It’s been ten weeks since our last post, November 4, 2020. One reason it has been so long is that an important goal for me, post-election, was to take some time to return my personal focus to hearth and home, and tackle the growing list of chores and honey-dos that accumulated in the run-up to the election. And then, of course, came the holidays —but, now, we’re back!
Lake Dunlap WCID For the Lake Dunlap WCID Board of Directors, the goal during this time has been to focus on getting the project up and running. There has not been a lot of updating to do as that unfolded, but many important pieces needed to start work have been done, such as the selection of Zachry Construction as the general contractor announced recently by the GBRA.
The WCID will manage its own communications, and early indications from WCID President, Doug Harrison, make clear that his position is that there is little or no need for continued regular communications, nor a WCID presence online, in emails, or on social media. I continue to strongly support transparency and consistent and open communications, which have been our lodestars from the earliest days of the effort, and will work to keep these values in focus for the board. I believe most board members also feel that an open line of communications is our best course.
The WCID Board, on which I am a member and the Board Secretary, is meeting on the topic of communications, Tuesday, Jan 29th. There will be more to know after that. The meeting will be virtual due to COVID, and the notice, agenda, and login info is here.
As long as COVID remains an issue, all government meetings in Texas will be virtual. I encourage interested taxpayers to attend WCID meetings when they can as the best way to stay on top of what the board is up to. By Texas law, all meetings are open to the public, and the first agenda item for every meeting provides the board a chance to hear public comments. You do not need to sign up in advance to make comments. All you need to do is to attend and declare your intent to speak when the chair asks if there are any members of the public who wish to address the board when the meeting starts.
GBRA Going forward, the main action on the dam will be managed and communicated by the GBRA, as overseeing and managing the dam reconstruction is their part of the project. The WCID will follow public announcements that come from them, and the hope is that they will keep our community informed as needed.
LakeDunlap.org With the election behind us, and the project moving into the construction phases, this site, LakeDunlap.org, is in the midst of a refresh that will reframe the site as more of an historical resource that will capture the big picture story of our community’s response to the dam failure on May 14, 2019.
We will be making posts here from time to time about things of general interest to Lake Dunlap residents, especially those on the waterfront, and plan to share public information and publicly available updates as they are available. We also intend to take pictures and video of the construction progress at least weekly. One idea we are kicking around is to continue our video series over time and invite key people to weigh in on or interpret what we will be seeing unfold down at the dam as construction progresses.
Your suggestions are important! Please let me know your thoughts via drljohnson@gmail.com or through the contact link above.
LJ