City and county | November 2011

Election 2011 Results

Because none of the candidates earned 50 percent or more of the vote in the San Marcos Place 3 race, residents will see a runoff between John Thomaides and Terry Nichols on Dec. 13.

Toby Hooper earned 371 votes, or 17.3 percent of the vote, and Nicholas Cubides earned 110 votes, or 5.1 percent of the total.

Mixed results on sales and use tax, constitutional amendments

According to unofficial results, the proposition to increase the sales and use tax imposed by Hays County Emergency Services District No. 8 from one-half of 1 percent to 1.5 percent appears to have been defeated by a vote of 229 to 201. Voters across the state approved seven of 10 constitutional amendments.

Hays County

Government center on schedule, under budget, officials say

The Hays County Government Center will soon see its first inhabitants, as departments move from their locations scattered throughout the county to the central seat of government at 712 S. Stagecoach Trail in San Marcos.

“We are on schedule and we are under budget,” said Precinct 1 Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe.

Original estimates put the center’s cost at $100 million to $115 million, she said. Taking on a project manager reduced that dramatically.

“The county authorized $71.2 million. Our current total budget cost is $63.8 million, and that includes furniture, fixtures and equipment. Of that, $50 million is construction,” she said.

Ingalsbe emphasized that the county has been able to pay for the construction without raising the tax rate.

“We have been setting aside money in the budget, and so by doing that we … did not have to raise the tax rate,” she said.

First to move in will be the IT department, the constable’s office and sheriff’s office security for the building.

Most of the remainder of the departments will move in before Christmas.

“We’re phasing in our moves so the public can continue to do business in our offices,” she said.

The courthouse on the Square will continue to house several county offices. Commissioners Court will continue to meet there, and commissioner Ingalsbe and Precinct 3 Commissioner Will Conley will have offices in the courthouse.

“As far as the buildings are concerned, we are working closely with the city of San Marcos,” Ingalsbe said. “We want the right type, the appropriate type of businesses [to move in], and we are working with them to make certain that happens.”

The 232,000-square-foot government center will officially open Jan. 1, and Ingalsbe said the county is planning a grand-opening event sometime after that.

Kyle

City Council approves redistricting map, seeks federal approval

The City of Kyle Redistricting Committee presented four maps for consideration to the City Council at the Nov. 1 meeting.

The city’s growth in the past 10 years has made the existing districts unbalanced in terms of population size and ethnic composition.

With more than 28,000 people now in the city, officials said each district should have approximately 9,330 people to maintaining fair representation.

City Council members approved Option 4, which will affect about 6,000 residents, Steve Clamons, geographic information systems coordinator said.

“On the original map, District 2 had a very small population,” Clamons said. “The big change was evening out the population.”

Based on the 2010 census figures, the current population in District 2 had shifted to 4,272, while District 4 had grown to 10,484 people, and District 6 had grown to 13,260 residents.

The City Council had appointed a seven-member committee to research ways to equalize those districts and propose options for new maps.

The newly approved map shows a more equal distribution of residents, with 9,665 residents in District 2, 9,206 residents in District 4 and 9,145 residents in District 6.

Among the changes will be moving residents in The Trails, Prairie on the Creek and Four Seasons subdivisions to District 2, Clamons said. Residents in the north part of the Springbranch subdivision will move to District 6.

The new map will be sent to the U.S. Justice Department and will take effect as soon as the city receives approval.

Buda | Kyle

County gets approval for work on FM 1626 between Kyle, Buda

Hays County Commissioners received approval in late October from the Federal Highway Administration to move ahead with improvements to FM 1626 between FM 967 and the Hays County line just west of Buda in Precinct 2.

Voters approved funding for the project in 2008 as part of a $207 million road bond package, but the project was delayed by inaction from the federal government on the county’s request for environmental approval.

Precinct 2 Commissioner Mark Jones said the the improvements to the once-rural road are necessary to meet the needs posed by the county’s growing population.

The letter from the Federal Highway Administration to the county said the work would cause “no significant impact” to the environment, Jones said.

The court previously sent Precinct 3 Commissioner Will Conley to Washington, D.C., to meet with authorities and encourage faster action on FM 1626 and other county projects awaiting federal approval.

With approval now granted, the county expects to move quickly to begin acquiring right of way and coordinating the moving of utilities.

Bids for construction are planned for the spring, with construction expected to begin in early summer 2012.

The new road will be five lanes wide and will include a turn lane. Improvements to a low-water crossing on Lakewood Drive will be made in conjunction with the project.

Meetings

Buda City Council

121 Main St.

312-0084

www.ci.buda.tx.us

Meets the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m.

Kyle City Council

100 W. Center St.

262-1010

www.cityofkyle.com

Meets the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m.

San Marcos City Council

630 E. Hopkins St.

393-8000

www.sanmarcostx.gov

Meets the first and third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m.

Hays County Commissioners Court

111 E. San Antonio St.

393-7730

www.co.hays.tx.us

Meets each Tuesday at 9 a.m.

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