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Cans in the lower San Marcos River on Sept. 16. Tom Goynes photo

Can ban drive begins in chaos

Martindale City Council
Thursday, October 4, 2018

Protection of the San Marcos River is a subject likely to evoke passionate responses, as was the case at a Martindale City Council workshop on Tuesday.

The council discussed river cleanup efforts, including the formation of a river committee comprising residents or property owners in Martindale and in its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ). Council member Mike McClabb voiced his displeasure that the workshop was not devoted to discussion of a can ban in light of a state supreme court decision last Friday denying a petition challenging the New Braunfels can ban ordinance. He also said he expected comments from the public, which were not allowed during the workshop.

“We’ve got people in the audience and they want to speak,” he said. “ … I told these people, my constituents that voted for me, that I want a workshop.”

Mayor Kim Smith said that the purpose of the workshop was for the council to discuss policy, and the subject of river cleanup opens the discussion up to more than just the can ban.

“I respect your passion,” council member Lisa Shell Allan told McClabb. “ … I don’t know about the rest of my fellow council members, and mayor, however I am fully aware of the position of your constituents, which are our constituents also … I’m pretty sure I’m clear on how important this is.”

Council member Mary Paul suggested that members of the public could be allowed to speak after the workshop; the agenda for the council’s regular meeting, which followed the workshop, included a public comment period. 

McClabb pointed out that a can ban ordinance for Martindale has already been written, but council tabled it to wait on a court decision.

“I want a can ban,” he said. “I want a can ban like it was written.”

“And how do you proceed with that financially?” Smith asked.

“Well, what do you mean financially?” McClabb responded. “We’ve already got the ordinance written.”

“How do you get the funds to enforce it?” the mayor asked. “You’re going to put people out in the ETJ, right?”

McClabb then asked if an attorney should be present for the discussion.

“Shouldn’t we have attorneys talking about this?” he asked. “I think I need an attorney. I really do think I need an attorney. I feel like I have a protest here.”

McClabb called the New Braunfels can ban “the only thing that has ever worked in 30 years around here.”

“What in the world do y’all have against the can ban?” he asked.

Smith brought up the point that New Braunfels does not enforce the can ban in its ETJ, which is something Martindale has considered doing. Council member Jan Bunker suggested amending the draft Martindale ordinance so that it is only in effect within city limits. 

“Then we still go back to enforcement,” Smith said.

“How do we enforce the speed limit?” Paul asked. 

Smith mentioned the expenses of enacting a can ban. Martindale Police Chief Harry Juergens said that first, “No officer is going to patrol by himself,” meaning there would have to be two officers on the river. Those officers would need swift water training and equipment such as water-resistant radios and personal floatation devices, he said. Paul suggested using reserve officers and asking organizations to help defray the costs of signs and kayaks.

Moreover, Juergens explained, if he wrote a ticket within the ETJ, it would go to a court that would kick the ticket back to the Martindale Municipal Court, which would not be able to do anything with the ticket because it was written outside the city limits. 

Enacting a can ban within the city limits would help protect Martindale from future problems, McClabb said. Juergens said that a can ban within the city limits would affect a stretch of river from the second house in River Bend Estates to south of the Farm-to-Market Road 1979 bridge. 

Smith then asked, “If we do this … we have people who live on the river who like to take a can of beer down there, so we’re talking about our citizens -- we’re not talking about people who come here. … Would we want to put this to a citywide vote?”

McClabb responded, “We have the ordinance. … This is a tabled item. This is a tabled item that y’all tabled. It was never voted on.”

Smith repeated, “My question was, do you feel like it should be a citywide vote?”

McClabb said, “No. It’s a tabled item. It’s a tabled item. It has nothing to do with a city vote.”

Bunker called for public involvement in river protection and conservation efforts.

“If we get a committee to do a lot of these things, we’re going to get a lot of these people out here involved,” she said.

“Let them be involved,” council member Sonja Villalobos said. “That’s why I was trying to form the river committee. … To do this collectively, as a whole body, it should be a committee that comes together to do it. And if these are the people that are on the committee, I would hope so, because it would come from a variety of people.”

Villalobos said she is waiting for council to pass an ordinance that creates the river committee.

City Attorney Kent Wymore weighed in on the discussion and said he would like to discuss potential consequences of a can ban with city council in executive session. 

“There are potentials for claims … and I don’t want to highlight those issues,” he said.

San Marcos Record

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