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The new caliche base washes away and pours into the City of Mertzon's streets as Cahill works fast to pave the GMPL in the rain. UPDATE: Read here for what happened at the GMPL after the rain. Hours after my last post 3 days ago about ICISD flooding itself, its contractor, Cahill, began putting down fresh caliche base on the GMPL. Then yesterday they put down the tar primer...and this morning, just as they were putting down the black top...it rained! See my video The hot asphalt paving of ICISD’s parking lot in the rain. Make sure and watch to the end to see my photos of the condition of the unfinished parking lot after the rain passed. As seen in the video everyone doubled down, even in the rain and lightning, and continued with the paving. My initial research shows that hot asphalt paving should NOT be done in the rain. I asked ChatGPT to "Write me a 500 word article on why hot asphalt paving should not be done in the rain" and here are the results: Title: The Hazards of Hot Asphalt Paving in Rainy Conditions Introduction (approx. 50 words): Hot asphalt paving is a common practice in road construction and repair. However, undertaking this task during rainy weather can have detrimental effects on the quality and durability of the pavement. In this article, we will explore the reasons why hot asphalt paving should not be carried out in the rain. 1. Compromised Adhesion (approx. 100 words): One of the primary concerns when paving with hot asphalt in rainy conditions is compromised adhesion. Rainwater can significantly hinder the bonding process between the hot asphalt and the underlying surface. The moisture acts as a barrier, preventing proper adhesion, leading to weakened structural integrity. Consequently, the asphalt pavement becomes more susceptible to cracks, potholes, and premature deterioration. To ensure a long-lasting and durable road surface, it is essential to avoid paving with hot asphalt during rainy weather. 2. Uneven Surface (approx. 100 words): Rainwater can disrupt the even distribution and compaction of hot asphalt, resulting in an uneven surface. The water interferes with the smooth application of the material and hampers the compaction process. This leads to an inadequate density of the asphalt mixture, which compromises its load-bearing capacity and overall durability. An uneven pavement not only affects the aesthetics but also poses safety risks to motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists. Therefore, it is crucial to postpone hot asphalt paving until dry weather conditions prevail. 3. Reduced Longevity (approx. 100 words): The quality and longevity of hot asphalt pavement are greatly diminished when laid in the rain. Moisture weakens the asphalt mixture and reduces its ability to withstand heavy traffic loads, temperature fluctuations, and the natural wear and tear of the environment. Rainwater infiltrating the asphalt can penetrate the base layers, causing the formation of voids and accelerating the degradation process. The compromised structural integrity leads to increased maintenance and repair costs, as well as inconveniences for road users. To maximize the lifespan of the pavement, it is prudent to avoid paving with hot asphalt during rainy periods. 4. Safety Risks (approx. 100 words): Paving with hot asphalt in the rain introduces safety risks for both workers and the public. Rainwater can make the construction site slippery, making it more challenging for workers to move safely. Additionally, reduced visibility due to rain can hinder accurate placement of the asphalt material. Wet surfaces also increase the likelihood of accidents during compaction and traffic control operations. To ensure the safety of construction workers and minimize potential hazards for road users, it is crucial to schedule hot asphalt paving during dry weather conditions. Conclusion (approx. 50 words): Hot asphalt paving is a complex process that requires favorable weather conditions for optimal results. Paving during rainy weather can compromise the adhesion, lead to an uneven surface, reduce the pavement’s longevity, and introduce safety risks. By postponing the paving process until dry weather, we can ensure long-lasting, safe, and durable road surfaces. The GMPL is, indeed, one Grand Mistake. Stay tuned. And remember, these are our tax dollars at work.

