San Marcos City Council will meet Nov. 15 and Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. 630 E. Hopkins St., San Marcos 512-393-8000 www.sanmarcostx.gov Kyle City Council will meet Nov. 15 and Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. 100 W. Center St., Kyle 512-262-1010 • www.cityofkyle.com Buda City Council will meet Nov. 15 and Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. 405 E. Loop St., Buda 512-312-0084 • www.ci.buda.tx.us Hays County Commissioners Court will meet Nov. 15 and 22 at 9 a.m. 111 E. San Antonio St., San Marcos 512-393-2205 • www.co.hays.tx.us MEETINGS WE COVER work in economic development, marketing, projects and more. KYLE The city was named a Gold Award Recipient by Scenic Texas’ Scenic City Certification program in October. NUMBER TO KNOW was allocated to the Hays County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 11 by the Hays County Commissioners Court for education and outreach relating to fentanyl. $20,000 HIGHLIGHTS HAYS COUNTY Commissioners approved $100,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds Oct. 25 for Court Appointed Special Advocates of Central Texas, a nonprofit that advocates for children who have been abused and neglected. The funding will go toward any expenses to help mitigate the negative direct and indirect effects the COVID-19 pandemic had on CASA and recover from a decrease in revenue. SAN MARCOS The Greater San Marcos Partnership was recognized in September with two 2022 Excellence Awards from the International Economic Development Council for exemplary
Cities approve ARWA water source funding
Public defender’s office contract almost complete
CLOSER TO A DEFENSE The Hays County public defender’s office is nearing the significant marker of a contract with Neighborhood Defender Service Inc.
BY ERIC WEILBACHER
SAN MARCOS City Council voted unanimously to issue contract reve- nue bonds of more than $17.2 million toward the city’s regional water supply contract with the Alliance Regional Water Authority during their regular meeting Oct. 18. The cities of Kyle and Buda also passed contract revenue bond funding for ARWA at their Oct. 18 meetings, $13.52 million and $2.44 million respectively. ARWA is working with the Guada- lupe-Blanco River Authority and the Canyon Regional Water Authority in sharing water treatment and treated water pipelines to deliver water to other municipalities as well, such as Lockhart and New Braunfels, primar- ily with water from the Carrizo-Wil- cox aquifer with permits to pump in from it in Caldwell County. The project, which has been in the works since 2007, would supply ARWA with up to 27 million gallons of water per day to high-growth areas along the I-35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio. The water authority has groundwater permits to pump the water from the Carrizo-Wil- cox Aquifer in Caldwell County. As previously reported by Community Impact , the first phase of a 15-acre, $55 million water treatment plant is anticipated to gain access to the water supply by the end of 2023, with an estimated completion date by the end of 2024, according to Natalia Riusech, public relations consultant for ARWA. Once completed, the Carrizo-Wilcox system will deliver 27 million gallons of water daily.
BY ZARA FLORES
MAY 2019
HAYS COUNTY The commis- sioners were set to receive an update on the status of the county’s public defender’s office Oct. 25, five months after selecting Neigh- borhood Defender Service Inc. to take on that challenge. However, most are still waiting on an update after the meeting that drew several community members that spoke in favor of the office and asked why there has not been much progress. “I really thought that represen- tatives from NDS and the county court of law and district judges would be here. Apparently, they are not able to make it,” Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe said. Ingalsbe said the county court of law and some district judges have been working with NDS to have the contract finalized. Over the past several months, the commissioners have approved contracts and agreements with counties throughout Texas to help house inmates that Hays does not have room for. The commissioners have approved other systems this year to help with the inmate population, such as GPS ankle monitors. “As of last week, there are more than 600 people in Hays County Jail, 83% of whom are there pretrial. That’s nearly 500 people,” said Sarah Minion, outreach associ- ate for the Vera Institute of Justice.
Commissioners deny grant funding application for office
AUG. 2021
$5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds allocated for office
DEC. 2021
A request for proposals is issued for firms to take on the PDO
APRIL 2022
Commissioners announce the court has been narrowed down to two candidates
MAY 2022
Neighborhood Defender Service Inc. selected as the firm to take on the office
AUGUST 2022
Tentative date when contract would be ready
NOVEMBER 2022
New date contract is set to be ready for vote
SOURCE: HAYS COUNTY/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
“I’m just here today to support the passing of the public defend- er’s office contract, moving that forward with all due expediency.” The county has worked with the Vera Institute of Justice to create a data dashboard for the inmate population, including demograph- ics and other information. The contract is set to be voted on at the Nov. 22 meeting.
Explore a new collection of unique forts in our Family Garden. OCTOBER - JANUARY
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SAN MARCOS - BUDA - KYLE EDITION • NOVEMBER 2022
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