Reprint from the Progress Times - August 24, 2007
©Progress Times 2007 - All Rights Reserved

LJWSC prepares for takeover by Agua Special Utility District

By Kathy Olivarez

The Agua Special Utility District will replace the La Joya Water Supply Corporation at the beginning of next year. Pablo Vela of Long Chilton, L. L. P., who has managed the receivership since the takeover, said board appointments are underway. While several persons have already been named to the board, others are yet pending.

Once the board has been named, the appointments have to be approved by the Texas Water Development Board, the United States Department of Agriculture and Lone Star Bank. Vela expects to have approval from all three entities by October. At that time the board will start meeting.

Members will receive a 12-hour course on governance, operations, finance, banking and plant management. This will all take place before the board takes over in January.

Vela said there were many things going on to get ready for the transfer. Of the many lawsuits against the LJWSC, only three are left to be resolved. The lawsuit between a group of ratepayers who were arbitrarily cut off from service by the LJWSC was resolved last week. The case of Maribel Ramirez vs. LJWSC was settled for $17,500 with the money being split up between the 19 defendants of the case.

Three lawsuits that are still pending include a developers' lawsuit, a lawsuit with Dannenbaum Engineers, and a lawsuit with the State of Texas over noncompliance issues.

Vela said things are moving as fast as possible. Plans had included a new water plant to be completed in August of 2008. Due to regulation delays the plant will not be complete until the end 2008.

The new water tank now under construction at Mile 7 Road and Tom Gill Road was due for completion this summer. Instead, construction has just begun and the water tower will not be ready until February or March of 2008. Vela said this was because the USDA delayed the onset due to lack of funds. The corporation was funded later than anticipated and so the project will not be ready this year.

Both of these items will be in non-compliance with the dates they were projected to be complete but both had to do with government funding so Vela feels confident that additional days to complete the projects will be granted.