Mineral Wells to seek water rights

Weatherford Democrat
By GLENN EVANS gevans@weatherforddemocrat.com
December 8, 2022

MINERAL WELLS — City Council members authorized staff on Tuesday to seek a state water permit that will allow the city to recycle treated wastewater through its raw water treatment plant.

Public Works Director Scott McKennon told council members a Beds and Banks Permit will benefit the city's water capacity regardless of the timing of a new lake and water treatment plant.

The most optimistic projections for completion of a dam and filling in of Turkey Peak Reservoir put it in 2027. The timing to build a new water treatment plant is up in the air, whether it will be built before or after the lake, immediately south of Lake Palo Pinto, fills up.

A Beds and Banks permit would enable the city to recover and treat water coming out of its Pollard Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. That treated wastewater is discharged into Pollard Creek now, flowing from there to Palo Pinto Creek and hence to the Brazos River.

The $25,000 permit application had been part of a wider, $112,000 proposal to address aging infrastructure at the treatment plant. McKennon narrowed his request Tuesday to the water recovery permit.

"And that will benefit us without Turkey Peak," he said. "We'll have the water rights to what's coming out of the water plant. With or without Turkey Peak, it will benefit us to get that water."

Two other significant issues arose in Tuesday's meeting, the city's first food truck ordinance and logistics surrounding a handoff of a downtown dog park that's set for a spring opening.

No action was taken on either topic as discussions revealed more questions for staff to research.

In fashioning a food truck ordinance, the first decision was to broaden the definition of what's covered to "mobile food venders." That catches food carts, trailers and less elaborate mobile restaurants along with the traditional mobile kitchens.

Fire/EMS Chief Ryan Dunn said he and staff had researched ordinances of similar cities Bastrop, McKinney and Duncanville.

"They seem to be not-too strict but not-too laissez-faire," he said, before adding all vendors under the ordinance will undergo fire safety inspections every six months. He also said they will face an annual $200 building inspection fee.

In the proposal so far, vendors cannot park overnight unless its on their own brick-and-mortar restaurant lot. They cannot be less than 10 feet from other vendors or five feet from a public drive or bicycle/wheelchair ramp.

Without specifying any topics being discussed, Place 1 Councilman Brian Shoemaker cautioned against laying too much bureaucracy on potential participating merchants.

"What I don't want to do is make it so strict it's difficult to get food trucks," Shoemaker said. "I just don't want to make it so inhibitive that we have an event and we can only find two food trucks to come."

Place 2 Councilman Glenn Mitchell asked if the inspections would be good for a year, to which Dunn said both fire and building permits will be good for that long.

"I don't think that's very restrictive at all," Mitchell replied, noting that without any ordinance there is no restriction on how long vendors can park in a spot.

Ward 2 Councilman Carlos Maldonado asked for specific language on how long a vendor can sit in one spot.

"Can they move an inch? Do that change location (by doing that)?" he asked.

Mayor Regan Johnson, a downtown restaurateur, said restaurant owners should be brought in on the ordinance's crafting.

"Now, we have a benchmark in front of us," she said.

Mayor Pro Tem Doyle Light later agreed, saying he'd like to visit businesses he represents in Ward 4.

"I also want staff to work through all of this, to make us better prepared," he added. "This is going to be a discussion that probably happens multiple times."

City Manager Dean Sullivan added the mobile food vendors ordinance will need to dovetail with a comprehensive plan the council has hired. He indicated "it might be a little too soon" to settle some of the council's concerns.

"Because, other cities have been chasing this ordinance for a decade," he said.

Sullivan also said questions about ownership and maintenance of the downtown dog park will be discussed more fully at the council's Jan. 17 meeting. That recommendation came after questions arose about how to pay for regular maintenance such as emptying pet poop cans, landscaping and utility bills.

Mineral Wells Leadership Class 27, a volunteer immersion in city needs, has raised $150,000 to build Crazy Dog Park on a vacant lot north of the Crazy Water Hotel.

"We see this project as one of the most unique and special aspects you can bring to a city," Class 27 Vice President Hannah Burkhall said. "It's close to downtown, it's close to neighborhoods. It's right next to the Crazy Water Hotel."

The class proposed the city take ownership as soon as the park is finished,

The class would maintain the park its first three years, estimating that landscaping and the rest would require about $5,000 annually.

Main Street Project Manager Myndi Muncy said the group has lined up "a major donor" willing to step up as long as the city takes ownership.

Questions also arose over logistics of having BJ's Wash Station at the park providing dog washing.

Ward 3 Councilwoman Beth Watson expressed some frustration at the unanswered questions.

"I don't like being put in the position of, 'We've done this, but we need you to take it over,' " she said, suggesting the anonymous major donor could establish an endowment to maintain the park.

Comments regarding the arrival of the park, however, were clearly supportive.

"This is great, this is important," the mayor said. "It's just a matter of working out the details."

Designed by retired Dallas Parks and Recreation Department Director Willis Winters, now a Mineral Wells resident, the park will have separate play areas for large and small dogs.

"It's absolutely critical not to mix those sizes of dogs," Winters said, adding a cutoff size will have to be determined.

Each side is entered just past separate "relief paddocks" of decomposed granite, while humans will have a shaded area to sit beneath canopies modeled after historic downtown facades.

"This is a unique feature that we haven't seen in other dog parks," Winters said. "This is a very strong commitment to the owners' comfort."

Council members on Tuesday also agreed to enter an agreement placing a self-service fuel kiosk at Mineral Wells Regional Airport.

Seen as a budget-cutting measure freeing airport staff from shuttling fuel to planes throughout the day, the five-year agreement with EPIC Aviation takes out a $50,000 loan to place an AvGas self-serve on the tarmac.

The loan will be repaid through a 4-cent dedicated charge per gallon.

Airport Manager Haley Cuevas later said she hopes to have the self-serve station operating by the busy summer flight season.

Tuesday's regular meeting was called to order by Mayor for the Day Yamileth "Yami" Marquez. The Travis Elementary student , and daughter of Luz and Jose Marquez also celebrated her 12th birthday Tuesday.