The Legislative Budget Board, in cooperation with the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), has determined that:

The bill creates Hood County Granbury Municipal Utility District No. 1 (District) with the powers and duties of a municipal utility district under Water Code Chapters 49 and 54. 

The purpose of the District includes providing works and projects under powers conferred by Article XVI, Section 59, Texas Constitution and Article III, Section 52, Texas Constitution, to benefit the property within the District.  The District is subject to confirmation election by the voters.  If the District is not confirmed by September 1, 2010, the District will be dissolved. The District is subject to consent of all municipalities in whose corporate limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction the district is located. 

The bill names five temporary directors.  The temporary directors are Jeffrey Krueger, William Bruce Schneider, Kevin Patton, Virgil R. Briscoe and Jeffrey K. Wilson.  The majority owners of the assessed land value inside the District may submit a petition requesting the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) appoint the five temporary directors if permanent directors have not been elected under Section 8342.003 and the terms of the director have expired.

The bill becomes effective on September 1, 2009.

1)     Population - The description of the proposed boundaries does not allow staff to develop precise population estimates.  Based on the Original Texas Land Surveys, the population in the 2000 census could be as high as 163.  Population growth in that area since the 2000 census is unknown.

The 2007 State Water Plan projects Hood County to grow from 41,100 people in 2000 to 49,207 in 2010 and continue to grow to 58,364 in 2020.  The proposed district covers a rural area between Tolar and Granbury.  The County Other population for Hood County was 19,671 in 2000 and is projected to be 23,312 in 2010 and 27,711 in 2020.  The City of Granbury, located directly east of the proposed district, is projected to grow from 5,718 people in 2000 to 6,843 in 2020 and onward to 8,202 in 2020.

2)     Location - The proposed district’s boundaries are described in a combination of Original Texas Land Surveys and metes and bounds.  Due to the complexity of these boundaries for the various sub-area of the district, staff is able to determine only the general location of the proposed district.

The proposed Hood County Granbury Municipal Utility District No. 1 is located in the western-central part of Hood County, between Tolar and Granbury along US Highway 377.  The proposed area does not appear to overlay any known CCN boundaries.

3)  Comments on Powers/Duties Different from Similar Types of Districts- The District will have the authority for road projects.  The District will have the power of eminent domain, but it is limited to within the District for road projects or recreational facilities.  The bill gives the District the ability to levy a contract tax.   The District may be divided into two or more districts.  The District may dedicate property owned by the District for any purposes for a municipal airport.

4)  Overlapping Services- The stated boundaries do not form an acceptable closure on some tracts.  An area map containing at least two reference points (major road names, road intersections) and the proposed district’s geographic location mapped within Hood County is needed to complete overlapping services check. 

The District may overlap Brazos River Authority, Denton County Fresh Water Supply District No. 2B, Certificates of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) No. 11157: Aqua Texas, Inc, CCN Nos. 10904 and 20356: City of Granbury, Certificates of CNN No. 12983: Monarch Utilities ILP and CCN No. 11603: Mooreland Water Company. 

5)  TCEQ Supervision- As with general law districts, the TCEQ will have general supervisory authority, including bond review authority and review of financial reports.

6)  Water Use – Within Hood County, about 38 percent of the water used was groundwater in 2004.  Of the groundwater used, 90 percent was used for municipal purposes.  Groundwater in Hood County is pumped from the Trinity Aquifer.  The City of Granbury currently gets their water from groundwater in the Trinity Aquifer and from the Brazos River Authority Lake/Reservoir system.