CITY & COUNTY
News from Bee Cave, Lakeway, West Lake Hills & Travis County
HIGHLIGHTS WEST LAKE HILLS City Council incumbent Beth South was re- elected to the Place 3 position May 6. South received 83.12% of the vote, or 453 votes, while her opponent Gary Zygmont received 16.88% of the vote, or 92 votes. “We have so many exciting things happening, and I’m excited to be a part of that,” South said.
Bee Cave recognized as dark sky city for light pollution e orts
Lakeway incumbents win May 6 election
County moves forward on nearly $1M audit to assess Central Health
ASSESSING CENTRAL HEALTH Travis County commissioners voted to conduct an independent audit on Central Health. The audit will assess:
IN THE DARK What is the International Dark-Sky Association? The International Dark-Sky Association is an advocacy organization that aims to reduce light pollution. What is a Dark Sky Community? Areas that receive the Dark Sky Community designation aim to preserve the night sky through lighting policies and education. Six of the seven designated cities in Texas are in the Hill Country.
Financial accountability
BY APRIL KELLEY
BY KATY MCAFEE
Record keeping
LAKEWAY Incumbents were re-elected in both the mayoral and council races May 6. Incumbent Tom Kilgore has been re-elected as the mayor of Lakeway, according to nal voting tallies. Kilgore received 53.5% of the vote, or 2,040 votes. Incumbent Gretchen Vance has also been re-elected to the Lakeway City Council at-large position, accord- ing to nal voting tallies. Vance received 24.91% of the votes, or 2,269 votes. All results are uno cial until canvassed.
TRAVIS COUNTY Commissioners unanimously voted to hire a rm to conduct an independent performance audit on Central Health—the county’s hospital district for low-income residents—at an April 4 meeting. The audit will cost $845,200, according to county docu- ments. The chosen rm, Mazars USA, proposed to kick o the audit in May, compile a draft report by November and present the nal report in January. The overview The audit will assess Central Health’s: • E ectiveness in meeting the needs of the county’s poor population • Financial accountability • Public transparency • Record keeping • Compliance with city, state and federal laws. Central Health CEO Mike Geeslin voiced concern regard- ing the $845,200 price tag at the April 4 meeting and said the district only budgeted $300,000-$350,000 for the audit. It is unclear whether the audit will a ect property owners within the Central Health taxing district as the 2024 budget and tax rate will not be approved until September, said Ted Burton, Central Health vice president of communications.
Compliance with city, state and federal laws
Public transparency
BY BROOKE SJOBERG
MEETINGS WE COVER
BEE CAVE The city has achieved the Dark Sky Commu- nity designation, one of only six other cities in Texas to do so, per an April 20 announcement. Since initiating the application to receive the des- ignation in October 2021, city o cials have worked to preserve the night sky in the Hill Country region by enacting lighting restrictions inside city limits. Becoming a Dark Sky Community requires cities to apply through the International Dark-Sky Association and meet certain criteria, such as operating under IDA-compli- ant outdoor lighting ordinances, educating the public on the importance of having a dark sky and gaining commu- nity support for the designation, according to the IDA. The city’s initiative in 2021 came in the wake of the Texas Legislature passing Senate Bill 1090, which allows cities to adopt lighting restrictions to meet the IDA’s crite- ria, according to previous Community Impact reporting. It was previously reported the city of Bee Cave operates under a 2007 lighting ordinance, which set standards for light brightness and glare control. Many of
E ectiveness meeting the needs of the county’s poor population
• Bee Cave: 2023 • Blanco: 2022 • Dripping Springs: 2014
• Fredericksburg: 2020 • Horseshoe Bay: 2015 • Wimberley Valley: 2018
Bee Cave City Council will meet June 13 and 27 at
SOURCE: TRAVIS COUNTY COMMUNITY IMPACT
6 p.m. 512-767-6600. www.beecavetexas.gov Lakeway City Council will meet June 5 and 20 at 6:30 p.m. 512-314-7500. www.lakeway-tx.gov
Dark sky goals The IDA aims to promote creating designations for dark- sky communities to: • Improve outdoor nighttime quality of life • Protect human health, nocturnal habitats and enjoyment of the night sky • Recognize the e orts of dark-sky communities • Encourage communities to identify dark skies as a valuable community asset
The context The Central Health audit was spurred when local activists; attorneys; and community groups Austin Taxpayers Union, the NAACP and the League of United Latin American Citizens alleged Central Health lacked nancial transparency. In a report released in March 2022, the human rights groups outlined concerns with Central Health’s growing contingency reserves—money set aside for potential nancial de cits. The report also said Central Health gave more than $280 million to The University of Texas Dell Medical School with no public record of how those funds were used to provide health care to low-income residents. Central Health undergoes a nancial audit annually, and it has come out clean every year since 2005, Burton said.
Rollingwood City Council will meet June 21 at 7 p.m. 512-327-1838. www.cityofrollingwood.com
SOURCE: INTERNATIONAL DARK SKY ASSOCIATION COMMUNITY IMPACT
Travis County Commissioners Court will meet May 30 and June 6, 13, 20 and 27 at 9 a.m. 512-854-4722. www.traviscountytx.gov West Lake Hills City Council
the rules the city has operated under are similar to those required by the IDA, and the city has been working with the organization in recent years to comply with its stan- dards, Senior Planner Amanda Padilla said at the time. Some of these standards include shields on streetlights and lights-out curfews.
will meet June 14 and 28 at 7 p.m. 512-327-3628. www.westlakehills.org
Tom Kilgore
Gretchen Vance
BEE CAVE 13015 Shops Pkwy (512) 263-9981
BRODIE LANE 4970 Hwy 290 W (512) 366-8260
NORTH 620 10601 N FM 620 (512) 506-8316
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