Archive for July 17th, 2009

YMCA eyes Bastrop

Friday, July 17th, 2009

Bastrop, Tx–Preliminary talks have begun between city officials and YMCA leaders in Austin about the possibility of developing new recreation programs in Bastrop.

Both Bastrop City Manager Mike Talbot and Council Member Julie Hart say prospects look promising, and public discussion of the possibilities could begin nest month.

“There’s a lot of interest” in exploring a cooperative arrangement between YMCA officials and the city, Talbot told the city council on July 14.”I’m really excited” about the potential opportunities, said Hart.

One suggestion under consideration is for the city and the YMCA organization to split the cost of hiring a recreation planner to survey city needs and potential facilities for new programming, Hart said in a Friday telephone interview. Working with the YMCA could allow the city to “leverage our tax money” with private funds provided through the YMCA, she said.

No new recreation facilities are currently envisioned as part of the arrangement, said Hart.

Council Member Ken Kesselus said when he was a pastor in Pearland many years ago, he became aware of an analogous city-YMCA arrangement which appeared to be “quite successful.”

No date for a public council discussion of the issue has been set.

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Bastrop likes new water well prospect

Friday, July 17th, 2009

Bastrop, Tx–During a daunting string of 100-plus-degree days over the past month, city officials had a bit of good water supply news when the council met July 14. A second test well in Bob Bryant park appears to have tapped a vein of underground water capable of producing about 400 gallons a minute, said City Manager Mike Talbot.

That’s a marked improvement over an initial test in the park earlier this summer which was rated as capable of yielding hardly more than 100 gallons a minute. After that disappointing test, the council instructed staff to proceed with a second test nearby and if results prove favorable begin planning to link the two sites for possible water production, essentially as a single well.

That planning work is underway, Talbot indicated, even though the city must still await some technical review and formal approvals from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The review process may not be complete before late August, and putting the new wells into production may not be possible before about Oct. 1, Talbot said.

Council Member Joe Beal urged Talbot to speed the process ahead as much as possible.

Talbot also warned the council that unless weather changes come soon it may be necessary to impose water use restrictions as described in the city’s drought contingency plan. Over the July 11-12 weekend water demand in Bastrop peaked at just over 2 million gallons a day, or more than 80 percent of the city’s total production capacity, said Talbot.

If such demand is sustained over an extended period, the recharge capacity of the shallow aluvial aquifers which the city depends on could be impaired, Talbot warned.

“We’re holding our own (in water production),” said Talbot. “But we’re not out of the woods.” He urged residents to restrict water use as much as possible in an effort to stave off stiffer restrictions.

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