August 24 2015

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AUGUST 24, 2015 VOLUME 105 ISSUE 7 www.UniversityStar.com

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WATER

City council sends fluoride debate to ballot box in November By Anna Herod ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR @annaleemurphy

Residents of San Marcos will vote on two propositions Nov. 3 regarding the fluoridation of municipal water after the council voted 5-1 to send the propositions to the ballot box. The council vote on the propositions came after a court battle regarding the validity of an anti-fluoride petition submitted by the Communities for Thriving Water Fluoride-Free San Marcos. City attorney Michael Cosentino asked the court to declare the petition invalid of its 1,634 signatures, according to court documents of a lawsuit filed June 17. Cosentino argued for the nullification of the antifluoride petition under the city’s home-rule city charter. According to the charter adopted in 1967, an amendment petition must be accompanied by “an oath or affirmation” that each signature belongs to the person whose name it is signed under. The city’s refusal to validate the petition backfired after 22nd State District Judge Bruce Boyer ruled on Aug. 14 that San Marcos officials were wrong in their refusal to ratify an organization’s petition to prohibit artificial fluoridation of the municipal water supply. Several anti-fluoride citizens coined the catchphrase, “justice delayed is justice denied,” before the Aug. 18 city council meeting after the court ruling. “I have signed thousands of petitions in my life and never had to sign a second petition confirming my signature was legitimate,” said Samuel Montoya, San Marcos resident, speaking in favor of the antifluoride petition at the Aug. 18 council meeting. “Shame on the city council for using this loophole to take power away from the voters.” Under the Texas Local Government Code, the amendment is given a spot on the ballot if at least 60 percent of the petition’s signatures were from registered San Marcos voters. Boyer ruled in favor of the Communities For Thriving Water Fluoride-Free San Marcos on three of four of the counts the city brought against the anti-fluoride coalition in a “taxpayer funded lawsuit,” Montoya said. Proposition 1 will allow for voters to decide at the polls whether they are in favor of adding fluoride to the municipal water supply. The second proposition clarifies the home-rule city charter requiring a verification petition to validate a citizen’s petition. Kathleen O’Connell, coordinator for the Communities for Thriving Water FluorideFree San Marcos, said in a press release that the organization is filing a writ of mandamus to the Texas Supreme Court in fight to secure Hays County residents their constitutional rights. “We have a duty to the petitioners and the people of San Marcos to actually fulfill on the language that will end fluoridation here,” O’Connell said in the press release. City officials had no comment on the issue due to pending litigation.

PRESLIE COX MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

Becky Hammon, assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs, addresses the crowd during her keynote speech Aug. 22 at New Student Convocation at Strahan Coliseum.

see

HAMMON page 7

STUDENT LIVING

The Woods apartment complex denied certificate of occupancy, delaying move-in date for students By Alexa Tavarez, Anna Herod UNIVERSITY STAR STAFF

Several students were forced to prolong moving into The Woods of San Marcos apartment complex after the city denied their certificate of occupancy Aug. 14. The Woods was denied their certificate of occupancy due to “unforeseen issues in the outer areas of the property,” according to complex’s website. Management was notified the day before the planned move-in date, leaving many students without an apartment, according to The Woods’ website. Several concer ned citizens and activists were pleased the city denied the certificate to ensure the complex is safe for those living in the complex and in adjacent neighborhoods, such as the Blanco Gardens homes. Many residents believe the incomplete drainage system in The Woods complex was responsible for additional flooding in the Blanco Gardens neighborhood during

the Memorial Day weekend floods. Melissa Derrick, concerned citizen and Place 6 city council candidate. has persistently voiced her hesitation toward the project since the development worked its way up to the city council agenda back in 2012. She believes a proper drainage system is the “highest priority” regarding the Cape’s Camp development. “We don’t ever want to put our students into harm’s way just to get them moved in on the date the apartment complex promised them,” Derrick said. “The apartment complex, I believe, knew that they weren’t ready.” According to The Woods’ website, management was “confident” the complex was ready for move-in despite lacking some of the amenities. Management declined to make any comments in addition to the updates on their website. “It’s unfortunate that so many students are now homeless and an entire neighbor-

hood has been devastated,” said Lisa Marie Coppoletta, San Marcos resident and concerned citizen. “Sixty years of personal memories were flooded out because of irresponsible members on the (council).” Coppoletta said although many students are currently without a home, she was pleased to see people speak out against the Cape’s Camp project when it was originally brought forth to councilmembers. “All the hotels in town are full with people from Blanco Gardens,” Coppoletta said. “Now you have students from Cape’s Camp and the apartments by N. LBJ, who are looking for hotels.” Coppoletta’s comment was a tip of the hat to those students who signed a lease with Eight17 Lofts off N. LBJ Drive. Eight17’s completion date has changed four times since February of last year due to permit complications. The apartment’s management company, Innovative Stu-

