Wastewater Meeting Wednesday, December 5th

 Wastewater Meeting

Wimberley residents are invited to attend an informational meeting on Wednesday, December 5, to discuss the future possible of highly treated effluent from the City of Wimberley’s wastewater treatment plant being discharged into Deer Creek in times of extreme rainfall.  The public meeting, which will be hosted by the city, will begin at 6 p.m. at the Wimberley Community Center at 14068 Ranch Road 12.

The discharge of effluent, which would occur only as a last resort, is part of a proposal to upgrade and expand the capacity of the city’s wastewater treatment plant to provide wastewater service to central Wimberley.  Plans call for the expanded plant to use a tertiary treatment process that will produce effluent that will be reused to spray irrigate soccer fields and other recreation areas at the Blue Hole Regional Park where the plant is located.  In extremely wet times, when irrigation cannot occur and on-site effluent storage capacity does not exist, the highly treated effluent would be discharged into Deer Creek which empties into the Blanco River.

City staff, along with project consultants, will be present at the meeting to provide information on the discharge issue and answer questions from those in the audience.

Residents are encouraged to attend this meeting to learn more about what is being considered and to provide input.  If you are unable to attend and would like more information on this matter, please feel free to contact City Administrator Don Ferguson at 847-0025 or via email at dferguson@cityofwimberley.com.

Paramount Theatre and The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation present LAST CALL AT THE OASIS

Wednesday, November 28th Doors & Pre-Show Event @ 6:30pm | Show @ 7:30pm The Paramount Theatre Purchase Tickets OnlineOr (512) 474-1221 to purchase tickets by phone. *Post film panel with Robert Glennon, Professor and author of Unquenchable, Andy Sansom from the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Laura Huffman from The Nature Conservancy of Texas, and Scott Tong from Marketplace. This film event is the first of four shows in our newly launched Beautiful World Series.  The Paramount is proud to partner with The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation on this series. We look forward to sharing these events, covering current and important topics about celebrating, preserving and protecting our planet.  The pre-show lobby event includes a wine tasting, local farmer booth, Texas Rainwater Catchment Association and Austin Eco Network information & more. Firmly establishing the urgency of the global water crisis as the central issue facing our world this century, Last Call at the Oasis illuminates the vital role water plays in our lives, exposes the defects in the current system and shows communities already struggling with its ill-effects. Featuring activist Erin Brockovich, respected water experts including Peter Gleick, Jay Famiglietti and Robert Glennon and social entrepreneurs championing  revolutionary solutions, the film posits that we can manage this problem if we are willing to act now. Following the film, a panel and Q&A session featuring Robert Glennon, Andy Sansom and  Laura Huffman will be moderated by a representative from The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation. Trailer: http://youtu.be/4EtVA8b-lzw Robert Glennon Internationally Renowned Water Resource Expert, Robert Glennon is Regents’ Professor and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law and Public Policy in the Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona. Glennon is the author of the highly-acclaimed Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America’s Fresh Waters (Island Press, 2002).  His latest book, Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What To Do About It, was published in April 2009.  Glennon has been a guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Talk of the Nation with Neal Conan, The Diane Rehm Show, C-SPAN2’s Book TV, and numerous National Public Radio shows.  He is featured in the new documentary, Last Call at the Oasis. Andrew Sansom Andrew Sansom is one of Texas’ leading conservationists.  He is a former executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, executive director of the Texas Nature Conservancy, and founder of The Parks and Wildlife Foundation of Texas.  For his commitment to the management and protection of natural resources, Mr. Sansom also is a past recipient of the Chevron Conservation Award, The Chuck Yeager Award from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The Pugsley Medal from the National Park Foundation, and the Seton Award from the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.  He is a Distinguished Alumnus of Texas Tech University and Austin College. Laura Huffman As state director for The Nature Conservancy of Texas, Huffman heads a team of more than 80 scientists, conservation experts and support staff whose work affects every corner of the Lone Star State, from the Davis Mountains in West Texas, the borderlands of the Rio Grande, the East Texas Piney Woods and the coastal marshes of the Gulf of Mexico. During her tenure at the Conservancy, the organization has expanded its Barton Creek Habitat Preserve and purchased more than 38,000 acres in and around the Edward’s Aquifer, ensuring the protection of Barton Springs Pool, Austin’s favorite watering hole. Huffman’s leadership has helped secure valuable habitat for the endangered golden-cheeked warbler, safeguarded water quality at the Hill Country’s iconic Hamilton Pool and extended publicly accessible lands on the banks of the Pedernales River, just west of the city. She is one of the Conservancy's most trusted national voices and speaks regularly on an array of topics, including freshwater protection, the Gulf of Mexico, conservation easements and current pressing environmental issues. Scott TongScott Tong is a correspondent for Marketplace’s sustainability desk, with a focus on energy, environment, resources, climate, supply chain and the global economy. He services the complete portfolio of Marketplace programming and has reported on several special series including long-term U.S. job creation, U.N. climate talks in Cancun, Mexico, the Japan earthquake and tsunami, the BP oil spill one-year anniversary, and famine in the Horn of Africa. He has reported from more than a dozen countries. Tong joined Marketplace in 2004, serving most recently as the China bureau chief in Shanghai from January 2007 to July 2010. While there, he reported on a special series on the economics of one-child and the 30th anniversary of the one-child policy in China, the Beijing Olympics, the food safety scares in 2007, labor strikes, slave labor, child lead poisoning and baby-selling in China’s international adoption program. Prior to joining Marketplace, Tong worked as a producer and off-air reporter at PBS Newshour with Jim Lehrer for seven years, where he produced a special series from Iraq in 2003.. Event Parking Information Secure covered parking will be available for event patrons at the One American Center parking garage, conveniently located one block from the Paramount at 600 Congress. Your $6.00 parking pass may be purchased at the garage entrance from the parking attendant (cash only). The garage will open two hours prior to performance and will close one hour after the performance. For additional parking information, please visit our directions & parking page.

