SAN MARCOS CITY COUNCIL
Cape’s Dam has been a controversial topic with San Marcos citizens split between removal and rebuilding of the structure. The San Marcos City Council unanimously approved a $340,000 feasibility study that would determine whether the dam could be rebuilt at Tuesday’s regularly scheduled meeting. When discussing whether they would like the dam rebuilt or removed, four of them clearly expressed that they would like the dam rebuilt, two of them said they would like it removed and one preferred a compromise.
Two citizens spoke in public comment in support of rebuilding Cape’s Dam. One of them was Breanna Campbell, who grew up across from Cape’s Dam, and said that removing the dam and letting the mill race dry out would kill aquatic life.
“Right now, it’s dangerous because we’ve neglected it,” she said.
San Marcos Parks and Recreation Director Jamie Lee Case said the first phase in the city of San Marcos’ and Hays County’s interlocal agreement related to Cape’s Dam was to conduct a feasibility study to deter- mine if the dam could be rebuilt.
San Marcos City Council Member Shane Scott asked why the city can’t just spend money to fix the dam instead of spending it on the study.
Case said that it would cost a lot more to fix the dam.
San Marcos City Council Member Matthew Mendoza asked who owned the dam.
San Marcos City Attorney Samuel Aguirre said it was the San Marcos River Foundation along with the city of San Marcos, which “complicates the matter.”
Scott said “if we’re legally responsible and something happens, aren’t they responsible too?” He clarified that he was talking about SMRF and if someone was injured at the dam.
Aguirre said it is a structure that was put on private property at one point, and the land was gifted to the city with that structure attached, which could lessen liability. He said Parks and Recreation and other governmental entities have some immunities that can be applied on recreational properties, but that doesn’t protect them completely.
San Marcos City Council Member Saul Gonzales pointed out that SMRF has publicly stated they will not rebuild the dam, and it cannot be done without their consent.
San Marcos City Council Member Lorenzo Gonzalez was unsure of the need for a feasibility study without a goal in mind. He would rather know that the council does want to rebuild the dam before spending that money.
“I think we need to … have an end goal,” Gonzalez said. “To use this example, if our stance is that we would like to repair it if it’s feasible, then I can be spending money on a feasibility study to see if what we want to do is feasible. But without having a goal in mind, I don’t see what we’re doing.”
Case said at least one Hays County Commissioner said they are willing to vote for rehabilitation of the dam when it comes before the court. San Marcos Mayor Jane Hughson asked when that was, to which Case replied 2021.
Scott said he wanted to rehabilitate it as did Mendoza, Gonzalez and San Marcos City Council Member Alyssa Garza.
Scott said he would like it to be built up similar to Rio Vista. Mendoza said he would also be interested in rehabilitation unless it was found to be unsafe. Garza said she was in favor of rehabilitation to preserve the mill race.
San Marcos City Council Member Amanda Rodriguez wanted to remove the dam as did Gonzales.
Gonzales said he was in favor of removal due to the safety concerns.
Rodriguez said she wanted to remove the dam because she wasn’t interested in creating new recreational opportunities, particularly with the lack of funding in other areas that she feels are needed.
“There’s so many projects that this money could go toward,” Rodriguez said.
Case said there is $500,000 put aside for this project, including $340,000 for the study and $160,000 for safety improvements. She said there are metal rail ties underneath the water that were used to repair the dam at one point, and they will need to be removed for safety reasons. When asked by Gonzales if the dam was a safety issue, Case responded that “it’s a significant safety issue.”
Hughson said she suggested a compromise years ago but none of the council was interested at the time.
“I tried to come up with a compromise because they were talking about the benefit to the endangered species of taking it out because we need flow through there,” Hughson said. “What I tried to come up with was … you put the dam here, you do what you need to do here, but there’s a weir, [which is a structure that slows water flow but still allows it], on the other side [where the mill race is]. So there’s some water flowing through, and nobody liked that idea.”
The council expressed interest in exploring that idea this time around.
Case said the results of the feasibility study will be available in ten months.
Regardless of the council’s stances on removal or rehabilitation, each voted in favor of the study.
