What is going on in Lakeway?
School starts Tuesday, Aug. 16
LTISD classes start this coming week, on Aug. 16. Expect even MORE traffic and confusion than usual; with limited bus routes available (due to the bus driver shortage), there will be more parents driving kids to and from school. So, allow more time for travel around school drop off and pick up times.
LTISD Desperately Needs Bus Drivers
The shortage of drivers is so severe that bus service is heavily restricted for the beginning of the school year. With recent raises, salary STARTS at $23/hour. Apply here: https://www.ltisdschools.org/
Lakeway Police Alert
Our police department last week had to issue a warning for residents to STOP leaving cars parked in driveways unlocked with KEYS INSIDE. Also, as to homes, we were reminded to LOCK WINDOWS AND DOORS when leaving the house. It seems we are reckless morons here in Lakeway, and there has been a rash of thieves taking advantage of that.
August Art Display at Lake Travis Community Library
This month’s art display in the meeting room is the colorful and travel inspired watercolor collection of Ben Kuenemann. His painting St. Mark’s Square will be auctioned off, with the proceeds going to benefit the library.
Lights Out, Texas!
Audubon Texas urges Texans to turn off exterior lights where possible during the fall bird migration, 11PM-6AM, Aug. 15-Nov. 30.
As they say: “Each year during fall and spring migrations, nearly two billion birds travel through Texas in one of the planet’s greatest wildlife spectacles. This fall, one in every three birds migrating through the U.S. will pass through Texas from August 15 through November 30.” Go here for more: https://tx.audubon.org/urbanconservation/lights-out-texas
Cool Arts Show & Studio Tour
Lakeway Arts Committee hosts the 7th annual Cool Arts Show and Studio Tour, including fine visual arts created by 20 Lakeway-area artists, with live music by Christian Wiggs Trio. Paintings, jewelry, pottery and more will be available. The event also features face painting, art projects and more for the kids, plus food trucks.
SHOW is Saturday, August 27, 1-5PM at LAC (105 Cross Creek).
STUDIO TOURS are Saturday and Sunday, August 27-28. (Locations to be announced.) Go here for more info (including a preview of upcoming studio tours): https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/1858/Cool-Arts-Show-Studio-Tour
Garage Sale at Lakeway Activity Center
The next community garage sale is Saturday, Sept. 10, from 8AM to noon. Admission is FREE, but in the LAC lobby you can drop off non-perishable or canned food items, to be donated to local food banks and charities. You can also donate new or lightly used children’s books, for the Free Little Books Bin at the entrance.
Want to sell stuff? LAC members–$30 per booth; Non-Members–$35 per booth. Call 512-261-1010 to reserve a booth.
MISSING DOGGIE—Help Find Leia the Mini Labradoodle
Leia is still missing. Her owners think she may have been sold.
She disappeared June 26 from a dog sitter’s care in Stoney Creek condos on Lakeway Blvd. (just below Lakeway Drive, near Chandon and backing Live Oak Golf Course). Her humans and her litter mate, Luke, miss her terribly. There is a REWARD.
Leia is a 1.5 year old spayed female, weighing 16 lbs., with green eyes, a pink nose, and a red/brown coat. She is microchipped. She was wearing a light blue harness. Here is the owners’ website, with updated info. You can contact them with any sightings, as well as make a donation to help cover search efforts. https://findleia.com/
Mayor Kilgore’s Facebook Update
The mayor gave a live update on August 11. Go here to watch: https://www.facebook.com/cityoflakeway/videos/455040126496732
Council met Monday, Aug. 1, debating residential daycare businesses, Code of Ethics/gifts to police officers, increasing the homestead over 65 property tax exemption, 2023 budget, and more.
I predicted a steep learning curve for the 2 new Council members, but as of August it is getting tedious. Add in what looked to me like blatant political machinations and off the charts self-absorption, and you have this meeting where the city’s business did NOT get done (despite some heroic efforts by others). Truly, the verbal mayhem on the dais Aug. 1 was uglier than the physical attack in the audience at the previous meeting.
