Monday evening was my first meeting on the CAMPO Board. Interesting night! We accepted Maureen McCoy's retirement letter and voted to contract with K-Friese Associates to provide an interim Director until a permanent one can be hired. This is complicated by the fact that the Assistant Director position is also open. We heard a report form the Chair of the Transit Working Group headed up by Mayor Leffingwell, and heard from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute on "What's the Long Term Strategy for IH35?". The I35 presentation was particularly interesting - with all the current 2040 plans input into their model, the traffic still gets worse! Several other iteems were discussed and voted on including moving federal funds from the SH45 project to US 183 - this means there will be no federal funds associated with the SH45 project and that project can move forward faster. Here is a link to the entire agenda and backup documents.
Also, Tuesday there was another cold wave expected and City Offices and area schools were delayed / closed. I drove into Austin early Tuesday morning and had no issues.
City Offices will be closed Monday for Presidents Day so the City Council will meet on Tuesday evening. Here is that agenda. Items of special interest include a presentation from Alan Tye on the results and recommendations of the Charter Review Committee, a presentation from Sledge Engineering on a street overlay program and we are looking at a proposed timeline for annexation of land West of Bee Creek Road.
Here is the latest report on the doings of Parks and Rec from Andra Dearing - as always she does a GREAT job of keeping us informed of the happenings in that department.
TCEQ met Wednesday to hear testimony on the contested case by the downstream water irrigators. Mayor Dave DeOme was one of many speakers at the hearing and no decision was made. The final decision will hopefully come on Feb. 21. Thanks to the Mayor and Steve Jones for participating in this important issue to protect our lakes and drinking water!
The Lakeway Municipal Court is being recognized for the 5th year for their Traffic Study Initiatives - there will be a presentation at the Council Meeting Tuesday. GREAT job Judge Madison!
Local Artist Johnnie Fields' students are displaying their art at the City Hall Art Gallery From Feb. 18 through March 27. We have wonderful and talented artists right here in our little City - please stop by the City Hall and check it out!From Steve Jones:
On Monday of this week, the Lakeway Visitors Commission approved up to $25,000 to fund a market analysis for the city’s proposed convention/event center. The purpose of the study is to explore the feasibility of such a venue, and to ascertain, among other things, the appropriate size, location, and programing.
Mayor DeOme and I attended the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s hearing this week at which the Commission heard testimony regarding the Lower Colorado River Authority’s request for approval of an emergency order that would raise the trigger point at which water would be released from lakes Travis and Buchannan for irrigation in the lower basin. The LCRA does not want to release water for irrigation unless there is 1.1 million acre-feet of water in storage in the combined lakes. If approved, the order would most likely block the release of irrigation water for a third year. The Commission heard about six hours of testimony from irrigators and firm water customers who argued against and for the emergency order respectively. After hearing testimony, the Commission referred the matter to the State Office of Administrative Hearings for adjudication by an Administrative Law Judge. The judge will render his decision by February 21, and the Commission is scheduled to make a final decision on February 26.
I attended Monday’s meeting of the CAMPO Policy Board with Board Member Joe Bain. It looks like Joe has his work cut out for him, and we are fortunate to have him representing us. Monday night, among other things, the board approved an objective methodology for evaluating projects proposed for the 2040 Plan. They also removed federal funding from the SH 45 Southwest project allowing it to proceed more expeditiously.
Donna Boyle reported, “…To date, three candidates have filed for a place on the ballot: Mayor Pro Tem Dave Taylor; Sandra Cox, Chair of the Lakeway Visitors Commission; Dwight Haley, Chair of the Zoning and Planning Commission.
Sharon Cole reports, “Two part-time building attendant positions were filled for the Activity Center. Deputy Court Clerk interviews were conducted with two applicants. An offer is pending. ‘The Other Side of the Window – Government edition’, was viewed by BDS employees. The film emphasized government procedures from the citizen’s point of view.”
Chief Court Clerk Ruth Sandoval reports, “We’re ordering everything our new Marshal needs such as a badge, business cards, vehicle, etc. Marshal Overstreet is registered to attend the 17th annual conference of the Texas Marshal Association in San Marcos. We also just hired Tammy Templin as our Deputy Court Clerk. I’m sure she will be a great addition to the court. We held court this morning with 38 cases.”
Dale DeLong reported, “This week we installed a guidance sign on Flint Rock Road to let drivers coming off of RR 620 know to turn right to connect back on to Flint Rock. We also installed new street name signs on Flintrock Road and Wild Cherry Drive. We placed the mobile radar speed signs at the 400 block of Rolling Green as requested by the Police department and are in the process of doing a speed study on Clara Van Rd.”
From Chessie Zimmerman:
Staff attended a meeting with representatives from Lakeway Medical Village to discuss development concepts for the commercial portion of the medical center campus along RR 620. A mix of uses is proposed for that area, including a restaurant with a drive-through. Hearings and determinations regarding their request for a special use permit will be scheduled for the March ZAPCO and city council meetings.
From Chief Radford:
Wednesday night, at approximately 7:50 pm, a 15-year old female had gone for a jog on the Canyonland Primitive Trails and became disoriented in the darkness. Her last contact was with her mother via text, advising her she was lost, and that her phone was about to run out of battery. Unknown to her parents or LPD as this individual wandered around in the darkness she had fallen and had hit her head. Civilian volunteers, LPD officers, APD Air 1 and Starflight were all out in an attempt to find the juvenile. At approximately 925pm Sgt Fischetti could hear the juvenile calling for help and telling him she was hurt. As he and others, moved toward her location a civilian who lives in the area, also responded to the screams for help. They located the juvenile, who in fact was injured. The officers requested EMS and after a short time the juvenile was transported by Starflight to Dell Children’s hospital. Great job by all parties involved a true showing of community and team work! TR
LPD Officers responded to assist a motorist on Lakeway Blvd. during the week. The contact culminated in the driver being arrested for warrants. During an inventory of the impounded vehicle, a small amount of black tar heroin was found. The driver was charged with possession of the heroin.
A routine traffic stop by LPD officers on Serene Hills led to the seizure of usable amounts of marijuana, hashish, and mushrooms. The three subjects in the vehicle were arrested and charged.
==================
And finally, please plan on attending the Lions Spaghetti Supper at the Activity Center on March 3rd. It will support "All Things Wild" and is a GREAT way to support a wonderful group and get a good dinner! Here is a link to more info on what it's about and how to sign up!
Have a wonderful Presidents Day and enjoy the Spring like weather in February!
Email me at lakeway@bain.us if you want an email when I make a new post. Thanks for all the support!
Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us
No comments:
Post a Comment