Brown County Water Improvement District board of directors took action to retain Henry W. McGowen as General Counsel for the district at Tuesday afternoon’s board meeting.
After a recommendation by General Manager Dennis Spinks to retain McGowen and a short discussion, the vote was unanimous. McGowen will be retained at a rate of $1000/month for up to 5 hours and additional hourly rate if more time is required each month, according to Spinks. No benefit package was being offered with the position according to Spinks.
Currently McGowen works for the Aquifer Group dealing in water rights exclusively and lives in Fredericksburg, Texas. He was raised in Brownwood and has worked in the Brown County District Attorney’s Office prior to his work with the Aquifer Group. According to Spinks, McGowen will attend board meetings and reserve at least 5 hours of his time per month, while continuing to work with the Aquifer Group. This retainer does not conflict with his current job, said Spinks.
Spinks explained that other local attorneys had also applied for the position; however, McGowen’s experience in water rights made him the top choice for the job.
“He (McGowen) has experience in water that the local attorneys have not had,” said Spinks. “He also has ties that could benefit the district in the future.” Spinks explained that references were also checked and that there was nothing but good reports from his work in the area.
Spinks also stated that retaining McGowen will save the district in legal fees with his experience in water issues so the district will not have to look to another attorney for outside help on certain issues.
McGowen replaces Bell Bell who retired as the district’s general counsel in May.
In unrelated matters on Tuesday’s agenda:
*Mike Lucci, engineer for King’s Point spoke to the board regarding the permit being sought for a waste water treatment plant for the subdivision. According to Lucci, the plant will have a 15,000 gallon per day capacity initially with room for additional plants to be added as the subdivision grows. After questioning of the water quality that may be released from the plant, which could eventually reach Lake Brownwood, Lucci told City of Brownwood Director of Public Works David Harris that the plant will have the following standards: VOD of 5, TSS of 5, and ammonia of 3. In addition, Lucci told Harris and the board that the King’s Point project will have Phosphorous level of 3 and dissolved oxygen of 4, an advanced treatment level. Harris was satisfied with this answer stating, “That’s a good permit.”
Spinks stated that BCWID was not the permitting authority for the plant, but was gathering information to make sure that the water being discharged into the lake is of sufficient quality.
Lucci stated that the plant is designed so that the water will be reused as irrigation on the golf course at the Hideout and that hopefully none of the water will ever reach Lake Brownwood. There are several areas such as the effluent pond and several retaining ponds which should keep the water from traveling the 1.8 mile distance from the plant to Lake Brownwood.
*Karen and Mike Hamilton received a reduction of their boat dock fee after the board agreed to lower their existing lease plus additional $2000/year lease for the extensive mooring and unpermitted deck structure which was built into the lake bed. According to the board, the dock, which is the largest dock on the lake, had a huge cement structure to anchor the dock which displaces a significant amount of water from the lake bed. The high lease amount was intended to discipline the owners for building an unapproved structure. After paying 4 years of this extra fee, the Hamiltons requested it be lowered. The board agreed to lower the amount to reflect the normal 18 cents/sq. foot lease, to include the square footage of the dock, the cement structure and the decking that was above 1425 ft. msl. Any docks constructed out of compliance in the future will still face removal of the structure or costly lease terms as the Hamiltons initially incurred.
*General Manager Dennis Spinks reported that Lake Brownwood is at 59.26% capacity having 70,350 ac. feet of water. Currently it is approximately 10 feet below spillway. The month of December experienced 1.8 inches of evaporation according to Lake Patrol lead officer Troy Henderson.
