Title
Consider recommendation from the Aquifer Management Planning Committee to approve an interlocal cooperation contract with the City of San Antonio for services associated with the City’s Edwards Aquifer Protection Program.
Body
RECOMMENDED MOTION:
Move the board approve an interlocal cooperation contract between the EAA and the City of San Antonio for services associated with the City’s Edwards Aquifer Protection Program for the period October 1, 2016, through September 30, 2021.
SUMMARY:
The purpose of this agenda item is for the board to consider an Aquifer Management Planning Committee recommendation to approve an interlocal contract with the City of San Antonio (“City”) delineating the EAA’s role in support of the City’s Edwards Aquifer Protection Program (“EAPP”).
The City’s EAPP program began with San Antonio residents’ approval of a sales tax proposition in 2000, which funded the acquisition of land on the recharge zone in Bexar County to protect it from development. Voters approved similar measures in 2005, 2010, and in 2015, that authorized the City to purchase conservation easements (in addition to fee simple purchases) and expanded the purchase area to include the contributing and recharge zones outside of Bexar County.
In an interlocal contract executed in 2008, the City delegated to the EAA certain functions associated with the EAPP. Specifically, the EAA agreed to perform the initial geologic assessments of potential properties to determine whether preserving those properties was beneficial to the City, and easement inspections in perpetuity on properties that were acquired.
At the time of the 2008 interlocal contract, the City had protected 28,000 acres. To date, acreage has grown to about 140,000 acres. As the EAPP has grown, demands on EAA staff have increased significantly. The new interlocal contract, which is attached to this summary and which has been reviewed by legal counsel, remains essentially the same as the 2008 or...
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