City Council opts against new Cape's Dam study, favors county partnership

The San Marcos City Council directed staff to explore a partnership with Hays County regarding Cape's Dam in a work session Tuesday, rather than pursue an additional study. 

The work session was convened to give staff feedback on a requested plan for another environmental study of the river and millrace, but ended with a 4-3 majority opting not to spend city funds on an additional study and explore partnering with the county to repair the dam. 

While city council did not expressly indicate they wanted to repair or remove the dam, the parks department made clear that Hays County was only interested in partnering in a repair or rehabilitation option for the dam. 

Mayor Jane Hughson and Councilmembers Ed Mihalkanin, Joca Marquez and Saul Gonzalez were in agreement not to conduct another study to avoid wasting city resources and instead to see about working with the county and learn from possible studies and plans they may have to conduct for their pond and park project. They were also all in agreement to repair the dam. 

Hughson suggested directing staff to talk to the county and get more information on their projects and what they are going to have to do to implement their project before moving forward.

“I appreciate that staff is looking at safety. As we have all noted, whatever way we go is going to take a while, we need to make sure that route is as safe as we can make it,” Hughson said. “I am concerned about the science, I was trying to blend solving the issues to keep the river healthy while keeping some recreation advantages. At this point I really want to see what the county has to offer.”

The potential East Side Park and Hays County Cape's Pond Project focuses on connectivity and recreation and does not currently address the dam. 

Gonzalez and Mihalkanin expressed they were in support of public safety and not drawing the process out with another study, while Marquez advocated for connectivity and recreation for the residents of the east side of the county. 

Councilmembers Mark Rockeymoore and Maxfield Baker also did not want to conduct another study because they felt the previous study and other scientific evidence sufficiently showed removal of the dam was what was best for the future of the river. 

“I’m in favor of public safety. Are we aware that rebuilding the dam is going to cost millions of dollars during COVID-19? It's not going to cost the same to rebuild as to get rid of it,” Rockeymoore said. “If you're not going to follow the science you are just following public perception and community misinformation.”

They suggested if the council was not going to follow the recommendations of the first scientific study or conduct a confirmatory scientific study as staff proposed during the work session, they should leave it to public opinion by conducting a community engagement project instead.

Councilmember Melissa Derrick wanted to hire someone to review the first study as well as conduct a public engagement project. In favor of the health of the river, she said, “The park is going to be accessible much sooner if we just remove the dam and can likely prevent gentrification of that area.”

Brain Olson, Save the SMTX River campaign coordinator, said, “I was very pleased to see progress finally made during the workshop to move forward with discussions regarding renovating Cape's Dam while providing a great river park that all citizens will be able to enjoy. ”

State and Federal agencies would have to do their own due diligence prior to granting permits to repair or remove  the dam, and potentially propose additional projects to mitigate any future damage to the river and its environment with either option. 

San Marcos River Foundation said in a press release, “We are so thankful to Councilmembers Derrick, Rockeymoore and Baker for standing by the importance of existing science which clearly states that removing the dam is best for the river long term. They have prioritized the health of the river for future generations and for that we are eternally grateful.”

The last council work session in January directed staff to explore a study the impact of removing or repairing on flooding, the toxicity of the silt below the dam and the impact of the dam dropping on the trees and stability of Thompson island, the effect of diverting more water through the millrace during times of drought, what would be best for the river, to see if there is a way to get rid of the sedimentation problem and place something that will allow the river to flow through while maintaining the millrace, and to not replicate the study previously done by Dr. Thom Hardy. 

Staff presented a process for soliciting bids for the new study, which would take approximately 177 days to complete. 

There is reportedly $174,628 remaining of the $250,000 that was originally allocated for the Cape's Dam improvement and dam projects. To date $75,372 of the funds have been used for previous studies on the dam and the millrace.

In the meantime, the Parks and Recreation maintenance staff will be installing a buoy system from Cape's Dam to the river bank upstream to designate a safe line of travel around the dam as well as installing new warning signage. 

This story has been updated to reflect that more than one study has been conducted regarding Cape's Dam.