Archives for April 2026

A crowd of more than 30 people gathered in the board room of the Greenbelt Municipal and Industrial Water Authority last Tuesday, April 7, to learn more about the $18 million project that will bring new groundwater resources online.

The required purpose for last week’s public hearing was to discuss potential environmental impact of the project, but no one raised any questions about that. With the Greenbelt Reservoir hovering around seven to eight percent capacity, interest was high in finding out what the future holds for water in the authority’s member cities.

Several citizens asked questions during the course of about an hour and a half, which mostly centered on how long the project is taking. The answer: Regulations and red tape make things take longer.

Greenbelt General Manager Bobbie Kidd said the project has completed one well, four test holes, and roads in the well field. The one completed well had a 36-hour test run and produced 500 gallons per minute, and officials believe that well could produce as much as 3,000 gallons per minute.

Representatives with Freese & Nichols Engineering said once the Texas Water Development Board approves plans and authorizes the bidding process for the 16-inch pipeline from the well field to the filter plant, it will probably be March 2027 before a bid can be awarded followed by several months of construction. A date of November 2027 was mentioned as when the pipeline could be completed.

Kidd said groundwater from existing wells is providing about 50 percent of Greenbelt’s current supply. He also said the lake is at a similar level to this time last year and said that if it can catch some rain like it did in 2025, the water supply should be sufficient for another year.

Kidd said eight people at the water development board have to sign off on each step of the project, they all work from home, and all work on their own timeline.

Another factor that has delayed the project is the transition between the Biden and Trump administrations. President Trump changed some of the rules the Biden administration had in place; and Kidd said while the new rules were better, it meant that Texas had to change its rules.

“We lost six months because of that,” Kidd said, and the project also had to be re-bid.

Jennifer Foster with State Sen. Charles Perry’s office in Childress said the senator is staying on top of the situation and has been in constant contact with the water development board.

Some good news that was announced at the meeting was that the authority that day was approved to split off the electric transmission line work from other portions of the project. That will allow Greenbelt Electric to get to work soon and keep progress going on the project while other portions await approval.

Greenbelt Board Chairman Phillip Self told the crowd that the board understands everyone’s frustration with how long the project is taking.

“No one is happy,” Self said. “Freese & Nichols isn’t happy. We’re not happy. But we’re doing the best we can. When you’re spending someone else’s money, they get to make the rules.”

The Clarendon City Council identified a stretch of Fourth Street as its next target for improved paving during the April 9 regular meeting and stated a desire to look at bigger paving projects in the future.

With work wrapping up on a one-block paving project on Fourth between Allen and Koogle streets, aldermen set aside a plan put forward by city engineers and said they wanted to finish Fourth Street between Koogle and Jefferson.

The plan before the council was to focus the city’s next street work on Faker, Jackson, Hawley, McClelland, and Goodnight streets between US 287 and Fourth Street, but Alderman Ashlee Estlack said the stretch of Fourth should be a higher priority and carries more traffic between the school and downtown.

“Let’s finish Fourth, and then let’s think bigger,” she said. “Plan big and see what we can do. When I say ‘big’ I mean let’s pave the whole town ‘big,’ even if we have to phase it in over 30 years.”

In other city business, the council reviewed and approved changes to the job descriptions of several city employees. The work follows meetings Mayor Jacob Fangman has had with Barboza and City Secretary Machiel Covey regarding the interactions of city workers and who answers to whom. Fangman said he feels staff relations are improving in the city.

Barboza reported that the city has received an award from PRPC recognizing its recycling efforts over the last 15 years.

Early voting opens Monday, April 20, in elections for the City of Clarendon, the Hedley school board, and the Clarendon College Board of Regents.

Early balloting for the city and the college will be at the Donley County Courthouse Annex from 7:30 to 4:30 on April 20-24 and 27-28. There will be no voting on April 21 as the Annex will be closed for San Jacinto Day.

Hedley ISD early ballots can be cast at the school administration office from 8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. on April 20-24 and 27-28, and again there will be no voting on April 21.

Clarendon has five candidates on the ballot and one write-in candidate for three positions on the city council. Alderman Tom Thompson is running for re-election. He will be joined on the ballot by Ralph Graves, Pharabie Shadle, Brent Knowles, and Ken McIntosh. Former alderman Chris Topliff will be a write-in candidate.

Clarendon College has four candidates for three regent positions. Incumbents Chris Matthews, Carey Wann, and Dr. Guy Ellis will be joined on the ballot by challenger George W. Hall.

Two candidates are running for an unexpired term on the Hedley school board. Incumbent Shawn Willoughby is challenged by April Pierce.

Election Day will be Saturday, May 2.

Clarendon CISD Trustees are interviewing candidates for school superintendent this week and plan to make a decision this month.

The school board met for almost two hours last Thursday, April 9, behind closed doors before voting in open session to interview six candidates. In keeping with common school board practices in Texas, the names of those candidates are withheld from the public.

According to Interim Superintendent Larry Jeffers, the board was scheduled to meet Tuesday night, April 14, as the Enterprise was going to press and will meet again on Thursday, April 16, with three candidates to be interviewed each night at 7 p.m. Jeffers said the board will narrow that number to three finalists and will hold a second round of interviews on April 20, 21, and 23.

A lone finalist is expected to be named on April 27 with a vote to hire that person on May 19.

Jeffers said the school is also working to fill the vacant athletic director position, following the resignation of Jeff Caffey on March 25. Jeffers said he has interviewed one person and has four more interviews planned.