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Volente holds ‘joint' meeting alone

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BCRUA cities reject proposed agenda

The member cities of the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority (BCRUA) have once again failed to see eye-to-eye with the village of Volente regarding the tri-city pipeline project and a proposed deep water intake site.

Cedar Park, Round Rock and Leander planned to sit down with the Volente city council in a joint work session on Tuesday, Aug. 26. However, the three larger cities withdrew from the meeting when the parties could not reach an agreement on the agenda.

Volente still planned to hold the meeting on Tuesday night, and kept its version of the agenda posted on the village website.

“We got notice Monday from the Round Rock city secretary that the meeting was cancelled, but we can't cancel it,” said Volente City Secretary Jennifer Zufelt. “The council said we're having a meeting.”

Leander council member and BCRUA board member John Cowman confirmed that the BCRUA participants would not attend the meeting. He did not rule out a joint meeting in the future.

“We don't have an agenda set and we won't be attending. We want it to be productive,” said Cowman. “As soon as an agenda is set, I'm sure that we'll be meeting with them.”

Cedar Park council member and BCRUA board member Mitch Fuller agreed that the two versions of the agenda were similar, but said the meeting could not be held unless they matched completely. “Volente posted a different one than the BCRUA cities,” he said. “I still look forward to meeting and having a dialog. This is an important public works project.”

According to Volente Mayor Jan Yenawine, the two sides have agreed on the basic points contained in the agenda. The main issue had to do with how the agenda should be worded. Yenawine said the cities rejected the posted agenda too late for the village to change its agenda for Tuesday night, which would have required a called meeting.

“Volente will be there with bells on their toes,” he said. “We're willing to visit, talk and work on issues.”

Yenawine said the three cities' version of the agenda implied that the village would be “joining” with them to solve problems. “Our position is, they are applicants,” he said. “We're not part of their problem-solving process. We're not a party to their water intake or the problems it has created.”

Yenawine could not say whether a joint meeting would take place in the future. “They're the applicants wanting to come into our village and do a project,” he said. “We're here and willing to work with them. We're not begging them to come to our village.”

The agenda items Volente wants addressed include:

€ Whether or not the cities of Leander, Cedar Park and Round Rock will meet Volente's ordinances and zoning,

€ Whether the council members of the BCRUA-member cities will provide detailed information about the project that Volente requested in February 2007, regarding potential impact to village residents, and how negative impacts on residents would be mitigated,

€ A request by Volente for the BCRUA cities to fund an independent analysis of alternatives and technologies for the deep water intake, including options already rejected by engineering consultants,

€ A request for the BCRUA cities to fund an independent study of alternative water sources that might reduce the need for the deep water intake.

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