San Marcos City Council Takes Another Step Forward With Capes Dam Decision

Corridor News

On Tuesday, the San Marcos City Council moved forward with efforts to work with Hays County to potentially repair or rehabilitate Cape’s Dam and the Mill Race.

The council approved a motion 4-3 directing the city manager to begin negotiations of an interlocal agreement with Hays County with councilmembers Mark Rockeymoore, Maxfield Baker, and Melissa Derrick voting against.

Derrick proposed the council postpone the resolution in favor of having a presentation on the last Request for Proposal performed by Recreation, Engineering, and Planning Incorporated.

The presentation would cover the company’s Capes Dam Removal Analysis in March 2017.

However, her motion failed 3-4 with Derrick, Rockeymoore, and Baker voting for postponement.

Baker suggested the city, through negotiations, make efforts to ensure the project doesn’t “turn into another Rio Vista Dam” and aims to highlight and preserve the region’s “full 13,000-year history.”

“We know the impact [the dam] has had on the Rio Vista Terrace Community,” Baker said. “We have seen the increase in property appraisals, which has driven up the rent in that neighborhood and caused quite a bit of concern with parking around the surrounding neighborhood.”

The interlocal agreement will be brought back to the council once negotiations with the county have finished.