Caliche storm water from the GMPL still pooled in the the street five days after a rain storm. The looming disaster of the GMPL where ICISD is purposefully directing the stormwater runoff from a new parking lot into a city street has me thinking: what else haven't I said to ICISD and the City of Mertzon about how wrongheaded it is for government to flood itself? So, I asked ChatGPT for a little help. I'm amazed at its common sense approach to my request. Below is what I asked it, and its response, unedited by me. I did highlight a key sentence for emphasis. Request: Write me a 500 word essay on why municipalities regulate stormwater Response: Title: The Importance of Municipal Regulation of Stormwater: Preserving Our Environment and Communities Introduction (Approximately 50 words) Stormwater runoff poses significant challenges to the environment and communities alike. In recognition of this, municipalities play a crucial role in regulating stormwater management. By implementing effective measures, they aim to safeguard ecosystems, mitigate flooding risks, protect water quality, and maintain the overall well-being of their residents. Body Paragraph 1: Environmental Preservation (Approximately 100 words) Stormwater runoff can have detrimental effects on the environment, including erosion, habitat destruction, and pollution. Municipalities regulate stormwater to ensure the preservation of natural resources and ecological balance. Through strategies such as retention ponds, green infrastructure, and erosion control measures, they mitigate the adverse impacts of runoff on streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands. By doing so, municipalities help protect biodiversity, maintain water availability, and sustain healthy ecosystems that support various plant and animal species. Body Paragraph 2: Flood Control and Infrastructure Protection (Approximately 100 words) Uncontrolled stormwater runoff can result in severe flooding, which poses significant risks to communities. Municipal regulation of stormwater aims to reduce these risks by implementing appropriate infrastructure and drainage systems. By requiring stormwater management plans, municipalities ensure that new developments consider flood control measures such as retention basins, storm sewers, and culverts. These regulations help prevent property damage, protect public safety, and minimize the economic burden associated with flood-related repairs and recovery efforts. Body Paragraph 3: Water Quality Protection (Approximately 100 words) Stormwater runoff can carry pollutants, such as sediment, chemicals, and litter, which can negatively impact water quality in rivers, lakes, and groundwater sources. Municipal regulations enable the implementation of best management practices (BMPs) to reduce these contaminants. These practices include street sweeping, installation of sediment basins, and promotion of green infrastructure like rain gardens and permeable pavement. By effectively managing stormwater, municipalities safeguard drinking water supplies, enhance recreational opportunities, and maintain healthy aquatic ecosystems. Body Paragraph 4: Community Resilience and Public Health (Approximately 100 words) Municipal regulation of stormwater management contributes to community resilience and public health. By implementing regulations and policies, municipalities increase their preparedness for extreme weather events and adapt to climate change impacts. Effective stormwater management reduces the risk of waterborne diseases, improves air quality, and minimizes the potential for mosquito breeding grounds. Furthermore, well-maintained stormwater infrastructure improves the overall livability of communities, fostering a sense of pride and belonging among residents. Conclusion (Approximately 50 words) Municipal regulation of stormwater management plays a vital role in ensuring the well-being of our environment and communities. By implementing effective measures to control runoff, municipalities preserve natural resources, reduce flooding risks, protect water quality, and enhance community resilience. These regulations ultimately contribute to the overall health, sustainability, and quality of life for residents now and in the future. Word Count: 497 words

You can't make this stuff up. The school board busts the budget to build a parking lot that will flood the school. The parking lot gets flooded during construction, adding to the costs. For more, read about the May 12 flood here and the Grand Mistake here. In a November 10, 2022 email to the District's lawyers and Superintendent DeSpain and President Flores, I said this lot "will add 28,365 square feet of new impervious cover that will drain into the basin that will flood my property.  Using the standard .62 multiplier for runoff, this equates to an additional 17,586.3 gallons of rainwater per 1 inch of rain water that will potentially flood my property, as well as the District's new playground and football field." I also said in that same November 10 email "you might be aware of how the City of Austin manages Zilker Park and the masses of cars that park on grass while attending events throughout the year. No doubt hundreds of thousands of folks attend events in the park and park without a single square foot of pavement to park on. The City manages it as a green space because its parking needs are sporadic, much as the case will be when parking is needed at the District's new gym. A grass parking system will also avoid even more unnecessary flooding of the football field."

