Shavano Park Trinity Wells Project on Track

Plenty of cities, large and small, would love to trade places with Shavano Park, which wrapped up its recently-completed fiscal year in the black and with “cash in the bank,” City Council was told Dec. 15.

"Every department finished in the black," independent auditor Roger Harrison told council. "The city is in a strong financial position."

Also running smoothly is the city's new Trinity Aquifer water well project, which will be completed on time, according to project manager Grant Snyder.

"This is a typical Trinity well, which will meet your goals and be in line with the project description," he said.

"The Trinity is still in deep drought," he said of the aquifer. "It is actually 80 feet lower than it was in March of 2008. This wet spell that we have had for the past few months hasn't done much for the Trinity. It may have helped the Edwards (Aquifer) but not the Trinity."

Snyder said the extra seven to 10 days needed for testing and finalization of the project will neither require more money from the city nor affect the overall schedule.

During his report, City Manager Manuel Longoria announced that on Dec. 1, the city received an ISO rating of 3.

“This is a great improvement over our current 6 rating,” he said. “This rating could potentially lower the average homeowner's insurance rate as much as 10 percent.”

Insurance Services Office Inc. collects information on municipal fire protection efforts in communities and analyzes the data, using a fire suppression rating schedule. ISO then assigns a public protection classification, ranging from one to 10, with one being the best and 10 being the worst.

“The city of Shavano Park was last rated in 1998,” Longoria said. “Since that time, the fire department and water department have made great strides to improve the quality of service to our residents. These efforts are reflected in this new rating.”

Mayor A. David Marne, on council's recommendation, selected architect Mike McGlone, an Alamo Heights resident, as Shavano Park's nominee to represent suburban cities on the VIA Metropolitan Transit board of directors.

McGlone told council that the city is well placed to take advantages of proposed advances in light rail for the metro region, including light rail.

"I would be committed to looking out for the unique demands of the suburban cities," McGlone told council. He said rapid transit is a good way to make “communities whole.”

The other two nominees were San Antonio attorney Stephen Allison, a former Alamo Heights Independent School District board president, and Elena Guajardo, a former San Antonio City Council member. The nomination will still have to be forwarded to other suburban cities for confirmation.

The nomination of McGlone was held up while Shavano Park council members received a recommendation from the city attorney that the vote had to be taken in public. Marne had suggested that each member write down his or her top choice and submit it to him, but he was advised that would be a violation of the state open meetings act.

"This isn't the right way to do this," Alderman Dave Burns complained of having to state a preference in public.

Alderman Bruce Baumann agreed: "I don't think it is right to ask us to publicly decide from among four people who I think are equally qualified."