Phil Brown is recovering from heart surgery that occurred Friday - I'm told everything went well and we wish him a rapid recovery!
ZAPCO met Wednesday and there were several sign applications - most were passed with constraints - colors needed to be changed and some size reductions. There was an item on the agenda to re-institute a size restriction on the size of hangars on residences around the Airpark. There has been a 2000 sq. ft. restriction since the 90's that referred to the National Building Code that defines a "residential Hangar" as 2000 sq. ft. or less and larger hangars are considered "commercial". There was some push back from a builder that said airplanes were getting larger and many other residents wanted larger hangars.
CBC passed all items on their agenda and had a 7 minute regular meeting - inspections took a little longer - slow day!
You might have heard or read that the City is interested in working with Lake Travis Youth Association (LTYA) to obtain property for parkland that they would improve and use for the area youth participation in organized sports. LYTA currently is using property along Hwy 71 that is overcrowded and is no longer suitable. Staff met with representatives to start the process of documenting and bringing agreements forward. Look for more information on this very soon! It will also provide more park land for residents to use. The property is North of the new Middle School on Bee Creek Rd.
Lakeway's sales tax revenue is up about 5% over last year - lower than projected in the budget. Staff is working to insure the shortfall will not impact City services and property tax rates. Next years budget will also take this in account.
I've noticed the traffic is finally slowing down on some of our major roads. Looks like the traffic work the police is doing is having an impact! Please slow down on our roads, it's important for our citizen's safety!
From Steve Jones:
As you know, Donna Boyle is resigning. She is leaving to help manage her daughter’s new preschool. Donna has been a treasured member of our team for many years, and we will miss her. We wish her all the best as she pursues the next chapter of her life.
Staff met with representatives of Lake Travis Youth Association this week to begin outlining an agreement for the proposed LTYA ballpark in preparation for the special bond election to purchase the land. The notional structure of the agreement is that the city will purchase the land subject to voter approval, the county will fund field and infrastructure improvements subject to voter approval, and LTYA will dedicate the proceeds from the sale of its current property to the project. The city will hold ownership of the land, and the LTYA will operate and maintain the ballparks. LTYA anticipates providing baseball, softball, football, and soccer fields, along with playgrounds, open space, and possibly a jogging trail. The agreement will also cover such things as illumination, parking, traffic control, utilities, irrigation, and water quality. We plan to ask the Council to call the bond election and the election on the proposed Charter amendments at our August meeting.
I met with TxDOT this week to begin scoping a study for near-term congestion relief improvements for RR 620. Among other things, the study will evaluate intersection improvements, intelligent traffic signals, medians, and additional turn lanes. The purpose of the study will be to identify congestion relief projects that provide the best cost-benefit solutions. TxDOT representatives believe they can acquire funding for the study.
Wendy Askey, Human Resources Manager, shares that we currently have three open job postings. The positions are for a Police Officer, Operator I for Parks and Recreation and a part time Facility Attendant for the Activity Center. The Police Officer position will be filled, pending a positive background check. So far, we have received no applications for the part time Facility Attendant for the Activity Center.
Police Blotter:
• Officers responded to nine reports of fireworks violations. In seven of those cases, officers did not observe violations. In two of the cases, officers located fireworks, but they were outside of the Lakeway ETJ.
• The following charges resulted from routine traffic stops this week: Driving While Intoxicated (enhanced to State Jail Felony due to infant in the car); Driving while license invalid X 5; Possession of Marijuana X 2; Possession of Drug Paraphernalia; Warrant Arrest; Minor Driving Under the Influence; Minor in Possession of alcohol; and Minor in possession of tobacco.
• A peace officer emergency commitment was done on a female juvenile after she made threats of suicide. She evaded officers by swimming into Lake Travis, but she was eventually persuaded to leave the water without incident.
• A golf cart, which was stolen from The Hills a couple of months ago, was recovered behind the Heritage Center.
• All officers received eight hours of arrest, search, and seizure training.
• Detectives are working with Children’s Protective Services on reports of neglectful supervision involving a young child.
• Detectives are working on a theft case from a construction site in Rough Hollow.
• A recent case involving damage to the grounds at Lakeway Church has been resolved with the suspect paying restitution to the church for the damages.
• Dispatchers Kramer and Kabirzadeh completed all courses for their telecommunications certification.
Building Blotter:
• The City of Lakeway has officially received Gold certification status as a Scenic City. We want to thank everyone again for all of their hard work in putting the application together. The Scenic City application contains 73 possible criteria that earn points, including a high percentage of park and open space, implementation of multi-use trails and recreation areas, strong litter enforcement laws, street lighting standards, parking lot landscaping, utility line management, a budget that supports these programs and their ongoing maintenance, and more. Every applicant city is invited to describe other programs that fall outside the list of criteria but could be considered in the evaluation process (examples include: historic preservation programs, beach/lake/river cleanups, retention basins, a scenic program related to a unique geographic feature).
• Wednesday’s Zoning Commission meeting resulted in a recommendation for approval of a bank with drive-through at Lakeway Medical Village. The commission also approved a model home and sales trailer in Serene Hills, a freestanding multitenant sign and wall signs for Aspira Plastic Surgery and Med Spa Center, and a wall/building sign for Verizon Wireless in the Vista Ridge Shopping Center. The Zoning Commission also postponed a proposal to recodify an old regulation limiting the size of residential aircraft hangars to no more than 2,000 square feet.
• Thursday’s Building Commission meeting resulted in a postponed view blocking determination for 423 Dasher Drive, and a determination that view blocking was not an issue at 719 Cutlass.
As mentioned above, ZAPCO discussed a proposal to recodify an old regulation limiting the size of residential aircraft hangars to no more than 2,000 square feet. This is not a new regulation. However, it appears, based on testimony at the meeting, that there is some interest by Airpark residents in building larger hangars. I anticipate that some residents will lobby for a higher limit on size when this comes back to ZAPCO and the Council.
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Lake levels have dropped a foot so far this month. Lake Travis is currently at about 628.7, looks like it's dropping about a foot every 10-12 days.
That's all for today, I hope everyone is enjoying the under 100 degree weather - it doesn't appear it will last much longer.
Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us
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