Breckenridge Texan

By Carla McKeown and Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan

The City of Breckenridge’s Public Works Director, Kegan Burns, submitted his letter of resignation shortly after noon Thursday, June 26, saying, “there are too many violations coming down the pipeline and too many illegal environmental operations going on that will take too much time to resolve.” The topic will be addressed at the regular Breckenridge City Commission meeting on Tuesday, July 1, according to City Manager Cynthia Northrop.

Burns had been the public works director since late April of this year. His resignation was effective at the close of business on Friday, June 27, according to the letter addressed to Northrop, city commissioners and other city employees.

In the letter, Burns specifically addresses problems with the city’s wastewater treatment system, a situation that, according to many sources, has been a problem for many years. “Every lift station we have is operating out of compliance,” he said in the letter. “Every treatment system at the (Waste Water Treatment Plant) is currently under violation because none of it works. You have an aeration basin that does not create air, clarifiers that do not clarify, no way to dispose of sludge, and you have approximately 60 days to fix all of this. It is very unlikely that will happen.”

Two times earlier this month, Northrop issued public notices regarding the overflow of sewage in the city due to the heavy rains in the area.

In a follow-up phone call with the Breckenridge Texan on Thursday evening, Burns said there are multiple issues the city is facing regarding the wastewater treatment system, ranging from the sewage overflows to a lack of safety covers with latches over the lift stations to prevent anyone from falling in the holes.

The sewage overflows pose a health risk to anyone coming in contact with the sewage, he said. For example, anyone fishing in the creek downstream from the overflows could be exposed to bacteria from the wastewater, Burns said.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is aware of the violations and has issued a 60-day deadline to get the lift stations repaired, he said.

“You have great people working here, but you need to start having City Council Meetings about infrastructure, not codes, parks, fire, or zoning,” he said in his resignation letter. “If you continue to focus on this, you will not be able to meet your TCEQ deadlines.”

Burns likewise urged Breckenridge’s residents to get involved. “I wish your city the best of luck, but the people need to start coming to the council meetings and letting their voices and complaints be heard in there,” he said in an email. “They need to overload them with the water and sewer issues they have or this place will not get fixed.”

Northrop said the topic of the wastewater situation will be addressed at the Breckenridge City Commission’s regular meeting, scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 1, in the City Commission chambers in the administration building, 105 N. Rose Ave. (north side entrance). The issue will be covered under the City Manager’s Report in an agenda item labeled “Update on TWDB (Texas Water Development Board) Project.” There does not appear to be an agenda item about the topic that requires the city commission to take any action.

In a phone call Friday afternoon, Northrop said the City has been working with TCEQ and the TWDB to plan and make the necessary repairs. In the past two and a half years that she’s been the city manager, there have been improvements at two of the lift stations, she said, but there is still work to be done.

“This problem has been brewing for 50 years, and … I don’t think it’s any one person’s fault at all,” she said. “… what I’m trying to do is address it and address it head-on. … I haven’t hidden the fact that it’s always been a big public issue. … From the city’s perspective, we’re taking the steps that we need to take.”

In July 2024, the City Commission unanimously approved the Breckenridge Comprehensive Development plan that was prepared by Public Management, Inc., of Houston and Enprotec Hibbs & Todd (eHT) of Abilene. In the “Wastewater System” section, the plan includes information that TWDB is funding projects to rehabilitate the lift stations and install improvements at the wastewater treatment plant (probable costs, at that time, were $2,000,000) and to replace the wastewater collection lines (probable costs, at that time, were $1,000,000). Both projects were scheduled to take place from 2024 to 2025.

On Thursday, Burns said that part of the City’s proposed wastewater plan had been approved by TWDB earlier that day but that it wasn’t the part that included the lift stations. Additionally, he said, the process would have to be put out for bids and that it could be six months before work on making the improvements begins.

Northrop said she will be discussing all of the issues and the current plan at Tuesday’s meeting. Anyone who wants to speak at the beginning of the meeting during the public forum section must fill out a public comment form (available at the meeting) and turn it in to the City Secretary before the meeting starts. The mayor and commissioners are limited in their response to comments made during the public forum section of the meeting because they are only allowed to discuss topics that are on the agenda, according to the Texas Open Meetings Act. For example, they may make statements of fact, make a statement concerning the policy regarding the item, or propose that the item be placed on a future agenda.

Click here to see the agenda for Tuesday’s City Commission meeting.

Cutline, top photo: Kegan Burns introduces himself as the City of Breckenridge’s new Public Works Director at the May 6 meeting. He submitted his letter of resignation last week. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)