Also, if they want shorter meetings (as was mentioned), STOP ALL THE BREAKS. 3-4 breaks eat up nearly an hour. When someone has a call of nature, they should just excuse themselves; as long as 4 members remain on the dais, it won’t break quorum, and adults really don’t need to go potty as a group. Otherwise, keep your butt in the chair, pay attention, listen more than talk, behave yourself, aim for doing the right thing for Lakeway, don’t sulk like a badly-parented toddler, don’t read speeches OR indulge in personal over-sharing OR blather on just to hear your own voice/push a political agenda, and DO THE WORK–so everyone can get home at a decent hour with Lakeway a little bit better place to live.
RESULTS: The mayor and all 6 Councilmembers attended in person.
ITEM 3: MOMENT OF SILENCE for Chuck Petter, who recently passed after over 25 years of service to Lakeway’s City Building Commission.
ITEM 6: Arts Committee 2023 Budget Request ($55,000). UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED adding this item to the proposed budget for consideration in full.
ITEM 7: Work Session—2023 Budget.
Per City Manager Oakley, all necessary tax information has been received from Travis County. The confirmed no new tax rate is 0.1290 (down significantly from the current 0.1545 and 0.1645 last year). This results in $40 average savings to homeowners. As always, homeowners’ property tax payment goes largely to LTISD, Travis County and various other taxing authorities, with City of Lakeway’s share around 7%. Hotel Occupancy Tax funds held by Lakeway will total around $9.5M in the coming year, but state law strictly limits how these funds may be spent. Council will formally propose the tax rate at the Aug. 15 meeting, while the Sept. 12 meeting is the required public hearing, and Council will adopt the budget and tax rate at the Sept. 19 meeting.
ITEM 8: Revising the Home Occupation ordinance to add a special section covering DAYCARE operations.
State law recognizes 3 categories of daycare centers—listed, registered and licensed. Departing from decisions reached last month, Council VOTED 5/2 to require ZAPCO and Council review of ALL residential daycare SUPs, whether a listed or registered facility. (A licensed facility must be in a commercial area.) As to an extra/relief worker, the business owner can make that request in the SUP application, to be evaluated case-by-case.
ITEM 9: Revising the Code of Ethics, including regulating GIFTS TO CITY EMPLOYEES (police officers and others).
Council reviewed requested language, with any single gift over $50 needing approval by a committee (City Manager, Asst. City Manager, and the employee’s department head), the committee having just 72 hours to act. Also, the new gift rules would apply to an employee’s family members. After numerous bizarre statements that took things far off the rails of decorum, accuracy and sanity, Council VOTED TO REJECT THE ENTIRE PROPOSED ORDINANCE UPDATE and send it back to Ethics Committee (apparently in hopes of a miracle from on high to resolve things). This means that ALL city employees, including police, remain subject to the Ethics Code’s existing gift limit of $50 PER YEAR, period. Since our Charter only allows the Ethics Committee to fix this, a drastic option is to put a Charter amendment on the ballot.
ITEM 10: Revising the ordinance to increase the Over Age 65 Property Tax Homestead Exemption from the current $15,000 to $30,000. UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED
ITEM 11: Discussion of changing the time for Council meetings. The CONSENSUS was agreement to start REGULAR (3rd Monday) meetings at 6:00PM, instead of 6:30PM, as of September, after officially amending the controlling ordinance at the Aug. 15 meeting. (NOTE: SPECIAL meetings can be called for any day and set for any time specified in the Agenda.)
ADDENDUM added 2 items—
A-1 Interim Legislative Agenda State issues including the need for more sheriffs and constables on our state highways, a pilot safety program for HWY 71, and cooperation between LTISD Board and police officers were discussed. CONSENSUS was that at this early stage any elected official can advocate generally on these issues.
A-2 Transportation Bond Proposed legal language for the bond proposal was discussed. CONSENSUS was that staff work with the bond attorney to drop the smaller $5M Serene Hills/Delsie Drive bond and remove the Flint Rock/Medical Parkway signal from the larger $17.9M bond. The result will be a single bond of $17.5M, covering several road improvements (itemized at the July meeting but including mill and resurface of Lakeway BLVD/ Lakeway DR/Lohmans Crossing, plus building the Stratus share of Main Street with a bridge, culvert repairs, 2 traffic signals and more). Language will be considered and adopted at the Aug. 15 meeting, since Aug 22 is the deadline to get the transportation bond on the November ballot. There will be no parks bond this year.
