Council met in regular session Monday evening - it was a record short meeting - one item on the agenda was passed unanimously - it vacated a plat on the Neiman property on 620 to allow for the sale and further development of the property.
The 2014 edition of the Lakeway Resident’s Directory will be delivered to every home in Lakeway and The Hills January11, 2014 (weather permitting). The weekend of January 18, 2014 is the alternative weekend if we are unable to deliver on January 11 or 12. Here is a link to more information if you would like to be included in next year's edition.
You might have heard about the aggravated assault on Sunday on Fantail Loop where Lakeway PD and Travis County SWAT responded - apparently the suspect was holding a hostage at gunpoint. The situation was handled by the officers and no shots were fired. Here is a mugshot of the suspect - Steve Lobato - he is in custody.
There was more excitement at the PD Tuesday - it appears that a squirrel got into a transformer box and blew the power to the PD. After several hours, power was restored and everything was up except for some computers that were damaged and the internet being down - they were able to handle the issue with very little interruption to the services they provide with the backup power! GREAT job guys!
Captain Farr and Sgt. Brown attended a law enforcement meeting organized by MADD. The topic of the meeting was “no-refusal” blood draws relating to DWI arrests. Lakeway PD is the only agency other than Texas Parks and Wildlife, in central Texas, that incorporates no refusal procedures every day. Other agencies, including APD, are looking to expand their no-refusal programs. Like many agencies, they only do it on special holidays. MADD will be collaborating with LPD to display our efforts in the enforcement of DWI during their next news release.
We are collaborating with LRMC and a private mental health organization to conduct some mental health training for our officers in the near future.
We had eight narcotic K9 deployments this week, with associated seizures/arrests for possession of marijuana, cocaine residue, possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia. The K9 team also participated in Solo’s Christmas Party at the Hills Country Club, a Lakeway Police Foundation benefit event.
Dispatcher Megan Coutee joins us after having worked at Horseshoe Bay PD and Marble Falls PD, bringing 13 years of dispatcher experience.
==========
From Steve Jones: While our sales tax receipts continue to outpace last year’s collections, we are slightly below our budgeted numbers in FY 2014 (see attached). We may have been a little too aggressive in making sales tax predictions. However, we are only 1.4% below budget. We may be able to make up the difference as we move through the year.
We continue to work with LTISD, Bee Cave, and Briarcliff on the cost of next May’s election. Travis County is collecting information from participating jurisdictions in order to provide us with a more definitive cost estimate. Preliminary assessments are lower than first thought, and we will work with the county to lower the cost even more. We want to avoid a huge increase over our past cost for elections.
Mayor DeOme and I met with representatives from the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District late last week to discuss the implications of our area being compelled to become a part of their district. As with the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer district, the Hays Trinity sees the proposed inclusion as offering no benefit to either party. We will continue to evaluate our options and push for removal from the priority groundwater management area, which would resolve the problem permanently.
Staff met with representatives from the Abercorn International School. Abercorn is still working toward expanding their operation, and has made progress toward separating the private school use from the proposed commercial use on the adjacent site. We expect to see a revised submital from them in the near future. Chessie continued discussions with Lexus of Austin and Stratus regarding proposed developments. There are a number of items related to both the Lexus project and the grocery store/commercial downtown project scheduled for public hearings and action in January, and she is working diligently with these applicants to finalize their packets.
Chessie attended the December CAMPO Technical Advisory Committee meeting this week. CAMPO staff is providing regular updates on the progress toward completion of the 2040 Plan. The latest update is attached (2040 progress report). Please note that mobile meetings, like the one held last month in Lakeway, are scheduled for January 27 in the Four Points area, and for January 28 in Leander. Staff plans to attend these meetings in order to learn more about the priorities in those areas.
We met with Brian Thompto and Dan Hodges, residents and leaders in Steiner Ranch, this week to discuss our involvement in the CAMPO 2040 Plan. They appear to share our desire to prompt transportation planning for the future of our area. We agreed that western Travis County should form a coalition of cities, businesses, neighborhoods, and civic leaders to promote the inclusion of our area in CAMPO’s long-term planning process. Apparently, our definition of planning differs somewhat from CAMPO’s. CAMPO’s idea of a plan seems to be a list of projects that are ready for funding and construction. We believe that planning should be much broader and should attempt to identify ways to meet the future transportation needs of the planning area.
===========
Watch your credit card and bank statements - Target had a huge issue - you probably heard about it on TV - their POS system was hacked and they have information from credit cards, debit cards, etc. The Secret Service is investigating.
And last but not least - the Lakeway Players are looking for a few good folks to star in their next production - for more information click here!
I'd like to wish everyone a VERY Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Thanks for all the support!
Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us
No comments:
Post a Comment