21:23] colored water. The water may appear orange. It may look yellow. Um, depends on your taste of the day.
[21:30] Um, I wanted to talk to the council about this. And it's not it's moving from despair to a
[21:38] little hope. And that's what we've seen over the past few years. The council has invested heavily in our city.
[21:47] This has come with some opposition. This is paid for from water rates. It is paid for by property taxes.
[21:58] Hence, we hear people saying that we are in debt. This is a bad thing.
[22:10] I think we should borrow every dollar we can today to fix the infrastructure, even when we are already
[22:20] losing 50% of our water. And every year that we delay making these massive investments , the cost of replacing these water lines will increase by 10% each year.
[22:32] Materials, contractor costs, every year our dollar devalues ​​due to inflation. Why wouldn't we do that ? Whatever
[22:41] our maximum borrowing capacity is today , and I'm saying this from an investment perspective , the maximum amount of money I can borrow
[22:48] at 0% interest rate , 0%. So, I'm investing dollar for dollar in replacing these lines even though they will
[22:57] never be cheap. These lines will never be cheaper than today's cost to fix them. There will be
[23:01] more next year and even more after that. We would be very unwise to miss any opportunity to bring in dollars today
[23:12] and pay for them tomorrow at the rate of depreciation and inflation. This alone will be a saving when we pay off that debt 20 years from now when that dollar will be worth only 80.
[23:29] And so last year alone, we invested $3 million. We laid 12,000 feet of new water lines. A
[23:38] lot of these old water lines, these 8 water lines, were collapsing when we were pulling them out of the ground.
[23:43] We replaced them all with 12,000 feet of new water lines. A few years before that, we put $4 million into storage tanks and our elevated water tanks located next to Walmart. We knocked
[23:56] them down , sanded them down, and repainted them all. We are already looking at one of our water tanks
[24:03] that needs to be demolished and rebuilt in time. Every time we think we're good and we think
[24:10] we can forget it , we can't. Maintenance should be given top priority. Next year, we have over $8 million in additional grant funding. These are all
[24:20] grant funds, as I said, these are grant funds that we brought in. The next year, we brought in over $8 million in grant funding to replace
[24:26] at least three miles of road in our city as well as build a new well. The
[24:40] projects we have funded are 4.7 million. They came in the form of grants. To get the $8 million I mentioned earlier, we had to
[24:50] show money in the form of goods and it was n't all free. So, we had to get some of it at low percentage interest rates or 0% interest rates.
[24:57] Whenever we get deals like this, I think we'd be really wrong not to take full advantage of them. Here's
[25:07] another thing. I told you we have 83 million or 83 miles of water lines.
[25:23] Going by the rate we set last year for replacing water lines, it would cost at least 100 million
[25:26] , but our target is probably 120 million if we replace them all at once. 12-20 million. Basic Mathematics.
[25:37] If I borrow just 100 million , we have 2500 customers , and if I look at it over 40 years,
[25:44] we're looking at about $83 a month that every citizen will have to spend for the next 40 years to replace their water lines.
[25:52] This is what we are facing. So we have to prioritize every grant we
[26:02] can apply for , every dollar we can get, especially if we can match it dollar for dollar or
[26:09] match our $1 with a few dollars. Any time we can maximize our borrowing or maximize our grant
[26:14] revenue by matching , that's the first thing we should do. And one day the council, whether it's the
[26:23] council sitting in this seat or someone else who will replace you, someone will have to answer for this.
[26:33] Yes, I have a question. I had a question once before and I think we talked about ARPA money,
[26:41] ARPA funds. So, how many Aqua Horns were given to the city ?
[26:50] I think it was 1.4 million. Exactly 1.4 million. I think it was about less than a half million.
[26:57] And that way, you can save about $120 million in fixing 83 miles of water lines. [name], I have a
[27:13] question. Ask. So, we fixed 12,000 feet of line last year , right? What is the total number? Do
[27:21] you have a total count of how many lines we've replaced in the last five or seven years
[27:25] ? I did a report for the Texas Water Development Board last year and we replaced the last five miles of pipe. I
[27:37] think this report was three or four years old. Whenever we replace a water line, we replace the pipes whenever we get the chance. If there
[27:49] is a hole in one side of the pipeline, we do not put a clamp around it, as has been done for
[27:53] many years. We just put the clamp around that one hole and then switch it to the next section or the next hydrant.