Hiking across the Grand Canyon allowed me to see what happens when our government fails to budget for clean up. In addition to the 4th Street flooding from the 3 inch rains on May 12, 2023, what I call "The Grand Mistake" can now be seen on the ICISD campus. The Grand Mistake is failing to budget the money to clean up the ecological mess you've left behind. The origins of the Grand Mistake came to me back in 2019 when I accomplished a bucket list journey of hiking across the Grand Canyon rim to rim. (If you are a hiker/camper and need inspiration, search "Grand Canyon rim to rim" on YouTube.) What the millions of people see when they stop their journey on the rims of the Grand Canyon is what appears to be one of the most pristine natural wonders of the world. What the few thousand per year of us that hike across it see, however, are the mistakes by the National Park Service where they have misjudged the force of storm water and left behind the carcass of their various failed projects to improve the park. As stunning as the the Grand Canyon is below its rims, one trekking across it will inevitably come across mangled metal bridges, exposed water pipelines, abandoned trails and campgrounds, all left behind because it is simply too expensive for the National Park Service to fully remove the projects and return the areas to leave no trace standards. The Grand Mistake is particularly pernicious with flood control because forecasting the force and direction of floodwaters is often random. There's also climate change that adds to the uncertainty. And, there's no bean counter at any level of government, national or local, who is going to put money in the budget on the front end for ecological clean up in light of that randomness. The costs of ecological restoration is always budgeted by our government after the damage to the environment, and not at the time the project is being planned. And, of course, it takes our government leaders forever and a day to admit and want to rectify mistakes, especially the mistakes of those leaders who have gone before them, so the funding of restoration on the back end is relegated to the lowest possible priority. And, in the case of ICISD whose focus is athletics, well, there's no funding at all for clean up. The policy goal of the superintendent and school board is to win, at any cost, even when they know about the ecological damage on the front end. The impact of the Grand Mistake at ICISD can be best seen visually in photos, and with this post I am creating a tag called "Grand Mistake". First up is ICISD's parking lot currently under construction at Fayette and 5th Streets (an impervious parking lot on a hill!), which was flooded on May 12, 2023 to disrepair before its completion. The project is significant because it represents the school board digging into the District's fund balance to pay for a parking lot, and so it is a visual representation of the District going over budget with the 2019 bond funds. Once concluded, the project may be in the pantheon of Grand Mistakes because the storm water runoff from the lot will not only flood a teacher residence immediately next to the lot, it will flood the recent paving of a street next door paid for by the District AND will flood the football stadium. It will also flood the City of Mertzon's right of way and street, causing plenty of erosion. All of this for a parking lot that will at best be used for a few weeks out of the year! Coincidentally, as part of this post I asked Bing's new AI chatbot what the term in economics is for not budgeting clean up expenses and it lead me to "negative externality". When I probed further for a non economics related term it said, "It could also be called being 'irresponsible' or 'inconsiderate' if its in a shared space." Yes, there's that. The Grand Mistake happens in a shared space. All of the property managed by our government is shared. Hiking up the South Rim, Bright Angel Trail, 2019

Here is some of my video posted on my Mertzon.Floods YouTube Channel of the flooding of 4th Street Flooding at Irion County ISD One reason the area is so dangerous is that it is impossible to tell how deep the water is on the street. It's a bit like black ice because of the glare from the nearby street lights. The first part of the video shows how much water is coming from City Gym. The gym runoff is also combined with the water flowing down Juanita Street. Keep in mind this area is often packed with school buses and pedestrians/students during events at the tennis courts and at City Gym. It will be particularly dangerous to folks on foot because it is impossible to tell how deep and fast the water is moving. Finally, also keep in mind that this water ultimately reaches City Park and the football stadium. And this isn't as bad as it gets...

When this wall fails the new athletic equipment approved in a late budget amendment during this board meeting is going to be under flood waters. May 8, 2023 ICISD School Board Meeting Here is my analysis and audio for this meeting: Listen to this YouTube audio clip of clean up budget amendment discussion that accounts for $98,000+ in athletic equipment that has already been purchased, is not being used, and is being kept at the stadium where it is certain to be flooded in the next flood. This audio underscores the "Spend, Spend, Spend" mentality of unquestioning board members who have no limits on their desire to spend taxpayer money on athletics and not academics. Three things to note about this audio: 1. Athletic Director Jacob Conner is present during the discussion and does not have to justify these purchases OR justify why the money has already been spent above the budgeted $5,000 budget limit; 2. Superintendent DeSpain is entirely silent during the discussion and likewise offers no excuses, and 3. When CFO Robert Helms says he doesn't know what an item being purchased is, not a single board member cares enough to seek clarification from Conner or DeSpain. This board and superintendent will spend, spend, spend on athletics, without question, even when it wrecks the budget and takes money from the fund balance. This sort of approach to education is how our community ended up with an $18 million bond package that went over budget and no classrooms were built. The board approved new officers. Maegin Carlile is now President, Ricky Rey is VP, and Ashley Hill remains Secretary. Ms. Hill's maverick 2019 solo vote against the alternate gym location at 2nd and Juanita appears to have not paid dividends for her with leadership authority, as Rey, previously without any title, leap frogged over her to become the new VP. Tony Martinez, who has never appeared at a single board meeting in the 3+ years that I have regularly attended, was sworn in as a new board member. There were several instances during the meeting, including the hiring of Region 15 to conduct a superintendent search, where it was mentioned that Superintendent DeSpain was "leaving". One mention even included that he was going to Giddings. But, as of the time of the initial posting of this entry, May 10, there was no mention on the Giddings ISD website announcing DeSpain as its new superintendent. And, DeSpain himself did not offer up a resignation or announce his new post at Giddings. May 11 update: TASB has announced that Giddings "voted to hire" DeSpain on May 4, but there is still no press from the district on the hire. During Region 15's Laura Strube's presentation on the superintendent hiring process, it became clear the Board is light on experience. Of the seven board members, only Carlile, Hill and Rey were present when DeSpain was hired in 2019. Given it was announced that they needed to fill DeSpain's shoes in July, it seems likely they will seek an interim superintendent from Region 15. Former board president Vicente Flores attended the meeting, apparently as a private citizen, and did not speak during open forum. No one spoke during open session. More updates may be posted here...

