Bandera City Council requested additional verification during its Jan. 12 meeting and tabled a vote on whether to reimburse TJ’s at the Old Forge owner Arlene Guerra for thousands of dollars in claimed losses stemming from a sewage repair dispute with the city’s public works department.
Guerra said miscommunication with Public Works Director Terry Wells led to delayed repairs and a forced closure, resulting in lost revenue and out-of-pocket plumbing expenses. City officials later determined the sewage issue was caused by a deteriorating clay pipe estimated to be 30 to 40 years old.
“We got with Arlene and made a plan for what date was best for them for the repair,” Interim City Administrator Jill Dickerson said. “They initially thought that the repair was going to take just half a day. But the clay pipe ended up being over six feet in the ground, so they had to dig all the way down to replace 20 feet of pipe to get it up to code. So, it took them the whole day.”
Because of the delayed opening and expenses Guerra said she incurred after Wells allegedly told her the sewage issue was not the city’s responsibility, she requested reimbursement for both the day’s lost revenue and the cost of hiring a plumber.
Dickerson said the invoice submitted for lost revenue was based on a daily sales report from the same date in 2024, something she said was not agreed upon during a prior meeting with Guerra.
“I don’t know why it was 2024 daily sales,” Dickerson said. “I understand it was a Monday, but like I said, we have had other restaurants close for similar issues, and we did not reimburse them. That’s not my decision; that’s up to you.”
Wells said the initial issues at TJ’s began in November 2024, when a plumber hired by Guerra contacted him and said the sewage issue was the city’s responsibility. Wells said several ongoing issues occurred through Jan. 5.
Wells and Guerra disputed how often they communicated. Wells said Guerra contacted the city three times, while Guerra said she contacted Wells’ department many more times.
“This went on and on, with delaying openings because of the smell,” Guerra said. “It has caused a lot of conveniences, and I haven’t said anything, but enough is enough.”
Speaking during the public comment period, Gerald Russe, owner of Riverside RVs, described a similar experience with Wells during a sewer dispute in 2022.
“We had many meetings and we were forced to spend thousands of dollars,” Russe said. “Hiring experts to dig up and check our lines since the report from public works was adamant there were no issues on their side.”
Russe said the city later consulted with engineers at ARDURRA, who he said refuted the public works report.
“In the end, the city ended up having to replace several hundred feet of line, and it cost the city around $130,000,” Russe said. “In the letter we wrote (to the city), we wrote [Wells] was either totally incompetent or he falsified his findings on an official city public report. His decisions and actions have cost the taxpayers thousands of dollars, and he is a financial liability to the city. When will enough be enough?”
Russe said he ultimately received reimbursement from the city due to the errors.
Dickerson said the city has encountered similar issues in the past, citing a recent shutdown at a local strip mall.
“Part of the issue is that these are twenty, thirty-year-old pipes,” Dickerson said. “That are clay, that are crumbling, and we don’t really know where they all are because they were put in so long ago.”
Council members Jeff Flowers and Lynn Palmer voted to reimburse Guerra $775 for plumbing services but declined to reimburse the $4,838 in claimed lost revenue. Council members Tammy Morrow, Debbie Breen and Deanna McCabe did not join the vote.
“It just seems excessive, November through January,” Breen said.
Wells said he told Guerra only once that the issue was not the city’s responsibility and said she should have contacted the city again when problems continued.
Guerra said she would not call the city first because she would be told to check on her end first before calling the city.
Breen later requested a new motion to reimburse Guerra $5,000, but the motion was tabled until the next meeting after Mayor Denise Griffin requested additional verification of the claimed revenue losses.
“You’re making a decision based on what she submitted, and there is nothing to back it up,” Palmer said to Breen, adding that she took Wells’ word that it had not been a consistent communication error. “I just that we’re setting a precedence by reimbursing businesses the amount – we don’t have any proof that that’s what she usually brings in.”
The Bandera Bulletin emailed several requests for Wells’ credentials and employment history. In 2022, he received an award recognizing five years of service to the city.
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