General Board Meeting Recap: January 15, 2025

Welcome to another thrilling episode of “How Not to Run a Meeting!” Brought to you by the Williamson-Travis Counties MUD #1 Board—a group that treats transparency like a game of hide-and-seek (spoiler: they never say “found you”). Let’s break down the chaos:

Minutes Mysteries and the Records Request Fiasco

The board is still struggling to produce accurate, timely meeting minutes. These elusive drafts were requested under the Public Information Act—not by me, mind you!—but they remain harder to find than a unicorn. Transparency? It’s more of a concept than a practice for this group.

The Accountant’s Recital: A Two-Hour Test of Endurance

Every bank balance. Every check. Every. Single. One. The accountant performed this thrilling monologue like she was reading bedtime stories to a room of insomniacs. Someone should explain that meetings are not supposed to last all night. The board could, of course, prepare in advance with published materials, but alas, that’s not the MUD way.

Mystery of the Peppergrass Properties

David Flores unearthed a curious repair anomaly—eight homes on Peppergrass Street needed new angle stops (those nifty handles in water meter boxes). Total cost: $5,267.61. Simple math suggests fixing every property would run the district $1.25 million. Chris Rocco, champion of nonchalance, dismissed this as trivial, preferring to "wait for the audit." Spoiler alert: audits don’t examine work orders. Trust the contractors bearing coffee, pizza and cake at your own peril, Chris.

Public Information Requests: Hanoi’s Obsession or Public Information Czar?

Hanoi Avila phoned into the meeting, apparently unaware of Gov’t Code 551.127(h) jump to page 41 requiring video and audio of a director participating by video conference. For eight riveting minutes, he blamed yours truly for allegedly "causing irreparable harm" and racking up $300,000 in record requests. Shocking accusations—especially when no evidence supports them. Pro tip, Hanoi: try reading the records before publicly defaming constituents.

Budget Chaos: Inframark vs. MOC

Remember when the board unanimously voted to replace Inframark with MOC in April 2024? Despite the decision, Hanoi Avila, Kelley Masters, and Beth Jones voted in September to keep Inframark.  Meanwhile, the board refused to adjust the budget for Inframark’s higher operating fees. Chris Rocco dismissed the $220,000 annual increase as irrelevant, proving once again that material correctness is his favorite phrase—next to “why bother?”

Carroll Norrell added to the confusion, conflating invoices with budgets and suggesting off-the-record email discussions about the budget that would blatantly violate Open Meetings laws. Her solution? “Share it through email or whatever.” Facepalm.

Engineering Excellence

The engineer's report was a rare moment of competence. Highlights included meeting the sewer cleaning deadline and publishing lead-and-copper rule FAQs on the website. Meanwhile, sidewalk repair proposals revealed another gem: fixing county-owned sidewalks could transfer liability to the MUD. Genius risk management there, folks!

Public Records Policy: The Hanoi Resolution

Hanoi's pet project—a resolution to limit public information requests—reached new heights of irony. The attorney clarified that the existing law already governs these matters. Still, Hanoi insisted on micromanaging the process, raising eyebrows and lowering expectations.

Beth Jones chimed in, claiming, “We are not following the law.” For someone so concerned about rules, she seems awfully hazy on what they are.

Roving Patrol Redux

David Flores pointed out ongoing failures in the roving patrol contract. Specifically, what the contract covers which is 2 trips into the district to check for locked doors, approximately 15 minutes each trip and they come on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. 

Beth Jones, always quick to defend her pet projects, claimed sightings of patrol vehicles in the mornings —until David reminded her that their contracted hours don’t match her anecdotes. Another problem identified, another solution delayed.

Final Thoughts

This meeting was a masterclass in dysfunction, from budget bungling to public information paranoia. But fear not—MUD’s comedy of errors is sure to continue next month. Stay tuned!