Government
BY GRACE DICKENS & KAROLINE PFEIL
Bee Cave to hold public safety building election The city of Bee Cave will hold a May 3 election for a new public safety building alongside the reauthorization of a road maintenance fund tax. The overview The city’s proposed public safety building will appear on the ballot for voter approval following the passage of Proposition G in November, which requires voter approval for city land develop- ment. The new facility will house the Bee Cave Police Department and Lake Travis Fire Rescue. In addition to an extended timeline, additional costs were incurred by the passage of Proposi- tion G, Oakley said at a meeting in December. Assuming that ground is broken on the public safety building in August—which would mark a six-month delay in plans—upward of $200,000- $300,000 could be added to costs for the project, depending on market volatility and changes to construction costs, Oakley said. In total, the city will pay up to $18 million for the project, with Lake Travis Fire Rescue paying up to $13 million. Additionally, voters will choose whether or not to re-authorize a 0.125% sales tax collection for a road maintenance fund, which has been in place West Lake Hills joins STEAR program West Lake Hills enrolled in the State of Texas Emergency Assistance Registry, or STEAR, program in January to help residents needing assistance during city emergencies requiring evacuation. The overview STEAR, administered by the Texas Divi- sion of Emergency Management, is a registry program providing information on com- munity members to emergency responders to assist individuals facing challenges like disability, communication barriers and more
Lakeway incumbents secure May seats Mayor Tom Kilgore and incumbent City Council members Chris Forton and Kent O’Brien will serve another two-year term in Lakeway after being unopposed the Feb. 14 filing deadline. Diving in deeper In addition to the incumbents, Zoning & Planning Commission Chair Louis Mastrangelo, formerly Mayor Pro Tem on council, will return to fill the third seat up for election, held by Gretchen Vance, who is ineligible to run for re-election since she has already served three consecutive terms. Kilgore has served as mayor since 2021, Vance has been on council since 2019, and council members Forton and O’Brien have held their seats since 2023. Council members terms are set at two years, according to the city’s charter. No council member or mayor may serve for more than six consecutive years. Candidates must be registered Lakeway voters, at least 21 years old and to not hold any other compensated public office position.
On the ballot
A proposition to approve a new $18M public safety building
A proposition to re-approve a 0.125% road maintenance sales tax
Dates to know: • April 22: first day of early voting • April 29: last day of early voting • May 3: election day
SOURCE: CITY OF BEE CAVE/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Rollingwood faces rising drainage project costs As Rollingwood works to update its water systems, unexpected infrastructure conflicts have been discovered by contractors at the intersection of Hatley Drive and Park Hills Drive, driving the cost of the project up an additional $76,880. A previously unlabeled water bypass pipe was discovered at the site, said Greg Blackburn, an engineer with K Friese + Associates, at Rolling- wood City Council’s Jan. 15 meeting. The funds will be used to remove the pipe, add new valves and complete additional tunneling work. Mayor Gavin Massingill pointed to the bypass loop as a major problem inhibiting attempts to isolate water service in this region of the city. “There has been a mystery a number of times where we’ve tried to turn things off and things just don’t turn off,” Massingill said. “... We feel like we may have found the culprit.” for two decades, Mayor Kara King said. Originally, all five City Council seats were slated to appear on the ballot, including Andrea Willott, Kevin Hight, and Mayor Pro Tem Andrew Clark alongside interim council members Kit Crumbley and Blake Sbrocco. As of the Feb. 14 filing deadline, no other can- didates applied for a place on the ballot, meaning the three incumbent City Council members will retain their seats for two additional years. Crumbley and Sbrocco will also join the dais for one year, finishing out the unexpired terms of Courtney Hohl and Jon Cobb, who resigned in December.
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The overview Improvements being made to the water system at Hatley and Park Hills are a smaller part of the city’s Water System Capital Improvement Plan. In November 2022, Rollingwood voters approved Proposition A, which set aside $5.3 million for installing or replacing approximately 11,000 linear feet of water lines, valves and hydrants through- out the city, according to the city’s website. In September, $121,143 in additional costs were also added to the Capital Improvement Plan due to unexpected issues, bringing the overall improve- ments cost to $6.6 million.
in case of an emergency. Residents can enroll at
www.stear.texas.gov. Upon enrolling in the STEAR program, the city will be required to perform wellness checks on enrolled residents during disasters or emergencies.
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LAKE TRAVIS - WESTLAKE EDITION
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