[28:01] We change several sections at a time , especially if we go there two or three times, within a reasonable time. We change
[28:10] many of its sections according to the time. And so we gather that information and data and it has an impact. It has an
[28:17] effect. We chose certain roads, like last year’s road, because we had
[28:26] extra funds that we could use to build a new road over that road. So, we used half of that funding
[28:36] to replace the infrastructure underneath and the other half to put asphalt on top. We then also selected streets
[28:44] that had large water lines , conduits that ran through neighborhoods, and had high water pressure. We found roads
[28:52] that had more leakage than others and chose those roads as part of the selection process. My question after this would be
[29:03] what is the life of the thing you are replacing it with? I mean, we usually replace that with a C900.
[29:09] We are replacing all of our water pipes with C900 pipe. It's called 100 Red-eared Pipe. Ok. It is a thick-
[29:15] walled PVC pipe. Very strong and durable. Um, slip connection so that when the ground moves, we do
[29:23] n't break and have any problems with that pipe. So , it is said to be a pipe about a hundred
[29:27] years old. Apparently, it was made in the 1980s. So, we do n't know yet if it will last 100
[29:34] years, but yes, sir. Ok. It lasted 100 years here , but it also gets deposits on it
[29:40] , which PVC does not. Yes. I was just trying to make sure we did n't have to go back and change stuff we changed 10 years ago.
[29:49] It had to be changed again. It had to be changed again. I mean, we're making another note
[29:52] that I'm going to um and and I'll wrap it up and I thank the council for taking a
[29:56] little bit of time with me , but um I wanted to help empower the council with more information
[30:06] that will help with frustrating situations. What we're grappling with , as you know, is we have a
[30:15] lot of Victorian-era homes. There are many old houses in our city, some of which are even a hundred years old.
[30:22] If this pipeline was installed in the 1980s , it is likely made of copper and has reached its end.
[30:29] Pin holes are now forming in the copper. Why so ? Because it gets worn out due to friction and water abrasion. The
[30:36] water flows through the Grand Canyon itself. It cuts rocks. Therefore, it corrodes the pipe and causes the
[30:42] walls to become thinner and thinner over time. As the phases in our water systems change , alkaline water
[30:51] and acidic water, they begin to corrode and tiny pin holes form in the copper pipes. Anything past copper is going to be
[31:00] galvanized. These little pipes that you see here , galvanized or cast iron themselves. Uh, this is a
[31:12] big source that occurs inside homes and is a big source of rusty orange or red water. We have a lot of
[31:20] customers calling us worried and complaining about their water. We go out and open that hydrant and flush it
[31:27] and the water is flowing clear in the main pipe. But when we go inside that house, that's
[31:32] my problem. Rust has accumulated and built up in it and it has rusted. And especially near the water heater,
[31:39] if you remove those supply lines from the wall , I just had to replace one in my house. With the
[31:46] supply lines removed from the wall, you could n't fit a coffee straw or stir straw through that pipe.
[31:51] He was completely rusted. And that's, you know, the water pressure complaint. Complaints about water pressure and uh
[31:58] rust colored water or orange water. We received a complaint the other day and it was from a neighbor of one of our city
[32:05] employees and she said she went into her house and noticed that the water in her house was
[32:09] running clear while the water in her neighbor's house was rusty and cold and so a lot of
[32:15] people are trying to work with these customers and we do n't want to be put off because a lot of times
[32:21] it's due to our water maintenance and we flush it quickly. If it is in that area. And I have
[32:28] something to show you. If you could just give me one more minute. If there is corrosion , if there is rust, if there is
[32:41] pressure fluctuation somewhere in our system , then our system is nothing but a network of connections. So
[32:50] wherever the highest draw is at that time, that's where the water flows in our system. So if there's a big water leak in
[32:58] an industrial area of ​​the city or, let's say, where the water pressure drops and water is flowing
[33:05] , the water will continue to flow from one part of the city to another and back and forth. That's why
[33:10] we are asking. We understand the need to vent frustration and put things on Facebook.
