CITY & COUNTY
News from Cedar Park, Leander, Travis & Williamson counties
Cedar Park City Council meets Aug. 11 and 25 at 7 p.m. at 450 Cypress Creek Road, Bldg. 4, Cedar Park • 512-401-5000 www.cedarparktexas.gov Leander City Council meets Aug. 18 and Sept. 1 at 6 p.m. at 201 N. Brushy St., Leander 512-528-2743 www.leandertx.gov Travis County Commissioners Court meets Aug. 9, 23 and 30 at 9 a.m. at 700 Lavaca St., Austin 512-854-9020 www.traviscountytx.gov Williamson County Commissioners Court meets Aug. 9, 16, 23 and 30 at 9:30 a.m. at 710 S. Main St., Georgetown MEETINGS WE COVER TRAVIS COUNTY On July 26, commissioners voted to conduct a performance audit on Central Health—a health district designed to use taxpayer money to provide care for low-income county residents—after members from the Austin Taxpayers Union, the NAACP and the League of United Latin American Citizens alleged Central Health has lacked nancial transparency. In March, the NAACP and LULAC released a report outlining Central Health’s lack of nancial controls and decreased services during the pandemic. HIGHLIGHTS LEANDER City Council swore in newly elected members and internally elected ocers during its July 7 meeting. David McDonald and Chris Czernek were sworn into oce for Place 3 and Place 5, respectively, after winning the runo election June 11. Leander City Council selected Council Member Na’Cole Thompson as the new mayor pro tem for 2022-23. WILLIAMSON COUNTY Ahead of the approval of the Williamson County budget for the upcoming scal year, Commissioners Court approved a 5% cost-of-living raise for FY 2022-23 for elected ocials. The raises will cost the county $131,700 in the upcoming scal year, according to information from the July 26 meeting. WILLIAMSON COUNTY The county will recognize Juneteenth as an ocial paid holiday in line with the federal government’s list of holidays in 2023. Juneteenth, short for June 19th, commemorates the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston with news of the Emancipation Proclamation. The county plans to take away a holiday set for June 3, 2023, so that the total number of paid holidays remains at 10.
New coordinator to focus on conservation
SOURCE: CEDAR PARK POLICE DEPARTMENT¤ COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER Police launch online system for reporting nonviolent crime BY ZACHARIA WASHINGTON CEDAR PARK The police depart- ment announced the launch of an online reporting system July 5. The new system was designed to make ling police reports easier and more ecient for the public, and it also reduces the amount of time it takes for reports to be created and led for nonviolent crimes, according to a press release. “We are excited to oer this tool to the community to help stream- line the process so citizens can get back to enjoying the ability to live, work and play in Cedar Park,” the department said in the release. Step 1: Go to www.cedarparktexas.gov/police Step 2: Select “Contact Us” Step 3: Click “File a Police Report” BY TAYLOR CRIPE LEANDER Due to recent water issues and the city entering Phase 2 of its conservation plan, Leander hired Bill Teeter as conservation program coordinator. Teeter was introduced during the July 7 Leander City Council meeting. Originally from Horseshoe Bay, Teeter has about eight years of experience as a water conservation inspector. “He’s familiar with the area—the Lower Colorado River Authority—and working with those groups, so we’re really happy to have him,” Public Works Director Gina Ellison said. The coordinator is responsible for organizing water, energy and natural resource conservation programs, projects and plans. Teeter will promote water conservation to utility customers through educational programs and outreach eorts. Teeter has been “very busy” since he got here, Ellison said. One of the HOW TO FILE A POLICE REPORT
CONSERVATION CONCERNS
Phase 2 water conservation restrictions in Leander include: • residential watering one time per week; • commercial watering one time per week; and • watering only before 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m.
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SOURCE: CITY OF LEANDER¤ COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
projects the Leander Public Works Department has been working on is checking high-usage accounts. Tetter said he saw the impact con- servation had on the Horseshoe Bay community. The savings residents saw from water conservation was pleasing to so many, he said. “One of the main messages was to help [the residents] learn about the bene ts of conservation. It’s not about sacri ce; it’s about using the right amount,” he said.
2602 Corabella Pl, Cedar Park, Texas 78613 $1,180,000 5bed 4bath 3760 SQFT Shelly Kelly (512) 567-5955
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Council appoints previous member to fill Place 1 vacancy
2717 Gholson Dr, Cedar Park, Texas 78613 $1,200,000 5bed 5bath 4647 sqft John Mick (512) 964-5724
BY ZACHARIA WASHINGTON
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CEDAR PARK City Council appointed and swore in Stephen Thomas to ll the vacancy for the Place 1 seat June 16. Place 1 became vacant after then-Council Member Jim Pen- niman-Morin won the mayoral race in the May election. Council decided to open applications for the vacancy May 26. Five candidates were inter- viewed at the June 16 meeting. Thomas previously served on City Council from May 2005- September 2009 and
2912 Bellamy Cir, Cedar Park, Texas 78613 $632,900 3bed 2bath 2055 sqft Tom Dove (512) 923-2042
from April 2012-May
2019, holding the mayor pro tem position several times throughout those periods.
512-943-1100 www.wilco.org
Stephen Thomas
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COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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