Senator Troy Fraser had reserved his comments until after the LCRA presentation. He serves as chairman of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources. He was originally told this meeting was not set up to allow him to speak - that didn't work out for the LCRA. He proceeded to accuse the LCRA of mismanagement and said LCRA wanted to raise their rates to cover it's management mistakes. He had hand drawn charts showing examples of mistakes made for years including the 450,000 acre ft of water released in 2011 when there was no inflow into Lake Travis that has basically put us into the situation we are in today. He also stated that instead of sending the water downstream to irrigators at $6 an acre foot and keeping it in the Lake to sell to area residents at our inflated $150 an acre foot cost, they would have an extra $117,000,000 in their coffers. He also stated that the LCRA won't release their books to allow him to audit them.
In City news, the Heritage Commission is taking names of veterans eligible to be added to the Spirit of Freedom Monument in Heritage Park for recognition on Veteran's Day this year. Here is a link to more information.
Fire Chief Abbot reported there was a rescued of a worker at the 4500 Blk. of FM 620 on April 1st. On arrival, responders found a male patient suspended by his safety harness and pinned against a tunnel wall. Crews were able to quickly access the patient and safely rescue him from the area using rescue retrieval methods and high-pressure air bags to lift portions of the heavy shoring equipment off the patient. The rescue operation took under 30 minutes from the time emergency units arrived on-scene. Austin/Travis County EMS transported the patient to the hospital for precautionary measures.The Swim Center is looking for a few good lifeguards to keep the waters safe this summer at Lakeway Swim Center.
Judge Kevin Madison was down in the NASA Clear Lake area this week to receive the court's Traffic Safety Initiative Award. Congratulations Judge and thanks for your efforts!The City is once again seeking entries for the 39th July 4th Parade in Lakeway. Here is a link to more information - it's time to get started!
From Steve Jones:
The Zoning and Planning Commission met in regular session on Wednesday with a lengthy agenda. ZAPCO unanimously recommended approval of an amendment to the comprehensive plan further distinguishing commercial land use in the RR 620 corridor, and, by a vote of 5-1, recommended approval of the proposed annexation of 318 acres northwest of the SH 71/Bee Creek intersection.
The Commission recommended disapproval of a rezoning request from C-1 office/retail to C-2 commercial/light industrial for a tract located on RR 620 at Bowling Lane, but recommended in favor of a special use permit for a self-storage facility on the property.
A re-plat of the Lochan Ora subdivision on Hurst Creek Road, the annexation and R-3 zoning of 65 acres in Lakeway Highlands, and a preliminary plan revision and final plat for section 2W in Serene Hills all received favorable recommendations. Finally, ZAPCO approved a sign permit application from UFCU, but declined to renew a home occupation permit for a pet sitting business on Bermuda.
Chessie and Troy met with the development team for the Oaks PUD to review the site plan for the project. Official submittal of the site development permit application is expected within the next few weeks.
Chessie and I met with Western Rim, the developer of the apartment project in Serene Hills. He indicated that they are ready to move forward with the project and plan to start turning dirt in a few weeks.
From Chief Radford:
A resident reported being defrauded out of $58,000 in a scam in which he purchased fake precious stones, believing they were real. The suspect lives in California.
Jewelry, with an estimated value of $9500, was stolen from a residence on Vailco. The suspect is the cleaning lady, CID to continue the investigation.
A citizen’s leashed dog was reportedly attacked by two other dogs that escaped from a yard on Canyon Turn Trail. The case is under investigation by our animal protection officer.
K9 was deployed on a routine traffic stop on RR 620. The K9 alerted on the vehicle and a small amount of marijuana was located and seized.
A traffic stop at RR 620 and Debba resulted in the arrest of the driver for DWI and execution of a blood search warrant.
A subject was issued a court summons for drinking alcohol at the Skate Park.
An officer was dispatched to Rupen to investigate a suspicious vehicle. The officer found several juveniles in the vehicle in possession of marijuana. One of the juveniles was charged, all were released to parents.
A construction site theft was reported in the Vistas of Lakeway. Items reported stolen included lumber and water heaters.
I taught at the Citizen’s Police Academy on Wednesday night (use of force) and then spoke at the Texas Police Chief’s mandatory training session (Officer involved shootings) on Thursday morning in Dallas.
In closing, Senator Troy Fraser addressed the public in Bee Cave Thursday night at a meeting hosted by LCRA. The Senator accused LCRA of mismanagement and being a bloated bureaucracy. He said that LCRA is raising its water rates to pay for its own mistakes. Fraser questioned why LCRA has the highest water rates of all river authorities in Texas, especially considering the fact that its major assets [dams] were paid for years ago.
=================
And finally, enjoy the lite showers today - it's supposed to be over by noon or so. Maybe a little water will go into the lake!
More soon.
Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us
No comments:
Post a Comment