dent Housing, stopped sending compensation checks on Dec. 12, 2014 despite promises made in leasing contract addendums signed in Sept. 2014. Students were promised a delayed move-in date in late spring of last year, yet Eight17 Lofts still stands unoccupied and unfinished. Management at The Woods will compensate students $125 per day for the inconvenience the delayed move-in day has caused students, according to The Woods’ website. In addition, management is prorating the rent for the days students have not been able to move in, according to The Woods’ website. “You’ve got students and families all homeless because of the [council’s] lust for the development,” Coppoletta said. The council voted 5-2 in favor of the Cape’s Camp development back in January 2013, Mayor Daniel Guerrero and council members

Kim Porterfield, Place 1, Wayne Becak, Place 4, Ryan Thomason, Place 5, and Shane Scott, Place 6, voted to approve the rezoning. Council members Jude Prather, Place 2, and John Thomaides, Place 3, voted against the apartments. The council is currently working on a study to determine whether the incomplete drainage system was the cause of additional flooding to the Blanco Garden homes and adjacent neighborhoods. “What I think every member of the neighborhood wants to know is did this development exacerbate a flood, did it make the water higher, did it make it go backwards?” said Councilman John Thomaides, Place 3, in a June 16 council meeting. “Did it make it go into places it had never gone before?” Officials at the complex have referred all questions to their website. Updates will be posted on the website as they are made available, according to an employee at the complex.

CITY COUNCIL

Q&A with Melissa Derrick, Place 6 city council candidate By Alexa Tavarez NEWS EDITOR @lexicanaa San Marcos City Council elections are quickly approaching. The University Star sat down with Place 6 candidate, Melissa Derrick to discuss her campaign.

Born: August 9, 1967, Morgantown, West Virginia Occupation: Administrative assistant for the Center of International Studies at Texas State University, Co-

owner of San Marcos Computers Education: B.A. in Journalism from then-called Southwest Texas University Alexa Tavarez: Where do you call home and why? Melissa Derrick: San Marcos, because I’ve been here for the better part of the past 26 years. I just love the city. I graduated from Texas State and I never wanted to

MARTHA FIERO STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Melissa Derrick, candidate for City Council Place 6, standing outside of Tantra Coffee House Aug. 23 in San Marcos

leave and I wanted to raise my children here. AT: Why did you decide to run for public office? MD: I’ve lived here long enough to have participated in city government as a citizen during Citizen Comment and I’ve paid very careful attention to how the city is growing and a lot of the things that we as (San Martians) value are the same things that the students do— the river, of course, being primarily what draws people here. It’s a fun and exciting town, and I’m seeing a lot of decisions being made to the detriment of the river and to the established neighborhoods that actually make this more than just a college town but a staple, thriving community. AT: What issue is at the heart of your campaign? MD: Growth… the growth of the city. We’ve been named, for several years running now, the fastest growing mid-sized city in Texas. With growth you find a lot of challenges, and San Marcos is not really used to having as much growth as it has been experiencing. We just need made a new master plan, which is the constitution of the city where we would

like to see development, and make room for stable family neighborhoods and where we should put certain types of developments. AT: What are your thoughts on the amount of development San Marcos has seen in the past years? MD: I really think we need to be more mindful of where we place these developments. We all love students. I’ve worked at the university for 20 years and mentored a lot of students… But when I was a student here, my 49-yearold self would not want to live next to me when I was 21. It’s not a suitable mix. So when they’re putting these thousand-bedroom student cottage-style apartments with a giant swimming pool and they have big parties—it’s not a good mix when the neighbors have 3-year-olds that need to go bed and need to get up to go to school the next day. Students are going to do what students are going to do, and I think they would be happier outside of the neighborhoods as well. AT: Do you feel the city has handled economic growth well? MD: In the past it hasn’t been handled well, but now

we have worked a new, fantastic contract with the Greater San Marcos Partnership that we’re seeing some better things come. We’re all very excited to draw Amazon to San Marcos because it puts us on the map and it pretty much ensures other companies like Amazon to come take a look at us. AT: In regard to the never-ending drought, what role should the city play in regulating water consumption? MD: Right now we are in a position where we have purchased rights to water we do not currently need. We’re selling that water to other users who did not plan as well as we have… For instance, the city of Buda is slated to be out of water in a year. A lot of people think that because we’re selling water that we should be able to use that water to water their lawns but I disagree with that. I think that we’re already used to regulating ourselves and protecting the water we already have, and then to change that culture to an overuse of water—it wouldn’t be right at this time… I think overall people just need to get used to the fact we’re going to be in droughts. This is how it is.


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