Water group to discuss consultant’s contract

SRBA pays Jarvis $4,000 monthly

The Sulphur River Basin Authority’s Board of Directors will meet at 1 p.m. Monday to consider its contract with consultant John Jarvis and hear a presentation from KSA Engineers on developing a strategic plan. The board will also discuss and take action on a letter to Riverbend Water Resources District.

The professional services agreement with Jarvis began in October 2014 and was amended in April 2017 as a month-to-month contract. Under the 2014 contract, he was receiving $144,000 annually. In April 2017, Jarvis’ rate changed to $4,000 monthly.

“What we want to do is evaluate whether to continue to use John until such time as we have an executive director in place,” SRBA Chairman Chris Spencer said. “He had indicated a preference several months ago to leave at the end of October, but our contract

with him calls that to be delivered in writing with a 30-day notice. It presents a good time to have a discussion with John and the board to see if we might need to retain his services for a longer period of time if he is available.”

SRBA’s hiring of an executive director and creating a strategic plan are required by House Bill 2180, passed during the last session of the Texas Legislature. It also required SRBA directors to undergo board training and improve transparency with stakeholders and the media. Stakeholders include landowners, businesses, the city of Tearkana, Texas and Riverbend.

In addition, HB 2180 orders SRBA to seek outside funding, as its primary source of income comes from the JCPD, comprised of five water districts in the Dallas Metroplex. The authority’s funding agreement with JCPD has been a point of contention for years among stakeholders in the basin. Last month, SRBA renewed the agreement for another year without changes, despite pressure from stakeholders to delay the vote.

In July, Board Member Kelly Mitchell, who left the Riverbend board in February after being appointed to SRBA, suggested changes to the SRBA agreement with JCPD. Spencer relayed his personal opinions on the suggestions in a private email meant for his attorney, but he accidentally misrouted back to Mitchell.

After the email became public, both the City of Texarkana, Texas, and Riverbend passed resolutions expressing distrust in Spencer and SRBA. The water resources district also requested the river authority to respond to a letter they sent that not only expressed distrust but questioned the process being followed to hire an executive director.

“They’ll receive a letter and it will be a good response from us,” Spencer said.

For the strategic plan presentation, he said they chose to hear from KSA Engineers because they have an outstanding reputation. KSA’s proposal was received in May.

“SRBA needs to put forward a professional strategic plan that sets the vision for the future of the authority, and to be successful in that we need input from stakeholders throughout the entire basin,” Spencer said. “We need a professional organization to establish what that framework will look like.”

The meeting will be held at the Mount Pleasant Civic Center, 1800 N. Jefferson Ave., Mount Pleasant, Texas.