ustxtxb_obs_1972_10_06_50_00011-00000_000.pdf

kiemo -aganusi several requests, directed at Gov. Preston Smith, that the special session be opened to legislation on the subject: Sen. A. R. each proposed such consideration. THE TEXAS Water Rights Commission has also been asked to cease creating MUDs until investigations are completed. Instead, the commission approved four more districts in the last two weeks. On Sept. 12, petitions for the creation of Montgomery MUD 8 and Harris County MUD 36 received the TWRC imprimatur in a hearing postponed from Aug. 23. No public notice of the second hearing was given, since it was a continuation of an earlier meeting. On Sept. 19, the commission approved the creation of two more districts and postponed action on a third. Montgomery County MUD 15 is one of the new districts. The tract comprises some 584 acres along the west fork of the San Jacinto River, about 32 miles north of downtown Houston. The Jim West Land Development Co., owned by Mason Phillips and Marcella West, hopes to stock the area with 7000 suburbanites to foot a water, sewage and drainage bond-issue bill of $6,330,000 or so. The district will retain Burrel Rowe as its lawyer, as many Houston area MUDs do. Phillips testified that none of the five members of the, district’s board of directors, which was approved by the commission, have any financial relationship with the development company. Four of the five live in adjoining subdivisions, while one director resides within the district boundaries. The two families who make up the remainder of the district’s present population were aware of the proposed MUD-creation but did not sign the petition. The other new district is the Lost Creek MUD, a 276-acre tract just west of Austin. In a slick 45-minute presentation, representatives of the developer and the district’s engineering consultants laid out their plans for a “first-class” subdivision of about 300 homes with prices in the $40,000-100,000 range. Plans to include parklands, a golf course and protection of two miles of Barton Creek “forever” were stressed. James E. Crozier, a vice president of the Mutual Savings Institution, outlined the relations of developer to board of directors in the new district. Ownership of the development company, Lost Creek Developers, is split among Edward R. Rathgeber, Jr., an Austin developer \(25 per centY, Terry Dill, a professional golfer \(25 subsidiary of Mutual Savings. Mutual Savings holds the mortgage on the land. The board of directors will have the following members: Rathgeber, Dill, Crozier, James 0. Gurst, president of Mutual Savings, and Jack R. Taylor, a Mutual Savings vice president. None of the directors lives in the district, though all own land there. THE COMMISSION postponed consideration of a petition to create Davis Bayou MUD in Liberty County. The proposed district would contain 2064.5 acres and is located 45 miles northeast of Houston. Commission members expressed doubt that Houston residents would flock to the area. They also seemed dissatisfied with the district’s technical plans. If approved, the MUD would issue some $6,500,000 in bonds to pay for water supply system and septic-tank construction: the cost of open-ditch drainage construction would not be included. There were sharp questions about the adequacy of septic tanks, especially in light of the small lots planned for the subdivision. Further hearings were scheduled for Oct. 3. One of the new districts approved by the commission in .late August, Travis County MUD 1, is moving its development right along. Voters there passed a bond issue of almost 39.4 million dollars on Sept. 21. They also confirmed the district’s formation and elected a board of directors, only two of whom work for the developer. About ten per cent of the bond revenue is for recreational improvements; the rest will be used for water and sewer facilities in the 4800-acre district. The Houston Post that in one MUD north of the city residents have taken control of their district and made it a “means of autonomy”. A resident-run board of directors has replaced all of the original personnel, down to lawyers and engineers, chosen by the developer, encouraged attendance at its meetings and begun to make its own plans for future development in the subdivision. A school, a fire station, commercial zones, parks, a drive-in movie theater and a sewage treatment plant to be built in cooperation with neighboring districts are all being considered. “It functions like a small town,” said board president Cecil Allen. “Everyone knows what’s happening. If we do something that doesn’t set well, then the people will elect someone else and get it going the way they want it.” J.F. z ‘ Since 1866 The Place in Austin GOOD FOOD GOOD BEER, 1607 San Jacinto 477-4171 October 6, 1972 11 MARTIN ELFA NT Sun Life of Canada 1001 Century Building Houston, Texas CA 4-0686 CLASSIFIED BOOKPLATES. Free catalog. Many beautiful designs. Special designing too. Address: BOOKPLATES, P.O. Box 28-1, Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387. MARJORIE ANNE DELAFIELD Typing Service: Theses, dissertations, manuscripts, reports, etc. I.B.M. Selectric II typewriters, multiiithing, mimeographing, addressing envelopes. Public Notary. 25 years experience. Call 442-7008, Austin. WE SELL THE BEST SOUND. Yamaha pianos, guitars; Moeck-Kung-Aulus recorders; harmonicas, kalimbas and other exotic instruments. Amster Music, 1624 Lavaca, Austin. 478-7331. THURSDAY DISCUSSION GROUP meets at noon weekly at the YMCA, 605 North Ervay in Dallas. No dues. Everyone welcome. CENTRAL TEXAS ACLU luncheon meeting. Spanish Village, 802 Red River, second Monday of each month. From noon. All welcome. FAR OUT in the country Greenbriar School offers an alternative to public school for your child aged 5-17. Non-coercive, friendly atmosphere, open curriculum, dedicated staff. Non-boarding. 453-8939, 454-2293 in Austin. RAMSEY MUNIZ FOR GOVERNOR: Raza Unida Party campaign materials for sale. Box 271, Crystal City 78839. MAKE AMERICA HAPPEN AGAIN … McGOVERN button serially numbered: $3, 2/$5. Other items, 3/$1. Special photo button, $1. Mobile, $2. Proceeds to campaign. McGovern Committee, PO Box 472, Vermillion, SD 57069. CABLE REPORT. Cable television could be a spy in your bedroom. It may also allow you to shop from your living room. We are the only people reporting on the development of this industry from the citizen’s perspective. $7 per year. 192 North Clark Street, Room 607, Chicago, Illinois 60601. Two samples, $1. $1000 REWARD for return of gray female deer-type Chihuahua. Lost between Villa Capri Motel and LBJ Library in Austin Sept. 4. No questions asked. 713/468-2236 or 465-1225.