by Marlys Hersey
Editor
May marked a partial changing of the guard for Alpine’s city government. New Mayor Jerry Johnson was sworn in and new city council member Johanna Nelson replaced Annabel Holguin as representative for Ward 2. Manuel Payne won re-election in Ward 4.
In her farewell speech to the council and other citizens present at City Hall on May 14, outgoing Mayor Mickey Clouse cited many positive changes during her 6-year tenure, including the establishment of many new businesses in all parts of town, and notable improvements to the water system: “For the first time in the southeast part of town, people can shower without wondering if the pressure will go out.” (Improvements to the system on the south side are continuing, noted City Manager Chuy Garcia in his report to the council on May 20, with “another major tie-in” between 7th & 11th Street next up.)
Clouse also highlighted the ongoing Alpine Creek Project, planned airport improvements, and the “dedicated and hard-working” city employees. Further, Clouse reiterated what she told a Houston interviewer – that ultimately what makes Alpine such a great place is the “friendly people.”
New city councilperson Johanna Nelson, a spearhead of the local grassroots organization the ReViva Collective, was exuberant about her new role: “I’m extremely eager to get started. I can’t express how impatient I am…to move forward.”
Incumbent Manuel Payne’s only statement upon being re-seated was directed to new council member Nelson: “Welcome!”
With the new council seated (and former Mayor Clouse in attendance as citizen), the May 20 meeting was dominated by an update on the “Solid Waste Project” by Grant Jackson of Naismith Engineering, Inc., who shared the latest findings from a study, to be completed this August, to help “recommend to you a menu of options available” for when Alpine’s landfill reaches its maximum holding capacity.
Currently, Alpine’s landfill, owned by Texas Disposal Systems (TDS), is regulated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), as an “arid-exempt” landfill, to accept fewer than 20 tons of garbage per day (Think about that amount of garbage generated every day!) – ditto for “brush,” a separate category of waste.
In 2007, “solid waste” in Alpine’s landfill totaled 5,443 tons; with 6162 persons, that amounts to an average of 5.48 pounds of solid waste generated per person, per day, costing $690,000, or $124.73 per ton.
It’s projected that at current rates of waste generation, the landfill will exceed its daily limit by 2011-2012, forcing the city to consider alternatives, all of which have drawbacks. The “menu of options” includes:
1. Transport excess waste to another facility – to Odessa (143 miles) or to El Paso (198 miles). Drawbacks to this approach include cost – the burgeoning price of gasoline, wear and tear on transport vehicle(s), staff required to drive the vehicle, and “tipping fees” charged by the receiving facility.
2. Implement “aggressive” recycling program. Will costs to implement and run an enhanced program outweigh how much city will pay if same material instead goes into landfill?
3. Build a transfer station, to put excess waste into a vehicle better equipped for hauling across even longer distances than to Odessa or El Paso. Cost of building the transfer station alone is estimated at $1.5 million.
4. Upgrade current landfill. A “Type 1” landfill has many fewer restrictions than our current “arid exempt” one but carries with it significantly higher costs for intial construction – and a site must be found that is: at least 6 miles from the airport, outside the 100-year floodplain, outside of wetlands, at least 1/2 mile from known faults, isolated from underground aquifers, and away from seismic impact zones. Given those restrictions, “a tiny corner [of Brewster Co.] near Terrell County is the only place suitable,” noted Jackson. Hence, this option is “not feasible,” he concluded – and is also the most expensive option, at $127.31/ton.
5. Construct another arid exempt landfill.
Moreover, 73% of the waste that goes into the landfill is from Alpine; additional garbage comes from other parts of Brewster County, Marfa, Fort Davis/Jeff Davis County, Van Horn, Sanderson, and Presidio County – prompting councilman Dr. Avinash Rangra (Ward 2) to ask, “Are the people of Alpine subsidizing these other cities?”
“TDS charges the cities, and then a portion of that is given back to Alpine,” explained Jackson. “Ostensibly, the payment covers the cost of the landfill space [used by those other cities] and provides some incentive.”
A meeting of the solid waste steering committee was scheduled for the following day to address the issue in greater detail, with Jackson on hand.
Other highlights of the meeting stemmed from City Manager Chuy Garcia’s report: the municipal pool is scheduled to re-open the second week of June, following major renovations. Contracts for airport improvements are going out for bids. Plans to pave Murphy Street from S 2nd St to Hwy 118 are pending easements from Union Pacific Railroad. There’s a “good chance” that the city will be awarded an additional $100k to create a park in Alpine Creek, also pending easements obtained from private property owners.
TDS is “sending crews out of Austin to set up bailers” for a permanent recycling center on the south side of town. “We’re done with our part,” emphasized Garcia. “We’ll have a recycling center in the near future.”
Further, Councilman Rangra proposed a workshop to be attended by “the mayor, the city manager, the city attorney, all council members, the heads of various departments,” to learn the ins and outs of the Texas Open Meetings Act.
Finally, Rangra suggested “Maybe council should find someone to fix the sound problem?” Citizens (and this reporter) in attendance – including former Mayor Clouse – were challenged/annoyed by the grossly inadequate sound system which prevented us from hearing much of what was being discussed at this public meeting.
“I’d like to resolve that,” said Rangra. “We’d like you to know what we’re mumbling about. A lot of people are watching what we say….I hear from some that this is the most interesting event in Alpine.”
Alpine’s new city council at first full meeting May 20 (L to R): Avinash Rangra, Ward 1; Johanna Nelson, Ward 2; Mayor Jerry Johnson; Gerald Raun, Ward 3; Manuel Payne,Ward 4; Diana Asgeirsson, Ward 5. (Marlys Hersey, photo)
