By Moses Leos III
For the better part of two years, Paco Reyes, Sr. saw significant business at his drive-through beer stand, Aca Paco’s, located along Bebee Road in Kyle.
But damage done to the Goforth Dam during the Oct. 30 flood event has now indirectly affected Reyes and ten other business owners. For Reyes, detours around the construction site are not only driving away traffic, but are creating a safety hazard.
“What the hell is going on? Don’t they see that traffic needs to come through?” Reyes said. “I understand traffic at the construction site isn’t going through, but traffic needs to come in here.”
Reyes said their issues began roughly two weeks ago when Hays County placed signage around the construction site for the Goforth Dam repairs.
But for Reyes and several business owners, the detours around the construction site have vastly affected business. Hays County initially placed two signs completely blocking off Bebee Road when construction started.
A call to Hays County led them to move one of the signs. But its placement, which is in the right hand lane of traffic, is seen as a hazard.
“For emergency vehicles, when they have to get to here, they are going to have to force their way around it,” Francisco Reyes, Paco’s son, said. “If it’s two or three vehicles, how are they going to get in? How are the fire trucks going to get in?”
The loss of business, however, has been the largest motivator for Reyes and other business owners to take action.
Reyes said he has seen an 80 percent drop-off in business since construction started. Others, such as La Mexicana grocery store, have seen similar drop-offs.
“I sell a little bit, but not as much as I used to. I wasn’t doing that good before, but now it’s worse,” Reyes said. He added that he sold upward of $400 dollars in product per day prior to the placement of the signs, with his shipments going from 100 cases of alcohol to roughly ten.
The construction has also affected necessary delivery trucks that must make their way to the area. Francisco said the trucks struggle to get in and out of the area.
Other businesses have seen similar declines. Dollar General, located near the intersection of Bebee Road and Goforth Road, has seen a 70 to 90 percent loss in sales, according to an employee.
Hays County Precinct No. 2 Commissioner Mark Jones said he has toured the area, but that he wasn’t sure if anyone had called about signage issues.
Jones said Hays County would have to take a “closer look” at the signs to assess safety issues. While Jones understood concerns from business owners, he said fixing the dam is a concern the city, Hays County and the Plum Creek Conservation District is keeping an eye on.
“The road hasn’t been improved since it was a (Farm to Market) road,” Jones said. “They can’t fix it without shutting the road. It has to be fixed. If (the dam bursts), the business will go with it.”
Reyes understood the implications of the fix, but believes moving the signs closer to the construction site, which is four blocks away, is necessary.
“I’ve got $40,000 to $50,000 invested in here and now I’m going to lose everything,” Reyes said. “I don’t have enough money to start another business.”
