Tiger teams excel at F1 in Schools
Tiger hoops have winning week
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Livestock show kicks off
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News-Dispatch Volume XXXVIII No. 15
Serving Western Hays County, Texas since 1982
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75¢
Thursday, January 18, 2018
County, cities plan for massive regional trail system BY SAMANTHA SMITH
A 30-plus mile regional pedestrian trail system extending from Austin to San Marcos could be in the works. The plan, through the efforts of Hays County, Buda, Kyle, San Marcos and the San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance, would promote better connectivity in the area. Mark Taylor, board
The plan, which will encompass the efforts of Hays County, Buda, Kyle, San Marcos and the San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance, is being done in order to promote better connectivity in the area. See map on page 4
president of the San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance (SMGA), said the concept behind the proposed Emerald Crown trail is connecting the southern part of the
Violet Crown trail in the Austin area to Purgatory Creek in San Marcos via trails in Buda, Kyle and San Marcos. Taylor said SMGA is a nonprofit group that
has been in charge of the upkeep and protection of the San Marcos trails since 1998 at no cost to the city. Taylor described this particular project
and the Alliance’s part in it as “a catalyst for cooperative efforts of the partners and stakeholders involved.” Taylor said the stakeholders are the
Committee eyes 11 projects for potential May bond
DSISD BOND PACKAGE, 3
REGIONAL TRAIL SYSTEM, 6
Tests show connection between Onion Creek and Middle Trinity
BY KATERINA BARTON Expanding Dripping Springs High along with building a fifth elementary school were part of a recommendation given by Dripping Springs ISD’s Long Range Planning Committee earlier this month. The recommendations, which feature a plethora of needed improvements and new facilities to accommodate rapid growth, could make up a potential bond package that could go to voters this May. The committee was made up more than 100 community members, parents and administrators who have been meeting since the fall in order to identify improvements within the district or the potential for new facilities. These projects are part of a plan to accommodate the growth that many communities in the Hill Country are experiencing. The district is growing seven percent each year. By 2025, the district expects to reach 12,000 students. On Jan. 9, Superintendent Bruce Gearing said the committee identified 11 projects that are the priority for the potential bond package. The LongRange Facilities Planning Committee also elected
Guadalupe-Blanco River Trust, the Meadows Center, the Hill Country Conservancy, Take-aHike San Marcos and the Texas State University Geography Department. Taylor said funding sources for the project were uncertain, but that the Meadows Center at Texas State was very good at finding funding
BY MOSES LEOS III
Dripping OKs storage facility plan despite protest at meeting PHOTO BY SAMANTHA SMITH
A group of concerned Dripping Springs citizens showed up at the Jan. 9 city council meeting to protest a storage facility that is planned to build on FM 1826. However, the city council okayed the permit by a 6-0 vote because state law prohibits cities from denying permits because they do not approve of the use.
BY SAMANTHA SMITH Protest signs dotted the landscape at Dripping Springs City Hall Jan. 9 as numerous residents opposed a site development permit to allow a storage facility to open near the Rim Rock subdivision. In adherence to state law that prohibits cities from denying permits for intended use, however, led city leaders to approve the permit by a 6-0 vote. Mayor Todd Purcell was absent from the meeting and did not vote. The facility, which is to be on a 15.83-acre lot, will be located near the intersection of FM 1826 and Darden Hill Road Rock, said Steve Medcalf, who spoke on behalf of Troy Moore with M3 Engineering. Medcalf said the engineering firm had hosted multiple community meetings for residents and neighbors of the proposed storage facility, as well as a workshop at the Hays County Commissioners Court. Although the storage facility would be located in Dripping Springs’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), the owner of the property agreed with residents to a list of limitations regarding design, landscaping and hours of operation,
Steve Medcalf of 3M Engineering said storage facilities in the area were limited or at capacity so the project in the ETJ is a needed one. Medcalf said. The limitations came as a result of feedback from the community meetings and workshops. “As you are aware, there is very little land use regulations in the ETJ and limited site development regulations as well,” Medcalf said. Medcalf added there are also limited regulations on the height of structures, lighting and landscaping required for property in the ETJ. The project was designed to blend into the Dripping Springs rural hill country by displaying muted colors and tree shading from the main thoroughfare, Medcalf said. Medcalf also said storage facilities in the area were limited or at capacity so the project in the ETJ is a needed one. “We feel fairly confident that the citizens are going to be able to use this facility,” Medcalf said. Medcalf claimed the storage facility would not increase traffic and would abide by the city’s Dark Skies ordinance. The site plan included an onsite residence for a caretaker of the property,
rainwater harvesting capabilities and landscaping screen cover from the nearest roadway. “What we’re trying to do here is something that looks and feels like it belongs here,” Medcalf said. Gates, cameras and high fences stand as a crime deterrent at the storage facility, along with the 24-hour caretaker on-site. Dripping Springs’ Planning and Zoning Commission recommended council approve the site plan for the facility as long as some conditions were met regarding the Dark Skies ordinance and landscaping. However, eight residents, most from the Rim Rock neighborhood, spoke in opposition to the storage facility during a public hearing on the item. The residents opposed the development based on environmental concerns, concerns regarding additional water runoff due to impervious cover and other pollutants from vehicle storage. Rim Rock resident John Pope called the consolations made by the developer regarding the aesthetics of the building as “window
dressing. Pope said the structure still didn’t belong in the beautiful hill country. Daryl Kocher spoke about current flooding issues being exasperated by added impervious cover at the storage facility. Jennifer Cohen was among several residents who requested that an environmental impact study be done at the proposed site before the developer began construction. But Dripping Springs City Councilmember John Kroll said the city is subject to the state law that prevents cities from denying a developers’ permit request based on the intended land use. Council members said they understood residents’ concerns, but there was little the council could do to stop the development. Council member Taline Manassian thanked the residents for attending the meeting and sharing their concerns with council members. Manassian also congratulated the developer for working with the residents and including special conditions on lighting, landscape and water use in the site plan.
Initial results from an ongoing study have found Onion Creek is “hydrologically connected” to the Middle Trinity Aquifer, according to a memo to the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District (BSEACD). Doug Wierman, an independent geoscientist working with the Meadows Center in San Marcos, said the results show an important connection that could have an impact on the area. “It confirms that whatever is in the creek can get into the aquifer,” Wierman said. The study, which was conducted on Dec. 4, 2017, was a project involving the BSEACD, the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, the Meadows Center and the city of Austin. Hydrologists used a dye-trace test method to test whether surface water in Onion Creek was contributing to recharge in the Middle Trinity Aquifer. The test involved injecting non-toxic dye into karst features, or openings, along Onion Creek in the vicinity of the city of Dripping Springs, according to the memo. The test is a “long-established, safe and scientifically sound approach” to identify potential
WATER SOURCES CONNECT, 6
LAGNIAPPE Firefighters Fitness Day
Start the new year off right with a unique opportunity to work out with our local firefighters through the city’s Healthy Parks, Healthy People – Dripping Springs program (HPHP). North Hays County Fire Rescue, (NHCFR) along with the Dripping Springs Professional Firefighters Association, is partnering with the city to bring you “Firefighters Fitness Day” on Feb. 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Dripping Springs Ranch Park, 1042 Event Center Drive (off RR12, across from Dripping Springs Elementary.