[33:20] This does not solve the problem. We'll be there as soon as you call us. We have 24/7 staff on duty 24 hours a day.
[33:28] Our Public Works office phone number can be transferred to your cell phone. You'll always find someone there who
[33:34] can answer. The quicker we get there and open the hydrant, the quicker we can get that rusty
[33:39] or discolored water out before it gets into the area. Or someone else, some unknown grandmother, is washing her clothes
[33:47] and rusty water comes into her house. Let's get that out of the system. And so I am
[33:54] requesting all of you to please educate the people around you and discuss them whenever you get the opportunity.
[34:03] [name], I want to ask you a question. So I think trying to reduce the temperature, the fluctuations, the community levels.
[34:13] I understand, but I know they want to know how we're going to solve this problem. From what I understand, the previous
[34:23] council has been talking about replacing the water main for some time. So that's what I want to know,
[34:31] as far as the infrastructure, the aging infrastructure, the project , how do we address that, what measures do we take
[34:42] because I mean, I do n't want to, and not only that , I talked to the fire department once
[34:49] when I went on my little tour and we talked about how rust and sediment builds up in those pipes
[34:57] and how if they catch fire, it prevents the pressure from supplying the fire to that house. So, we have to discuss this as
[35:05] a council to come up with a solution and you try and come up with some things to discuss.
[35:15] But, I know that's what they want. This is what I want because this is what comes out
[35:20] of my tap. Water infrastructure is being prioritized somewhat in our state legislature. They're actually
[35:30] prioritizing , I believe in the last constitutional amendment, everybody voted on a constitutional amendment last year and I believe
[35:39] it passed 80% or maybe over 90%, to allocate a billion dollars from the legislature by constitutional amendment.
[35:46] So legislators don't get a chance every year to say, "Okay, guys, here's a pot of money. Let's divide it up.
[35:53] Let's put our state budget here by constitutional amendment." $1 billion is automatically put into the pot, and they
[36:03] can't discuss it until there's another vote to remove that funding. So, $1 billion every year, and these projects are
[36:12] also divided into grants without any matching funds. We've already applied for that. Our next big project, the one
[36:20] we're trying to prepare our packet for, is for North Fourth. We've basically replaced South Fourth from the
[36:27] prison at Anson Jones. We've replaced that all the way up to the Loop. The rest of North Fourth
[36:33] needs to be replaced. Until we replace the water lines , the fabric wo n't even touch the road.
[36:37] So, that's the next source of funding we're trying to put in. But, as I mentioned, I'm missing billions of dollars.
[36:45] I want to say it's about $300 billion. Billions of dollars. According to one estimate, our state currently has an
[36:53] urgent need for water infrastructure of about $300 billion. If each city adds up all their expenses , if we're saying
[36:58] ours is $100-120 million, then each city adds that cost together, that's a drop in the bucket at $1 billion.
[37:04] So you said that and go on. So I was asking you about the Opera Fund. So tell me, would
[37:12] you tell us again how much funding there is, how much we have from the American Council Fund
[37:21] , American Rescue, as I said, it was about $1.5 million, and the Council has allocated that funding.
[37:28] I believe there is some, and I wanted to bring it back to the Council. Some of the Council's priorities remain
[37:35] unmet needs. And so we need to allocate the remaining ARPA funds , but there's about $ 200,000 left in the ARPA fund.
[37:44] But the Council purchased police vehicles from that. The Council allocated money for roof repairs and city infrastructure repairs. Purchased new buildings,
[37:52] put a new roof on them, you know, the library and civic buildings. The council has already prioritized those
[37:59] funds , right? So, with that said, things like water should be revisited. I think
[38:10] we had this problem back then too. I mean, I think it's too late now. Well, you're talking about previous councils
[38:17] that had priorities back then. If we have buildings with leaking roofs , that's a priority too. So, instead of every
[38:26] council getting frustrated with previous councils for deferring maintenance to this date, or you know, my only answer is council,
[38:36] we need to look for every possible source of funding that we can afford on a reasonable basis, like a
[38:42] loan. Uh, whatever we can afford. I do n't know. You know, there's no other source of money. There's
[38:55] no other source of money. Um, I want to tell you all this. Our city employees, they live and
[39:04] work in the city of Crockett. They work and raise their families. They drink the same water. They
[39:09] bathe in the same water. So, it's really frustrating to see it come down to us versus them.
