Former Smith’s Gardentown co-owner holding town hall meeting for water contract

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) - Steve Smith, former co-owner of Smith’s Gardentown, nearly lost his business in the last drought from 2011 to 2015. Smith laid off almost 75 percent of his employees and was days away from closing the doors of his business when the rain came in May 2015.

Smith is forming a committee to educate citizens and oppose a contract to sell six and a half billion gallons of water to a hydrogen plant near Vernon. Smith sits on the Wichita Falls Water Resources Commission and claims that the City is not forthcoming with the facts concerning the contract to sell city water.

Smith is holding a town hall meeting at 7 p.m. tomorrow, Sept. 6, at 4007 Callfield Rd.

The City of Wichita Falls has released a list of frequently asked questions with corresponding answers regarding the proposed water contract. The proposal’s resolution had been postponed since Aug. 15 due to the WF Director of Public Works’s absence from a council meeting.

At that time, mayoral candidate Carol Murray had also requested that the City hold a public discussion on the proposal to allow citizens to hear the contract’s full details.