The center was granted a permit for an incinerator—a furnace that burns waste—but recent rainfall caused issues with one of the tanks. The issues forced Three Six General to temporarily shut down its production Sept. 5 due to not having a place to store wastewater, Three Six General’s General Manager Brooke Dinsmore told Community Impact. The Pita Shop was also forced to close.
Three Six General and The Pita Shop had started GoFundMe fundraisers to try and regain lost profit caused by the closure. Three Six General fully opened and The Pita Shop reopened Sept. 14.
Some background
The U-Haul property adjacent to the Crestwood Center was annexed into city limits in 2022. Following the annexation, U-Haul submitted an application and received approval to connect their lot to the city of San Marcos' sewer system. The approval included a requirement—per city code—to decommission their failing on-site septic system.
The Crestwood Center, which is outside of city limits, was also served by the same septic system, said Nadine Cesak, communications and intergovernmental relations manager, in an email to Community Impact. In March 2023, it was found that the septic system was out of compliance and posed health and safety risks to the community, causing the center to be at risk of having its water shut off by the city, according previous reporting by Community Impact.
Later that month, Crestwood Center property owners James and Thomas Umstattd along with the adjacent property—U-Haul Owner Tom Holman—came to an agreement to provide the necessary funding for the wastewater extension project.
The city's sewer line was extended to the annexed U-Haul property adjacent to the Crestwood Center in 2024, and its previously used septic system was demolished in August. The Crestwood Center owner chose to install holding tanks to temporarily serve the property instead of connecting to the city's sewer system, according to an email from Cesak.
The impact
Three Six General owner Mattison Bills told Community Impact that they had to crowdfund to ensure they could continue staffing. Bills also said they have been nervous to continue in their current space at 1904 Old Ranch Road 12, Ste. 101.
“We do expect some things to change in coming years, but we hope to be there for it,” Bills said.
Three Six General has a failing deli case they need to move out of the store and needs a freezer, among other plumbing and HVAC repairs that have been "put on the back burner,” due to a culmination of slower business and continued wastewater issues, Dinsmore said.
What the city of San Marcos is saying
"Hays County is now responsible for inspecting and approving continuous use of the new holding tanks, as the Crestwood Center is not within San Marcos city limits," Cesak said. Community Impact reached out to Hays County for comment, but did not hear back as of press time.
What the property manager is saying
Property Manager Christian Umstattd said it was hard to be the small guy.
“We’re really working as hard as we can to get through all this permit and regulation stuff to get this done,” Umstattd told Community Impact.
