Karnes Co. TX - NEWS - March 2005 This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Kimm Antell Copyright. All rights reserved. http://files.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ************************************************ March 5, 2005 Karnes Chamber's Casino Night is tonight KARNES CITY - High-rollers should head to Panna Maria Hall tonight, when the Karnes City Chamber of Commerce hosts Casino Night in conjunction with its annual awards banquet from 6 to 10 p.m. Tickets are $15 and will be available at the door. The tickets can be redeemed for a chip to play at game tables that include roulette, black jack or craps. Banquet-goers can cash in their pretend winnings later in the evening for a chance to win a trip to Las Vegas. A raffle ticket will cost $5,000 in pretend casino cash. The entertainment is provided through a professional group from Austin, said chamber executive director Maggie Meeks Hunt. The evening also includes a buffet of finger foods. Award for the business of the year, organization of the year and citizen of the year will also be presented. ************************************************ March 11, 2005 2 Karnes cities consider sharing wastewater costs ROBIN M. FOSTER Victoria Advocate KARNES CITY - Karnes City and Kenedy officials are trying to decide if it is economically feasible to combine their wastewater treatment costs under one roof. Advertisement In a special meeting Monday, the Karnes City Council approved a memorandum of understanding to begin researching the idea. Kenedy City Council approved a similar agreement at its regular meeting Tuesday. Karnes City Secretary/Administrator Chad Smith said the two cities had considered combining their wastewater services before, but talks fell off. Now that Kenedy is preparing to improve its wastewater treatment plant and Karnes City needs to build a new one, city officials have resumed the discussions, he said. Karnes City is under an enforcement order from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality because its wastewater treatment system no longer complies with state standards. City officials were thinking of building a new wastewater treatment plant but have agreed to resume talks with the city of Kenedy instead, Smith said. Kenedy is in the planning stages to increase capacity of its wastewater treatment plant from 900,000 gallons to 1.5 million gallons, City Administrator/Secretary Loretta Thiele said. If Karnes City joins in the project, treatment capacity could be increased even more, to 2 million gallons per day, she said. Kenedy City Council agreed to hire CMA engineers to begin work on the expansion, she said. Smith said the two communities may be able to obtain more grant assistance for wastewater facilities by working together. State agencies tend to look more favorably on regional projects, he noted. Both communities use the same grant writer, and both also contract with Veolia Water North America Operating Services to operate their water and wastewater facilities, he said. According to Smith, Kenedy provides wastewater service to Kaiser Memorial Hospital on U.S. Highway 181 between the two communities. Most likely, Karnes City would only have to take a wastewater line to that point and possibly add a lift station, he said. Once the two systems were joined, Karnes City could send its wastewater to Kenedy's treatment plant. Karnes City would share in the cost to upgrade Kenedy's treatment plant to handle the extra wastewater. Future operational costs also would be shared based on volume, he said. "It's something we're very excited about," Thiele said. "We're going forward with an expansion anyway, but this gets the two communities together." Preliminary figures indicate that Karnes City's wastewater would be 28-29 percent of the total volume treated at a combined facility in Kenedy, Smith said. That would be the figure used to determine Karnes City's cost for the project, if the two cities determine it is practically and economically feasible. "I've watched how Kenedy has figured how we'd pay for service, and I feel comfortable that it's being done in a manner that's fair to Karnes City," Smith said. Without a combined project, Karnes City officials believe a new treatment plant for its wastewater customers would cost at least $4.2 million. With grant aid for half, the city would have to finance the other half. Karnes City Mayor Don Tymrak said in December that repaying a $2.1 million loan would mean a $7.50 per month increase in sewer rates. Smith believes the combined project with Kenedy could be cheaper in the long run. "Conventional wisdom is that the economy of scale will benefit both communities," he said. Robin M. Foster is a reporter for the Advocate Contact her at 361- 275-6319 or cueroadv@vicad.com.