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73 No. 8
Pages in 2 Sections
Wednesday, September 12, 1979
College Station, Texas
US PS 045 360
Phone 845-2611
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Towns barred from giving
tility service to TI tract
By RICHARD OLIVER
Battalion Staff
Hryanarid College Station City Councils
; together in closed session Tuesday
lilt to discuss a possible solution to anne-
lionconflicts between the two c ities.
[The meeting of the councils, held in the
lazosCeiuer, was highlighted by the dis-
p-y that a restraining order issued late
play by the Texas Public Utilities
pmission restricts both Bry an and Col-
: Station from supplying utilities to a
|ct on which Texas Instruments plans to
I a plant.
|At press time, no comments bad been
lied by the council members concerning
the order.
The problem surfaced when College Sta
tion tried to annex a 250-acre tract owned
by Texas Instruments, Inc.(TI), located just
east of the East Bypass at Highway 30.
Bryan officials felt a portion of the tract lay
within Bryan’s extra-territorial jurisdic
tion.
Extra-territorial areas include any unin
corporated land outside the city limits.
They can be legally annexed by a city.
The extra-territorial boundary is the
commonly agreed upon line between the
extra-territorial areas of Bryan and College
Station. It extends beyond the city limits
for 2 miles into unincorporated areas.
Bryan and College Station drew up an
agreement in 1966 which settled Extra
territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) questions for
the time, but growth by both cities has
complicated the ETJ lines.
College Station annexed the TI tract on
Sept.4.
The TI tract was only one area where the
cities have had problems. There are also
ETJ problems on the west side of the twin
cities.
Prior to last night’s meeting. College Sta
tion City Planner Al Mayo said although
College Station had annexed the TI tract,
Bryan held the utility rights, which pres
ented a problem.
Mayo said College Station is applying for
dual utility certification, which would allow
TI to choose between the two cities, should
that idea be approved.
Mayo also said it would be possible for
Bryan to supply utilities although it was
within College Station boundaries, but he
doesn’t believe Texas Instruments wants
that.
James Dozier, College Station City
Council member, said no final agreement
would be reached until today at the ear
liest, pending the completion of all meet
ings. He also said no comments would be
given until agreements between the cities
were made final.
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nnexation of utilities district
ebated before Bryan council
By SYLVIA FELLOWS
Battalion Reporter
Tension filled the air in the crowded
uncil meeting while the audience waited
tiently.
A public hearing on annexation brought
Pat 0’Milj out SO people to plead their cases before
an City Council Monday night.
Though five locations are being consid
er! for annexation by the council, only the
sklents of one location brought ammuni-
L ftnto fight. Most of them favor annexation
the city.
The developer of the area, his
mdsman, his attorney, and one resident
oke against annexation.
The area in question is the Brazos
juntyMunicipal Utilities District (MUD)
d the Rockwood Park subdivision.
The MUD is a residential area Ixung de-
jloped by the Braver Corporation Inc. It
bounded by the West By-pass, Villa
iria, and Pinfeather Road.
The MUD is the first and only utility’
[strict in Brazos County. The utility dis-
ict pays for the installation of utilities
rough the sale of bonds.
Rockwood Park is not a part of the dis
ci, but it is surrounded by the MUD.
ause it it is surrounded by it on three
les, the area cannot be annexed by’ Bryan
ithout some part of the MUD being an-
ied.
I Neither area is within the city limits of
SOI1 iyanand as a result, the residents do not
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receive city services such as ambulance or
police and fire protection.
Although most of the residents within
the district want to be annexed, the de
veloper and president of the Braver Corpo
ration Inc., Romiro Galindo, does not.
Galindo told the council that for eco
nomic reasons, the city should wait another
three to four years.
Since only 20 to 25 percent of the de
velopment is complete, he argued, the util
ity system he has installed will not be a
break-even proposition until at least 150
more residents move in.
If annexed, the city would have to as
sume the extra cost by increasing taxes,
Galindo said.
Don Mauro, attorney for Braver, spoke
against annexation. “As a citizen of Bryan, I
can’t see annexing it now when Bryan will
be losing money.
He said it will cause utility rates to in
crease throughout the city.
Residents in the MUD will slowly pay for
70 percent of these bonds and the de
veloper will pay for 30 percent.
The tax rate for these residents is 77
cents per $100 valuation.
