An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the vote count by the commissioners. The vote was 2-1 with Pct. 1 Commissioner Jim Luther Jr. voting against approval of the plat.
A Burnet County Commissioners Court vote recently fell short of approving the preliminary plat for The Estates at Dominion Ranch.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Damon Beierle and Precinct 4 Commissioner Joe Don Dockery voted to continue development of the Estates near FM 2657 during the June 13 meeting. Precinct 1 Commissioner Jim Luther Jr. voted against approval.
None of the commissioners looked or sounded too thrilled about their decision, judging by their pauses and longer than usual silence before the 2-1 vote.
Passage requires approval by at least three commissioners. Pct. 3 Commissioner Billy Wall was absent from the meeting.
“It is a borderline development as far as water is concerned,” Luther said.
Indeed, Beierle urged Estates principal developer Rahul Kundavaran to complete “more diligent work” regarding water supply before the court considers a final plat for the subdivision, which plans to sell 210 lots over more than 990 acres.
“I have been praying about this for a long time, and I vow to hold (the developers) to every letter of the law,” Beierle said.
During the beginning of a long discussion prior to the vote, County Development Services Director Herb Darling indicated the Estates developers have fulfilled all basic le gal requirements for preliminary plat approval.
“The applicants have fulfilled all of their obliga tions,” Darling said. “But I don’t like it. I don’t think (the subdivision) is going to be self-sustaining. How much water is out there (near FM 2657)? It is a not a question anybody can answer definitively - other than - not much.”
Before they voted, the commissioners invited several attendees to speak.
“If you approve this plat, the rest of us will run out of water soon,” said Suzanne Gasparotto, who resides on Happy Ridge Road near the site of the Estates.
Debra Reavis, another nearby resident, expressed similar concerns about water availability near the Estates.
“I don’t think they (the developers) know the land,” Reavis told the court. “They are used to a municipal water supply. That is not happening there (near the Estates) at all.”
Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District General Manager Mitchell Sodek told the commissioners the Estates developers drilled 14 groundwater wells and conducted 12 pump tests to determine water availability for the development.
The tests indicated sufficient water could be available, provided the wells could reach consistently the base of the Trinity Aquifer near the Travis Peak Formation, Sodek said.
However, only 2 of the 14 wells reached the deepest part of the Aquifer, Also, the developers may have relied too much on “median values” as they collected data to determine water availability.
Beierle wondered aloud, whether an alternative water resource, such as the Ellenburger Aquifer, could be tapped for the Estates, other than the Trinity Aquifer.
“What would it take to explore that?" Beierle asked Sodek.
“A nice grant from the county,” Sodek replied.
His answer drew laughter, enough to ease the intense discussion momentarily.
When Kundavaran spoke, he assured the commissioners he and his associates “have followed every request that has come our way. We are trying to be good neighbors.”
Then, both Beierle and Dockery discussed whether larger tract sizes for the development could be considered, as a means to conserve water supply.
“We will go back and look at that,” Kundavaran said.
Darling emphasized a preliminary plat can be modified at some point, usually as a replat submission.
County Attorney Eddie Arredondo pointed out the developers took the time to meet “all legal obligations” to qualify for a preliminary plat.
“There is a very big concern as to whether it (the development) is going to work,” Arredondo said. “But at this point, I don’t believe there is anything else we can do.”
Beierle agreed. “This is a conundrum,” he said. “We are charged to protect health and safety. And, we are charged to follow state law.”
During future weeks, Beierle indicated he would discuss the situation with State Sen. Pete Flores (R-District 24) and others regarding the issue.
Also, Beierle asked county residents to contact him through e-mail or other means to convey their views on the matter.
“I want to make this as transparent as possible,” Beierle said.
Dockery confirmed that the item will likely come before commissioners again in the future.
On another matter, the court approved the addition of one County Court-At-Law Court Coordinator.
Depending on workload, the coordinator could receive an annual salary up to $51,000, County Auditor Karin Smith told The Highlander.
According to county officials, the full-time po sition is needed because of the recently unforeseen increase of probate and guardianship cases.
“And, the County Court-at-Law is picking up cases that normally would have been assigned to Judge Oakley,” Smith said.
Too, County Treasurer Karrie Crownover told the court county coffers showed more than $58 million in positive cash and investment through the end of March, including interest earned of more than $456,000.
Also during the meet- ing, the court:
• Accepted the resignation of Pat Erickson from the Emergency Services District No. 1 board, citing she has moved from the district. In turn, the court appointed Nick Wood to replace Erickson.
• Granted Precinct 4 Constable Missy Bindseil permission to operate county equipment July 21-22 during the Marble Falls Rodeo at the Charley Taylor Arena along U.S. 281, particularly during First Responders Night.
• Accepted a donation of more than $3,100 from Sentry Security investigations and approved a contract with Drone Sense for County Sheriff surveillance operations and;
• Accepted the bid of more than $473,000 from Texas Materials for hotmix paving of CR 408 South from Texas 71 to the Blanco County line.