Are you a member of the Lakeway Activity Center? If so, your membership expires Friday! If not, please consider joining! The Activity Center is a huge asset to the Lakeway Community and membership is cheap - only $15 a year for residents inside the City! There will be a Members Appreciation Breakfast (read free breakfast) on Saturday, January 29th cooked by City Administration and elected officials. Here is a link to a membership application - call for reservations to the Breakfast starting Monday January 3rd at 261-1010.
Check out the Blood Drive link at the top! Its been updated for the next drive on Saturday, January 15 from 8am to 12 noon.
Lakeway qualified for Gold Leadership Circle recognition from Susan Combs, Texas Comptroller. The City got Combs' highest grade for transparency efforts in it's financial reporting to both the State and the public!
The Lakeway Police Dept. is once again seeking applicants for it's ninth annual Citizens Police Academy. Registration is from January 1st through February 1st, 2011. Here is a link for more info on the program. Check it out!
Tuscan Village is moving forward! I noticed workers framing several buildings - good to see activity there again!
From Chessie Blanchard, Assistant City Manager:
A directional monument near Highlands and Lakeway Blvd. was damaged a couple of weeks ago! If you have any information how this happened, please contact the Lakeway Police! It had to have damaged the vehicle that hit it!
The Development Plan for P. Terry's has been approved. A permit is expected to be issued mid-January.
Shannon Burke reports there are no items for January's ZAPCO meeting at this point. I'll let you know if that changes.
The damage done by the heavy rains at City Hall has been corrected and construction has been finished. Some carpet was replaced and work was done to keep it from happening again.
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I hope everyone has had a good 2010 and is looking forward to 2011! The City is moving in the right direction and sales tax revenues have hit a new high. Our staff has done an excellent job of curtailing expenses and helping the Council keep City taxes low!
I am looking forward to continuing this momentum in 2011. Please have a GREAT New Years and be careful in your celebrations, I want to see all of you next year.
Thanks again for looking! If you want an email when the blog goes out, simply send me a note at lakeway@bain.us - that will also work if you want off the email list!
Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Lakeway News!
I'm sure many of you saw the article in the Statesman about Mr. Mitchell and his speed trap website along with the report on the lawsuit settlement. The settlement decision was made and paid for by our insurers without much input from the City. In my opinion, the City is not concerned with income from traffic citations, It is a very small part of the budget. As a Council Member, I am concerned about the traffic laws and other ordinances being enforced in our City - I feel our residents safety and quality of life is significantly enhanced by the strict enforcement of our laws.
Our courts do a great job, in case you missed it, KXAN did a story on the court's traffic safety programs for teens a couple of weeks ago. It was the lead story on the 6pm news. One of our teen defendants was interviewed and he said the traffic safety programs on his alcohol violation changed his life. For the story click on this link! Judge Madison does a great job working to make our City and residents safer!
Our recently retired July 4th Chairman, Larry Elliott, is already hard at work on next years celebration! Take a look at a video he's found, it is a wonderful bit of history that I for one was not aware of and brings new meaning to our National Anthem! Click on this link to view the movie!
Please tell your friends about the blog if you like it and have them send me an email at Lakeway@bain.us to be added to my email list.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas Holiday and I wish you all a prosperous New Year!
Thanks again for looking!
Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us
Our courts do a great job, in case you missed it, KXAN did a story on the court's traffic safety programs for teens a couple of weeks ago. It was the lead story on the 6pm news. One of our teen defendants was interviewed and he said the traffic safety programs on his alcohol violation changed his life. For the story click on this link! Judge Madison does a great job working to make our City and residents safer!
Our recently retired July 4th Chairman, Larry Elliott, is already hard at work on next years celebration! Take a look at a video he's found, it is a wonderful bit of history that I for one was not aware of and brings new meaning to our National Anthem! Click on this link to view the movie!
Please tell your friends about the blog if you like it and have them send me an email at Lakeway@bain.us to be added to my email list.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas Holiday and I wish you all a prosperous New Year!
Thanks again for looking!
Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Special Birthday!, Council Results
There's a VERY special Birthday coming up in The Hills on December 24th! Ruth Lersch is turning One Hundred and Five, yes 105! This very special lady was given a special party at The Hills Country Club on December 19th. She was presented with her own day in her hometown of Wilkes-Barre, PA, her own day by proclamation of the Mayor of The Hills of Lakeway, an engraving from the Philadelphia Phillies, Flyers and Eagles as their most loyal fan and last but not least a letter of congratulations from Rick Perry, Gov. of Texas! Here is a link to more pictures. Happy Birthday Ruth!
