Conroe Clarifies Position Over Willis ISD's Water Fight at Calfee Middle School

In a session that could be described as contentious at times, Mayor Duke Coon and the City of Conroe, held a rare Saturday City Council meeting to address citizen inquiries and explain the city’s position in reference to the water concerns at Willis Independent School District’s Calfee Middle School. The district’s newest campus on Longmire Road, CMS is located just outside of the city limits of Conroe, and is set to open on August 13th, as teachers arrived on the morning of the 11th. The meeting notice was posted on August 6th by Conroe’s interim City Secretary Sami H. Quinlan, for citizens’ inquiries for a period not to exceed 30 minutes. The move by Mayor Coon and the city council was in reaction to a social media firestorm that started to take root on August 4th when Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough, expressed concerns over water issues at the school, just before the start of the new school year. Keough’s Facebook posts gave the impression that the city was holding the water main hostage at the school, but at the same time was not accounting for the City of Conroe’s stance on the issue, nor their obligations towards the legalities involved in the project.

The issue stems from a ‘Certificate of Convenience and Necessity,’ or CCN, which is related to water and wastewater projects, that is granted by the Public Utility Commission of Texas. CCN’s are necessary to discuss water contracts between entities such as WISD and the City of Conroe. Many Willis supporters were under the impression that Conroe was using the water situation as a bargaining chip, but Conroe played it cool, not overreacting to the social media hype in keeping their powder dry. They brought the receipts, and calmly argued their case, leaving many, when the session was over, in a quiet state, perhaps questioning the social media outrage, when the situation called for calm the whole time.

For the issuance of a CCN in regards to the water main at the school, when Willis ISD bought the land in November 2020, the property fell under the CCN of Aqua Texas, which is a competing water utility provider. Which meant that the City of Conroe was unable to provide water services for any projects regarding the construction of the school. In February 2024, Aqua Texas sent a letter indicating their willingness to relinquish their CCN rights to the City of Conroe, citing that a formal process must be completed for the transfer. The City of Conroe, during the special Saturday session showed slide after slide that it was proactive in seeking the necessary legal documentation from Willis ISD to facilitate the transition, which never materialized.

It appears that the county engineers office and Willis ISD hedged their bets that Conroe would annex the property, but apparently there was no back up plan in place with inter-agency cooperation should the event never happen. Willis ISD reacted in a delayed reaction by relying on the Aqua Texas relinquishment letter to stand as the CCN for the project. The problems experienced have definitely set a precedent not only for Willis ISD, but for any future developments in Southeast Texas and the State as a whole, with similar situational issues. Water is a precious resource, and with development moratoriums in place for new residential construction being held up by water concerns, the issue could potentially impact local population and infrastructure growth in Montgomery County.

The water had been turned on for testing on July 29th at the campus, but then turned off the tap since the CCN had not yet been issued. That ignited the spark on social media that trended bashing Conroe for their actions, all based on supposition. WISD filed a Temporary Restraining Order against Conroe Public Works Director Norman McGuire, and the City of Conroe on August 6th, in the 457th District Court of Judge Vince Santini, with an August 21st hearing date. The TRO was issued on August 7th, signed by Judge Tracy Gilbert, standing in for Judge Santini, and immediately ordered the opening of the water valves to the campus. The 457th DC ruling will remain in place until the court makes a further decision, following a hearing later this month, and contract negotiations between the two entities upon the issuance of a proper CCN in Conroe’s name.

The important thing is that water is now being supplied to the school. Many thought the CCN issuance was the responsibility of Conroe, but city officials clearly placed the onus at the hands of WISD. The situation is unique in that the school is WISD’s, the water system is Conroe’s, and the school property lies just outside the boundaries of the City of Conroe, but clearly within the city’s extra-territorial jurisdiction, or ETJ.

Judge Keough was the first to speak, and blasted the City of Conroe in reference to the city’s bureaucracy and red tape, saying the attempt to hold the students, staff, and taxpayers at bay was uncalled for.

“What the City of Conroe has done to Willis ISD is nothing short of vindictive,” said Judge Keough. “Eight days before school starts, Conroe chose to shut off water not because of a public health issue or emergency, but because of a political stunt.”

The Judge went on to say that the annexation that Conroe had discussed for almost two years, with WISD expecting that the event was to take place. A vote to annex the property has taken place, but no further action has been taken. The Judge asserted that Norman McGuire, by his own action, rescinded the annexation action on July 30th, two weeks before the school doors were to open, with demands for millions of dollars of fees. It was a statement that furrowed eyebrows.

