The city of Dublin took the first steps to secure financing for a $2.9 million water line project grant through the Texas Water Development Board.
At the Monday, Nov. 10 meeting, city council heard from Deanne Carson of Government Capital who is the city’s financial advisor. The $2.9 million grant has a matching portion of $210,000 which the city will be financing through certificates of obligation.
At the meeting, council approved a resolution authorizing publication of notice of intention to issue combination tax and surplus water utility system revenue certificates of obligation. These COs are being secured at zero percent interest for the city over the next 30 years.
“Your engineers did a great job applying for the right kind of project,” she said.
After the notice to take on debt appears in the newspaper, the city is required to wait for 45 days for public input, and then start the next steps. Carson said they are hoping to close the process in February 2026.
The project itself will be to replace a 14-inch transmission line from the Upper Leon Master Meter off CR 339 all the way to the water tower.
The original 1970s line is steel, and when it breaks it costs the city significant time and money to fix, Interim City Manager Cameron Ray said.
“This is a water line that Mauro and Cory get really nervous when anybody does any construction around it,” Ray said.
Councilmember Nancy Williams clarified that no new roads would be torn up while fixing this water line. Ray clarified that they would not.
“All of the help from Government Capital and our engineers has been invaluable,” Ray said.
Municipal Judge appointed
The city also approved appointing Justice of the Peace David Martin as an interim Municipal Judge after the termination of former longtime judge Juanita Vasquez.
Judge Martin will remain interim municipal judge until Jan. 12, 2026.
During public comments, Attorney Health Allen made his public application to become municipal judge. He has been a practicing lawyer for 22 years and has received Best Lawyer in Best of Erath for four out of 5 years. He has been very involved in Dublin and the community, including sponsoring such events as free swim days at Dublin’s city pool and Erath’s Shop with a Cop event.
“It would be a privilege and an honor to serve Dublin as the municipal judge,” he said.
Book complaint
Council addressed a complaint regarding a library book brought forth by Heather Anderson after a post on social media.
Anderson posted a video of specific pages on social media of “Sex is a Funny Word” by Cory Silverberg.
The books is described on Amazon as “A comic book for kids that includes children and families of all makeups, orientations and gender identities and is an essential resource about bodies, gender and sexuality for children ages 8 to 10 as well as their parents and caregivers.”
At the meeting Monday during public comment, Anderson explained she came across the book at the library when she was there with her kids.
“My daughter is a big fan of reptiles and she likes to free read at the library. Like most parents we just let our kids go through books, we figure it’s ok to let them read and discover all these books without being indoctrinated with gay ideologies and masturbation,” Anderson said. Anderson said when she originally picked up the book she saw it mentioned good touch and bad touch so she thought it could be a great teaching tool for her children, however, with further examination she said it tells kids that they can choose which gender they want to become.
“This is not ok. By having books like this, we are sexualizing our children. I understand that kids at a certain age can be taught about sexuality however the parent chooses to do, but to have this book in the children section. Everyone says don’t ban books, don’t ban books if you are going to ban books you might as well ban the Bible too. Well the Bible isn’t in the children’s section. You have Bible stories, but not the full Bible,” Anderson said.
During the agenda item, Library Director Adina Dunn clarified the book was located in juvenile life science – human body section which is where the book is categorized in every other library that has it throughout the state.
“Normally when we have someone that is offended by a book, we have them fill out a request for reconsideration form. Currently, that has not been done by anyone,” Dunn said.
Since the book was brought to the attention of the city, the book remains checked out for review by a member of city staff.
“We were still waiting some guidance from our legal counsel and Adina brought some knowledge to us about a case that is at the Supreme Court right now. Before we take any further action, we need to wait until we get guidance. I understand the public comment about the book, and I agree with them personally, but to avoid litigation I think we need to follow the policy and check with legal,” Ray said.
There is currently a case awaiting feedback from the U.S. Supreme Court out of Llano County over 17 books being removed which are mostly about race, gender and sexuality.
“We can move it to the parenting section but it still opens it up if someone in the community fights back,” Dunn said.
“We want the library to be educational, but we also recognize that there is appropriate books. This doesn’t seem appropriate,” Councilmember Sammy Moore said.
Currently, the library has the following written policy on the subject: “The choosing of reading materials is a purely personal matter. Each patron is free to choose or reject materials that he does or does not approve of. No one can restrict the freedom of choice for others. Responsibility for what children read or view is up to the parents or legal guardians. The library does not serve in loco parentis (in place of parents). Selection of materials will not be judged on the possibility of certain materials coming into the child’s possessions. The presence of a book or other material in the library does not indicate its endorsement.”
Dunn said some of what is in the book is being taken out of context and the library has had the book for 10 years with it circulating 10 times by library patrons. No one has ever complained on this book before, and it was originally purchased through a Texas Book Fair Grant utilizing recommendations made by the Texas Library Association.
“I knew it was recommended by many professional librarians for that age group,” she said.
“I’ve seen the material,” Councilmember Bo Kabala said. “I wouldn’t say, in my opinion, that there is anything out of context there. And if I may, kind of push back against the Federalism point that we have to wait for the Supreme Court weigh in before we make any decisions. We do not have to wait for the Supreme Court to make a decision. My understanding of the law, in the absence of a decision, we have a limited extent of a municipal sovereignty and I would just venture a guess that that book doesn’t reflect the preferences of 95% of the citizens of Dublin.”
Dunn said if she was required to relocate the book, she would put it and others from the juvenile nonfiction and teens regarding sex education into the parenting section.
“If there are others that are of that same caliber. That’s something that I would recommend, is that they all go under review. Let’s get a good idea of what people are recommending, and whether it really reflects what we want children to see. I know that’s censorship to some degree but it’s also protecting our children,” Moore said.
Ultimately, the council agreed to wait until legal counsel was received to take any further action.
Disclosure: Managing Editor Paul Gaudette is Dublin Public Library Board President.