[39:18] And we're missing the mark. Our city employees invest heavily. They're raising their kids on the same water.
[39:25] They want clean water too. And when you call them and say, "Hey, I have a water problem here,"
[39:31] they feel it. "" They feel that way because they've done their best to address it. And they
[39:38] will come there immediately. We'll come in there, clean the system , find the source of the problem
[39:41] and try to address it. This is the message I want to convey to the public and the council. We
[39:50] pay , we sell our water, this bottle of water from the grocery store, you buy it for a dollar and
[40:02] $2 for this half 500 ml. $2. We sell water for 63. We sell our water for this much.
[40:08] This is our water rate. That's how we're trying to make enough money to pay our bills and keep the
[40:11] water supply going. Um I'm committed to Crockett Water. I ask for Crockett Water. I go to a
[40:20] restaurant. I kind of make my point. It's funny, but people pay attention when you ask, "What do you
[40:26] want to drink? Water , sweets, tea, whatever." "I say, ' I want Crockett Water.' " I know
[40:31] what goes into this water. I know what we're doing. I go to the plant and see how they're treating it.
[40:35] And you know, if it's rusty, I'll take it out and I'll keep adding another one until it's
[40:38] clean. Another thing we're going to tell the public is, if you're having a problem with rusty water
[40:45] and it's taking you about 30 minutes to fix it, we'll go out there and open that hydrant,
[40:50] flush it, and clean the pipeline in that area, and you go to your water tap and flush it for 30 minutes.
[40:56] We'll waive your bill. We wo n't charge you for the water you had to pour into the ground
[41:02] until it's clean. So, that's our commitment to all of you. We, you know, um, okay, I'm only going to charge
[41:09] for the water you had to pull out of the ground. I just realistically He said, " Even in our city,
[41:17] even with the best drainage, if you live in an older house like the one here , these
[41:21] are my pipes. Every time I dig one up in New York, it looks the same. And I'm
[41:25] amazed by it. And right now, I'm waiting because I have an older house. It looks good from the outside
[41:31] , but I'm getting all my pipes redone because they're rusted. And so I know that when you flush it
[41:37] , it's good for a while, but when it comes through your pipes, you get it back up again.
[41:42] If you live in some of the older houses , and we have a lot of them here.
[41:45] But I see that, as he mentioned before, when the council comes in, they have a recommendation. They see what
[41:54] they need most at that time. Right now, we're in a situation of greatest need, and we just
[42:00] need to find a source. Money is tight. You don't have to tell anyone that. You can look at your
[42:04] checkbook." I can look in and see how tight it is. But prioritizing it is a good start
[42:10] because we needed to look at it holistically and we needed to look at these pipes to make sure
[42:16] they were real and that no one was making them up and they were somehow getting into your house.
[42:21] But the thing we really needed to hear was that it was safe. That's important to me. Can
[42:27] you drink it and not die? You know, I'm trying to understand that. As you get older , the more cautious you become.
[42:33] I need something real. Do I need to boil it? Like old people say, "I need to boil this water."
[42:38] "Man, do you remember when they used to boil your water before giving it to you ? I don't know if
[42:41] it worked , but it made them happy. I used to be happy too. I do n't know.
[42:45] But the reality is, we all have to find a source of income as a council. And then whatever we get in the next two or
[42:53] three years, if you can get a lower interest rate , that's all we need. I mean, not everything. You'd
[43:01] like it to be free, but nothing is free right now. And so, we want the most bang for our buck.
[43:07] And I think [name] can do that because he has a great vision. It's not that he's smart.
[43:15] I'll say that, but he's not the smartest in the world, but he knows what works for our community. That's why
[43:22] we chose him as city manager. But I think right now , I appreciate that he did it
[43:28] because we want people to say, 'Oh, my water is different colors, rainbows, I don't.'" Address. "But we know
[43:36] why. And if you look at the pipes near your house , if you're not sure , you do
[43:42] n't have to dig very deep to see because for some reason they have n't been dug that deep.
