POINT VENTURE—The Village Council decided to take a stand against municipalities discharging effluent into Lake Travis at its regular meeting Monday.

Mayor Richard Shinn said he initially thought discharging effluent could be an acceptable option, but after researching the issue he is strongly against the idea.
“I am of the opinion that Point Venture should take a stand against reusing wastewater effluent into the lake,” he said. “They do have processes that could make it safe, but the standards that are set would not necessarily mean that that methodology is being used.”
All Council members agreed with Shinn. Councilmen Bob Helton and Ron Hruby were absent.
“I feel long term for the lake it would probably be a bad move to allow municipalities to put effluent back into the lake itself,” said Councilman Jeff Warneke.
Shinn said he would reach out to Volente Mayor Jan Yenawine to see about joining forces with Volente in its fight against effluent discharge. Mayor Pro Tem Bob Adolph suggested asking the Point Venture Water Control and Improvement District to write a statement the Council could support. The Council agreed with Adolph and discussed coming up with a resolution fighting effluent discharge in the lake.
Later in the meeting, the Council agreed to move forward in expanding the role of its code enforcement officer after speaking to the assistant city attorney.
Assistant City Attorney Jason King said a 1995 opinion issued from the Texas Attorney General’s office would make him reluctant to designate the Travis County Sheriff’s Department to enforce municipal ordinances. He instead recommended the village designate a code enforcement officer to do the job.
Ed Stuart, a former councilman, is the current code enforcement officer in his capacity as the village animal control officer.
“I understand you currently have a code enforcement officer,” King said. “There is no reason why they have to be so restricted, so certainly a code enforcement officer is a viable option.”
King said he would provide the council with an opinion letter and a sample ordinance to designate a code officer. Council took no action on the item.

Other Council action
—The Council moved to appoint Courtney Waters as village building official.
—Stuart informed the Council that the village expects to hear back about the review of its ISO rating after December. Stuart said that after the visit everything looks “extremely promising.”
—Shinn discussed possibly contracting with Grant Government Services to seek out grant money for the village.
—The Council voted to move forward with several road-resurfacing projects, which include Cedar Circle and Venture Drive, with 2009 and 2010 Capital Metro grant funds. Adolph said he hopes that once the road projects have been completed the village won’t need to undertake another road project until 2012.
—The Council voted to rescind a $25 fee for general construction permits.
After consulting with Point Venture Property Owners’ Association President Jim Hawkins, who had previously discussed the issue with the POA attorney, the Council came to a consensus that the POA should start enforcing deed restrictions in order to address village parking issues.