“That’s not government,” said Keough. “That’s a shakedown.”

Keough continued his statement noting the city’s failure to honor its agreements, such as with the Old Conroe Road and David Memorial Drive extensions; wondering where the money went for those projects. The judge didn’t mince words in holding Conroe accountable for their deals, and not holding up their end of bargain. Keough urged the council that “We can do better” in his closing, before receiving a tremendous applause from the supportive audience.

Councilwoman Marsha Porter then interjected, in regards to the Judges remarks, that Assistant Director of Public Works, Jason Miller, address the health issues noted by Keough; City Administrator Gary Scott, to address the annexation; and Purchasing Contract Administrator and Engineering Projects Specialist Brandy Taylor, note the fees collected from WISD in reference to Calfee Middle School. Porter’s requests were related to correcting information that was posted on social media, that may not necessarily be true. After Porter spoke, several people in the audience started with outbursts to stop the citizens allotted time clock which had been running while the former coach had been speaking. Mayor Coon had to remind certain members of the audience to remain calm.

“We got to work together today to get a resolution,” said Coon in maintaining order. “Hollering in the audience is not gonna get us anywhere, so let’s follow procedure, and we will get where we need to be.”

Mayor Coon continued to press for the next speaker, while Porter pushed for the information she requested. Councilman David Hairel asked Mayor Coon to note to the public, that council has the right to speak, and the public will get their allotted time. He then asked for the citizens’ clock to be set to 27:00 minutes.

“We have the opportunity to correct misinformation,” said Hairel. “That’s in our policies and ordinance that we voted on, but we will not subtract minutes from the citizens opportunity to speak.”

Conroe Assistant Director of Public Works, Jason Miller, was then asked to address the council on the health issues in relation to the schools water. He noted that in the Federal and State drinking water acts, it is his office's responsibility that the water is safe, sound, and of good quality delivered to our residents.

“The middle school has some issues, because they didn’t have the backflow preventers tested, nor did they have a customer service inspection completed at the time,” said Miller. “A customer service inspection is required by the State of Texas, in order to provide continuous water service.”

Miller noted that Conroe is unable to go outside its jurisdiction in order to supply water to another CCN. He stressed that he closed valves on the exterior and interior of the building once the system was tested with a temporary water flow specifically for the event. Gary Scott yielded to Deputy City Administrator Nancy Mikeska in regards to annexation information. She noted that in December 2024, four parcels were considered for annexation which included the middle school. Staff were directed to prepare and gather data, develop service agreements on qualifying properties, to set and hold public hearings, as well as to take other necessary actions to prepare for the final annexation of the parcels.

“Two of the parcels considered came to fruition for annexation,” said Mikeska. “And the other two parcels could not be considered because they did not qualify. The Willis campus parcel did not qualify because the City of Conroe did not own the CCN at the time.”

Ms. Mikeska was unaware if Willis ISD was notified, but replied to emails in June 2025, stating that it was unlikely that the city was going to annex the property before the start of the school year, and stressed that there was no council agenda in reference to annexing the parcel at all. Engineering Project Specialist Brandy Taylor, noted that the actual amount of permit fee collections from Willis ISD was $210,756.04, far from the $400,000 in collections as falsely noted on the internet. And far from the incredibly high amounts that were noted in the social media hype, with some saying into the millions.

Councilman Harry Hardman inquired of Jason Miller in reference to communication with the county, to which Miller asserted that he did not recall any communications with anyone from the county. Miller recalled conversations with Willis ISD and Aqua Texas following the purchase of the parcel by the school district in fall 2020.

Nancy Mikeska presented a slideshow showing emails from November 13, 2020, even before the purchase of the property later that month.

“Willis ISD knew before the purchase of the property that the City of Conroe did not own the CCN,” said Mikeska. “The city provided guidance to Willis ISD and their representatives. Three years later, the CCN still had not been resolved.”

