Georgetown / Hutto / Taylor — June 2008

Georgetown / Hutto / Taylor — June 2008

Written by Staff Friday, 13 June 2008

GEORGETOWN

1. Hippie Cowgirl relocates

Kim Novak relocated her store, Hippie Cowgirl, from 4749 Williams Drive, Ste. 323 to 4701 Williams Drive, Building 3 earlier this month. The apparel, accessories and gift store was at its previous location for two years. For more information, call 869-1166 or visit .

2. New office condos

The Fountains at Georgetown South, a professional office park with outdoor amenities, held its grand opening last month at 101 W. Cooperative Way. Two of the six total units are complete, and construction on the third is set to begin. Units are available for sale or lease. For more information, contact Bob Sedlor at 517-8241.

3. Walk in the park

Berry Creek Park, a new 2.7-acre, $120,000 park in the Berry Creek neighborhood, opened May 3. The park includes two playgrounds, picnic tables, a trail and a basketball court. The entrance to the park is at 1100 Shinnecock Hills Drive. For more information, contact the Parks and Recreation Department at 930-3595.

4. VFW Post 8587 update

Ben D. Snowden VFW Post 8587, 1000 N. College St., named former U.S. Marine Janis Cowman-Arteaga as its new commander. Cowman-Arteaga is the first female commander of the 40-year-old post as well as in Texas District 28. The VFW — Veterans of Foreign Wars — is a nonprofit organization that monitors the rights of veterans and active duty service members.

Fire chief retires

Georgetown Fire Chief Anthony Lincoln retired May 16 after serving the city’s fire department for 29 years. He was named fire chief in 1999. Assistant Fire Chief Clay Shell will be the acting fire chief until a replacement is found. To contact the Georgetown Fire Department, call 930-3473.

5. Home healthcare

Life Made Easy, a home healthcare provider, opened its second office. Located at 4236 Williams Drive, the company began operating in January, but installed new signage last month. For more information, call 864-9797 or visit their website.

6. Pet-matching program

Recognizing the need for older animals to find good homes, the Georgetown Animal Shelter, 110 WL Walden Drive, started Senior to Senior, a program that allows senior citizens to adopt senior animals at no charge and that encourages seniors and non seniors alike to consider older animals. For details, call 930-3592.

7. Long-time printer closes

John King and family, who have owned Heritage Printing & Office Supplies, Inc. since 1974, closed June 12. There will be an auction to sell all printing equipment, office furniture and remaining office supplies at the store, 703-705 Main St., June 24 at 10 a.m. Minuteman Press, 1011 Leander Road, took over its customer files and can be contacted at 931-2211 or www.mmptx.com.

Road project updates

8. The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization awarded $8.8 million for improvements to Williams Drive from DB Wood Road to 0.3 miles west of FM 3405. The road improvement project is a partnership between the City of Georgetown and Williamson County. Construction is expected to begin this fall and take 18 to 22 months.

9. The segment of Ronald Reagan Boulevard from FM 3405 north to RM 2338 is now open. The new, two-lane roadway is 5.4 miles in length and includes two bridges. For more information, call 943-1663.

10. Humane Society

Last month, the board of directors of the Humane Society of Williamson County, located at 10930 E. Crystal Falls Parkway in Leander, announced a new executive director, Bobbi Leverich. For more information, call 260-3602.

11. Global support

Georgetown-based humanitarian service organization MEDICO, 2955 Dawn Drive, Ste. D, sent a medical field team to Honduras last month to provide medical, optometric and dental clinics at no cost to more than 1,700 impoverished Hondurans. The nonprofit’s mission is to provide healthcare where there is little to no care available in the most rural areas of Central America. Call Brian Crowe at 930-1893 or visit their website.

HUTTO

Top edge market

The City of Hutto was named a “Top Ten Edge Market” — defined as a community located on the outskirts of a larger market like Austin — by Southern Business & Development magazine in the winter 2008 edition. For more information, call 759-2806 or visit www.huttoedc.com.