The sign on the South end of the new gym. Students: For a deeper dive into our constitution's separation of church and state, listen to Preet Bharara's Stay Tuned podcast interview of Noah Feldman entitled The Changing State of Church and State. You might also have better luck finding it on the Cafe site here. If you'll stick with me as I document my efforts since 2016 to stop the flooding by my neighbor, you might consider with me whether my interpretation in the graphic above of the sign on the South side of the new gym is sacrilegious or whether the sign itself is sacrilegious. Or, maybe it is something else? What? Don't come to a conclusion just yet. I have much to document and my Public Information Act requests are ongoing. Just consider the question for now... "The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them." Ida B. Wells-Barnett

Superintendent DeSpain's legacy will include using school funds to pave a city owned street, Juanita, that is notorious for flooding. Stay tuned for how this pavement will stand up to the flood waters. Here is the agenda for the May 8, 2023 school board meeting, with my commentary in red on the agenda. The district finally discloses at agenda item 7 that it is searching for a new superintendent.

Unregulated school district growth and community wide flooding are regretfully part of Mayor Taylor's and Superintendent Ray DeSpain's legacies. (Audio of the May 1 2023 city council meeting relating to Superintendent DeSpain and board member Chad Koonce request for the City's approval allowing ICISD to place speed bumps on City streets may be found here.) As I shook Mayor Taylor's hand at the conclusion of his last meeting as Mayor on May 1, 2023, I said to him, "Don't be a stranger. We have a lot of work to do." This is my message to all outgoing mayors, city council, members, school board members, school board, presidents and even superintendents: just because you've left office, you are not relieved from the duty and obligations of public service, especially where your service has created new problems for our community. During Mayor Taylor's term in office, my street and property flooding has increased dramatically. This means the flooding at elevations lower than mine (my neighbors, City Park and the football stadium) is also worse than ever before. Superintendent DeSpain shares the same responsibility, as his and President Flores's decisions have directly caused increased stormwater flooding from the 2019 school bond build out. Below are my comments during the open forum at the Mertzon City Council meeting , May 1, 2023: This may be the last time, Mr. Mayor, that you and Supt. DeSpain are together in the same room in a public meeting. Your term ends with the election on Saturday, and Superintendent DeSpain will be learning about his new job at Giddings ISD on Thursday. The agenda item at tonight’s meeting that brings the City and the District together is  speed bumps around the school. Speed bumps. Not street flooding, not flooding of private residences, not even the flooding of City Park and the football stadium. As you each eye the door, I would like to emphasize two things that I have been able to prove using the Public Information Act. First, in a 100 year flood - a rain of approximately 4.25 inch an hour - City Gym will be producing 1,574 gallons  of water a minute. That equals 94,482 gallons of water an hour. That’s stormwater that must enter our streets, cross my property, flood my neighbors’ property and ultimately reach City Park and the football stadium. And, this amount is only for the water coming from the roof.  There will be more caused by the sidewalks and parking lots. Second, since the City has no building codes, the District was required to comply with TEA’s administrative rules regarding building inspections.  In fact, the District entirely failed to comply with a key provision that required that they have their own independent building inspector conduct inspections during the building process.  Therefore, neither the City or the District can verify that any of the buildings built from the 2019 bonds was built according to code. So, as the City looked away, the District cut corners on safety and conducted no inspections. I will be posting my evidence of these points on my site,  Government In The Sun.  I intend the site to create a level of accountability of our government leaders that has not previously existed in our community. So, as you each discuss the pros and cons of speed bumps tonight, know that I am thinking about two things.  First, who is really in charge of our streets?  And, second, I am thinking that this is yet another missed opportunity among our leaders to deal with stormwater flooding. Speed bumps are not the critical safety issue in our streets.  Stormwater flooding  and new municipal construction codes should be your higher priority. Be good to your neighbor. Thank you.

