What's Happening!

Lots has happened in the last two weeks so here we go!

The site development permit was issued for the new Library and I see construction has started on the site. Looks like we are on the way to having a new library!

One suit in one suit out.

El Paso Medical Group (Rene Arredondo), dropped their lawsuit against the city after about 17 months of negotiations. The City feels the current project consisting of 8 large residential lots and two hangars with limited occupancy requirements will preserve the residential recreational character of the airpark and is a significant improvement over the original plan. The developer will still need to submit an engineered plan along with a rezoning request and a Special Use Permit.

A resident in our ETJ (Fox Creek Subdivision) is unhappy with BDS for processing a re-plat of a lot in his subdivision. Robert Cummins believes that certain notes contained on the original plat prohibit re-subdivision of any lots in Fox Creek - City Staff and our attorney disagree - so Mr. Cummins has filed a legal action to enjoin the City from approving the plat. Since this is in our ETJ it appears we will have to deal with this even though we receive no tax revenue from the residents.
____________________

The Board of Ethics met this week to consider conflict affidavits filed by the candidates in the May general election. Anita Cokins is the only candidate who disclosed a potential conflict of interest, and the board determined that her affidavit meets the requirements of the ethics ordinance.

Lakeway Municipal Court Wins Traffic Safety Award again! Congratulations to Judge Madison for his forward thinking that continues to keep our city ahead of the game. Here is a link to the press release.

Council met on March 19th, here is that agenda. The Annual Audit was presented by Singleton, Clark and Company, P.C. There were absolutely no issues or problems found and the City received a clean audit. Thanks to Finance Director Julie Oakley, CPA for a wonderful job! Likes Opie's too - what more can you want?

Mrs Oakley was given authorization to apply for funding form CAPCOG's Regional Solid Waste Grants program supporting construction of a permanent household hazardous waste facility in Lakeway.

Item 8 was passed amending the budget to allow for donations and expenses that were not in the original budget.

9-10 were passed, annexation was requested by the developer and matched the development plan requirements.

12. A Zoning Code Amendment was passed that clarifies permitted uses in C-1, C-2 and MMC zoning classifications.

13. Zoning at 3230 RR 620 S. was changed from C-1 to MMC to match the rest of the Hospital area zoning.

14. Funding was approved for landscaping improvements on Lohmans Crossing and Lakeway Blvd.

15. And finally, Gary Wood was appointed to the Heritage Commission - Congratulations!

I'm seeing lots of Election signs out on the city roadways! Please make an informed decision when you vote! It's important to have a Council that is interested in keeping Lakeway the wonderful place to live that we all enjoy and will work all the issues that come before it!

Mayor DeOme has sent a letter to Mayor Leffingwell (City of Austin) requesting Lakeway residents be exempted from the cost of the general fund transfer in the proposed new electric rates under consideration for Austin Electric. This will probably be a central issue at the joint Council Meeting next month, April 14th from 10am until noon.

The Austin Statesman published an article quoting Mayor DeOme about traffic on RR 620. Here is that article. Txdot apparently feels the traffic is normal.

The City Staff continues the work on a Hotel Occupancy Tax for the City. There will be more on this before it comes to the Council.

The Open Meetings Act at work - Because of stipulations in the Open Meetings Act it appears your incumbent elected officials are prohibited from attending the "Meet the Candidates" forum. Since there are three folks running as incumbents and Council business will be discussed, members of Council not running for election cannot attend. We are also unable to attend any fund raisers or candidate forums where all three candidates are in attendance. I have personally talked to the Texas Attorney General's office and have verified this information. Call your state representative and lets get this fixed!

Recovery Ways is now pursuing a Special Use Permit for an addiction recovery facility at the Hospital Site. It will be on the agenda of the ZAPCO meeting next week.

Two police cars have been damaged as a result of collisions with deer. It's that time of year so be careful - it's devistating for the deer and doesn't do you vehicle much good either!

As stated earlier, ZAPCO will meet in regular session next Wednesday at 9AM - here is that agenda.

That's all I have for the moment - more as it happens!

Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us

Here's the Lakeway News!

Have you noticed how everything's GREEN? What a nice change from the end of last Summer! To go along with the recent rain, Lakeway MUD has changed the watering restrictions and moved to a Stage 2 level. This means you will get a chance to practice changing your sprinkler settings again! Here is the new schedule.

This is old news but it appears that Lakeway will have an election this year for City Council. Five have signed up for the election, three incumbents and two others. Here is the list:

Dee Ann Burns-Farrell - Incumbent
Dave Taylor - Incumbent
Bruce Harris - Incumbent

Kay Sconci
Anita Cokins

A Drawing was held for placement on the ballot, here is that result.

All candidates are required to file an Affidavit and Statement of Representation, one had information that disclosed relevant information - here is that Affidavit from Mrs. Cokins.

Last Week from Chessie Blanchard:

Staff met with representatives from the Lakeway Church to discuss their new driveway. They intend to seek a variance in order to delay installation of the required vegetative screening or wall between their property and the adjacent residential use.

Last week, staff met with representatives from the LTISD to discuss plans for the new middle school to be built in the city’s ETJ on the west side of Bee Creek Road. They will likely need a variance from our impervious cover limit, which is 35% in the ETJ.