Mikeska then presented a February 19, 2024 letter from Aqua Texas agreeing to relinquish the CCN. The city still did not own the CCN, and could not legally provide the campus with permanent water. The lengthy process and legal steps take time, she said. A February 23, 2024 email from City of Conroe Building Official, John Manglameli, inquired into the status of the CCN release from the county engineer, and the developmental permit resubmittal; because the contractors at that time were requesting to drill piers to get the projected started. Mikeska read a social media misrepresentation in regards to city involvement in the project, then produced an email from now deceased County Engineer Dan Wilds, dated March 4, 2024, to City Engineer Chris Bogert, stating that based on his conversation with Precinct 1 Commissioner, Robert Walker, that the City of Conroe intended to annex the property, he has no objection to the city taking over the review, permitting processes, and responsibility for the site. In another email on the same day, political pressure was mentioned along with an interlocal agreement to get the annexation process started.

In April 2024, Randy Roan, the subcontractor for the CMS project, requested water for a tap application, to which Chris Bogert, replied that the CCN was still in the hands of Aqua Texas, and that the water tap was not legally viable being issued by the city. In May 2024, Conroe Utility Manager Christine Santiny, noted ‘major’ issues in an email to the primary contractor Durotech Superintendent, Lucio Hernandez, still citing the lack of a viable CCN to proceed with water and wastewater issues. Mikeska continued to press home the legality in regards to the project, and noted all the parties on the email including contractors as well as Willis ISD representatives.In late May 2024, Christine Santiny sent an email to Willis ISD Chief of Operations & Construction, Bob Eaton, again stressing the CCN issue and requesting documentation directly from the Public Utility Commission, rather than the CCN release letter from Aqua Texas. The email noted that they granted Randy Roan’s requests for taps in regards to paving, going outside state regulations, and asking Eaton: Why did they expect the City of Conroe to break the law on Willis ISD’s behalf? Mikeska presented a slide of the meeting minutes on the annexation to back up all claims of legality, plus everything is posted on the Conroe website.

In March 2025, Conroe Utility Manager Christine Santiny, again reached out at the direction of Public Works Director Norman McGuire, to Willis ISD’s Bob Eaton, noting the CCN still being in the hands of Aqua Texas.On June 5, 2025, Conroe Water/Sewer Maintenance Foreman, Shane Nelson, was contacted by subcontractor Randy Roan, calling to verify if they had the right to use the water, and informed Nelson that the water at the middle school had been turned on without the City of Conroe’s authorization.

“The city went back out there and turned it off,” said Mikeska. “The CCN was not in the name of the city.”

The Nelson email also noted that that wasn’t the first time the water had been illegally turned on without city permission. Mikeska also presented an April 2024 waiver that Conroe would provide construction water, but forbade the use of continuous water until the Conroe CCN was in place. The waiver also noted violations and enforcement actions should it be detected. Bob Eaton signed the letter agreeing to the terms for Willis ISD.

The first offense of the water being turned on illegally was on May 30th, with the second on June 5th as noted in the Nelson email. The city locked the meter on June 6th. On June 10th, the city sent a letter to Bob Eaton addressing the concerns, noting the locks being destroyed, and the water being turned back on without city authorization due to the CCN issue not being resolved was a grave concern. On June 12th, Christine Santiny again reached out to Bob Eaton, this time fining Willis ISD $5,000, which was agreed to by the district, but they claimed they did not turn on the water. Mikeska noted that the fine was paid.

“While Conroe addressed the CCN in 2020, Willis ISD did not file the document to the Public Utility Commission until March 28, 2025,” said Mikeska, in reference to Willis’ application for the CCN change from Aqua Texas to the City of Conroe. A correction and clarification were issued in April accounting for a delay. The document was accepted by the PUC on July 25, 2025, again delayed by computer network issues with the agency. On July 29th, while the documents were filed with Montgomery County for processing, the City of Conroe again locked the water valves following testing of the system. Following MC’s processing of the CCN file, the documents were immediately routed back to the PUC for Filing for Record and Approval. The City of Conroe finally received their CCN to legally allow continuous water to Calfee Middle School on Tuesday, August 5th, which dumbfounded the Mayor when informed by Mikeska.

Following the presentation, other citizens spoke along the same lines as Judge Keough. The Mayor, Council, City Administrator, City Attorney, and Willis ISD School Board Secretary Chad Jones, all weighed in on the remarks and presentation. The Willis ISD Temporary Restraining Order issued by the 457th District Court, against Conroe Public Works Director Norman McGuire, and the City of Conroe, will more than likely be immediately dismissed by Judge Santini at the August 21st hearing date. But it remains to be seen if the Judge will dig into WISD asking the question of “Why did a simple request for a change of CCN to the City of Conroe from Aqua Texas, take over 4 years and 4 months to submit?”