WOW, the weeks are flying by! Personally, I'm ready for a little bit of Fall - today we had a nice shower, I got about .11 inch of rain in my gauge - it's not much but it's a start and the grass is thankful!
This has been a busy week for me. Monday was a full day working on the budget and getting ready for the CAMPO meeting. We have a revised taxable property valuation from Travis County - that's GOOD news and means the tax rate will most likely stay the same this year and we will still be able to make needed improvements and increase some staffing levels.
We've also been working to update the Emergency Operations Plan to insure there is foundation we can rely on in a disaster type of emergency in the area. We are working in conjunction with area hospitals and emergency services, including Police and Fire and are close to having an area wide plan - hopefully we will never need to use it!
CBC met Thursday and had a fairly long agenda. Here is a link to that. I attended a forum on Central Texas Transportation funding downtown and learned a lot about options with partnerships between private and public funding sources.
Friday, Steve Jones, Chessie Zimmerman and I met with Victor Vargas ( TxDot District Manager) and Robert Guydosh (Transportation Engr. Supervisor) and talked about signal issues (among other things) on 620. Our current plan is to revise the signal schedules on lights to increase times on Lohmans access to 620 - and to basically reduce the number of signal schedules from 4 to 2. At around 10PM we intend to put most of the intersections on flash except for Lakeway Dr., Lohmans, and Flintrock Trace that will last until early morning start of commute traffic. They are also going to look at issues at 620 and Aria Dr. caused by sensor displacement when the turn lanes were added. Changes are scheduled by the end of August.
Monday evening City Council will meet in regular session - here is a link to the agenda. Items of interest include a Preliminary Planning Report for a Performing Arts Center - this will be an informational briefing paid for by the Hotel Occupancy Tax to decide if this is an option for Lakeway.
Council will also hear about a proposal for a new storage facility and possible office building on Lohmans Crossing from Tom DeCicco, owner of the existing shopping center at Lohmans and 620. Here is a link to the information included in the Council Members Packets - enjoy!
I was invited to call Bingo Friday night at the Activity Center to support the Lakeway Police Foundation - it was GREAT fun and everyone had a great time. They are going to do it again on March 4, 2016 - I'll remind you closer to the event, but put it on your calendar - it supports a wonderful organization and is a lot of fun. Thanks to all those that made it a successful evening!
Steve's Report:
BDS issued a site development permit for Spectrum Senior Living at Lakeway Medical Village this week. Spectrum is a 140 unit age-restricted multi-family project on 5.8 acres, located behind The Harbor assisted living facility.
The city is once again meeting expectations for permit processing times. BDS is reviewing and commenting on new building permit applications within ten days of submittal, and they are responding to resubmittals in five days. The total length of time it takes to get a permit approved is now largely up to the applicant.
Chessie, Alex, and I met with a group of builders to answer questions about the permitting process and to share the city’s plan for moving toward digital and on-line submittals. The discussion was very positive and the attendees were supportive of moving away from a paper-based process. The builders gave us some good ideas on permit processing. They were also impressed to learn what the city had done to respond to the recent influx of roofing permit applications. Their main concern was the length of time it was taking to get permits approved, and they were happy to hear that we are back on schedule.
Mayor Bain, Chessie, and I met with representatives from TxDOT to discuss traffic signals in the RM 620 corridor. In the coming weeks, TxDOT will analyze the Dave Drive intersection to determine the feasibility of adding a signal. They will also work on the intersection at Lohmans Crossing; they believe they have an answer for the recent short-cycle problem. They also have plans to improve the flow of traffic at the Aria Drive/Cavalier Drive intersection by reworking the sensors. We also asked them to convert the 620 signals to flash mode late at night. They think they can do that.
We received an updated estimate for this year’s total value of taxable property from Travis Central Appraisal District. They have increased the value from $3.372 billion to $3.459 billion. That should make it possible to keep our tax rate at 17 cents or a little lower for next year.
From the Chief:
Routine traffic stops made by LPD officers resulted in the following charges being filed, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia X 4; Possession of Marijuana X 1; Possession of Alcohol by a Minor X 2; Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor X 2; and Driving While Intoxicated X 1.
A Regatta Court homeowner reported that unknown persons had entered the owner’s vacant rental property. He reports finding empty beer cans and alcohol bottles inside the residence. We have no suspects at this time.
A subject was issued a Criminal Trespass Warning for a RR 620 restaurant. Apparently after the subject ordered food and ate, he advised the staff that he didn’t have money to pay. The owner did not wish to file charges but no longer wanted his business. Officers responded to a Disturbance call on Challenger. A divorced couple was engaged in an argument over child visitation. The parties were separated and no charges were filed. Officers responded to a reported fire on Cando Court. Upon arrival officers found a pool pump located at the rear of the residence was on fire and quickly extinguished the flames.
Axon in-car video cameras with automatic activation were installed in three patrol vehicles for testing. The first round of testing went very well. We hope this second round is as successful.
CID investigated a burglary of the Wine Trader. The suspect was identified, a confession was obtained, and the offender was arrested and charged with felony burglary.
CID filed a felony warrant for a breach of computer security case they have been working for some time. We are attempting to locate the suspect in the case.
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Have a GREAT weekend - if you would like to be added to my email list send a note to lakeway@bain.us and I'll put you on the update list.
See you around the City!
Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us
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