The Rest of the Story!

I sent out an incomplete edition Friday to get info out on the "Lights On" program - here is the rest of the blog!  There was a GREAT crowd at the "Lights On" program and Santa's visit - lots of kids and parents braved the cold to welcome Santa and Mrs. Claus to start the Christmas celebration!

From Steve Jones:  We have good news on the Flint Rock Road project.  After reviewing the plans at the 30% stage, HDR (our engineering consultant) revised the estimated cost of the project.  The revised estimate is about $200,000 less than the original.  We still have a long way to go, but so far, we are on schedule and under budget.  

By all reports, last night’s volunteer appreciation dinner was a great success.  I really appreciate Lacie Hale and her minions for a job well done.  

Speaking of Lacie, she was offered the position of city secretary for Westlake Hills and she accepted today.  We hate to see her go.  She has been a wonderful addition to our staff for the past year, and replacing her will be difficult.  However, we also celebrate this extraordinary career opportunity for Lacie.  If you see her, wish her good luck on the next phase of her life.

From Troy Anderson:  Earlier this week, staff had the pleasure of speaking at the Keller Williams Team Meeting.  We were able to share with the local agents where we have been over the course of the last year, what is on the books now, and where we hope to go in the year 2014.

Also, this week, the City’s Zoning Commission recommended approval of a plat vacation for the Jazz & Gym Subdivision, a one-lot subdivision near the intersection of 620 and Clara Van.  The plat vacation will return the land to its un-platted state and allow for consideration of any future plats, namely Lexus of Lakeway.  The Commission also approved an expansion of a previously approved cut and fill variance for the multi-family tract located near the intersection of 71 and Serene Hills.  The 300+ unit apartment complex can now resubmit site development plans for the project to be known as Mansions at Lakeway.  All other items were postponed to the January 8, 2014, meeting of the Commission.

Internally we continue to prepare for in-house inspections as minor remodeling to City Hall is underway including assembly of new workstations and a rebuild of our plan racks over the weekend and into early next week.  Interviews are scheduled for Monday, and we hope to have at least one inspector on board by the first of the year.

In other news, we met with the City’s prosecuting attorney this morning in an attempt to better our code enforcement policies, practices and procedures.  As we recently filled the vacant code enforcement officer position, this is a great opportunity to retrain all of our officers.

From Chief Radford:  Officers took a report of a stove stolen from a home under construction on Grant Cannon.  This type of theft from homes under construction is common and the culprit is usually someone associated with the construction project.  There was no forced entry in this case and the investigation is ongoing.

Officers responded to a disturbance on Peninsula Way and ultimately filed charges against a commercial water delivery driver for theft of water from a hydrant.

Officers assisted the fire department and MUD 17 with a sewage line break on Deerfield Cove.

On Wednesday night, an unknown person(s) used a pellet gun to shoot a hole in one of the windows at the Valero and then went up Gebron shooting holes in two car windows.  There are no suspects at this time in this incident.  LPD night patrols will be heavier in this area over the weekend.

Detective Mary Proctor traveled to San Antonio to interview victims of a foreclosure fraud case.  The case is being worked as a misapplication of fiduciary property, which is a felony.  This investigation has been ongoing since 2010 and is being prepared for grand jury presentation in cooperation with the district attorney’s office.
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CBC will meet in regular session on Thursday December 12th. Here is that agenda.  Looks like a pretty busy day for them!

North Star will be making an educational Lakeway Branding presentation at 5:30 PM December 9th at Lakeway City Hall - here is a link to more info.

I hope everyone is enjoying the Holiday Season - it looks like the weather is going to deteriorate again this evening - please drive carefully and stay warm!  Don't forget the Sing Along program this afternoon at 2:00 and 4:30 - don't forget to bring an unwrapped gift for a child - see you there!

Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us