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Pickin’ A Fight

March 27, 2023 ICISD stormwater flooding my property



I pulled the comments below that I had made in 2022 to the City Council out of archives because they became relevant to these 2023 comments. Board Member Ashley Hill was the sole vote opposing the alternate gym location when its current 4th street location was not initially approved by the City of Mertzon, and she (along with former board member Wade Miller) successfully swayed the Board and the City Council to reconsider so that the gym now sits on 4th Street.  (Had the Board and City been satisfied with the alternate site, I would not have standing to complain.)


George Noelke

Comments to Mertzon City Council April 4, 2022


Last night’s rain was about a half inch according to my rain gauge. And we had a little bit of rain last week as well. My guess is that we’ve had less than an inch of rain since November, 2021.


This drought has been an opportune time to put a roof on a 30,000 sf gym on a hill. But, even last night’s brief rain is large enough to foretell the future of flooding on our streets and on my property.


Increasingly, I am witnessing larger amounts of stormwater on my property with smaller amounts of rainfall. In other words, there is more runoff. It is easy to see where the construction gravel at the gym construction site is entering the street. It is also easy to see how the gravel caliche base is being washed out of the potholes and construction ditches along Juanita Street. That gravel is entering 4th Street and washing down to my property. WBK is not sweeping up the construction site or the streets.


Both Juanita and Fleming streets have standing water in them today. This is your responsibility.


Last month marks the 6th year anniversary since I first contacted the District and protested their flooding of my property. Six years. And the problems only seem to get worse.


My father, Monte Noelke, handed me a pearl of wisdom when I was going to high school here. He said, “George, remember this: It sure is easy to start a fight, but it is damned hard to get out of one.”


The City Council, remember, reversed its own decision and then worked hand in glove with the District to help reverse the school board’s decision on the gym location. The board approved gym location on 2nd and Juanita (a location that would not have flooded me) to its current location (where it will flood me), was made possible only by the support of the City Council. The City and the District, therefore, chose to start this fight. You shouldn’t have done that. I can’t let either the District or the City forget that the District had an approved site that would not have flooded me. I can’t look away and pretend water doesn’t flow downhill.


Now, 6 years into my protests, we not only have worse flood and road safety issues to contend with, the City has an undocumented easement through my property and an unknown sewer line location. There’s even more stormwater, and different parts of my property are eroding because of the construction site gravel that has built up on the shoulders of Fleming. As I said before, the problems are mounting in complexity and number.


My father was right. It’s damned hard to get out of a fight. One way, though, that you can start to work the City out and begin protecting our citizens is to begin regulating construction so that new construction is not allowed to dump storm water into our streets.


Thank you for your time.



 

November 10, 2024 Update: While listening to Taking Charge: The Johnson White House Tapes, 1963–1964 by Michael Beschloss, I came across a conversation between LBJ and McGeorge Bundy, the U.S. National Security Advisor. LBJ made a strikingly prophetic statement about the Vietnam War: “It’s damned easy to get into a war, but it’s very hard to extricate yourself if you get into it” (Chapter 3, 18:21). I’m not suggesting that this dispute with IC ISD is comparable to the Vietnam War; rather, my father’s advice reflects the lessons of his era and his practical understanding of conflict resolution.



 

Copyright 2023-2024 G Noelke

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