ADJOURNED 11:56PM.
View the Meeting Packet and/or Presentation (scrolling down to City Council documents) here: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/archive.aspx
Go here to watch the Council meeting online: https://lakewaytx.new.swagit.com/videos/178075
ZAPCO met Wednesday, Aug, 3, 9AM, at City Hall.
The Aviation Committee’s proposed ordinance changes covering airpark activity (commercial activity, flying clubs, night flights, flying lessons, aircraft rentals, and more) were recommended to Council (with 2 relatively minor amendments).
Stratus’ requested PUD amendment for The Oaks (261 apartments, 28 townhomes and an 18-acre park, plus completion of Main Street and a bridge over an environmentally sensitive area) was recommended to Council (with a minor amendment). Look for Council to explore the lack of parking (for the apartment complex—just 440 spaces instead of the code-required 532–AND the park area) and the Main Street completion date.
Legend’s requested PUD amendment for Tuscan Village 2 (270 dwellings on 17 acres, located on Lohmans next to the police station) was needed to coordinate constructing Main Street for the adjacent Square at Lohmans. It was recommended to Council, BUT ZAPCO denied the unrelated request to remove the age 55 and over restriction the developer originally demanded over a decade ago for this project. (Senior housing is routinely allowed to be more dense, in part because the lack of kids means far fewer car trips, yet the developer is not offering to build fewer dwellings in exchange for opening them up to all ages.) Look for Legends to cry like a baby before Council, but Council will need a super-majority to overrule ZAPCO on the age restriction.
View the Meeting Packet and/or Presentation (scrolling down to ZAPCO documents) here: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/archive.aspx
Go here to watch the ZAPCO meeting online: https://lakewaytx.new.swagit.com/videos/178224
Council will meet Monday, Aug. 15, 6:30PM at City Hall, debating airpark rules, Stratus development project/Main Street, property tax rate, transportation bond, Ethics Code changes on employee gifts (yes, AGAIN), and more.
Consequential items include:
ITEM 7: Appointing Joseph Molis as Interim City Manager.
ITEM 14: Financial Report.
ITEM 15: Officer Pinning Ceremony.
ITEM 17: Ordinance amending Aviation District zoning rules (commercial activity, flying clubs, night flights, flying lessons, aircraft rentals, and more), including presentation by the study committee chair.
ITEM 18: Accepting $15,000 Donation to City of Lakeway, for Employee Medical Expenses and Victims Assistance Program, from Mayor Tom and Mrs. Caren Kilgore.
ITEM 19: Stratus’ requested PUD amendment for The Oaks Phase 2 (where Main St. currently ends: 261 apartments, 28 townhomes and an 18-acre park, plus completion of Main Street and a bridge over an environmentally sensitive area). NOTE: Problem areas include high density, lack of parking (Stratus proposes 440 spaces instead of the code-required 532 for the apartment complex and NONE for the park) and the Main Street completion date (Stratus demands 24 months after a construction contract is executed).
ITEM 20: Special Use Permit (50 years) for a car wash at 1501 RR 620 S.
ITEM 21: Special Use Permit (50 years) for expansion of CubeSmart Self Storage at 15616 Stewart Road.
ITEM 23: Final Plat of The Enclave at Lohmans Phase 2 (part of The Square at Lohmans Crossing approved PUD, including Main Street, Lohmans Spur, the Roundabout, and the townhouse lots).
ITEM 25: Approve FY 2023 Budget and Propose 2022 Tax Rate.
ITEM 26: Calling a Bond Election on Nov. 8, 2022. NOTE: The bond is for various transportation projects. The amount is EITHER $13,300,000 OR $17,500,000, depending on whether Council approves the Stratus PUD amendment (see above); if not, the city will have to build that section of Main Street, and the bond will be $17,500,000.
ITEM 27: Starting REGULAR Council meetings (on 3rd Mondays/Tuesdays) at 6:00PM (instead of 6:30PM).
ITEM 28: Reconsideration of action taken at the last meeting as to proposed Ethics Code changes re: gifts to police and other city employees.
