Town Hall: The Mayor Says, ‘Now is the Time to be Proactive About the Water in Olney’

Olney residents filled nearly all the seats at the town hall meeting at Olney Civic Center Thursday, Dec. 9, at 6 p.m. Mayor Rue Rogers and Mayor Pro Tem Tom Parker facilitated the discussion about the construction of a new water treatment plant to replace the dilapidated plant that is more than 100 years old.

Parker opened with a presentation of photos showing pictures of a plant that appears to have significant issues with the plant’s structural integrity, which requires immediate action. Then, he discussed how the Council and a group of residents who volunteered to be part of the Financial Advisory Committee decided the best solution is to replace rather than repair.

After presenting the need for the new structure, Parker discussed the need for a rate increase and referred to a water rate study that was completed recently by an independent third party. According to the rate study, Parker said our current base water rate is $27.50 for 1,000 gallons of consumption inside the City limit, making Olney equivalent to Seymour but significantly lower than neighboring towns of Archer City and Megargel.

The mayor shifted the focus of the meeting by reflecting on how the City came together in 1978 when Olney was facing severe drought for the then 5,000 residents, emphasizing that citizens banded together to lay 14 miles of pipeline to bring water from Lake Kickapoo to Lake Cooper. “Now is the time to be proactive,” Rogers said.

At the end of all presentations, the mayor opened the Q and A session to address the citizens’ questions and concerns. Several residents stepped forward. Oscar Munoz, a participant on the City’s Financial Advisory Committee, was the first to speak.

“[The City] has a certificate of obligation for $13.5 million, not taking into consideration the people that don’t have the money,” Munoz said. “That’s less money for medication. That’s less money for food. That’s less money for the family. Ultimately $360 a year.”

The remainder of Munoz’s three-minute appeal focused on the absence of an industrial tax rate similar to other cities, which Parker confirmed, stating, “Though there is an in-city rate and an out-the-city rate, there was no industrial rate.”

Another citizen stepped forward to inquire about city employees who don’t pay for water. Mayor Rogers replied that City Council members pay for water, but city employees don’t pay for water as part of their compensation plan.

Parker stated regarding the compensation plan for City workers, “Our fire department doesn’t pay for their water, but everything is on the table at this point. This is a huge project, and we’re asking everybody to be part of it,” Parker said.

The former mayor Phil Jeske said in favor of the rate increase, “I don’t want to have a $60 water bill more than anybody else in this room. But I do like to drink water. I drink a gallon a day. Currently that costs about 1.3 cents per gallon of water. If you add $35 to our water bill, that’s going to triple the cost of that gallon to three cents a gallon. I want to make sure everybody keeps all this in perspective.”

Two other citizens stepped up to show support for the water rate increase, one of whom was Sonja Gray, a City’s Financial Advisory Committee member. Gray said most of the advisory committee recommended the City Council to move forward with a long-term solution to replace the plant, followed by subsequent discussions as to funding.

“The financial subcommittee I served on looked for possible grants of which none are available. We then spoke to a couple of bonding companies to see what our best options were for funding. The financial subcommittee decided the best option would be with a project under the certificates of obligation and made this recommendation to the city council. I realize this will raise the cost of water. Yes, I’m concerned about the hardship this will put on, particularly those on a fixed income. However, I truly believe that it would be a much bigger hardship if the plane goes down,” Gray said.

To view the town hall meeting in its entirety, visit https://www.cityofolneytx.com/meetings.