JUNE 12, 2019 THE RIGHT FIT
SPORTS TOP 10
Lehman High stakeholders offer input on next principal hire.
Top 10 moments in Hays CISD sports this past year.
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Hays Free Press © Barton Publications, Inc.
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Vol. 124 • No. 11
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Kyle Council finalizes 900% pay increase BY KATIE BURRELL
After three-plus months of contentious debate, Kyle city leaders June 4 gave the final green light for their own 900% pay increase. By a split 4-3 vote, the Kyle city council narrowly approved an ordinance outlining the increase, which will bump city council members’ pay
Serving Buda, Kyle and Northeast Hays County, TX
KA-BLAM!
from $100 to 1,000 per month, while the mayor’s pay goes from $200 to $1,300 per month. Council members Alex Villalobos, Daphne Tenorio and Robert Rizo all voted against the pay increase. The Kyle City Council will allow its members the option to take health insurance. If taken, the
Commuters at the intersection of Interstate 35 at Kyle Parkway Sunday got quite the light show as Mother Nature threw down big bolts of lightning during a passing storm. While some areas of Kyle and Buda dealt with minor wind damage. No one was seriously hurt.
COUNCIL COMPENSATION, 2
Buda bolsters defenses as complaint looms As a Texas Workforce Commission complaint looms, Buda elected officials June 4 passed an agreement aimed at bolstering the city’s defenses. By a 5-0 vote, the Buda City Council approved a Joint Defense and Allied Litigant agreement involving the city and the Buda Economic Development Corporation (EDC). Mayor Pro Tem Wiley Hopkins and council member Evan Ture were absent from the meeting and did not vote. Buda Mayor George Haehn said the agreement between the two entities is meant to create a “joint defense” against any claims made by previous personnel who might have worked with the EDC. Haehn did not specifically identify who the previous EDC employee was. “It’s an agreement between the two entities to mutually defend each other,” Haehn said. Exact details of the agreement, however, were not made available to the Hays Free Press prior to press time. The Hays Free Press submitted an open records request to Buda
Buda Mayor George Haehn said part of the agreement would allow the city and the EDC to share documentation in the event one or the other is “attacked and sued.”
Aquifer district mulls over Henly-area concrete batch plant water request BY EXSAR ARGUELLO A concrete company’s plan to pump close to 9 million gallons of water from the Trinity Aquifer for its Henly-area batch plant is bubbling up concern from nearby neighbors. Lauren Concrete Inc., owners of a batch plant near Henly that generated controversy when it was proposed in 2018, submitted an application to the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (HTGCD) to pump 8,126,724 gallons per year from the aquifer. HTGCD Hydrogeologist Jeff Watson said the permit request, which amounts to 24.95 acrefeet of water, would be the 15th largest water production permit of 85 that are currently active, if approved.
city officials for a formal copy of the agreement. City officials did not respond to the request as of Tuesday. Haehn said part of the agreement would allow the city and the EDC to share documentation in the event one or the other is “attacked and sued.” It is unknown at this time if formal litigation has been filed against the city or the EDC. In April, former Buda EDC Executive Director Ann Miller filed a TWC complaint against Buda, citing a hostile workplace environment stemming from months of backbiting between the two entities.
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Coming Up Defensive Gardening at the Buda Library
contact Jason Mangold, Hays County Extension Agent, at (512) 393-2136.
Hays County Master Gardeners, in cooperation with the Buda Library, will host a free seminar on June 15, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Buda Public Library. The seminar is free and will feature guest speaker Joseph Blanford who will talk about attracting pollinators in the garden. For more information,
Hays County Beekeepers meet monthly
The Hays County chapter of the Texas Beekeepers Association will hold its monthly recurring meeting June 19, 7 to 9 p.m. at the Driftwood Volunteer Fire Station. For more information, call Nathalie Misserey at (512) 699-0605
SETON BUDA
Seton opens new healthcare facility in Buda.
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square feet of HTGCD Hydrogeologist Jeff Watson 57,750 its property to capture said the requested permit compared rainwater. estimates to water supply companies is small. theHTGCD system will capture 26,000 gallons of rainHowever, compared to household during a one-inch usage, HTGCD officials estimate the water rain event. The application is in permit is comparable to around 67 administrative review, new homes coming online in the Drip- said HTGCD Manager Rick Braun. ping Springs area. “Comparing it to a larger permit at 1,100 acre-feet, it’s around 2 percent of those large permits,” Watson said. Watson said the permit compared to water supply companies is small. However, compared to household usage, HTGCD officials estimate the permit is comparable to around 67 new homes coming online in the Dripping Springs area. Per the application’s
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Healthy Lawns and Healthy Waters free program
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service’s Healthy Lawns and Healthy Waters Program will host a residential rainwater harvesting and turf management training June 20 in Kyle. The free program will be from 1-5 p.m. at the Kyle Fire Department 1, 210 W. Moore St. It is being offered in collaboration with the Plum Creek Watershed Partnership. See more, pg. 6.
INDEX
BY MOSES LEOS III
PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GARCIA
News……………… 2, 14 Opinion………………… 3 Sports…………………… 4 Education……………… 5 Community………… 6-8
process, Lauren Concrete was required to perform a 48-hour pumping test. Experts study these tests to determine the potential drawdown and impact on the aquifer. But efforts are being made by the district to mitigate pumping. Lauren Concrete will capture rainwater to lessen its groundwater pumping needs, according to the permit. The company will pave
For residents who are opposed to the permit, they now wait for that review. Dripping Springs resident Elenore Goode is in opposition to the permit, citing concerns about the damage the pumping could potentially have on the aquifer. “This aquifer has already suffered severe degradation from its historical norms of high-pressure flow, as
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Program aims to help feed children in need during the summer BY KATIE BURRELL
aims to serve more than 23,000 children again Free breakfast and this year. In 2018, the lunch for children of program served 23,236 all ages is available this children. summer, thanks in part The program is free to a Hays CISD program and is open to children aimed at providing meals from all across the to those in need. county. Hays CISD Nutrition In San Marcos, 68.5% Specialist Melanie McCall of students qualify for said Hays CISD’s Summer Feeding Program SUMMER NUTRITION, 9
Business……………… 9 Service Directory…… 11 Public Notices……… 12 Classifieds…………… 12