By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

VICTORIA — Before a standing-room-only audience, the Victoria City Council met Tuesday night to craft a letter explaining why a local couple just outside the city limits had been continually denied access to the city water supply.

While the meeting was tense — with lawyers, the couple that has fought for months to get clean drinking water to their home, reporters, and a large contingent of both supporters and opponents — one item remains conspicuously absent at the end of the meeting: the explanation.

As the council worked through talking points for the letter, they found most issues had been resolved, but never gave a reason as to the council’s lack of a decision on the matter.

When asked by Nancy Piatt, Victoria utilities clerk, if the council would like to address concerns that the reason Kevin and Laura McCarter have been denied city water was due to them being “outsiders,” the council declined.

The meeting was held “to inform our citizens who have water to inform them of the concerns as we’re going through the entire process, trying to decide if we want to provide water and or island annexation,” said Jerry Brungardt, city council member. “That’s what the purpose was.”

Despite the intention, attendees were not allowed to speak at the meeting, causing emotions to run high as the letter was being crafted, with several outbursts heard through the room.

“I don’t feel it should have went to this point,” said Kevin McCarter, who felt his position at the meeting was ignored. “It was supposed to be heard at this meeting, and it was silenced.”

While the council denied audience participation, the complexity of the issue was addressed at several points during the meeting, with the hope of the letter explaining to Victoria residents the steps the council has gone through to this point.

“This is very complex and when you sit on the over side of the desk over there that’s a whole different ball game than getting on the Hays Post and putting something on,” Brungardt said. “We’re going to lay out the information to the people and let them make their decision.”

“It’s their side, however twisted it is. I don’t agree with it. There were some things that were right on, some things I don’t agree with, and I’m sure they feel the same way,” McCarter said.

Several people in the audience, on both sides of the issue, said the situation is more about city leaders at this point than about water rights — something McCarter agreed with.

“It seems like it’s nothing about water anymore. It’s about the council and the mayor. They are not getting along. They’re never going to get anything accomplished fighting amongst themselves,” McCarter said. “That’s the true story behind it. Both of us have lost in this whole deal. Everybody’s went backwards and neither one of us are better for it.”

Last week, the McCarters received notification from the Post Rock Rural Water District that they would supply the couple with water, but the cost would be substantially higher than a line run from the city.

The letter is undergoing final edits before it will be released to the public.