However, during a Bandera City Council meeting May 7, several residents spoke out against the plan, recalling the flood of 1987 in which lives were lost and houses got washed away. Dorothy Darden says she lost her manufactured home down to the floor, saying floodwaters have a tendency to rise quickly. “The Medina River rose in four hours, not seven or eight,” said Darden.
Tom Laxson said debris being swept down the river could knock homes off their pilings, noting, “If you allow this, it cannot be a burden to taxpayers if something happens and FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) rules that the city is at fault. Two people were killed in the 1978 flood. Think about what could happen down the line.”
A suggestion was made to re-purpose the property into a recreational vehicle (RV) site, to which the Graham’s agreed, saying there would be room for eight RVs. Recognizing the poential for danger, Bud Graham said, “I don’t want to take a chance so I’ll pay the fee and go back to P&Z (with this request),” he added. “In my heart this is what I would rather do.“ ##
(Photo credit: gendisasters–Bandera, TX flood 1987)