ITEM 30: Citizens Participation. (The bad behavior of one rotten apple last month got this item shoved to the end of the agenda, a detriment to everyone–shame on you, Nancy….)
ITEM 31: Executive Session on Lakeway MUD property request.
View the Meeting Packet and/or Presentation (scrolling down to City Council documents) here: https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/archive.aspx
Go here to watch the Council meeting online (live or later): https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/1062/Videos—Meetings-Events
Daring Mighty Things
The amazing Webb interstellar telescope captured this breath-taking image of the Cartwheel galaxy, which is about 500 million light-years from Earth. This picturesque galaxy was created eons ago when 2 smaller galaxies collided. Webb Captures Stellar Gymnastics in The Cartwheel Galaxy 8/2/22 https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/webb-captures-stellar-gymnastics-in-the-cartwheel-galaxy
Ghost Robotics has created robots modeled on dogs, and they will be tested at Cape Canaveral, specifically for damage assessment and patrol. The robots respond to voice commands, and can be operated autonomously or by a human controller. Planned uses include military, emergency management, public safety and industrial inspection. US Space Force tests robot dogs to patrol Cape Canaveral 8/8/22 https://www.space.com/space-force-robot-dogs-cape-canaveral
With liberty and justice for all … except women.
Well, this was refreshing! If deep-red Kansas can vote overwhelmingly to protect women’s rights, any state can, including Texas. The Kansas victory shows that Democrats can fight for abortion rights and win 8/4/22 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/04/the-kansas-victory-shows-that-democrats-can-fight-for-abortion-rights-and-win
Ugh, maybe not ANY state. Indiana’s lawmakers went the other way, imposing a near-total ban. Indiana becomes first US state post-Roe to ban most abortions 8/6/22 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/06/indiana-assembly-passes-anti-abortion-bill-sends-it-to-governor
August 26 is traditionally Women’s Equality Day. The League of Women Voters has a plan for celebrating the day in this troubled year of INequality. https://www.lwv.org/equal-rights/womens-inequality-day?utm_source
Texas November Election
The November 2022 election is coming up fast. Voter registration ends Oct. 11. Early voting is Oct. 24-Nov. 4. Election Day is Nov. 8.
Texas will elect its Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, and many more officials. The governor’s race in particular will be hot and heavy, and the result is key not just for our state but for the country. Abortion rights, gun safety, election integrity, immigration policy, the power grid—those are just SOME of the issues to consider when evaluating candidates. For a long time now, Texas has elected the worst among us. This time, let’s elect the BEST.
Travis County needs POLL WORKERS. They train and pay; you can request your preferred location. Anyone interested in working Early Voting (choose morning or afternoon shift) and/or Election Day (work the entire day), go here to get started: https://countyclerk.traviscountytx.gov/departments/elections/election-workers/poll-worker-form/
I’m the new Democratic Precinct Chair for 375 (that blue squarish area in the above image). Your 2022 voter registration card shows your precinct number. Or, go here and fill in your details for Voter Lookup: https://www.votetravis.com/vexpress/display.do
Several Lake Travis area precincts are working together as a Super Precinct. We are supporting Beto O’Rourke, Mike Collier, Rochelle Garza, and Democratic candidates all the way down the ballot. Go here and put your address in to see your sample ballot: https://ballotpedia.org/Texas_Sample_Ballot
Now, we are starting to gear up for the November election, starting with block-walking. People will be walking their home streets and immediate neighborhoods, using our custom maps of likely Democratic voters and handing out Travis County Democratic Party literature. If you live in Precinct 375 and are interested in getting involved, email me at macwestie99@gmail.com
Back to me….
It is hot—hot—hot in Texas. It has FELT LIKE August since May, and now August is here for real. Please put out water for wildlife and strays, in the shade if possible. A bucket, plastic bin, planter tray, or an old pot will do. Rinse and add fresh water daily, so you don’t breed mosquitoes.
Wildlife Committee’s 2 new banners (featuring delightful does) are up! DEER LIVE HERE, TOO. These will rotate among Old Lakeway locations until rut season in late fall, when the buck banners take their place.
We are also working on getting more yellow diamond deer crossing signs erected, specifically near Old Lakeway locations with the highest number of deer/vehicle accidents. It is a process…. Don’t wait—SLOW DOWN and DRIVE CAREFULLY, right now.
