Ben Estlack

The Hedley City Council backed off water rate increases imposed as part of its Stage 4 drought response during a called meeting Monday night, April 28.

Aldermen originally approved aggressive water rates April 16 as part of the city’s Drought Contingency Plan, but further reflection caused city officials to come back and reconsider the rates before they could take effect.

Hedley charges a base rate of $52.90 for water up to 2,000 gallons per month with an additional $4 charge for every thousand gallons above that.

In the Stage 4 plan approved two weeks ago, water usage above the 2,000 gallon minimum would cost $20 per thousand gallons and that rate would increase with high water usage culminating with $40 per thousand gallons being charged for usage above 40,000 gallons.

Aldermen said Monday they did not realize the impact of the rates their were approving at the April 16 meeting and wanted another chance to consider those. Officials also said the city’s biggest problem isn’t the water residents are using, it’s water that’s leaking out of the system.

“We’re buying [from Greenbelt Water] twice as much water as we’re selling,” Alderman Aaron Hanes said. “We shouldn’t make the community pay for our problem.”

Aldermen voted unanimously to approve new Stage 4 water rates as follows: Base rate unchanged at $52.90 up to 2,000 gallons; usage over 2,000 and up to 7,000 gallons will be $4 per thousand; over 7,000 up to 9,000 gallons will be $5.50 per thousand; over 9,000 up to 11,000 will be $6 per thousand; over 11,000 up to 15,000 will be $6.50 per thousand; and usage over 15,000 will cost $10,000 per thousand.

City officials also announced that the Texas Rural Water Association has agreed to bring in leak detection equipment to help the city locate water leaks so that those can be found and repaired.

April billing for Hedley is going out this week. The Stage 4 water rates will apply to the May billing.

Aldermen all agreed they had no problem with other water restrictions previously approved in the city’s Drought Contingency Plan and left those untouched Monday night.

Get ready for a day where history meets celebration. The Jericho Legacy Foundation invites you to “Return to Jericho: A Day to Remember” on Saturday, May 3, from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Texas Route 66 Visitor Center in Amarillo 1900 SW 6th Ave.

This come-and-go fundraiser features live music, great food, shopping, and the official launch of the reprint of Mrs. Ruby Bromley’s historic Clarendon cookbook – a delicious tribute to Panhandle heritage.

Enjoy the sounds of Ty Van Valkenberg and Lindi Leigh, connect with your roots, and help preserve local history – one story and one recipe at a time. Admission is free, and every dollar raised supports the Jericho Legacy Foundation’s mission to bring the past back to life.

Come for the cause, stay for the community. For more information, contact Blair Schaffer at 806-676-4927 or email Jerichoon66@gmail.com.

The Hedley City Council renewed its Drought Contingency Plan and enacted Stage 4 water restrictions in that city during a called meeting last Wednesday, April 16.

The restrictions in Hedley are similar to those in Clarendon, but Hedley’s Stage 4 rules also implement high water rates to encourage conservation.

“[Greenbelt General Manager] Bobbie Kidd said that higher rates are the best way to curtail usage,” City Secretary Diana Postma told the Enterprise.

Hedley charges a base rate of $52.90 for water up to 2,000 gallons per month with an additional $4 charge for every thousand gallons above that. Stage 4 keeps the base rate, but usage above 2,000 gallons will now cost $20 per thousand gallons. That rate increases to $25 per thousand above 10,000 gallons, $30 per thousand above 20,000 gallons, $35 per thousand above 30,000 gallons, and $40 per thousand above 40,000 gallons.

The higher rates are only applicable when the city is in Stage 4 and will return to the usual rates when Greenbelt Lake levels rise enough to come out of Stage 4.

Postma said the city will also be doing more to encourage people to fix water leaks.

Hedley’s Stage 4 restrictions and charges will go into effect with the city’s May billing cycle, which Postma says starts on April 28.

Other Stage 4 restrictions in Hedley include:

Irrigation of landscaped areas shall be limited to Monday and Thursday between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and between 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. and shall be by means of handheld hoses, handheld buckets, or DRIP irrigation only. The use of hose end sprinklers or permanently installed automatic sprinkler systems are prohibited at all times.