The city was served with a lawsuit regarding the subdivision and development of a lot in Fox Creek Estates, located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Flint Rock Road and Serene Hills Drive in the city’s ETJ. The plaintiff alleges that the city erred in allowing a lot owner to move forward with plans to subdivide his lot into two lots and issuing driveway permits to that effect.

The department’s 10th Citizens Police Academy began this week as well, with 23 citizens registered for the 13 week program. CPA alumni continue to be a great source of volunteers in the community, and Todd has some great ideas for additional ways to use this pool of volunteers in the future.
---------------------------
For those that get their electricity from Austin Energy, here is some information on the rate hike from a group called Homers United for Rate Fairness (HURF).

There will be a joint meeting of Lakeway City Council and Austin City Council on April 14, 2012 in the Lakeway City Council Chambers. If you are an Austin Energy subscriber, I suggest you attend.

Also mark your calendar - on April 28th there is another Drug Take Back Program. Here is more info on that program.

City Building Commission (CBC) will meet in regular session March 22, 2012. Here is that agenda. It looks like it will be a full day!

In case you haven't noticed, the City has a new website. It went on line Friday and looks GREAT! Check it out! www.cityoflakeway.com

From Steve Jones:

Dave DeOme and I participated in a tour of the Bamberger Ranch yesterday. This is the ranch where most of the cedar (Ash Juniper) trees were removed to restore the land back to its condition before being overrun by cedars. It was very impressive. We learned that their intent was not to eradicate cedars, but to remove cedar breaks (areas of dense growth) to allow natural grasses to be reestablished. Natural grasses reduce runoff and promote rainwater percolation into the ground, thus increasing groundwater accumulation. Cedar trees promote rainwater runoff. They also absorb a lot of rain, preventing it from ever reaching the soil. The ranch also encourages removing cedars from close proximity to hardwood trees. This aids the hardwood trees by reducing competition for water. Dave and I are interested in this because there has been some discussion of doing something similar here in Lakeway.

Our city engineer had a pre-construction meeting with Starbucks on Wednesday. Construction fencing is already in place between Wendy’s and Bank of America, and we should see construction soon.

BDS issued the building permit for the new public library this week. We expect to see activity on the site before the end of the month.

On April 28 (10:00 am to 2:00 pm) our Police Department will once again team up with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Austin Police Department to conduct a fourth National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. The event provides an opportunity for city residents to safely dispose of any unwanted and unused prescription drugs.

Tuesday evening Lakeway kicks off its Wildfire Awareness campaign. Invitations have been extended to city officials, city management and board members from twenty homeowner associations. This is the start of a conversation about how to apply proactive wildfire protection strategies in Lakeway. Assistant Fire Chief John Durham of Lake Travis Fire Rescue will introduce concepts behind the popular Firewise program. Chief Durham successfully guided Spanish Oaks and River Place to become recognized Firewise Communities. He is currently working with several other neighborhood associations to address their wildfire concerns.
--------------------------
And finally, City Council will meet in regular session Monday, March 19th at 6:30PM in the Council Chambers - here is that agenda. You can now see the information contained in the Council Packets we receive prior to the meetings. Here is a link to that information.

That's all for now - more soon I'm sure!

Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us

The Weeks News

There was a press release this week announcing that LCRA will NOT release water downstream to the farmers this year. It appears that we will be given a chance to replenish the Highland Lakes - hope for rain! Here is the press release.

The "Great Texas Warrant Roundup of 2012 began this week! If you have a warrant, contact the Lakeway Municipal Court at 314-7560 and avoid being picked up!

ZAPCO will be meeting Wednesday, March 7th at 9:10AM. Here is that agenda.

Parks and Recreation Committee Meeting is Wednesday, March 7th at 5:00PM. Here is that agenda. Here is a link to Andra Dearing's weekly report.

City Building Commission will meet Thursday, March 8th at 9:00AM. Here is that agenda.

On Thursday, March 1, LTISD and first responders held a mock DWI awareness event. Students witnessed a full-scale mock drunk driving crash at the school's band parking lot.

Saturday, April 14th is the date selected for a joint meeting of Lakeway City Council and Austin City Council in Council Chambers at the City hall from 10AM until noon. This will be a public meeting discussing the Austin Electric rates and Austin is looking for public input. For those that get their electricity from Austin Electric, mark your calendars - more on this soon!

From Steve Jones:

Shannon Burke reports that we issued a temporary certificate of occupancy this week to allow employees of the new Regional Medical Center to prepare for a mid April opening date.

The Library reported that they had a short delay in the review of the construction contract, but they intend to execute the contract by March 21. The work schedule is for 245 calendar days (not including weather delays) which takes it to about the first week in December for completion.

The police department reports that officers responded to a burglary of a vehicle in progress at the 2300 block of Lohmans Spur this week. A juvenile suspect attempted to evade officers, but he was caught and arrested.

Paul Duncan reports that the HEB wastewater line along Serene Hills is complete. The next step is a force main installation along Flint Rock Road from Tonkawa Trail West to the WCID 17 treatment plant off Flintrock Trace. They plan to start that project within the next couple of weeks. This work will require lane closures on Flint Rock Road and traffic delays.
_______________________

More as I find out - have a GREAT week!

Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us