The tax rate is much higher for the
people who live in the district because they
are evaluated and assessed differently. In
Biyan, 80 percent of the market value of a
piece of property is considered in assessing
it for taxes. In the development, 100 per
cent will be considered.
Therefore, taxes on a $60,000 home in
Bryan woidd be $238.80 annually with the
current laws. If taxes are raised from 62
cents to 72 cents this year, as the city coun
cil has proposed, taxes will be $276.48.
For the utility district, taxes on a $60,000
home would be $415.80 annually — a dif
ference of $177.72 from Bryan dwellers
under the current tax rate.
Between 80 and 90 percent of the resi
dents in MUD signed a petition “pleading’’
for annexation, several residents at the
hearing said.
M any MUD residents speaking at the
hearing believe they are paying much more
in taxes now than if they were part of Bryan
and are not receiving anything in return.
The homeowners spoke about the need
of police, fire, and ambulance service.
Pete D. Teel, a MUD resident, believes
the issue is political as well as economical.
MUD is governed by a three-member
board, Teel said, and he was not even
aware of it when he moved into the area.
MUD board elections are held each
year. Last year, three votes were cast in the
election, Teel said.
Teel also believes it is unfair for the resi
dents of MUD to assume 70 percent of the
utility installation costs and the developer
only 30 percent when, in his opinion, the
lots were not much cheaper than lots inside
the city.
“We are paying twice as much as others,
yet get nothing, ’ said Donald Clark, a
homeowner in the area.
Battalion photo by Lee Roy Leschper Jr.
Working men
Tad James, left, and brother James are creating construction projects of
their own in a sandpile that are every bit as inspired, if not as expensive,
as the Kyle Field stadium renovation behind them.
Deployment clause found unacceptable
Soviet objection to MX plan revealed
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United Press International
WASHINGTON — Soviet Defense
Minister Dmitry Ustinov has complained
directly to Defense Secretary Harold
Brown that the planned deployments of the
MX missile “are unacceptable and we can
not agree to them.
Ustinov made the complaint to Brown at
the Vienna summit June 17 when U. S. and
Soviet officials met to discuss military as
pects of the Soviet-American relationship,
and a partial transcript was given to a few
reporters Tuesday.
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The Student Programs Office window in the Memorial Student Center
lists the many organizations which are involved in a space problem.
MSC ...
New money available
By MARJORIE McLAUGHLIN
Battalion Reporter
New money for the Memorial Student Center programs will be available this year
due to the establishment of the MSC Enrichment Fund.
Ernen Haby, chairman of the MSC Development Committee, said he wanted to
establish a vehicle for contributions from people interested in MSC programs.
MSC programs are currently supported by student services fees, ticket sales and
concession revenues. However, some of the programs, such as the Opera and
Performing Arts Society and the Student Conference On National Affairs, already
rely heavily upon outside contributions, he said.
According to Haby, the Enrichment Fund will deal only with money that is not
already budgeted for any other Texas A&M University projects.
The money collected by the fund will not be used for the operating costs of
existing programs, but will be used for funding special events in areas such as art,
travel and special lecturers.
“We don’t want to commit ourselves to specifics as to how the money is spent. We
want it to be a very student-oriented project,” Haby said. “It is very flexible.’’
Tentative plans have been made for using some if the money to set up a
scholarship fund, Haby said. “We ask our contributors to specify their general
interests (in our programs), but we tell them we can’t guarantee that the money will
be used for only that program.”
Although no specific goal has been set, Haby said that the committee hopes to
raise enough money in the coming years to set up an endowment fund large enough
so that only the interest will support the fund.
Cramped quarters
Organizations housed in the Student Programs Office of the Memorial Student
Center are bumping elbows in their search for more office space.
“Things are really getting cramped, ” said Brooks Herring, MSC president, about
the working space. “Of course this is not centralized to the MSC.”
Ron Blatchley, director of Student Affairs in charge of residence halls and
discipline, said it became apparent to the SPO during the summer that the MSC
needed additional office space for three new staff members in the Residence Hall
Association, who were going to have to use meeting rooms as offices.
Rather than take up meeting room space, the RHA agreed to move its working
space to a storage cubicle in the SPO because that office was not full, Blatchley said.
MSC vice-president Brian Gross reported the decision came down to “who could
be moved temporarily. He said no other organization could afford to give up any
space.
The RHA has not yet moved to the cubicle because a telephone has not been
installed. The move involves a $20 fee.
