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Mertzon City Council June 2 2025

  • G. Noelke
  • 5 days ago
  • 7 min read

Updated: 23 hours ago


Imagine, if you can, this exact location in the 1970's: a 3 foot high chain link fence around a 6 man grass football field, with a caliche parking area around the fence and 1950, 60 and 70 model cars and trucks pulled right up to the fence to watch the game. In the spring, the caliche parking area around the field would be turned into a track with flour used to mark the running lanes. The lights were incandescent bulbs hung from telephone poles, and somehow the kids never knew there was anything better.
Imagine, if you can, this exact location in the 1970's: a 3 foot high chain link fence around a 6 man grass football field, with a caliche parking area around the fence and 1950, 60 and 70 model cars and trucks pulled right up to the fence to watch the game. In the spring, the caliche parking area around the field would be turned into a track with flour used to mark the running lanes. The lights were incandescent bulbs hung from telephone poles, and somehow the kids never knew there was anything better.

May 30th City of Mertzon P.O. Box 456 * 104 S. Park View * Mertzon, TX 76941 Phone: (325)835-5791 * FAX: (325)835-7570 REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MERTZON CITY HALL MONDAY, JUNE 2, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. AGENDA 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. OPENING PRAYER 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE/SALUTE TO THE TEXAS FLAG 4. PUBLIC COMMENTS Persons wishing to address the Council will be called at this time. Speakers must sign up on provided list before meeting begins. Speakers are limited to three minutes. DELIBERATE, CONSIDER AND/OR TAKE ACTION ON ANY OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS: 5. The City Council reserves the right to adjourn into executive session at any time during the course of this meeting to discuss any matters listed below. (a) Subject to Section 551.072 of the Texas Government Code; consultation with an Attorney. (b) Section 551.072 of the Texas Government Code; deliberation regarding real property 6. MAYOR PRO TEM (a) Nominate and elect Mayor Pro Tem for 2025-2026. 7. SURVEY /PROPERTY LINE ISSUE (a) Realtor here to discuss issue with a property line in survey for a home in town. 8. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT (a) Approval of minutes. (b) Other announcements. (c) Review/approval of financial documents 9. DAILY OPERATIONS UPDATE (a) Updates on daily operation (b) Items for future agendas. 10. ADJOURNMENT Aubrey Stewart, Mayor CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that I posted this agenda on the outdoor bulletin board at City Hall, at 3:44 am/pm on 11. Natalio Padilla, City Administrative Assistant Copyright 2025 G Noelke

A. Agenda Analysis

  1. Executive Session, item 5: Just because it's listed as being on the agenda, doesn't necessarily mean the Council will have one. Sometimes, these are place holders in case something dicey is on the agenda.

  2. Executive Session drafting error: I highlighted in red an incorrect reference to the Open Meetings Act. That first reference to 551.072 should instead be 551.071. Agenda language has to be accurate to give reasonable notice, and this one is technically inaccurate. I have practiced with opposing attorneys in Travis County who would make a mountain out of this molehill. Generally, exploiting these type of errors would create delay and generate extra billing for the opposing lawyer. I raise it here for the larger point that accuracy sometimes matters. Here, I don't think it does. In time, if not already, agenda drafters will be using AI to draft public meeting agendas, so it may be prudent to learn how and when to evaluate an agenda for accuracy. There are already instances of lawyers foolishly using AI for court briefs and those briefs referring to nonexistent law.

  3. Survey / Property line issues, item 7: a. Is this what the executive session is about? I put in the black arrow to perhaps connect the two references to "property". b. A closed session under 551.072 is permitted to "deliberate the purchase, exchange, lease, or value of real property if deliberation in an open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the position of the governmental body in negotiations with a third person". I'll address below in the Meeting Review whether this definition was met. c. Property Law 101: Boundary line issues with local government come up here and there, and when they do the issue in some way turns on basic property law concepts that first year law students learn as a bundle of rights or bundle of sticks. Here, the property owner has some boundary issue, apparently being raised though the realtor (which is odd because technically only the property owner has ultimate "standing"). The right to raise this dispute is allowed because the property owner has the ultimate right to exclude others from his property. A boundary is significant. This is the same law I am using to keep the City's and IC ISD's stormwater off of my property. I have the legal right to exclude others, including asserting that they are prohibited from invading my property with stormwater. Exclusion of others is a foundational concept in property law. And, when it comes to a boundary/exclusion dispute with the government, the Constitution kicks in and prohibits the government from "taking" the property without first providing due process (notice and fair hearing) and paying a fair price. So, while they may not express it openly during the meeting, the City is no doubt constrained in how it handles this matter. Why is the realtor appearing and not the property owner? Perhaps that will be addressed at the meeting.




Waste track rubber that was removed last week from the track. Perhaps it is a vicious cycle - the District relies on the oil companies in the county to pay off a high percentage of the bonds used to purchase a new track, while the oil companies rely on companies like Hellas to sell rubberized, petroleum based, track to the District and keep it dependent on a product that has to be replaced over and over again.
Waste track rubber that was removed last week from the track. Perhaps it is a vicious cycle - the District relies on the oil companies in the county to pay off a high percentage of the bonds used to purchase a new track, while the oil companies rely on companies like Hellas to sell rubberized, petroleum based, track to the District and keep it dependent on a product that has to be replaced over and over again.


