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Alice approves regional interlocal with Corpus Christi, Beeville and Mathis for water and wastewater projects
Summary
The Alice City Council approved an interlocal agreement to share engineering and operational resources with Corpus Christi, Beeville and Mathis to support well design, emergency testing and potential interconnections; council stressed that projects exceeding the city manager's $50,000 authorization will return to council.
Alice — The Alice City Council voted to enter an interlocal agreement with the cities of Corpus Christi, Beeville and Mathis to pool technical resources and coordinate on water and wastewater projects.
City staff said the agreement will allow Alice to draw on Corpus Christi’s engineering department for design guidance, help expedite well designs and provide testing and emergency support. "We decided to come up with an interlocal agreement with all four of the entities…to be able to work together additionally for either some kind of water project we need or utilizing their resources," a city spokesperson said during the meeting.
Why it matters: Alice and its neighboring cities draw from Lake Corpus Christi and face overlapping drought, supply and treatment challenges. Staff and regional representatives said the arrangement could speed technical work and reduce outside consulting costs on projects such as interconnections or reuse systems.
Council discussion and limits: Several council members pressed staff on a clause that allows city managers or their designees to document additional projects by separate letters of agreement. City Attorney cautioned that while city managers can obligate funds up to $50,000, larger projects would need council approval. "If it's gonna be over $50,000, we're all good?" a council member asked; counsel and staff said substantial projects would come back to the council for authorization.
Regional support and practical details: Representatives from Beeville and Corpus Christi spoke in favor. Beeville’s mayor pro tem and Corpus Christi staff described existing collaboration and pledged engineering support for well designs, reuse planning and emergency testing. Staff also said some of Alice’s reuse efforts (for irrigation) could be expanded with technical input.
Next steps: The motion to enter the interlocal agreement and authorize the city manager to execute related documents passed on a council vote. Council directed staff to ensure that individual projects above the city manager’s approval threshold return for council review.
