The Activity Center has lots of activities & classes coming up in February! Additional information is on our website: www.Lakeway-Tx.gov
Remember, 2014 memberships are due! It is $15 per household per calendar year for residents and $70 for non-residents. If you have not signed up, please do so today. Help them save tax dollars by renewing over the phone with your MasterCard, Visa or American Express so we don’t waste paper and postage. Your membership helps support community theatre, free musical performances, Summer Kick Off, Goblin Glow, Movies in the Park and many other Parks & Recreation events! Members get discounts on classes, early sign up for special events, preferred seating, free notary, free local faxes/scans (discounted long distance faxes)and many other perks. Call them to sign up or if you would like additional information on becoming a member at 512-261-1010.
Mayor DeOme and the Council support the approval of LCRA's emergency order. Here is a link to the full release.
The Charter Review Committee met this week and has pretty much finished their review of the City Charter - they are recommending a change of term from 2 years to 3 years for Mayor and Council. This would have many advantages and the term limits would change so no member could serve more than two terms - total of six years as it is today. This should come to Council's next meeting.
Last week Earl Foster, general manager of Lakeway Municipal Utility District, accepts a certificate of appreciation from Lakeway Mayor Dave DeOme, right, for the utility’s efforts to reduce wildfire risk in the city in 2013. Lakeway City Council recognized LMUD at the council’s regular meeting Jan. 21.The City of Lakeway and Lakeway Firewise Committee recently recognized Lakeway Municipal Utility District for its assistance in the city’s wildland fuel reduction program in 2013 that reduced the threat of wildfire.
LMUD collected more than 14 dump truck loads of wood chips from brush and wildland fuels at the Estates of Lakeway Hills.
The utility also partnered with Boy Scout Jacob Beneski on his Eagle Scout project that cleared out brush on the utility’s cedar tract near The Summit at Lakeway assisted living center.
“They’ve done a significant amount of work for the city’s Firewise program,” Lakeway Mayor Dave DeOme said.The Lakeway Firewise Committee will host a Home Wildfire Ranger Training Class - here is a link to more information.
From Steve Jones:
I attended a CAMPO meeting hosted by the Four Points Chamber of Commerce on Monday. Concerns expressed by the public at this meeting were very similar to those expressed at the meeting held here in Lakeway. The difference being that they are concerned with traffic congestion on RR 620 from Steiner Ranch to Anderson Mill and beyond.
A presentation was made by Brian Thompto, a member of the A second one was presented my Maureen McCoy, Executive Director of CAMPO. The recurring theme is that there is little money available to fund road projects, and local funding is critical for including projects in CAMPO’s 2040 Plan.
I represent the city on an ad-hoc transportation group, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce, which was formed to advance local efforts to mitigate traffic congestion on RR 620. At our meeting this week, the group determined to form a coalition of governmental and private organizations to raise local funds that can be leveraged with funding from TxDOT and CAMPO as a source to finance mid-term traffic improvements on 620. The plan is to raise funding for a “corridor study” that would identify possible projects and estimate their cost. With some work and time, we hope to secure funding for projects that will have a meaningful impact on traffic.
From Chessie Zimmerman
Staff has completed the first review of the Lexus of Lakeway site development permit application and returned comments. Assuming the comments can be addressed quickly, we anticipate issuing a site development permit within the next few weeks.
CAMPO has identified available funds in the region, and, in response to a request from the Policy Board, has formulated a framework for allocation. Approximately $29M will become available in Travis County. There is no clear guidance yet on how projects will be selected for funding, but it’s been suggested that each county will put out a call for projects and employ some sort of scoring mechanism to select those to be funded.
CAMPO has scheduled several additional mobile meetings in support of the 2040 Plan development process. Steve or I will attend those meetings when possible. The next action item for the plan from the Policy Board will be the adoption of recommended modeling scenarios (February), followed by endorsement of the comprehensive list of projects (March). The process and structure are quite confusing, but I’ll try to answer questions if you have any.
From Sharon Cole:
“We had a phone hearing with Texas Workforce Commission on January 23 regarding a previous employee’s unemployment claim. The city’s position was upheld and unemployment was not awarded. [This is the third consecutive case in which the city has prevailed.] In 2009, the City of Lakeway received an ‘Employer Support for the National Guard and Reserve 5 Gold Star Recognition’. The city has again been nominated for the 2014 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. Verification paperwork was completed and submitted. If the City of Lakeway should be selected as a Texas representative, the city would compete on a national level.”
From Dale Delong:
Due to the cold, wet weather on Tuesday morning, a couple of Public Works employees were called in around 2:00 a.m. to prepare for the possibility for icy roadways. While the actual roads did not ice over this time, the few bridges that are in the city did accumulate some ice. They were treated around 6:00 a.m. that morning.
The traffic count study for the Lohmans Crossing and Lohmans Spur intersection started on Thursday and will continue until next Friday.
Bid openings for the milling projects on Lakeway Dr. and Lakeway Blvd were done on Monday. We had three bids (Lone Star Paving, Ramming Paving, and Alpha Paving). Alpha Paving was the low bidder. City Engineer Paul Duncan is in the process of getting comparable job references from Alpha Paving before the bid is awarded.
From Troy Anderson:
“This week members of our staff attended a five day training program on the basics of code enforcement. This five-day course is a requirement for any individual wanting to register as a code enforcement officer with the State of Texas. This course has been incredibly informative and has provided wonderful tools and resources for improving our day-to-day operations of code enforcement. We have also prepared agenda packets for next week’s Zoning Commission meeting which involves an appeal of an administrative determination concerning sign policy, a zoning change request, and a recommendation for code amendment.”
Ruth Sandoval reported that we had 41 defendants this morning for court, and one jury trial for a moving violation.
Chief Radford Reports:
The big event for the week was another ice/sleet storm. LPD staff overcame the inclement weather and reported for duty without significant delays. Pre-planning efforts were made to ensure that there was fresh canned food in the pantry and other supplies for use in the event staff had stay in the city/PD for multiple shifts. There were no major collisions or damage noted in the city during the storm.
Our police K-9s were deployed six times in the past week with three arrests; all for assort drug possession crimes (meth, marijuana, cocaine, and one controlled substance).
A minor was arrested in front of Jasper’s bar for public intoxication. The minor had been served by Jasper’s. TABC was notified.
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On another Traffic / CAMPO note, I was appointed Tuesday by Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty as a member of the CAMPO (Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization). This is a long term planning committee that also has input on funding area projects. I hope to help Commissioner Daugherty get help for small Cities surrounding Austin. I am honored to have been chosen to serve on this committee!It looks like the LTISD is facing a budget shortfall after a review of the finances. They apparently face some cuts to staff, although they are hoping that attrition will solve the issue.
Looks like next weeks weather will be challenging again - we have had more winter this year than in the last 5 - go figure! I drove into Austin Tuesday morning about 6AM and crossed over the lake on the bridge on 620 before it closed - a solid sheet of ice!
Enjoy the warm day today! More as I find out about it!
Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us
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