Marfa
On Tuesday, the Marfa City Council approved a new water surcharge intended to pay off debt for infrastructure improvements near Fort D.A. Russell and the East Heights section of the city.
Water and wastewater customers will now be charged $4.44 per connection per month to pay Presidio County, which took out a loan from the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) for its participation in the Economically Distressed Areas Program (EDAP). Of $4.6 million the county was awarded from the TWDB through the EDAP program, roughly $3 million is in the form of a grant while the remaining sum, $1.6 million, is in the form of a loan.
The county will assume ownership of the infrastructure being constructed near Fort D.A. Russell and East Heights, and then ownership reverts back to the city after the loan is paid.
The Marfa components of the EDAP grant are a new sewer system for the Fort D.A. Russell area and a new water and wastewater system for East Heights in Marfa, under El Paso Street from the west end of the neighborhood to the Tumble In RV Park. Additional county projects not paid for by the surcharge include planning, acquisition and design of new water systems for Las Pampas and Shafter.
City legal counsel Teresa Todd told the counsel that the D.A. Russell improvements were required. “Four years ago, TCEQ declared that area a public nuisance and mandated that we do this,” she said.
Trey Gerfers, general manager of the Presidio Underground Water Conservation District, is helping manage the EDAP project. He said he plans to give a comprehensive update on the status of all the projects at a December 10 Commissioners Court Meeting. He also plans a written update in his Big Bend Sentinel column, Our Water Matters, soon. Gerfers noted that the D.A. Russell and Heights projects are done with pre-design, closing in on finalizing environmental assessments and will then move to a final design phase. The city and county would need additional funds—such as new, future grants from the Texas Water Development Board to complete all the projects.
The council also came to an agreement on how much to pay Marfa Police Department’s K-9 unit—Officer Kelsey Flores and her dog Roski—in a stipend in addition to her salary. The council agreed on $360 net (after taxes and withholding) a month, which she can use to cover travel expenses for required monthly training as well as food and other equipment.
Big Bend Sentinel has requested police records on Roski’s use in drug detection, but the department is still working on computer searches to meet that request.
The council also approved its 2026 street improvement plans, not to exceed $3 million. Slated for repairs are: Summer Street from Columbia to South Lincoln; Washington Street from Summer to Gonzalez; Murphy Street from Summer to Gonzales; Highland Avenue from Washington to 1st (both east and west); Murphy Street from Austin to Russell; 1st Street from Austin to Dean; East Columbia Street from Dean to Russell; Abbott Street from El Paso to San Antonio; El Paso Street from Kelly to Austin (and maybe Highland Avenue).
“We’re going for the ones that are really, really far gone,” Mayor Manny Baeza told the council. “We looked at the routes that people use … .there are other roads we could tackle, but we wanted to think about where people are going.”