Montgomery City Council held its regular meeting June 13 to discuss several topics including the Buffalo Springs Drive bridge repair, an alcohol beverage permit application and the groundwater reduction plan rate increase.

All council members were present with the exception of Councilman Dave McCorquodale. To view the full June 13 agenda, click here.

1. The city engineers gave a status report presentation regarding the Buffalo Springs Drive bridge repair, revealing that the project has again been delayed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The bridge, which was damaged during the spring 2016 floods and has remained closed to the public since, would cost approximately $1.6 million to repair. The City of Montgomery has been pursuing aid from FEMA for the past 13 months to help fund the repairs, however hiccups in the process have continuously delayed funding.

In the latest status report, city engineers reported that a new FEMA team assigned to the project raised concerns about making repairs to the bridge in areas located within a city easement, instead of within the right of way.

The council and city engineers discussed alternative options to repair the bridge without FEMA funding and determined that the city would reach out to Rep. Kevin Brady for assistance in expediting the process.

2. The council unanimously approved an alcohol beverage permit application submitted for Taste of China Restaurant, formerly known as China Tasty. During the public hearing also held at the June 13 meeting, no residents spoke out abut the application.

The restaurant will open in the new Kroger center, located at 20212 Eva Street, Ste. 140, Montgomery.

3. City Administrator Jack Yates proposed that the council write a letter of non-support for the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District fee increase, which will go into effect Sept. 1.

The District's Budget Committee recommended the 2018 water use fee for groundwater produced from the Chico, Evangeline and Jasper aquifers be set at 11 cents per 1,000 gallons of water use. This is an increase of 3.5 cents over the current rate of 7.5 cents. No fee increase is proposed for groundwater produced from the Catahoula Aquifer.


Mayor Kirk Jones said that in light of this future water rate increases by the LSGCD, the Catahoula Aquifer well will save Montgomery residents a lot of money.