County Commissioners Move Forward with Local Groundwater District
Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter
EAST TEXAS – Houston County Commissioners Court met Monday, June 30 for a special session to address the possible creation of a groundwater district for Houston County. Houston County Judge Jim Lovell was in attendance after his recent health scare, although the meeting was led by Precinct Two Commissioner Willie Kitchen, who had run the previous meeting concerning groundwater issues.
Key agenda items included the formation of a Ground Water Conservation District (GWCD) development committee, hiring legal assistance for the effort, and adjustments to an existing tax abatement agreement.
Commissioners discussed and considered the appointment of members to a Ground Water Conservation District (GWCD) Development Committee. The committee will guide the planning and implementation of water conservation initiatives in Houston County. Each commissioner, along with Judge Lovell, nominated one person to serve on the committee. Precinct One Commissioner Gary Lovell appointed Barrett Riess, Kitchen nominated Randy Pardon, Judge Lovell nominated Dr. John McCall and Precinct Three Commissioner Gene Stokes nominated Amber Stelly. Kitchen nominated Jim Gaines on behalf of Precinct Four Commissioner Jimmy Henderson, unable to attend.
The committee is tasked with looking into how to create a workable groundwater district in the county and how to best implement it. As commissioners made clear in earlier meetings, they would like for a district to be county-based, in order to not have muddled lines across several counties. They were also very clear any groundwater district would need to inventory existing wells in the county, but was not to affect existing well owners, or those using water for their personal needs on their land. The goal would be to make sure the groundwater is safe from predatory companies wishing to take the water and market it to other parts of the state.
The Court also considered the engagement of an attorney to provide legal guidance to the county during the GWCD development process. They opted to continue to work with Adam Friedman, from McElroy, Sullivan, Miller and Weber, L.P., an Austin-based firm very experienced in energy and environmental law.
“Commissioner Stokes and I have been personally in contact with Adam, and as far as I know, he’s never failed to return phone calls and he always gets back to us promptly,” Kitchen explained. “And as far as we can see so far, he’s very, very knowledgeable. You get what you pay for, and when it takes days to hear back from your attorneys, it makes it pretty hard when we have a 90 day window to work on this.”
Another item on the abbreviated agenda proposed and approved amending the tax abatement agreement involving Houston County, the City of Crockett, and A & A Capital. The correction addresses a deed related to property transfer, ensuring alignment with the original agreement and allowing the company to seek additional funding to expand their operations in Crockett.
The commissioners also reviewed a resolution to accept funding under the 2025 Help America Vote Act (HAVA) Election Security Sub-grant. Houston County Elections Administrator Cindy Lum applying for the grant would allow the county to receive over $40,000 to use for elections, from ballots to electronic support and ballot security. The county has 30 days to apply and authorized Lum to apply for the grant.
Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]
