Sunday, April 5, 2020

Weather, Virus, City Council and More!

*****Weather*****

Did you get any rain?  Just kidding, we have had about 2.9 inches so far at the 15th Tee Weather station.  This is good rain and we missed the severe weather that was threatened.  The Lakes are doing well as far as historical information.  Travis is at 672.54 as of this morning and rising a little.  That is about 3.5 feet above normal for this time of year.  It appears we will be getting more rain in the next few days too.  Will dry out a little today and chances of rain go up for the next few days.

The other good news is the Oak blooms have been washed out of the trees with the rain - maybe a little longer, but it will end soon.  The June Bug invasion at my house has slowed down - they were real early this year! 

*****Virus*****

Who would have believed 6 months ago that we and the nation are in the predicament we are in today?  A  BOOMING economy turned to a possible recession almost overnight.  Evidently most folks cupboards are full along with their spare bedrooms, the grocery stores seem to be catching up a little.  Found Bounty paper towels at Randalls yesterday and they had some toilet paper.  HEB seems to be catching up too, although "Curb Side" is booked for over 2 weeks.  Order some food from our local restaurants and help keep them alive!

As of this morning, I'm showing 11 cases in 78738 and 5 cases in 78734.  There have been 460 cases confirmed and 6 Travis County deaths so far.  That's about as far as they will report.  BSW is well stocked and taking precautions to decrease exposure.  

It appears there is a little tiff going on in the Fire Department.  These folks are all great and it is disturbing that there is an issue with the groups getting along.  

Chief Abbott has put in strict measures for Firemen and it seems EMS was not willing to follow the same strict rules.  Because of that they were moved out of Steiner Ranch and may move into a Lakeway city facility.  I think it would be easier to get together and observe the same rules - just my opinion and of course you and I aren't privy to all the secret information.  I'm sure it's more complex than this but lets get it together. 

Stay home and take care of yourselves.  Since a majority of Lakeway residents are in the "High Risk" pool, we need to all take this seriously. 

Hamilton Greenbelt was packed today, it's a really good place to get out and enjoy nature - just  practice social distancing - at least 6' from everyone else.






*****City Council*****

It appears we will be going full online for the meeting Monday.  There was a quorum notice for Friday - supposedly to test the system - it went on for quite a while but "nothing was discussed"....There was no public access either.  Maybe they just talked about their grand kids.
  
Council will meet Monday evening at 6:30 p.m.  Here's a link to the agenda / packet.  

3)  The Consent Agenda item is moving the ZAPCO meeting to the 2nd Tuesday each month at 9:10 a.m.  I'm not sure why the time - the 9:10 time on Wednesday was because of the Men's Breakfast Club dismissal at 9 a.m.  

4)  COVID-19 Update - 

5)  Another committee being formed - Economic Development Committee.  Maybe they will talk about the secret "Project Granite" they've been meeting on for more than 6 months.  Maybe not.

6)  Budget Amendment.  So, they want to take money saved from unspent salary's to fund additional projects.  
  • City Hall - toilets and sinks that are touchless - $12,200
  • Skate Park - add Water Fountain - $6,400
  • Heritage Center - Clean and re-stain Spirit of Freedom Monument
  • LAC - toilet and sinks with touchless - $14,400
  • LAC - replace Kitchen Floor - $8,800
  • LAC - Replace Bathroom countertops and sinks - $3,500
  • LAC - Flooring in Closets and Storage - $4,200
  • LAC - Countertops and Sinks in Room D & Back Hall - $4,000
  • LAC - Replace Florescent Lighting - $17,800
  • Swim Center - Reconfigure Work Stations - $6,500
  • Swim Center - UV Inhibitors for Lap and Leisure Pool - $76,500
Then we move to the infamous Executive Sessions section:
  1. Legal and real Estate issues with Oaks PUD/ Stratus
  2. Lawsuits with Cherry Knoll
  3. YMCA MOU 
  4. Lakeway Highlands / Rough Hollow issues
  5. And a new one, Legal issues relating to Chapter 418 mutual Aid Agreement (Lakeway to furnish space for EMS)
It's amazing that being so transparent requires so many secret meetings....

In case you haven't noticed, there is a new crosswalk light going up on Lohmans at the elementary school.  I hope the city and school are splitting the cost on this - probably never know, but I'm betting at least $150K.


The work is still going on at the Lakeway Church.  Here's a picture from today.  It's a very stark realization that today is Palm Sunday and the church parking lot is empty as is the sanctuary.  Our world changed in a day.  I hope we can get back to some type of normal quickly!  


Remember the Water Tower that had two different colors of paint.  Lakeway MUD held back some money from the contractor and they repainted it.  It's been done for a while but I finally got a picture - looks good doesn't it!


*****Confusion*****

On top of that, I'm a little confused.  Austin stopped residential and commercial construction and Lakeway allowed it.  Gov. Abbott issued an Executive Order covering the State with a blanket order - it allows residential and commercial construction.  Lakeway closed the golf courses, that is not in the Executive Order.  

I'm told the Cities can issue orders that are more restrictive - so why did Austin have to start allowing construction?  Why can Lakeway close the golf courses and Austin can't shut down construction?

Don't get me wrong, I think the golf courses and golf is probably a great way to get some exercise.  I'm just confused.


**********
That's all for today.  More after the council meeting.  Please stay in and be careful.  It's important that we whip this thing quickly so the country can open up and and we can enjoy our friends and city again.  

Pray for our country!

If you would like to be added to my email list, send a note to lakeway@bain.us and I'll get you added.  Any questions or comments are welcome!

Be Safe!
Joe Bain

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