SAN MARCOS MERCURY
The Lower Colorado River Authority wants to sell a water system into which it invested about $140 million to a group including Hays County.
The LCRA board on Wednesday unanimously chose the Coalition of Central Texas Utilities Development Corporation as the most responsible bidder for the West Travis County Regional Water and Wastewater System, said LCRA spokesperson Clara Tuma.
Hays County and other local government entities and water suppliers formed the coalition in the spring in order to submit a bid for the system, which serves an estimated 20,380 people in Hays and Travis Counties — including about 7,000 water users in northern Hays County. It is also the only obvious water source for much of fast-growing Hays County, especially the affluent Dripping Springs area along U.S. 290.
Hays County Pct. 4 Commissioner Ray Whisenant, who is among those who spearheaded the drive to form the coalition and acquire the system, was not immediately available for comment.
Whisenant has said the coalition cannot spend county tax dollars for any purpose and taxpayers are not liable for any decisions made by the corporation. He has said the coalition would likely pay for the system with revenue bonds, which yield only as much money as future customers of the system can repay with user fees.
No further information about the coalition’s bid was immediately available.
“The board took a very hard look at the coalition and decided it was appropriate to move forward,” said LCRA Board Chair Timothy Timmerman. “LCRA has run a thorough and fair process over the last year to find the best buyers for these systems, and I am confident that when we finish the process we will have accomplished that goal.”
If LCRA and the coalition do not finalize a purchase agreement by Jan. 17, 2012, the parties may discontinue negotiations, according to a memorandum of understanding they executed Wednesday.
LCRA’s board on Wednesday also considered negotiating the sale of 12 water/wastewater systems in the Hill Country and six in LCRA’s southeast service area to Corix Infrastructure. Corix is based out of Vancouver, B.C. The motion to negotiate the sale fell one vote short of the 12 required for approval, Tuma said. Three board members voted against the motion and one was not present.
Tuma said LCRA purchased and developed community water systems in the Hill Country and along the Colorado River over the last 10 to 15 years. She said LCRA invested more than $300 million to improve the systems’ infrastructure.
“LCRA purchased the systems to help meet the environmental needs and economic development goals of the local communities,” Tuma said. “Despite cutting costs and raising rates, these systems do not cover their costs and are subsidized by more than $3 million a year.”
