Reservoir Support Hits Another Snag

GRAND SALINE—City council members opted to table action Tuesday on the city of Canton’s request for petition support for a new water reservoir.

It is the second such delay for the city of Canton in gaining another governmental body’s support for the project in less than a month. In October, Van Zandt County Commissioners took no action on a similar request amid protests from a group opposed to one possible location for the lake north of Interstate 20 and south of Fruitvale.

The Grand Saline City Council decided it needed to hear more about the plan before throwing its weight behind it.

City administrator Stephen Ashley said he had spoken to Canton City Manager Andy McCuiston about the issue, which Canton plans to present to the Texas Water Development Board’s Region D Planning Group for inclusion in its next regional water plan.

However, council member Joy Caldwell noted some of the grumblings that have been heard.

"My understanding is they (Canton) are considering land in the Mill Creek area," she said. "It’s going to mean water backing up on some people’s property and they are not happy about the situation."

"I guess if I had land in my family for 100 years, I wouldn’t want to give it up, either," she added.

Council member Don Latham added that he had a hard time automatically supporting the resolution.

"It seems like it is doing no favor to us (city of Grand Saline), and we are not getting anything out of it," he said.

Ashley said he would contact McCuiston and Canton Mayor Rusty Wilson for a possible further discussion with the city council about the reservoir plan. The city of Canton has obtained the support of the city of Edgewood on the mater.

Also Tuesday, the council approved submission of a grant application for the Records Management System to the Office of the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division.

Ashley explained the grant request for $35,000, if awarded, would enable the city to purchase equipment for the COPsync information system.

Grand Saline Police Chief Larry Compton said the system would carry a $9.95 per month per officer fee for the first five years.

"After that, it could go up but we could possibly get other grants to offset that," he said. Aircards for wireless information sharing in police vehicles would also be a required purchase.

However, the instant information sharing with other law enforcement agencies on the COPsync system could prove invaluable, Compton explained.

"Let’s say a vehicle is stopped in Terrell. They enter that information and we will know about it…It could be a big help in many ways, all-points bulletins or Amber Alerts, things like that," he said.

Ashley mentioned the system’s usefulness in drug interdiction work, noting, "It maybe would make the lesser highways like (U.S.) 80 less desirable in drug trafficking."

In other matters, the council took the following action:

— Approved a resolution casting the city’s 67 votes to Ed Bailey for appointment to the Van Zandt County Appraisal District Board of Directors.

— Approved a resolution to pursue all Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant funding made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and being allocated by the State Energy Conservation Office to be used to assist the city’s goals of energy efficiency.

— Approved a resolution of continued support for the Van Zandt County Emergency Services District No. 2, urging the Van Zandt County Commissioners’ Court to reappoint any of the ESD directors who desire to serve on the board again.