North Collin Water Supply Corporation

The first meeting for what became the North Collin Water Supply Corporation, was held at the Melissa High School at Melissa, Texas, and the intent of the first meeting was to have a discussion about rural water supply for the area. The meeting was called by some of the local residents that lived near Melissa. When we arrived at that meeting, we learned they had already chosen a seven member board.

Edith McIntyre, a woman who was known in the community and who was from a prominent family in the area, attended the meeting. When we learned that they had already chosen a board, she stood up and said, “You all have chosen a board and we never had a chance to vote. I recommend you abandon this board and you elect this man sitting right here as president,” and she pointed to me. And guess what? They did. I became president that night and asked some from the group they had previously chosen, to join me. This meeting was prior to the June 26th meeting addressed in the McKinney Weekly Democrat Gazette, June 30, 1966 edition, which lists myself and six others as directors and I was also president although the paper didn’t list the officers.

McKinney Weekly Democrat Gazette June 30, 1966

Following the meeting reported on, in the June 30th edition, we held several meetings and during those meetings I indicated to them that I preferred surface water rather than drilling wells and there was a great deal of discussion of the matter.  A number of those on the board with me wanted well water and I presented the reasons why I believed surface water was the better alternative.

First and most importantly, if we purchased surface water from the City of McKinney, it would take less operational personnel; we would be free of any maintenance issues.

If we drilled wells, we could anticipate equipment failures at some point and residents would be without water until repairs were made and we would bear the expense of the repairs.

Contracting water from the City of McKinney would require them to fulfill the contract and they would have a much greater means of supplying  the needs of the community than we would.

This is how I presented my recommendations to contract surface water and frankly, I could not see we had an alternative that would provide an uninterrupted water supply for the long term.  After much discussion from others we decided to hold a meeting to vote on the issue, drilling wells versus contracting surface water with the City of McKinney. I had already talked with McKinney and they had agreed to supply water to us.

At the meeting to decide the issue, all seven members of our board were present, including myself. Three members voted for drilling wells and three voted for surface water. As president, I voted to break the tie and I voted in favor of contracting with the City of McKinney to supply our water—the motion was passed.

The next morning when I arrived at my office, one of the board members was standing outside crying. He and three others had agreed to defeat the motion to contract water from the City of McKinney and when he arrived at the meeting, one of them had decided to switch their vote. The three were very unhappy but I held firm with the outcome of the vote and the November 7, 1967 news article in the Courier Gazette reflects that the McKinney City Council had signed a contract to supply water—about  a million gallons per month—to the North Collin Water Supply Corporation.

The Courier Gazette November 7, 1967

God was with me that day. This was a powerful move of God and I want to give glory to Him. Jesus Christ wanted North Collin Water Supply Corporation to purchase their water from McKinney and He changed that board members heart and he voted accordingly.

Proverbs 21:1:

The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

Doyle Davidson
First president of North Collin Water Supply Corporation

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