There are plenty enough reasons to hate Opuntia, but Cowboy Hill looks spectacular with its blossoms this year. Below is the agenda for the May 1 2023 Mertzon city council meeting. Additional comments follow the agenda. This will be Mayor Taylor's last meeting as Mayor and as a member of the council. The Transportation Code section that requires an ordinance to close or abandon a street or alley is 311.008. I discuss this law in this City Gym post and this Alley Oops post. The Civil Practices and Remedies section I am referring to that prohibits adverse possession of public property is at section 16.030(b). I discuss this in my Alley Oops post. The City Council and Irion County share the language on their agendas that remarks that attack character can be called out of order, and I can find no authority supporting this language. I can also find no other examples of this language on any other public entity agenda. If you are aware of the origins of this language, please contact me.

Look closely at the picture above. The grey highlights show the approximate overlay of several Mertzon city streets. The yellow arrow represents the city owned alley that runs the distance between 5th and 4th streets. That white/silver roofed building on the right is the new gym, now called Hornet Gym. My purpose here is to show you where the new gym sits on top of 4th street and the alley. Neither 4th Street or this alley were lawfully transferred from the City of Mertzon to Irion County ISD. The citizens of Mertzon still own the land that city street and alley the gym rests on. (Might "City Gym" be a better name for the facility? I think so.) Here's why. Mayor Bill Taylor and the City Council do not have complete discretion to do what they want with our city streets. Mertzon is classified under law as a "general law" municipality, which practically speaking means that our city leaders have only the authority that the state legislature grants to the city. Here is what our legislature has said about the authority to close a street and alley: Texas Transportation Code Sec. 311.008.  CLOSING OF STREET OR ALLEY BY GENERAL-LAW MUNICIPALITY.  The governing body of a general-law municipality by ordinance may vacate, abandon, or close a street or alley of the municipality if a petition signed by all the owners of real property abutting the street or alley is submitted to the governing body. This statute says that the City Council may vacate, abandon or close a street by ordinance. Further support can be found in Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code 16.005(a)(1), which provides that the statute of limitations for challenging "passage by a governing body of an incorporated city or town of an ordinance closing and abandoning, or attempting to close and abandon, all or any part of a public street or alley in the city or town" is two years. An ordinance is, simply, municipal made law. The process for passing municipal laws is very specific. Here are examples of current ordinances from the City of Mertzon website. Mayor Taylor and the City Council did not vacate, abandon or close 4th Street with an ordinance, as required by the law above. In fact, they abandoned the street with an MOU, a Memorandum of Understanding, and an affidavit. An MOU is simply a form of agreement often used between two governmental entities. An MOU is not and ordinance and does not carry the enforceability of law like an ordinance does. The affidavit they filed also does not qualify as an ordinance. Here are the MOU and affidavit (pdf) filed by the City and Irion County ISD at the Irion County Courthouse. Keep in mind that President Vicente Flores, the school board and Superintendent Ray DeSpain have no authority over streets. Like the City of Mertzon, their authority is limited by the authorities they are granted by the Texas legislature and in the Texas Constitution. Put plainly, they have no authority in law to build a gymnasium down on a city street of their choosing. If they ever build on a street or alley lawfully, it is only allowed when agreed to by the City of Mertzon. Were President Flores, Superintendent DeSpain, the school board and Mayor Taylor and the city council aware of the requirement of an ordinance? You bet they were. I notified them in my public comments to the City Council on December 7, 2020 and January 4, 2021, before ground was broken for the new gym. Everyone with authority knew, as did the District's key agents, WBK Construction and Potter Architects, and the District's lawyers at Eichelbaum Wardell. I copied the planet with emails, including the Texas Education Agency, advising everyone that the street had not been properly closed. But, the District and its agents persisted in building anyway, apparently taking the position that they would ask for forgiveness later IF anyone cared to make a point of it. Well, I care to make a point of it. I am a taxpayer and property owner - an abutting property owner, at that. Why should YOU care? See this post about how there is NO documentation on the closure of the alley. If you are a property owner in Mertzon, you need to be aware of this. The school is going to come back in a short few years for more bond money to build more facilities, so you need to pay attention. Related Post: Pickin' a Fight. (The alternate site, approved by the school board, would have been built on property solely owned by the school district and would not have involved closing a street.)

