Garrett Engelking, announced his candidacy for the Refugio City Council, Place 2. This week he released the following statement:

My family is very important to me, and my wife Rebecca Davis Engelking is of Woodsboro. As such, community becomes important to our family, and it is this community that I wish to serve.

History, heritage, and community are the things the Town of Refugio has, and it is these qualities that make our town unique. This community is changing but history, heritage, and community should remain central to the change that we are facing.

Moving here five years ago I faced many adversities, my job as General Manager of the Groundwater Conservation District meant there was change coming to the County of Refugio, but this change was for the protection of the county’s water resources.

The management plan, rules and monitoring programs that have been established through the groundwater district serve to protect our water resources. I believe that change is good for the community as long as that change protects the very thing that makes the Town of Refugio, home.

Rebecca and I have a son, Clayton, who is 4 and attends Pre-K at Refugio Elementary School, a daughter Emma, who is 2 ½ and a new addition that is due in July. We attend Faith United Church in Woodsboro in which I serve as a Trustee.

I have served on the Refugio County Chamber of Commerce for the last five years and just recently began serving on the Refugio County Community Development Foundation. I also serve on the South Central Texas Regional Water Planning Group which is responsible for planning for the water resources of South Central Texas for the next 50 years.

Change can be exciting and scary, but I believe change would be beneficial to our community: just not at the expense of the taxpayers. In serving on the council I would like to improve upon the foundation that the current city council has established.

One of the biggest mistakes we can make is not enforcing the policies that are currently in place. The continuance of doing nothing is no longer a viable policy for a city that desperately needs change: change that will support growth and increased economic activity.

The Town of Refugio is in need of a program to help with the disposal of dilapidated buildings. I believe that this community would do more to beautify our community if we had a program that assisted with the removal of these materials.

In closing, I am here to serve the community, and I believe that the history and heritage of Refugio are the things that make it home.

I respectfully ask for your vote for the Refugio City Council, Place 2 position on Saturday, May 9 with early voting from Monday, April 27 through Tuesday, May 5.