Citizens Complain to LG Council

The La Grange City Council fielded a couple of complaints from citizens during the public comment period at their meeting Monday night, April 13.

Vicki Ramirez addressed the Council about city policy concerning residential solar power. Some utility company offer solar power buyback in which the utility credits customers for the excess power generated by residential solar panels. The City of La Grange does not offer such a program.

Ramirez said she installed solar panels on her home in June of 2025. She said her panels generate about 10 to 30 kilowatts of excess power daily.

“Not that I want it given to the city, but that’s where it’s going because I don’t use that much electricity,” Ramirez said. “I just feel like they pay for their electricity from LCRA, so why shouldn’t they pay the solar owners here in La Grange for the electricity they are getting from them? We are buying our (solar panels) that are making this electricity for them to receive free.

And it does add up.”

Since Dec. 16 of last year, Ramirez said the City has received 1,995 kilowatts of free electricity from her solar panels.

“However, in those 4 months, I had to pay for 870 kilowatts of electricity that I used at night,” she said.

“I have been told by the city many, many times that they have no competition and they can do as they please,” Ramirez said. “That is not the way to treat customers or citizens of La Grange.”

After the meeting, City Manager Jack Thompson said they city may be interested in pursuing a power buyback policy for customers with solar systems. Coincidentally, Thompson said, he had recently spoken with a representative of the City’s power supplier, the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), about implementing such a policy.

“It is something we’re looking into,” he said.

The next speaker at the meeting was Myrtle Ann Etlinger, who said she discovered her electricity was cut off without notice on Friday, March 27. Etlinger said she paid her utility bill over the phone with a credit card on March 6. By the time she discovered her electricity had been disconnected, two freezers at her home had thawed out. Etlinger said she called the City and spoke to the answering service, who informed her for the first time that her March 6 payment did not go through. Etlinger said she had to wait until Monday, March 30, before the power was turned back on.

After speaking, Etlinger presented the City with a claim for her losses.

After the meeting, Thompson told the Record that the City tried contacting Etlinger multiple times about the nonpayment, but the phone number she had on file with the City was evidently no good. He said the City did not charge her a late fee or a cutoff fee. Thompson said he spoke to Etlinger about the dispute and advised her about ways to avoid a power cutoff in the future.

The final speaker was Theresa Von Rosenberg, a long-time proponent of drainage improvements in town. Von Rosenberg inquired about the status of the drainage improvement projects that the Council recently authorized. City Manager Jack Thompson said a pre-construction meeting with contractors was scheduled to take place this Wednesday, April 15. Thompson said he would know more about the construction timeline after that meeting.

During the business portion of the meeting, the Council approved a few matters. They approved a resolution canceling the May 25 City Council meeting due to the Memorial Day holiday.

The Council also approved Mayor Jan Dockery’s recommendation to appoint Gene Carson to the Board of Adjustments.

The Board of Adjustments handles requests for variances, special use permits and special exceptions to the City’s Zoning Ordinance.

In addition, the Council authorized road closures for the inner and middle parking areas by the north entrance to the Courthouse along Colorado St. for Movie Nights on the Square, which take place on Friday, May 8 and Friday, May 15. The areas will be closed to traffic from 5 p.m. until around 9 p.m. on those days. Movie Nights on the Square are hosted by La Grange Main Street. Councilwoman Kathy Weishuhn said Main Street will soon post ballots for the public to select which movies will be shown on those dates. She said the ballots will be on Main Street’s Facebook page.