The City Council met in regular session Monday night at City Hall. Here is the agenda.
First on the agenda was a Development Agreement with Crosswater Yacht Club. The residents of Graveyard Point again expressed their objection to any agreement with the Crosswater group - some of the area residents also felt it would be good for the community. The Council passed the agreement unanimously.
Editorial: Although a majority of the residents attending the meetings from Graveyard Point have objected to any agreement between the City and Crosswater, the agreement negotiated puts many restrictions on the developer that the City would not necessarily be entitled to otherwise. Those restrictions include: No boat ramp; no restaurant; no bar or music venue; parking restrictions; plus the ability to enforce the agreement. No part of the agreement restricts in any way any legal rights of the residents - it was the best solution in my opinion. The City will also be allowed to annex this property in a year so we will get some revenue from the situation.
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The Annexation of the Villas at The Hills was completed along with zoning ordinance changes that were required to finish this project including disannexation of the "Access Tract" that will be picked up in The Hills ETJ.
A replat of areas in the Highlands was completed and zoning issues were corrected.
There was an executive session where the Council discussed the purchase of several pieces of property for park land and in regular session approval was given to the staff to continue with that endeavor at funding levels discussed in the executive session.
All in all it was a very productive meeting!
Thanks for looking! More soon.
Joe Bain
Lakeway@bain.us
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Lakeway News!
Tuesday, December 14th, Travis County's Fire Marshall issued a Burn Ban because of the unusually dry conditions - this prompted Mayor DeOme to impose a Burn Ban for the City of Lakeway on December 15th.
You should start seeing our new Chevy Tahoe patrol cars - they are currently being outfitted and should be around town! Here is Officer Robert Latham and one of the new animal control pick-ups!
City Council will meet Monday evening at 6:30 PM. Here is the agenda. Council will be looking at a Development Agreement with Crosswater Yacht Club, several items will be addressed that relate to annexation of the Villas at The Hills, there is a request for a replat and zoning change for Highlands Phase 1, Section 2, and the Council will look at purchase options for public park purposes. It should be an interesting meeting!
It appears that sales tax receipts for October are down 7% from last year - Bee Cave receipts were up almost 10%.
A new restaurant has taken over the old Flores space - Santa Catrina features interior Mexican food like Manuel's or Fonda San Miguels. they should have opened for business last Wednesday - give them a try!
From Steve Jones:
Lakeway Police cleared a burglary case on fingerprint evidence last week - the suspect is in custody!
A project to remove rocks, boulders and construction waste between Lakeway Blvd. and Hayden Ridge is moving forward. Public works is cleaning and planting trees in this area.
Ramming Paving is almost finished with the street overlay project. They have completed everything except The Hills Drive and cleanup work.
So far this year 66 deer have been trapped. Trapping is on hold until after the first of the year to avoid conflicts during the holidays.
The Police Gala was a GREAT success! I will have more information about the funds raised later - the food, band and auctions were fantastic!
That's all for right now - more shortly!
Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us
You should start seeing our new Chevy Tahoe patrol cars - they are currently being outfitted and should be around town! Here is Officer Robert Latham and one of the new animal control pick-ups!
City Council will meet Monday evening at 6:30 PM. Here is the agenda. Council will be looking at a Development Agreement with Crosswater Yacht Club, several items will be addressed that relate to annexation of the Villas at The Hills, there is a request for a replat and zoning change for Highlands Phase 1, Section 2, and the Council will look at purchase options for public park purposes. It should be an interesting meeting!
It appears that sales tax receipts for October are down 7% from last year - Bee Cave receipts were up almost 10%.
A new restaurant has taken over the old Flores space - Santa Catrina features interior Mexican food like Manuel's or Fonda San Miguels. they should have opened for business last Wednesday - give them a try!
From Steve Jones:
Lakeway Police cleared a burglary case on fingerprint evidence last week - the suspect is in custody!
A project to remove rocks, boulders and construction waste between Lakeway Blvd. and Hayden Ridge is moving forward. Public works is cleaning and planting trees in this area.
Ramming Paving is almost finished with the street overlay project. They have completed everything except The Hills Drive and cleanup work.
So far this year 66 deer have been trapped. Trapping is on hold until after the first of the year to avoid conflicts during the holidays.
The Police Gala was a GREAT success! I will have more information about the funds raised later - the food, band and auctions were fantastic!
That's all for right now - more shortly!
Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us
Saturday, December 11, 2010
LCRA, MUD, Lakeway Update
Currently, the LCRA owns the barge where the Lakeway MUD and Hurstcreek MUD plus others get their water from Lake Travis. They have indicated they want to sell about 30 water systems they own and the sale would include this barge.
Since any commercial ownership could and probably would affect residents rates, the local MUD's had a meeting Wednesday and agreed to compile and send a letter to the LCRA to request that the barge be pulled from the sale of assets. I will attempt to keep you updated as information is made available. Here is a write up on the LakewayBee.com with more information.
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The Lakeway MUD met in regular session Wednesday. Here was the agenda.
The Wastewater Rate Adjustment for 107 Royal Oak Ln. was rejected by the Board.
The Policy Manual Changes were all approved - this included a Vehicle use change and employee On-Call changes. Water leak adjustments can now cross billing periods. COBRA agreements were passed. Item 8 was tabled until answers on requested adjustments were received from the LCRA. The MUD voted to make a $1000 donation to the Lake Travis Economic Development Study.
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The Lakeway Sing Alongs had another day of record setting shows
last Sunday. Green Santa will be able to make Christmas a happier time for many local youths with all the presents collected. Thanks to all the folks that make this possible every year!
Parks and Rec met December 10th. Here is their agenda. They will meet in special session on December 14th - here is that agenda!
The Lake Travis Cavs are meeting up today at Kyle field with Friendswood in the simi finals. I'm looking forward to another State Championship!
The CBC will meet on December 16 at 9:00 am. Here is that agenda.
Don't forget the Police Gala coming up December 17th at the Lakeway Inn. They still have tickets available and are looking for sponsors - please support this great cause! Here is the flyer for this special event. See you there!
More as I find out!
Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us
Since any commercial ownership could and probably would affect residents rates, the local MUD's had a meeting Wednesday and agreed to compile and send a letter to the LCRA to request that the barge be pulled from the sale of assets. I will attempt to keep you updated as information is made available. Here is a write up on the LakewayBee.com with more information.
_________________________
The Lakeway MUD met in regular session Wednesday. Here was the agenda.
The Wastewater Rate Adjustment for 107 Royal Oak Ln. was rejected by the Board.
The Policy Manual Changes were all approved - this included a Vehicle use change and employee On-Call changes. Water leak adjustments can now cross billing periods. COBRA agreements were passed. Item 8 was tabled until answers on requested adjustments were received from the LCRA. The MUD voted to make a $1000 donation to the Lake Travis Economic Development Study.
_________________________
The Lakeway Sing Alongs had another day of record setting shows
last Sunday. Green Santa will be able to make Christmas a happier time for many local youths with all the presents collected. Thanks to all the folks that make this possible every year!Parks and Rec met December 10th. Here is their agenda. They will meet in special session on December 14th - here is that agenda!
The Lake Travis Cavs are meeting up today at Kyle field with Friendswood in the simi finals. I'm looking forward to another State Championship!
The CBC will meet on December 16 at 9:00 am. Here is that agenda.
Don't forget the Police Gala coming up December 17th at the Lakeway Inn. They still have tickets available and are looking for sponsors - please support this great cause! Here is the flyer for this special event. See you there!
More as I find out!
Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Santa, Week Update, Police Gala
For those of you that are curious about Santa, I spotted him last night dancing with some residents - keep your eyes open, he lives here! Click here to see the video.
Thursday, Travis County Sheriffs Dept. was notified of a suspicious noise coming from a U.S. Post Office mailbox on Bee Caves Rd. After a full investigation, it was determined that the item in the mailbox was a cell phone being sent for repair. Thanks again to law enforcement for keeping us safe!
The Cavs are again on the march to a state title. they beat Cedar Park 21-20 in a nail biter Saturday night - GO CAVS!
Be patient, Pedernales Electric has contractors replacing 14 poles on Lakeway Drive - that along with the AT&T work is causing traffic delays. Hopefully they will be done soon!
From Steve Jones:
The Austin YMCA has completed a feasibility study for the Lakeway Area. The study showed adequate interest to justify a facility here and recommends that YMCA pursue one. Financial participation by the city would be problematic because a majority of the prospective members live outside the City. Here is the report.
In November, the Municipal Court utilized 93 hours of community service by court defendants. This has a value of $1,953 to the City. GREAT work!
Because of questions at the last Council meeting, more information was requested about the proposed fuel tanks the Crosswater Yacht Club is requesting. Here is that information. They estimate 1 fuel truck delivery a week during the high season.