Use of water to wash down and motor vehicles, motorbike, boat, trailer, airplane or other vehicle not occurring on the premises of a commercial car wash and commercial service stations and not in the immediate interest of public health, safety, and welfare is prohibited. Further, such vehicle washing at commercial car washes and commercial service stations shall occur only between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and between 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.

The filling, refilling or adding of water to swimming pools, wading pools, and Jacuzzi-type pools will be allowed only during allotted watering times.

Operation of any ornamental fountain or pond for aesthetic or scenic purposes is prohibited except where necessary to support aquatic life or where such fountains or ponds are equipped with a recirculation system.

Additional Service: The city of Hedley will allow applications for one meter per household. However, additional, expanded or increased-in-size water service connections, meters, service lines, pipeline extensions, mains, or water service facilities of any kind will not be allowed or approved.

All non-essential water use is prohibited. Non-essential water use: water uses that are not essential or required for the protection of public health, safety, and welfare, including: Irrigation of landscaped areas, including parks and athletic fields

Failure to repair customer controllable leak(s) after customer is notified of a leak the customer has 48 hours to submit a plan of action to the city for repair said leak(s); the plan of action needs to be completed within 14 days of notification of leak(s); if plan of action is not submitted and/or completion of repair(s) are not accomplished by the 14 days – this will result in water meter being pulled – until at such time repairs are completed and the City of Hedley has verified no leak present

Use of water from hydrants is for construction purposes is prohibited.

No sale of Bulk Water is allowed.

Early balloting is now underway for elections in Clarendon, the Clarendon school district, and the unincorporated areas of Donley County.

The Donley County Clerk’s Office said early voting began on Tuesday, April 22, and will continue through April 29 with ballots being cast from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Donley County Courthouse Annex. Election Day will be May 3.

In Clarendon, city voters have five positions on the ballot. Mayor Jacob Fangman filed for re-election and faces no opposition. Aldermen Ashlee Estlack and Eulaine McIntosh are seeking re-election to two full terms on the board and are challenged by Richard Dzamko, Jeremy Jeffers, and Brittney Wolfe. Also, three people are running for two unexpired terms on the City Council – Ralph Graves, Chelsi Shadle, and Thomas Thompson.

Clarendon Aldermen Terri Floyd and Mandy Smith did not sign up for re-election.

Voters in the Clarendon Consolidated Independent School District will elect three people to the Board of Trustees, and have four candidates from which to choose. Incumbents Robin Ellis and Donny Howard are joined on the ballot by Jeff Robertson and Ginnie Siefkas. Trustee Chuck Robertson did not seek re-election.

Also, Donley County is asking rural residents – those living outside Clarendon, Howardwick, and Hedley – to approve County Assistance District #2, which would levy a 2.0 percent sales tax in the unincorporated areas of the county. The revenue from the new district would help support county law enforcement expenses.

Stage 4 restrictions in Clarendon became effective Monday, April 21, as the city tries to curtail water usage in response to the level of Greenbelt Lake.

The Clarendon City Council enacted Stage 4 of its Drought Contingency Plan during its regular meeting April 10. Highlights of the Stage 4 restrictions in Clarendon include the following:

Irrigation of landscaped areas is limited to designated watering days between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and between 8:00 p.m. and 12:00 midnight by means of hand-held hoses, hand-held buckets, drip irrigation, or permanently installed automatic sprinkler system only. The use of hose-end sprinklers is prohibited at all times.

Residential customers with odd-numbered street addresses water on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Residential customers with even-numbered street addresses water on Thursdays and Sundays. Commercial customers water on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Washing vehicles not occurring on the premises of a commercial carwash and commercial service stations and not in the immediate interest of public health, safety, and welfare is prohibited.

Further, such vehicle washing at commercial carwashes and commercial service stations shall occur only between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.

Avoid filling swimming pools except during the above watering hours.

Avoid operating ornamental fountains unless necessary to support aquatic life or if equipped with a recirculation system.
Do not water-wash driveways, sidewalks, and other hard-surfaced areas. Do not wash down buildings or structures except for immediate fire protection.

To get out of Stage 4, Greenbelt Lake’s mean elevation above sea level must be above 2615 feet for 30 days.

On Tuesday of this week, Greenbelt Water Authority reported the reservoir elevation was 2614.63, up slightly from one week at when it was 2614.61 feet above sea level. The lake is still currently at 9.0 percent capacity.