Fawns have been largely elusive lately. Here are recent photos I took of our herd, including bucks and does (plus a close friend).
The Coronavirus
Worldwide, 12.4 billion shots have been given, with 62.8% of the planet’s population fully vaccinated.
Japan is struggling with a surge in cases, its worst during the entire pandemic, thanks to the BA.5 subvariant. Over half its new cases are concentrated in people age 30 and younger.
China’s lockdowns proliferate amid its latest Covid surge, and its tourist hubs are compromised. On Aug. 6, over 80,000 tourists were caught in the sudden lockdown of Sanya, a beach resort in southern China. They cannot leave until testing negative for Covid on 5 PCR tests over 7 days. Tibet is also experiencing a surge of cases, its first in the entire pandemic; to date, there is no lockdown, but mass testing is going on in Tibet’s 2 largest cities, Lhasa and Shigatse.
Australia reports that Covid-19 is now the 3rd cause of death there, after heart disease and dementia.
North Korea’s dictator announced last week that his country’s Covid outbreak was vanquished, providing no details. Experts are skeptical, as the isolated and impoverished country completely lacks Covid testing, treatment and vaccines.
New Zealand on August 1 reopened its borders completely to international visitors, for the first time since early 2020. This is despite being one of the top seven countries worldwide for average daily Covid cases per 100,000 people.
In the European Union, its agency equivalent to America’s FDA has begun reviewing a variant-adapted COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech. The new vaccine targets the original strain of the Covid virus AND the recent Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 responsible for most current infections. The hope is the new vaccines will be ready for use this fall, before the expected winter surges.
In the US, in the last 2 weeks, the new case rate was down 15%, hospitalizations dropped 3%, and deaths increased 13%. We are averaging 105,000 new cases per day, 42,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with Covid, and an average of 491 people die each day. The national testing positivity rate is 17%.
President Biden as of August 7 tested negative after his second round of Paxlovid treatment, returning to his regular schedule of public appearances and travel.
On Aug. 11, the CDC relaxed various protocols like quarantines and social distancing, saying this: “COVID-19 continues to circulate globally, however, with so many tools available to us for reducing COVID-19 severity, there is significantly less risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death compared to earlier in the pandemic. We’re in a stronger place today as a nation, with more tools—like vaccination, boosters, and treatments—to protect ourselves, and our communities, from severe illness from COVID-19. We also have a better understanding of how to protect people from being exposed to the virus, like wearing high-quality masks, testing, and improved ventilation. This guidance acknowledges that the pandemic is not over, but also helps us move to a point where COVID-19 no longer severely disrupts our daily lives.” Vaccination, boosters, masking indoors, and ventilation are emphasized as the best ways to protect yourself and others. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/p0811-covid-guidance.html
As for vaccinations in the US, 67% of the entire population is fully vaccinated (no change in the last 10 weeks). Nearly 108 million booster shots have been given. Average shots administered per day dropped to 275,000.
In Texas, the positivity test rate is 28%. In the last 2 weeks, new cases decreased 15%, hospitalizations dropped 7%, and deaths rose 16%. We are averaging 9,800 new daily cases, and an average of 31 Texans die each day. As of now, there are 3,700 Texans hospitalized for Covid-19.
To date, at least 1 in 4 Texans have been infected, a total of 7,588,881 reported cases. At least 1 in 323 Texans have died from the coronavirus, a total of 89,859 deaths.
Only 62% of all Texas residents are fully vaccinated.
Recent Covid Articles I Recommend
COVID czar Ashish Jha wants to make vaccines great again. 8/12/22 https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/08/covid-czar-ashish-jha-wants-a-new-generation-of-vaccines.html
When Will the Pandemic End? And Other Pressing Questions, Answered 8/12/22 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/12/opinion/pandemic-covid-questions.html
C.D.C. Eases Covid Guidelines, Noting Virus Is ‘Here to Stay’ 8/11/22 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/11/health/virus-cdc-guidelines.html
We Are Still in a Race Against the Coronavirus 8/10/22 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/10/opinion/coronavirus-evolution-vaccines.html
How We Mourn Covid’s Victims 8/9/22 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/09/us/covid-deaths-memorials.html