[43:46] You just have to kick one around. But we think we're in a good place right now. The
[43:53] money we had was more than enough for the work that needed to be done. And we do this
[43:58] because the last time we had other money, everyone was worried about the roads. I can't go down my street.
[44:04] Then they could n't access the street because they couldn't see what was underneath, and there was no point in putting the road down
[44:09] and putting it back up again the next day. So, we not only accomplished the goal of building a good
[44:14] road , but we also got the road repaired and we took care of the infrastructure. And so, now we're
[44:23] on the second part of the infrastructure. And it's a very long way. 83. It was 83 miles. It's a
[44:29] lot." It's a long way. Around us. And around the city and to the lake to make sure
[44:34] we get it. So, it's going to be tedious and hopefully it won't slow down , but we
[44:40] know the water is safe in the meantime. Everyone will be, I know the councilwoman will be looking for sources.
[44:48] When she hears something, she'll investigate, and I know the entire council will be looking for it, and that's what
[44:53] we're all about. We're here to work for the public good, and because we're part of that, we'll
[45:00] benefit from it too , because we want everyone to be healthy. And that's where we are. And we
[45:05] appreciate the summary. And I think it's given us an idea of where we are, where we need to work.
[45:10] We need to keep searching. You hear about a grant , you have to refer back to it.
[45:14] You don't have to understand it. You just have to hear about it, and we'll work on the details
[45:19] and see if it's some funding, because you hear about it all the time. Funding here, funding there. But
[45:24] we don't always digest it. We do , but now we're in it and trying to really listen and work on it and respond to it.
[45:31] So, thank you for that review. We needed to know why we have this pretty colored water. I have a question.
[45:41] Yes. So, what's the main starting point in this city for replacing these pipes? It depends on the funding source. A
[45:51] lot of funding comes with specific scope or criteria. We qualify for some of them.
[46:01] For example , we just received a CDBG program that we applied for, and we're in the second phase of the application for water lines,
[46:11] and it has to be in a low- to moderate-income area. So, we were n't able to replace it;
[46:18] for example, we have some areas like some hot spots along the North Fork. Let's replace a portion of it.
[46:23] It did n't qualify. It had to be in an area with low-income homes because that's the specific
[46:29] requirements of the grant. Otherwise, we did n't qualify. So, it just depends on your funding source. So, can
[46:38] we apply for it? Are we borrowing ? Are we doing this to complete the Texttop project to build new roads
[46:42] ? If so, we'll find texttop roads that need replacing, and the water lines underneath them will need to be
[46:49] replaced. And ultimately, it's up to the council to decide which lines need replacing. Whichever lines the council
[46:57] approves , we'll put the water lines there. So, [name], I'm pretty sure we have water lines in Precinct 3,
[47:05] which is an underserved community. So how do we apply for a grant for that area ? So, we're
[47:14] applying for the last, as I just said, CDBG project. We actually engineered it six years ago , all the
[47:21] preliminary engineering was done, and we had this grant opportunity. It was a $3.25 million CDBG program. We used a pre-
[47:31] engineered project and applied that money to it. And it's there, for example, in Precinct 3. Okay. So,
[47:39] what are our Have we received that grant ? No, ma'am. We're in the process of receiving that grant.
[47:49] We've received preliminary approval. Okay. We qualify for it and we're well into the priority scoring process. So, it
[47:58] needs to be completed, and we're in that process. You'll actually hear about it in the next one or two meetings.
[48:03] Okay. But that being said, it's not going to interfere with the roads we're going to complete. So
[48:08] we don't have to put the roads down and then dig them up again. We're trying our best to prioritize them that way.
[48:14] Water lines first, then the water road. Okay. So we actually chose the dirt one that's in Precinct 3 because
[48:24] Text Dot is trying to get us to wait for the new road to be built before replacing that water
[48:27] line. Okay, thank you. Thank you Council for your patience. Okay, we appreciate it.
