09131965 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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regu I ar meet i ng, september 13, 1965 page two Dona I d Brad, owner of Aquat i c Sports, I nc., was recog- nizedby the Mayor. He stated he had come In the inter- est of scuba d; v i ng, and woul d like to request the Coune i I again, as he had in June, to designate the lower part of the lake at the headwaters of the San Marcos River as a restr i cted area for scuba divers. He sa i d the ma in part- ies concerned had not been able to get together for an ami cab I esett I ement, as directed by the Counc i I i n June, so. he had onca again asked to come before the Counci I, in case. there were any questions he could answer that might b~ the cause of the case remaining unsettled. He introduced James F. Dickson, from the Attorney General's office in Houston, Joe Robertson, physical director for the Houston YMCA, and George Herrera, Houston YMCA scuba diving instructor. Mr. Br~d said they were concerned with bringing scuba diver groups from Houston, as the San Marcos River was a great tourist attraction, since it has. the clearest water in the State. He said they were concerned that the San Marcos River should be kept open as public waters, and theywou I d Ii ke to know what the future ho I ds for scuba divers in San Marcos. Mr. Brod quoted from a water safety bi II, .. House. B i [I 69, wh i ch became effect i ve Aug. 30, 1965, and stated that there might be some I ega I aspects in question that could change the picture, locally. Mayor Serurintervened to ask ~r. Brod if he had a written legal opinion on the eff~ctiveness of HB69. He recal led to Mr. Brod that they ha~ dr;~en out together to the locat- ion in question. Mr. Brad ca.lled on Mr. Dickson, who intro- duced himself as being from the US District Attorney's of- fice in Houston. He stated he had fami liarized himself with HB69, and there were several questions that bothered him as to its legislative. effectivenes;. He quoted one section, "... a boat shan not pursue a circuitous course around a swimmer..." and said:"Aquarena is charging people to go on publ ic water". The Mayor asked: "Aren't the scuba divers charged for rental of equipment?" Mr. Di~kson ans- wered:"Yes, but not to go in the lake... Would Aquarena be cons j dered a restr i cted area? The Counc i I shou I d make soma effert to settle this." The Mayor said: "Aquarena cannot proh i bit anyone from go i ng in the lake; the quest- ion is, do you have legal access?" Mr. Dickson sai~ a pri- vate landowner .could grant access. The Mayor asked if the dam were not owned by Paul Rogers. Mr. Brod answered that the Lower Colorado River Authority had bui It it, he under- stood, but he thought Paul Rogers now owned it. Mr. Dickson said even if the dam were privately owned,"they can't pre- vent egress and ingress", Alderman Pool, recogniied by the Mayor, said to Mr. Dickson: "Sir, I have s.tudied constitut- i ona I law state and nat iona I law - have even taught courses in it....'There is nothjng more confusing than the overlap between Common Engl ish law and the I" ight of pr i or appro- pI" i at i on. I suggest that you have a I ega I prob I em, not a legislative or administrative problem." Mr. Dickson said: "There are several ways to test this law... we may have to make a test case. We are only asking .that the City Counci I set aside a certain place (for scuba divers) where they can organize.." The May?r reminded the attorney again that there is no restriction on divers going into the River. Alderman Froh stated that the Counc; I had gone on record in June as recognizipgthe right of citizens to use public waters and had advised the interested parties to get to- gether' and work out a satisfactory agreement. Mr. Dickson I I I