Blatchley said he suggested to RHA president Barbara Thompson that her group
might share space with the Off-Campus Aggies in Puryear Lounge, since they have
common interests in on-campus and off-campus living. But no plans have been
made to move in yet.
“Puryear Lounge is cramped also. We don’t want to take any space away from the
people already there,” Blatchley said.
Thonpson said the RHA hopes to acquire space with the OCA, but she is still
looking into other alternatives.
officer for research and development,
meanwhile, was testifying Tuesday about
the MX deployment in the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee’s hearings on SALT
II.
Administration officials, puzzled by the
leaking of the partial transcript, said its con
tents appeared accurate. But they made
these points:
—For weeks before the Vienna summit,
Soviet representatives complained about
basing modes being contemplated for the
MX missile system. But Soviet President
Leonid Brezhnev signed the pact anyway,
indicating the Russians do not really con
sider the MX or its basing an obstacle to
SALT.
—The Soviets are to be expected to
complain about any new U.S. weapons
program.
—Umplaint appears based on an incom
plete understanding of the basing mode
which President Carter finally approved
last Friday.
According to the transcript, Ustinov told
Brown:
“Recently, discussion has been going on
in the speeches of military leaders and in
the U.S. press of the basing mode of your
ICBMs, saying that 20, 30, as many as 40
launchers, will be deployed for each indi
vidual ICBM — that is, MX launcher.
“I would like to hear your explanation of
these reports of various basing modes such
as tunnels and multiple ICBM launchers
and the possibility of verification by na
tional technical means.”
Frederic stirs Gulf
with 120 mph winds
United Press International
MIAMI — Rejuvenated Hurricane
Frederic, now an “extremely dangerous”
storm with 130 mph winds and still grow
ing, barreled today toward an almost cer
tain target on the Gulf coast.
Forecaster Paul Herbert of the National
Hurricane Center said the chances were
“just about zero that Frederic would miss
the mainland where hurricane warnings
flew from Panama City, Fla., to Grand
Isle, La.
“It is too early to make a specific predic
tion of where the eye of Frederic might
make landfall, ” forecasters said in a 5 a. m.
CDT advisory.
At that time, the center of the storm was
about 275 miles southeast of New Orleans.
It was moving toward the northwest at
about 12 mph and expected to maintain
that course and speed most of the day.
“Frederic continues to strengthen.
Highest winds are estimated to be 130
mph,” the advisory said. “Gales extend
outward 150 miles to the north and 100
miles to the south of the center.
“Frederic is extremely dangerous. (It) is
now stronger than Hurricane Eloise which
devastated the Panama City area in 1975
and as strong as Hurricane Betsy which
struck the New Orleans area in 1965.”
The advisory warned of tides 10 to 15
feet above normal near and up to 50 miles
to the east of where the center crosses the
coast and tides of 5 to 10 feet above normal
elsewhere in the hurricane warning area
and 2 to 5 feet above normal east of
Panama City to the Tampa Bay area.
The center advised all interests in the
hurricane warning area to complete “all
necessary precautions by early afternoon
for the full effects of this increasingly
dangerous hurricane.
Frederic had been downgraded to a
tropical depression as it hovered over
Cuba last week, but it whipped up to hur
ricane strength for the second time
Monday as it moved into the Gulf of
Mexico.
By today, Hebert was calling Frederic a
“major hurricane” with the potential to
cause “damage in the billions.
Residents of the warning area, which in
cludes parts of Florida, Alabama,
Mississippi and Louisiana, were taking no
chances.
Late Tuesday, Florida Gov. Bob
Graham told residents of low-lying areas in
five Florida Panhandle counties — Bay,
Walton, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Escam
bia — to prepare for evacuation.
In several low-lying areas along the
Louisiana coast, officials said they were
keeping a close watch on Frederic but
would hold off on evacuation plans until
they got a better fix on where the hur
ricane was heading.
(Earlier related story. Page 18)
Local Civil Defense agencies liegan
cranking up Tuesday and merchants re
ported sales of batteries, sterno fuel, can
ned goods, masking tape and other hur
ricane supplies were picking up.
In Mobile, Ala., the Red Cross readied
supplies and personnel and one service
station reported booming gasoline sales as
residents filled their tanks in preparation
for emergencies.
Oil companies began airlifting
thousands of workers from offshore drilling
rigs and platforms and the Orleans Levee
Board began closing the flood gates of the
giant levees that surround New Orleans
Tuesday.