[48:36] And that brings us to item number three. A specific use from Lundra [name] A request for a permit
[48:47] , sorry , to build a manufactured home on property currently addressed as 609 South Cottonwood, which is identified by the Houston
[48:57] County Appraisal District as HCA Part 13631 and is a 0.258-acre parcel located between West Bell Avenue and
[49:08] Paint Painter Avenue. The legal description is Lot Number Two,
[49:21] Block 13 Depot Addition of the Crockett Council. Oh, I'm sorry. That's correct. This is a public hearing.
[49:28] Council and public, this is your opportunity to speak. If you are a member of the public and have received
[49:33] legal notice, we have sent legal notices to everyone within 300 feet of this property. If you would like to speak for or against the construction of a
[49:42] mobile home on this property , this is your opportunity. I'll make a note for the record. All legal
[49:52] notices, uh, legal notices in the newspaper and applications, all list this address as 605 South Cottonwood. That was a
[50:05] clerical error when we typed this. One of the property owners actually lives on 609, and 609 was written instead of 605. And
[50:13] I sought legal advice as to whether that could be used , provided it was corrected in the minutes.
[50:22] So, is everything else correct? The parcel number, the parcel number, the acres, the identifying
[50:32] factors of that parcel are all 605. The address is written 609. The legal notice. If someone came here because they received a legal notice,
[50:41] they would receive 605. This agenda item is the only thing that has 609 written on it. I think it needs to
[50:47] move forward. Okay. Thank you. So, all of you members of the public can speak for or against. Yes,
[51:06] that's fine. Yes, sir. Please introduce yourself. I don't want to be too long. I can't be too
[51:18] long. I just feel like I 'm at a financially mature stage in my life.
[51:30] I'm ready to buy my own home. Anyone else, and I'm grateful for all of your time. Is there
[51:47] anyone else? If anyone has... If there's none, we'll officially close this if no one else has one.
[51:56] Okay , consider it closed. So let's move on to the next item. Number five. Am
[52:09] I on number four ? Number four. I'm on number four. Guys, this glasses thing is bothering me.
[52:19] Consider Landre [name]'s approved request seeking a specific use permit for a manufactured home on property with the address 6095 605.
[52:30] As she's reading this, it's been corrected to 605. Mayor and Council, uh, this is the act application.
[52:38] It also went to our Planning and Zoning Commission, where another public hearing was also granted. This will bring a brand
[52:46] new 2026 manufactured home. No one spoke against bringing this manufactured home, and we voted on it
[52:59] okay. If a motion is made , I'll
[53:09] request that it be tabled with an explanation of 605. 605. I move that we approve Landre [name]'s request. I
[53:29] support the motion. Okay, it was moved and seconded. Is everyone in favor? The motion passed. Okay , now we turn
[53:40] to item number five. Public hearing on the request of Franco Perez Rodriguez for a specific use permit for a manufactured home to be built on the property with the address
[53:46] 325 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, identified by the Houston
[53:58] County Appraisal District as parcel number 1195 and located north of [name] Avenue and south of West Goliad
[54:06] Avenue. We are now open. If you wish to speak , you
[54:15] are free to speak. If you are within 300 feet of or you are affected by this property,
[54:19] you may speak for or against the location of this property. Mr. Rodriguez is here, but he does
[54:25] not speak English. His family members are here. They can both come to the podium if needed.
[54:48] Hello, my name is Frank's daughter, and I hope That
[54:58] opportunity will arise. Thank you. Okay. Is there anything
[55:11] you read there? You can read it later. Okay. If nothing else , we officially close the hearing.
[55:19] And this brings us to item number six. Consider an approved request from Franco Perez Rodriguez for
[55:33] a specific use permit for a home built on property with the address 325 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
[55:42] Councilmembers, I move that we approve Mr. Franco Perez Rodriguez's request for a specific use permit for a home built on property with the address
[55:47] 325 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Second.
[55:57] Okay, this has been proposed and approved. Everyone in favor? The motion is in favor. Congratulations. That's it.
[56:07] Oh, we have one more item. That's all besides the new business item , but there is no
[56:13] new business at this time. Can we make a motion to adjourn ? I'll make a motion that we
[56:19] adjourn. I'll support him. Second. We're out. Thank you very much. Did
[56:29] you give this to me ? Who gave it to me? No, Missy gave it to you. Huh?
[56:34] Missy gave it to you. I'm blessed.
