By Kim Hilsenbeck
Mountain City council members took no action Monday night on a proposed Interlocal Agreement (ILA) with the city of Kyle and Hays County that would transfer a portion of Mountain City’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) to Kyle.
In exchange, the city of Kyle would provide water / wastewater for Anthem, the proposed development in what is currently Mountain City’s ETJ. Under the proposed ILA, Mountain City would relinquish that land and get road repairs from Hays County.
Clark Wilson signed a development agreement with Mountain City. He then signed a contract with private water firm Electro Purification (EP) to provide water for 2,200 planned homes.
The ILA has caused much consternation among residents of the tiny town. Residents have spoken at meetings and emailed the council with an almost unanimous “no” to the ILA.
At a recent special public hearing, Mountain City Mayor Tiffany Curnutt indicated a desire to go back to Kyle to negotiate a better deal for the ILA, which many residents said they felt was not favorable to Mountain City. At that meeting, Wilson indicated his desire to see the ILA pass so he could dissolve his contract with EP.
According to Kyle City Manager Scott Sellers, he met with representatives of Mountain City, Hays County and Wilson on June 1. He said the group discussed the ILA but made no changes.
“Primarily the meeting was used to clarify language and intent in the agreement,” Sellers wrote in an email. “One possible addition to the agreement with Kyle was discussed, which involved exchanging an additional property within the [ETJ].”
Sellers said a time and date were decided for an upcoming town hall meeting and Mayor Todd Webster was invited to represent Kyle in that discussion. Hays County Commissioner Mark Jones is hosting that meeting at 6:30 p.m. June 15 at the Plum Creek Golf Course.
After Monday’s Mountain City council meeting, several residents spoke with Curnutt and mayor pro-tem Phillip Taylor. According to one resident, Taylor indicated his opposition the ILA.
That same resident said Curnutt indicated she wants to research the issue on her own time.
Mountain City will hold a special called meeting on June 22 to possibly take action on a motion to adopt the ILA.