12. Hotel accommodations

Visitors to Hutto have a new place to stay for the night. Holiday Inn Express, 323 Ed Schmidt Blvd., is expected to open in late July and has 60 rooms and suites. For reservations, call 1-800-315-2621 or visit their website.

Labor availability

To determine the size of Hutto’s workforce, the Hutto Economic Development Corporation commissioned The Pathfinders group of Dallas to complete an assessment of Hutto’s workforce. The study found that in a 15-mile radius around the city there was a 271,500 household population and a civilian labor force of approximately 148,100. For more information, call 759-2806 or visit their website.

Trip to sister city

Nearly a year after the Hutto City Council agreed to partner with Chililabombwe, Zambia, in the Sister Cities International program, Kyle Sears of Resonate Church, city planner Will Guerin and city manager Ed Broussard spent a week in Chililabombwe, selected for its large hippopotamus population. The delegation will present ideas to help Hutto’s sister city at the June 19 city council meeting. For more about the trip, visit www.huttozambia.com.

13. Crossings of Carmel Creek

Developers for the Crossings of Carmel Creek launched a new website in March that includes an e-mail update feature and information about working with the City of Hutto. Atlantic Coast Developers plans to break ground on the 466-acre mixed-use development in August. For more information, call 904-634-1500 or visit their website.

14. First farmers market?

The Hutto City Council met June 5 to discuss a lease agreement with Marketplace Austin, Ltd. for Hutto Market Place, a temporary farmers market at the Hutto Co-Op. The market would feature farm produce and products and no commercially made merchandise. For more information, call 759-4033.

Break a sweat

After voters said no in May’s election to Hutto ISD’s proposition two to build an indoor swimming pool and workout facility with the YMCA, the City of Hutto is in talks with the YMCA to build a recreation center in Hutto. The city has formed the Hutto YMCA committee, which will continue to meet with area developers to determine if and where a recreation center should be built. For details, call 759-4030.

15. Landfill news

Last month the City of Killeen decided it will negotiate a contract with Waste Management, the operator of the Williamson County Landfill. The contract would send Killeen’s approximately 100,000 tons of annual waste to the landfill, located just north of Hutto. In other landfill news, a judge ruled the county’s 2003 contract with Waste Management is a valid operating contract, and the county is still waiting to hear if its permit application to expand the height and acreage of the landfill has been approved by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Information on the landfill can be found at williamsoncountylandfill.wm.com.

TAYLOR

16. Need storage?

Reservations are being taken for new storage units in Taylor. Advanced Hwy. 79 Storage, 4105 W. Second St., is expected to open in August with 500 storage units ranging in size from 25 to 300 sq. ft., some of which will be climate controlled. The 5-acre site will also have eight storefront properties, which are now available for pre-leasing. For more information, call 254-423-1468.

Students talk with sailors

Taylor ISD students spoke with U.S. Navy sailors from the USS Lake Erie via a videoconference with CNET May 9 at the old Taylor middle school, 410 W. Seventh St. For more information about CNET, call 352-7099 or visit www.taylorcnet.org.

17. Business printing

Bringing old-fashioned service to a high-tech world, Larry Lauderdale has expanded Centex Mailing, 108 E. Second St., by adding three employees. He also began selling promotional products and purchased a commercial digital printer, which uses new toner technology and increases his printing capacity. Centex Mailing’s name will change to Centex Business Center in August. For more information, call 365-1022 or visit www.centexbusinesscenter.com.

18. Gazebo for Murphy Park

The city council approved plans for the Taylor Garden Club to build a gazebo in Murphy Park next to Murphy Lake. The structure, which will be donated to the city, is expected to cost $90,000 and is fashioned after the Palace of Fine Arts building in San Francisco. Construction is expected to start soon and be completed by the fall. For more information, visit www.ci.taylor.tx.us.

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