More Council, Transportation, Staff Report

Another week gone already - lets see what happened around the City! 

Of course, Council met Monday evening and I reported on that in my last post.

Wednesday Mayor DeOme, Steve Jones and I met with county and state officials and TXDOT staff and discussed short-term improvements to area roads to help improve traffic congestion.  R.R. 620 was high on the list along with Hwy. 71.  Later that day, I attended a meeting of the CAMPO Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) - Chessie Zimmerman is our representative on that staff - they are doing GREAT work!

Council will have a Budget Work Session Monday, July 28th at 2PM to start work on finalizing our budget for the next fiscal year.  Here is the agenda.  Typically, the presentation during the first work session focuses on revenue and on the proposed tax rate.

From Chessie and the City Staff:
From Troy Anderson, BDS:
Monday night, Council approved a Special Use Permit for a bank with drive-through in Medical Village.  And on Thursday morning, the Building Commission granted two height determinations, a golf course lot determination and authorized the use of synthetic grass as ground cover in a rear yard where the homeowner has had difficulty establishing traditional grasses.

Devin reports that yesterday, he participated as a guest speaker at TML’s Newly Elected City Officials’ Orientation at the Bastrop Convention Center. The session topic was Signs of the Times: Interacting Constructively with the Media. He also wrote and distributed information announcing the city’s gold Scenic City certification, worked with me to finalize a contract for a “City of Lakeway” mobile app, photographed this morning’s service for Sgt. Doles, attended a planning meeting for Public Safety Day, wrote and distributed “What’s Happening” on Monday and Friday, and worked with media to facilitate interviews and make corrections to previous articles.   Please note that Devin will be out next week, attending the last session of the Certified Public Communicator course at Texas Christian University. He will complete the certification and graduate from the course next Thursday.

In Administration, our focus this week has been split between transportation and the upcoming FY 2015 budget work session. Mayor DeOme, Councilmember Bain, and Steve Jones attended a meeting with county and state officials and TXDOT staff to discuss short-term improvements to RM 620, and I submitted an application to CAMPO for funding of a feasibility study for SH 45 West. I also attended a workshop and monthly meeting of the CAMPO technical advisory committee. Finally, Steve, Finance Director Julie Oakley, HR Manager Wendy Askey and I met with representatives from Benetex to finalize renewal rates for employee health, dental, and disability benefits.

As requested at Monday’s council meeting, we researched the necessity of having fireworks display permit applicants include the city as an additional insured. Freddy Starkes from TML confirmed that, for private events held at non-city facilities, it is not needed. The city is protected by governmental immunity in these situations.


Please note that, beginning Monday, the front desk will be staffed part-time by Margaret-Anne Moore. Margaret-Anne is employed as a clerk in the Finance Department, and assists Doris Cline with solid waste accounts.  The coordinators for the volunteer reception program approached the mayor some time ago with the request that the city take over that responsibility. For now, Margaret-Anne will be at the desk from 10 am to 2 pm, and Dena Lindamood will be the primary point of contact outside those hours. 

From the Chief:
The police department held a memorial service for Sgt. Chris Doles

this morning, on the anniversary of his death last year in a car accident. The attached image shows the dedication of the plaque on the memorial wall at the Justice Center.

PATROL:
• The pedestrian bridge at Lohman’s and Lakeway Dr. was struck by a vehicle and damaged.  The responsible party was located and his parents are making restitution to the city.
• Routine traffic stops led to the following charges being filed (K-9 was deployed 9 times and assisted in the below arrests): 
o Possession of drug paraphernalia X 4
o Driving while license invalid X 2
o Minor in possession of tobacco
o Possession of marijuana X 2
o Violation of protective order
• A 52 year old Lakeway resident was found deceased in his home on Sailmaster.  The cause of death is believed to be natural, investigators are waiting on the autopsy report.

Support/CID:
• Nicole and Mike were both out this week. Edgar handled the administrative duties for the week. 
• Detectives attended an Interview and Interrogation school in Austin. 
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I hope you enjoy the blog - please tell your friends!  If anyone wants to be added to my email list, send an email to lakeway@bain.us

Long range forecast shows rain at the end of next week - keep you fingers crossed!

Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us