ALPINE — A city citation charge against an Alpine taxidermist shop for not having a grease trap was dismissed by a prosecutor on February 4 after it was clear to city officials that the business was closed and its building is listed for sale.
“Since the property is for sale, there is no longer going to be a compliance issue because the business will no longer be operating,” City of Alpine Secretary Geo Calderon wrote in an email. Alpine Municipal Court records confirmed the dismissal with two stated reasons: “In the interest of justice” and “Other: property subject to sale.”
The Hip-O case ignited controversy in Alpine in November after some residents accused city officials of government “overreach” for their continued assertion that the shop needed to follow city code and install a grease trap because it processed meat. For then-head of Alpine building services, Robert Rückes, the issue was clear: follow the ordinance, which states that if you discharge grease or oil as a business — without quantifying how much — you need a trap. (Rückes resigned in early December and is now running for City Council in the May 3 election.)
Hip-O’s owner, Howard Parsons, objected and after several months of tense discussion with city officials, he elected to go to trial to fight the $500 citation from Rückes. He then also decided to shut down after Hip-O’s 15 years in business. “Due to the actions taken by the City of Alpine restricting our ability to operate our business, we will be closing shop,” he posted on Facebook in November. Many Facebook users commented that it could significantly impact Alpine-area hunters, because there are no other nearby options for processing game. Parsons told The Big Bend Sentinel at the time that he would likely close for good in early December after they finished final mounting projects already underway.
According to a letter from Parsons’ attorney to the city, the key to their defense was that Hip-O is on East Highway 90 on an annexed piece of land with no city water or sewer service. Thus, whatever they were putting down their small sink would go to a septic tank and not hurt the city’s water system. (Grease will clump and clog city wastewater lines without a trap to capture it.)
However, Rückes told The Sentinel in November that when septic tanks are pumped, the water and solids are taken to the city water treatment plant. So, any grease collected from the tanks will end up in the water treatment system, which is in continual need of maintenance and repair, he said.
Parsons said in November that he had never had the septic tank pumped. It’s unclear if that meant since he bought the business in the summer of 2021 or in the 15 years the business had been running.
On Monday, Hip-O employee Sam Cook said he’s still angry about the city’s actions and the shop’s closure — which is now complete — because he loved his job. “I’m 65 years old and I just got laid off from a job,” he said. “I’ve never been laid off or fired or anything like that in my whole life.”
Cook’s account of the case dismissal is different. He said a representative from the Texas Attorney General’s Office came to Alpine to look at the city’s case and said it was “unconstitutional and illegal.” “They come down here and they’re like, ‘My God, what are you doing?’ Everything you’ve done is against the law. You can’t treat people like that,” Cook said. Parsons would be pursuing a lawsuit over attorney fees, he added.
Parsons did not return requests for comment on the dismissal, whether the Attorney General’s Office was involved and whether he planned to sue.
City Secretary Calderon said in an email, “The city has not spoken with anyone from the Attorney General’s Office regarding this matter.”
“The city plans on enforcing our current code regarding grease traps in annexed areas,” he added.