Ground had not been broken at 4th Street and the alley on December 6,2020, the date I took this photo and the day before I told the City and District that an ordinance was required. There was time for all involved to stop and pass an ordinance. I ended this post, City Gym, mentioning that there were no documents supporting the closure of the alley that the new gym sits on. I will flesh that out a bit more here. As a reminder, this photo shows that the gym sits on part of the alley, shown by the yellow line, that initially extended the distance between 4th and 5th streets. Page 1 of this document, an agenda item request made by Superintendent Ray DeSpain to the City of Mertzon before anything was closed, shows that the District knew it needed the alley for the placement of the gym. This page also shows, however, that the actual request was for only the closure of 4th Street, not the alley. Consistent with that, page 2 of the document, the agenda item showing the City's closure, likewise is worded only to "abandon and vacate" 4th Street and makes no mention of the alley. (Note that this "abandon and vacate" language tracks the language of the statute.) And, to drive this point home, when you closely read the MOU and the affidavit what you will see is that only 4th Street was "released". There is no mention anywhere that the alley was released or closed...or abandoned and vacated. Why? One plausible answer is that the City and the District (both represented by lawyers) had decided they were never going to receive written approval required by the statute from the landowners whose property is abutting the alley. So, they chose to ignore the statute. They created a legal fiction in the MOU and release of easement, and they commenced with the build out. If they had sought written approval from the landowners, it would have brought attention to the fact that they did not have legal authority to close the alley. In other words, they chose to build now and ask for forgiveness later. (Thus, the title of this post, Alley Oops, as in "Oops! Did we violate the law?! So sorry! I guess the new gym is here to stay!") Ignoring the statute (Texas Transportation Code 311.008) was a terrible solution. First, it hyper alienated the District's next door neighbors. Second, it is not legally effective. The legal character of 4th Street and the alley are unchanged to this day. An unlawfully abandoned or vacated street and alley leave behind a street and alley still owned by the City. Their legal status and location as street and alley hasn't changed. Granted, they have a huge gym on top of them. And, in traditional property law a building is considered an attachment to the real property and owned by the property owner, so one could even argue that the City now owns that portion of the gym on top of the street and alley. ("City Gym" is what I like to call it.) In addition, it is not as if the District can claim adverse possession of the street and alley were the City Council to get wise and one day ask for the land back. Adverse possession laws do not apply to land put to a public use that is owned by our government, so the District will never be able to claim that it is theirs. (See Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code 16.030(b)). So, doing this MOU thing didn't accomplish a thing, and instead likely created some chinks in the City's and District's sovereign immunity armor. (Remember this sovereign immunity chink when I start putting up the images and videos of flooding in our community.) And, third, ignoring the statute sends a terrible message to the ICISD students. It tells young people that their school and city will sacrifice the law in order to have athletic facilities, even when those facilities flood the football stadium. (No classrooms were built with bond funds.) This is a twisted set of values to communicate to young people our community is educating! Hopefully, though, this site will whet some appetites for more sunshine among our younger citizens. (Tip of the day to any sun worshiping ICISD students: 1. there is no minimum age to attend a public meeting like a school board or city council meeting, you just can't be disruptive; and 2. there is no minimum age to send a public information request, and if you can't afford the cost you can ask to just look at the documents for free.) Can the City's MOU be challenged? I believe so, and there's no statute of limitations. The City Council's act of approving the MOU was void at the time it occurred because an ordinance is mandated by law, and there is a statute in the Local Government Code that tosses out the usual three year statute of limitations to bring an action when an act was void at the time it occurred. All Mertzon property owners need to be aware that an MOU and a release of easement affidavit are not an acceptable methods to abandon a street or alley. The City Council will be tempted to use these methods as a precedent for future actions if none of us are educated on the law. This site is about more than storm water runoff and waste of taxpayer dollars. It's also about you learning how to protect your property from government overreach. Alley Oops! Be good to your neighbor. Related post: City Gym is a must read if you want to know why an ordinance is required to close a street or alley.