** ARCHIVED POST – LINKS AND IMAGES MAY NOT WORK**
— by Kathy McCormack
Wildflower meadow at Berry Springs Park and Preserve
Regarding the proposed Berry Creek Wastewater Pipeline project, you may be interested in hearing the City of Georgetown presentation on Dec 11, and/or attending the public hearing on Dec 18. We’ve been told that only one representative from each organization will be allowed to give public comment on Dec 18. NPSOT-Wilco is in the process of developing our three minutes of public comment – please contact Gary Bowers (via wilco-chapter@npsot.org) or Kathy McCormack (via the form at this link) if you have input for consideration.
Below is the proposed timeline for the three December meetings at the Williamson County Commissioner’s Court for discussion and possible action regarding the Berry Creek Wastewater Pipeline project (100-foot wide construction zone followed by a permanent 50-foot wide easement through the length of Berry Springs Park and Preserve).
(Note: although the date of the first meeting listed below is past, its detail is included for your awareness relative to the timeline.)
Tuesday, 12/4/2018
– Agenda item #38 to discuss and take action on setting a public hearing on Tuesday, 12/18/18 at 9:30 am in the Williamson County Commissioners Courtroom, 710 Main St, Georgetown, TX 78626.
Tuesday, 12/11/2018
– The City of Georgetown plans to attend the Commissioners Court meeting to discuss the project. There will be an opportunity for public comment (3 minutes each) at the beginning of the Court meeting as we do each week.
– Betsy Ross may also make a presentation or at least be there to discuss the concepts of restoration along the proposed alignment.
Tuesday, 12/18/2018
– If approved on 12/4/18, there will be a public hearing to start as close to 10 am as possible but not before.
– The agenda will include an action item to vote on the project alignment through the park.
** ARCHIVED POST – LINKS AND IMAGES MAY NOT WORK**
** ARCHIVED POST – LINKS AND IMAGES MAY NOT WORK**
The following letter from Robert Kamper recently appeared in the Williamson County Sun. Several members of NPSOT-Wilco felt that we should reprint it, along with a full color photo of the wildflower meadow mentioned below. Additional information from the October 4 hearing is also provided, as well as who and how to contact the parties involved:
Wildflower meadow, Berry Springs Park & Preserve
A picture, it has been said, is worth a thousand words. Here is a picture of the beautiful wildflower meadow at Berry Springs Park and Preserve. Picture in your mind’s eye that instead of that meadow, what it might look like with a trench a hundred feet wide running through it and fifty feet deep with a wastewater line running through it. Imagine it would look like an IH-35 construction zone with a toilet in the middle of it.
Although running a sewage line through the middle of Berry Springs Park and Preserve might be the cheapest, shortest, and easiest solution from an engineering point of view, it is the wrong decision from almost any other point of view. And all points of view must be taken into account.
A word in the title of Berry Springs Park and Preserve should also be taken into account: “Preserve.”
According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, the definition of a “Preserve” as a noun is “an area restricted for the protection and preservation of natural resources (such as animals or plants).” As a transitive verb, it means “to keep safe from injury, harm, or destruction : PROTECT.” In no way will a wastewater line through Berry Springs Park and Preserve reflect the meaning of that word.
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Charles Newsom, who has been active in the implementation of the interpretive plant signs found at Berry Springs, reports from the October 4, 2018 meeting to gather public input that “The last place you would want to dig a trench for a pipeline, from an engineering point of view, is in an area full of seeps and springs. For this reason alone the pipeline should not go through Berry Springs Park. One of the engineers at the meeting indicated that it is 100% likely they will hit a seep or spring while digging. When that happens it triggers a lot of extra work and expense.”
So even though it might seem like the easiest and cheapest way to go, it is likely to run over schedule, over budget, and destroy a natural resource that was intended to be a preserve.
Our Williamson County NPSOT chapter vice-president, Kathy McCormack, has provided the following information on submitting comments on this project. (You do not need to be a member of NPSOT-Wilco to make your voice heard):
If you missed the public meeting on October 4, 2018, you can still send your public comments to:
The public comment can be as simple as, “I do not approve of the proposed routes for the Berry Creek Wastewater Interceptor Pipeline near or through Berry Springs Preserve.” Include your contact information (mailing address, phone, and/or email address) if you want to be included on any future stakeholder communication.
You can also send your public comments to the Williamson County Judge and Commissioners at (all information obtained from http://www.wilco.org/Elected-Officials):
If you live in Williamson County, you can find your Commissioner at https://gis.wilco.org/maps/?viewer=countymap (click on Map Layers in the bottom left, then check the box next to Commissioner Precincts under the Administrative Boundaries heading). Note that Berry Springs Preserve is located within Precinct 3.
If you are unaware of what is about, here are some links to past publications on the subject:
