Central Texas Water Alliance hires Plummer for Phase 1 governance and outreach work at $42,275

The Central Texas Water Alliance on a voice vote approved a $42,275 contract with Plummer to provide Phase 1 owner's-advisory services, the alliance's board chair, Bell County Judge David Blackburn, said during the meeting. Aaron Waters of Plummer presented the firm's phased plan and cost estimate. Plummer's Phase 1 work includes final drafts of the alliance's governance framework and bylaws, a compliance checklist, membership-sponsor procedures, a communications framework and project-management and quality-control materials. "Phase 1 would be $42,275," Aaron Waters said during his presentation. The proposal follows Phase 0 work Plummer provided pro bono, which the presenter described as foundational drafting of bylaws, membership guidelines and a public-engagement toolkit. Waters said Phase 1 is intended to be completed within roughly six months but could be accelerated; Judge Blackburn later said his expectation was the work might be completed in "90 to 120 days." Board members asked about the scope of legal and financial services. Waters said Plummer is "currently engaged with legal counsel through Plummer, and we can leverage those services as needed," and that legal services were not included in the Phase 1 cost but could be scoped in later. He also said financial-readiness work (budget policies, reserve guidance, bond readiness) was included in later phases, but could be accelerated if the board requested. The board moved and seconded the item and voted by voice to approve the engagement. Meeting participants said contingency funds were included in the Plummer scope to cover flexible or on-call advisory needs and limited legal support if necessary. Plummer presented Phase 2'4 as future work that would include needs assessment, a regional strategic plan, and coordination with partner agencies; Phases 3 and 4 would cover master-planning criteria and funding strategy respectively. Next steps identified during the meeting include integrating Plummer into the alliance's technical committee work, providing the firm access to Phase 0 materials, and bringing draft governance documents back to the full board for review and action.