Blue Hole Regional Park continues to win awards!

The Texas Municipal League ("TML") has presented the City of Wimberley with the 2012 Municipal Excellence Award for Public Works for cities of less than 25,000 population. The award recognizes the City for the unique design and development of the Blue Hole Regional Park.

Peter Way, Director and President of Friends of Blue Hole, said that he could not be more pleased with the honor, noting that “support from the community was a key ingredient in this private-public partnership that resulted in saving a peerless natural resource from private development and exploitation.”

Blue Hole Regional Park participates in an international project (SITES)
to evaluate new systems for sustainable landscapes. 

Wimberley Mayor Bob Flocke said, "We are honored to receive this award. The Blue Hole Regional Park clearly sets a new standard for municipal park planning in the State of Texas and it’s exciting for the City to be recognized for doing so."

In 2005, the City of Wimberley embarked on a mission to save "Blue Hole" - a well known, spring-fed swimming hole - from the threat of private development and environmental degradation.  After an unprecedented public and private fund raising effort, the "Blue Hole" and approximately 126 acres of land surrounding it were purchased and developed into a regional park.  The Blue Hole Regional Park is now one of the largest pieces of natural, public land in Hays County that has been preserved and converted into a park. Blue Hole Regional Park is composed of recreational facilities that include covered pavilions, nature trails, a playground and,  of course, the iconic swimming hole. 

"The Park protects sacred Hill Country flora and fauna, water quality, and land forms through sustainable programming and design, native landscape restoration and habitat protection," said Mayor Flocke. "It's a true Texas treasure."

Mayor Flocke and other members of the Blue Hole project team accepted the prestigious TML award this week at the Texas Municipal League Annual Conference in Grapevine, Texas. TML is a voluntary association of more than 1,120 Texas cities. Its primary objective is to serve the needs and advocate the interests of Texas cities and it is the largest organization of its kind in the United States. The City of Wimberley is a TML member.

* * * *

Please make a tax deductible donation so that Friends of Blue Hole can continue work in Phase Two. Donations will be used to pay for ongoing park development, including tennis courts and other sporting venues. See Park Details for a complete list.
Three easy ways to donate:

1. Send a check to Friends of Blue Hole, PO Box 1601 Wimberley, TX 78676
2. Go to Friends of Blue Hole web site and donate by credit card.
3. Stop by The Old Mill Store and drop off a donation with Steve Klepfer, Executive Director of Friends of Blue Hole.
4. You can also help by putting your family name in the park forever. Benches start at $2,500. See LEGACY NAMING OPPORTUNITIES.

www.friendsofbluehole.org

Director and President Peter Way

Executive Director Stephen Klepfer • Directors: Jim Braniff • Curt Busk • Bob Dussler

Tevis Grinstead • Suzanne McCord • Andy Sansom • Shelton Smith • Marilee Wood

Advisory Directors: Valarie Bristol • Mayor Pro Tem Stephen Thurber