Runge city council members discussed accepting a mineral lease, among several other recurring items like grease problems and the town’s first responder unit, during their regular meeting October 9.

Hallettsville natural resource company Oil & Gas Management offered Runge $6,000 cash up front for the opportunity to explore mineral opportunities on city property.

The company also was offering a fifth of the profits from any valuable natural resource found on city property, allowing the potential for the agreement to bring more money to the city beyond the initial $6,000.

Councilwoman Irma Ortiz and Mayor Homer Lott thought it was a good idea, but Councilman Tony Casillas was skeptical and wanted to question the city attorney before proceeding.

Lott said the city attorney already is looking at the agreement. He suggested council approve the lease agreement with the stipulation that the city attorney has the final say on whether it’s accepted.

Casillas wanted to know what the city’s responsibilities were and whether or not it was legal for the mineral company to be drilling inside city limits. Lott said the city attorney would take care of those issues, but at first Casillas wasn’t satisfied with that answer.

Lott told Casillas it would be unwise to pass up potential income.

"If you’re going to pass up $6,000 … I don’t think so," he said.

Casillas suggested they all vote to approve the agreement with the stipulation that the city attorney looks into the legality of drilling inside the city limits and that the attorney ultimately has final say-so on whether the agreement is accepted.

All three council members voted unanimously to accept Casillas’ motion. Later in the week, the city’s attorney approved the agreement and it was officially accepted by the council, Lott said during a phone interview Tuesday.

Lott also brought up several recurring issues during the meeting, including:

•The town’s lack of emergency service coverage. Runge’s distance from the nearest hospital means an ambulance can take 30 minutes to arrive, Lott said. He pushed for a revival of the town’s emergency first responder program and said the state soon will be offering free first responder training to any residents that wish to become volunteers.

•The grease problem in the city’s sewer system. Lott said the issue is costing more and more and that residents absolutely need to quit pouring cooking grease down their drains.

"It’s going to come back to them sooner or later," Lott said. "I estimate that we spent close to $4,000 dealing with grease" this month.

•Frequent water leaks in town. The city dealt with 22 leaks last month and had to hire additional part-time help to make sure the town’s water stayed flowing, according to Lott. He said the solution is to replace the old black piping that is causing most of the problem, but did not give any specifics on when or how that project could be undertaken.