From Julie Oakley (Finance):
FY 10 actual revenues over expenditures resulted in $216k more than projected. After all revenues and expenditures were accounted for the final surplus is $468k. The major difference is $57k additional sales tax and police department savings.
From Todd Radford (Police Chief):
We had a string of vehicle burglaries last weekend in the Challenger area. There was also a garage door left open and some items were taken. Please lock your cars and secure your residences! Don't make it easy for crooks to take advantage of you!
The police have issued pagers to all officers and dispatchers to increase departmental communication and to have an avenue to recall personnel in case of emergencies.
The Lakeway Police are presenting a Christmas Gala to benefit the Lakeway PD Memorial & Benevolent Foundation featuring dinner, drinks, dancing, a silent auction and casino. Please consider supporting our police force with your attendance and support! Here is a link to the brochure.
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Thanks for LOOKING! If you would like to join my email list, please send a note to lakeway@bain.us.
Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us
Thursday, Travis County Sheriffs Dept. was notified of a suspicious noise coming from a U.S. Post Office mailbox on Bee Caves Rd. After a full investigation, it was determined that the item in the mailbox was a cell phone being sent for repair. Thanks again to law enforcement for keeping us safe!
The Cavs are again on the march to a state title. they beat Cedar Park 21-20 in a nail biter Saturday night - GO CAVS!
Be patient, Pedernales Electric has contractors replacing 14 poles on Lakeway Drive - that along with the AT&T work is causing traffic delays. Hopefully they will be done soon!
From Steve Jones:
The Austin YMCA has completed a feasibility study for the Lakeway Area. The study showed adequate interest to justify a facility here and recommends that YMCA pursue one. Financial participation by the city would be problematic because a majority of the prospective members live outside the City. Here is the report.
In November, the Municipal Court utilized 93 hours of community service by court defendants. This has a value of $1,953 to the City. GREAT work!
Because of questions at the last Council meeting, more information was requested about the proposed fuel tanks the Crosswater Yacht Club is requesting. Here is that information. They estimate 1 fuel truck delivery a week during the high season.
From Julie Oakley (Finance):
FY 10 actual revenues over expenditures resulted in $216k more than projected. After all revenues and expenditures were accounted for the final surplus is $468k. The major difference is $57k additional sales tax and police department savings.
From Todd Radford (Police Chief):
We had a string of vehicle burglaries last weekend in the Challenger area. There was also a garage door left open and some items were taken. Please lock your cars and secure your residences! Don't make it easy for crooks to take advantage of you!
The police have issued pagers to all officers and dispatchers to increase departmental communication and to have an avenue to recall personnel in case of emergencies.
The Lakeway Police are presenting a Christmas Gala to benefit the Lakeway PD Memorial & Benevolent Foundation featuring dinner, drinks, dancing, a silent auction and casino. Please consider supporting our police force with your attendance and support! Here is a link to the brochure.
_____________________________
Thanks for LOOKING! If you would like to join my email list, please send a note to lakeway@bain.us.
Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us
Friday, December 3, 2010
Volunteer Appreciation, Police Christmas Gala, ZAPCO, Lights On!
Last night the City held their annual "Appreciation Party" for all the City volunteers that tirelessly help with the operation of our community! Early in the day, your elected officials and other volunteers helped with the decorations and set up.
It turned out to be a super event! Three awards were presented, the first to Ray Bartosh for "Unsung Hero" for his tireless efforts at the reception desk and an endless list of other volunteer activities.
The "Volunteer of the Year" award was given to the C
o-chairs of the 4th of July Celebration. Both tirelessly gave countless hours of their time to organize and make sure our July 4th Celebration continues to be the greatest! Both are retiring after last years event, having been involved with the event for many years. Many thanks to Nancy Clayton and Larry Elliott for a super effort not only this year but in many years past!Another exciting event coming up shortly is the Lakeway Police Christmas Gala that is benefiting the Lakeway PD Memorial and Benevolent Foundation. It will feature dinner, drinks, dancing, a silent auction and casino! Here is the brochure! It is Friday, December 17 from 6-11 p.m. at the Lakeway Resort and Spa. Please join me in supporting our local police and this wonderful event. See the brochure for ticket information - they also need silent auction items and sponsors. Thanks in advance for your help!
ZAPCO met last Monday - here's the agenda. All items were passed and the meeting was a short one.
The Lights On! Holiday Celebration is tonight from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at the Activity Center. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be there to light up the decorations! It will be a GREAT time and the weather looks is going to be great! See you there! Click here for more info.
That's all for now! See you tonight!
Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us
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