CITY & COUNTY
News from Cedar Park, Leander, Travis & Williamson counties
QUOTE OF NOTE
Leander BCRUA pipeline springs leak; wastewater treatment plant overows
Cedar Park City Council meets Sept. 8 and 22 at 7 p.m. at 450 Cypress Creek Road, Bldg. 4, Cedar Park. 512-401-5000. www.cedarparktexas.gov Leander City Council meets Sept. 15 at 6 p.m. at 201 N. Brushy St., Leander. 512-528-2743.www.leandertx.gov Travis County Commissioners Court meets Sept. 13, 20 and 27 at 9 a.m. at 700 Lavaca St., Austin. 512-854-9020. www.traviscountytx.gov Williamson County Commissioners Court meets Sept. 6, 13, 20 and 27 at 9:30 a.m. at 710 S. Main St., Georgetown. 512-943-1100. www.wilco.org MEETINGS WE COVER HIGHLIGHTS Cedar Park City Council approved an agreement Aug. 25 with Pedernales Electric Cooperative Inc. regarding the relocation of electric infrastructure that conicts with the construction of the New Hope Drive extension project. Instead of the city and the PEC obtaining private easements for the electric infrastructure, the PEC is requesting to relocate it, which saves time and costs, according to the city. WILLIAMSON COUNTY Commissioners Court authorized an additional $25 million payment to go toward its bond debt Aug. 16. The move will save the county $12 million in future interest payments. TRAVIS COUNTY At an Aug. 23 Commissioners Court meeting, Austin Public Health reported the county had received 5,154 vials of the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine and has transferred 1,820 of those to health care providers in the community. Travis County also has 100 bottles of TPOXX, an antiviral medication used to treat smallpox. APH has distributed 926 vaccines, and almost 2,000 vaccines were administered at the Austin Pride Festival on Aug. 20. “THE WATER IS LEAKING AT THE METAPHORICAL BOTTOM OF THE STRAW, NOT THE TOP OF THE STRAW.” LEANDER CITY COUNCIL MEMBER KATHRYN PANTALION PARKER, ABOUT THE BCRUA PIPE LEAK
BY TAYLOR CRIPE
PIPE REPAIRS
LEANDER The city experienced several issues with its water systems in mid-August, including the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority raw water line leaking into Lake Travis and the city’s wastewater treatment plant having excess discharge that was released into Brushy Creek in violation of Texas Commission on Environmental Quality standards. Leander Executive Director of Infrastructure Dan Grimsbo claried during an Aug. 18 City Council meet- ing that raw sewage water was not coming out of the treatment plant. Instead, the TCEQ has stringent limits on where wastewater can be deposited, Grimsbo said. As for the BCRUA leak, the pipe— which transfers the bulk of the raw water that is converted into Leander’s
A BCRUA pipe—which supplies Leander’s drinking water—is leaking raw water into Lake Travis.
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Past breaks: December 2020, repaired in May 2021 Amount leaking: 1.1 million gallons per day Repair details: 30-45 days; $1.6 million
SOURCE: CITY OF LEANDER COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
228 Hoot Owl Ln N, Leander, Texas 78641 $525,000
Cedar Park ocials accept budget, set maximum tax rate drinking water—is currently diverting about 1.1 million gallons of water from within the lake, Grimsbo said. Council Member Kathryn Pan- talion-Parker said the water from the BCRUA leak is still in the lake. The repair is estimated to take 30-45 days to complete and cost $1.6 million, according to the city.
4bed 3bath 2581 SQFT Jennifer Adams (512) 736-4582
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TRACKING THE TAX RATE Despite lowering its tax rate, Leander brings in more revenue due to rising property values and new developments.
1305 Creekstone Dr, Cedar Park, Texas 78613 $1,025,000 6bed 4bath 4647 sqft Shelly Kelly (512) 567-5955
$0.455262
$0 0 $0.05 $0.06 $0.04
BY ZACHARIA WASHINGTON
CEDAR PARK City Council unan- imously accepted the proposed budget and set the maximum tax rate for scal year 2022-23 at its Aug. 11 meeting. Cedar Park’s proposed total operating budget for this upcoming scal year is $187.82 million, which includes $74.84 million for the general fund, $42.36 million for the utility fund and $70.62 million for restricted funds. Council set a maximum tax rate of $0.39 for FY 2022-23. This rate is $0.042 lower than the current FY 2021-22 tax rate of $0.432. The proposed tax rate is made up of a maintenance and operations rate of $0.204061, and a debt services rate of $0.185939. The city of Cedar Park is required to hold two public hearings prior to adopting the budget. The rst was Sept. 1—after press time—and the second will be Sept. 8, the date that both the annual budget and tax rate will be adopted.
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SOURCE: CITY OF LEANDER COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
*PROPOSED
City proposes 2022- 23 tax rate, budget
BY TAYLOR CRIPE
LEANDER City Council discussed the proposed $329.3 million operat- ing budget and $0.455262 tax rate at its Aug. 18 meeting. The proposed tax rate represents a decrease from the current rate of $0.479699. If the tax rate is adopted as proposed, it will generate an additional $750,000 in revenue. Additionally, the city’s scal year 2022-23 budget expenses are 35% higher than last year’s. Council voted to adopt the budget at the Sept. 1 meeting, after press time. The tax rate will be adopted Sept. 15.
2912 Bellamy Cir, Cedar Park, Texas 78613 $620,000 3bed 2bath 2055 sqft Tom Dove (512) 923-2042
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CEDAR PARK LEANDER EDITION • SEPTEMBER 2022
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