B. Meeting Review:

  1. Property law 102, survey property line issues, item 7: my analysis in 3 above was far too simplistic. Here a property owner was selling their home to a buyer and the buyer's lender refused the loan because the seller's residence in encroaching into the City's right of way by about 94 square feet. See pages 2-5 of the meeting documents. The buyers, the buyer's lender, buyers realtor and the sellers, the Tillmans, were all present at the meeting. Jeff Betty, attorney for the City, met with the Council in executive session. The Council, upon returning from the executive session, had no motion and advised the parties that there was nothing the City could do to help. There are restrictions in the Texas Constitution and Texas Local Gov't Code that require that any sale of public land in this scenario can only be done for a "public" benefit, and here this clearly only would benefit private parties. (I've done minimal research, but generally can confirm.)

  2. Another example of the wild, wild west: This property line issue that is hamstringing the sale of a residence is yet another example of local government headaches that folks have to endure when there aren't robust ordinances to protect land owners. The City of Mertzon does not have any zoning or set back ordinances that might have caught this problem at the time of construction. It also has no stormwater control ordinances - something I have argued for now for years. In the long run, I think the lack of ordinances is more often than not harmful to property owners. Why? Why no protections for property owners? A few well drafted ordinances could be so helpful to property owners. That the Council can't fund and then does not want to enforce its ordinances is an unacceptable answer. That assures that folks like myself and, in this instance, the Tillmans, have to find work arounds to protect their property value, which in turn, hurts everyone else's property value. That answer also assures lawlessness. That allows everyone to sink to the lowest level of property management. Property drafted ordinances and a fair enforcement mechanism promote appreciation of property values, which in turn increases the value of the transfer of wealth to our next generation. A municipality without sufficient ordinances suppresses the value of that transfer and hurts everyone.

  3. Caveat Emptor: one preventative solution in the Tillman situation is, buyer beware, hire a title attorney to give an opinion before you purchase. Apparently, no one knew about this encroachment until now, so apparently when the Tillman's purchased they had no idea. (It wasn't stated, but it sounds as if they did not get a title opinion when they purchased the property.) If they had a title attorney when they were about to purchase they could have decided back then whether to purchase. Another solution is to find a lender that won't deny a loan on such an encroachment...or, don't use a lender and buy with cash, which is usually not possible.



C. Commentary

Hellas, who got the IC ISD contract for the new track and field, needs to be taken to task for not doing more to keep the waste rubber out of the watershed. Two to three inches of rain in the last 2 weeks has assured that some of the waste rubber will end up in Spring Creek. Moreover, now that there are rolls of waste artificial turf, filled in part with rubber pellets, all over town on the lawns of private residences, the sources of transfer of the rubber into the watershed are dispersed and long lasting.


Hellas needs to be more sensitive to our local environment.

In pictures, after an approximate 1.5" rain 6/3/2025:

I found waste rubber track like this in the parking lot being washed into the runoff in the next picture.
I found waste rubber track like this in the parking lot being washed into the runoff in the next picture.
flooded entry way to ok wolfenbarger football stadium
Flooded entryway to OK Wolfenbarger Stadium after 1.5” rain two hours before.
The runoff goes under Hwy 67 and ultimately to Spring Creek. For aerial photos of this area, go here.
The runoff goes under Hwy 67 and ultimately to Spring Creek. For aerial photos of this area, go here.
No effort was made to control the waste rubber from washing away on the pavement to the entrance above.
No effort was made to control the waste rubber from washing away on the pavement to the entrance above.
An erosion fence, apparently installed by Hellas, corralled the storm water, but did nothing for the rubber washing down the pavement to the entrance. Coincidentally, this is what 1.5” of rain looks like several hours after the rain has stopped. The floods that overtake the field are the 8” rainfalls in 48 hours.
An erosion fence, apparently installed by Hellas, corralled the storm water, but did nothing for the rubber washing down the pavement to the entrance. Coincidentally, this is what 1.5” of rain looks like several hours after the rain has stopped. The floods that overtake the field are the 8” rainfalls in 48 hours.

Here is an earlier picture, on May 18, of the waste rubber pellets from the turf when it was removed. They were all over the parking lot. Some but not all was swept up by Hellas. Some has been washed down to Spring Creek, and the remainder has been relocated to private residences in the area as part of the repurposing of the turf. Those properties will surely become pollution sources in time.
Here is an earlier picture, on May 18, of the waste rubber pellets from the turf when it was removed. They were all over the parking lot. Some but not all was swept up by Hellas. Some has been washed down to Spring Creek, and the remainder has been relocated to private residences in the area as part of the repurposing of the turf. Those properties will surely become pollution sources in time.

June 4, 2025 update: After posting my photos above on June 3, I contacted Supt. Moore and asked her to let Hellas know about this page. Within 12 hours, the mess had been cleaned up. See below. Also note that there was another rain, about 1/2”, that fell overnight. I appreciate that Hellas and Supt. Moore got right to this.


The waste rubber track had been cleaned up overnight.
The waste rubber track had been cleaned up overnight.
The distance the stormwater travels from the football field to Spring Creek is not far at all.
The distance the stormwater travels from the football field to Spring Creek is not far at all.
This is worth protecting, folks. This is Spring Creek at Brim’s Crossing. The entry point for runoff from the football field is where the view of the river ends at the top of this photo. The headwaters, a crystal clear spring, are 3 miles upstream. As I have said in other posts, from my observation there is now more water running in Spring Creek than the Pedernales River in Travis County. Water is the future of our community.
This is worth protecting, folks. This is Spring Creek at Brim’s Crossing. The entry point for runoff from the football field is where the view of the river ends at the top of this photo. The headwaters, a crystal clear spring, are 3 miles upstream. As I have said in other posts, from my observation there is now more water running in Spring Creek than the Pedernales River in Travis County. Water is the future of our community.





Copyright 2025 G Noelke

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