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News-Dispatch Volume XXXVII No. 30 • Serving Western Hays County, Texas since 1982
75¢ Thursday, May 4, 2017
Home appraisal values up 10% in Hays County STAFF REPORT More than 2,000 new homes and 49 new commercial structures has led to the rise in preliminary market value of property in the county, according to a Hays County press release. The preliminary market value of the average household in Hays County rose
District says time to save water
by 10 percent from 2016 to 2017. Overall, the county’s market value went from $21.32 billion to $23.46 billion in a year’s time. Commercial and industrial property values rose by 10.45 percent during the course of the last calendar year, according to the release. Meanwhile, residential
HOW TO PROTEST YOUR APPRAISED VALUE
Property owners can file a protest at the Hays Central Appraisal District office, located at 21001 N. IH 35, Kyle, Texas 78640, call (512) 268-2522 or visit www.hayscad.com.
multi-family property values in the county continued to see double-digit increases, as value rose by 14.07 percent, from $2.01 billion in 2016 to $2.22 billion in 2017. Total new improve-
ments added more than $637 million to the taxable value for 2017, with the average market value for homes increasing by nine percent. Market values in Buda rose by roughly eight per-
cent from last year, while Kyle’s market values rose close to 10 percent. The city of San Marcos saw the highest jump in market values with an 11 percent increase from 2016. The Hays Central Appraisal District has started to mail out 86,122 appraisal notices on May 1. Property owners that receive a notice of appraised value
have until May 31 to file a protest to appeal. Last year the CAD received 11,523 protests. It’s unknown at this time how the appraisals could affect Hays County homeowners’ tax bills, as the county, cities and school districts will use them to determine 2017 property tax rates, according to the release.
STATE BOUND
SUBMITTED REPORT The Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District (BSEACD) water conservation period began Monday and extends through the end of September, according to a press release. The five month period is the time when water use is at its peak, according to district officials. Since January 2016, groundwater levels in the district have been
CONSERVATION, 6
Spending, home-rule top forum topics
PHOTO BY MOSES LEOS III
Dripping Springs Tiger junior Hannah Biggs soars through the air as she participates in a preliminary run of the Class 5A girls 100 meter hurdles during the Region IV, 5A meet at Alamo Stadium in San Antonio. Biggs, along with Tiger senior Sydney Cole, punched their tickets to the UIL State track and field meet in Austin. Results of Tigers at the region meet can be found on Page 3.
LAGNIAPPE
BY LESLY DELEON Campaign spending and possibly becoming a home-rule city were two topics tackled by Dripping Springs candidates vying for three city council seats during a forum Sunday. The forum, held at Church of the Springs, featured incumbent council members Santos Alba, Charles Busbey and Mayor Pro-Tem Bill Foulds, and challengers Taline Manassian and Harrison Thomas Schultz. Candidate William Travis Crow did not attend. Candidates shared
CITY COUNCIL, 6
VOTE MAY 6
PHOTO BY MOSES LEOS III
Racers careen around the track at a 2016 race at Central Texas Speedway. The raceway, which has recently shut down, served Central Texas racers.
Putting on the brakes
County racetrack shuts its doors for good BY MOSES LEOS III
E
ntering the motorsports world was an easy decision for Kyle resident Sean Folsom. While working as a photographer at what was Thunderhill Raceway in Kyle six years ago, Folsom grew tired of seeing his race car driver friends have all of the fun on the track. As a result, Folsom invested in his own racecar and regularly competed at the venue, later known as Central Texas Speedway. But Folsom and many others were shocked when CTS officials announced they were shuttering the track, raising a red flag on one of the last short-track asphalt speedways in Texas. “It’s sad to see CTS die and go away,” Folsom said. “I would love to see it reopen, but the way
it sounds, I don’t think it’s going to.” CTS demise began when Tim Self, the previous leaseholder, and his company, AM Racing, chose not to renew for 2017, said Rick Coleman, who owns the property CTS is located on. Coleman said Self came to him and gave up his lease 15 months before it expired. Once Self chose to not renew, Coleman said he didn’t seek another suitor, as he feared the liability a racetrack presented. “I didn’t care to have it. I didn’t want the liability of something happening to someone on the track and I was liable for them,” Coleman said. “CTS had insurance for that, but I didn’t want that problem.” Coleman added that he would have allowed Self to run the track “for as long as he wanted to,” but Self was “tired of it” and was “moving on.”
Coleman began the demolition process earlier this year, removing bulidings, including the press box, which was damaged during a March storm. Rodney Rodriguez, a generational racecar driver who was an announcer and competitor at CTS, said the decision to close the track left him “crushed,” as there are few asphalt short tracks left in the state. Kyle resident and former racecar driver Christine Molis said the closure “hurts” as there are many local drivers who competed at CTS. “There’s a lot from Kyle, Buda, the Manchaca area and Austin,” Molis said. “This is their home track. Now with it being gone, they have a car in the garage doing nothing.” With CTS gone, drivers now must go elsewhere.
SPEEDWAY, 3
With early voting coming to an end this week, voters in the Dripping Springs area have one last chance to cast their ballots when Election Day hits Saturday. Several elections involving Dripping Springs area residents are on the ballot including the race for two Dripping Springs ISD board trustee seats and three Dripping Springs city council seats. Some voters within the boundaries of Emergency Service District 6 (North Hays County Fire Rescue) will decide on a proposition calling for implementation of a sales tax in areas not already at the state maximum of 8.25 percent. For more on Election Day location and times, go to haysnewsdispatch.com.
FREE DIABETIC EDUCATION CLASSES Free Diabetic Education Classes are being offered by Wimberley Home Health on Wednesdays through May 31 from 2-4 p.m. at Wimberley Home Health Office, Wimberley Medical Plaza 201 FM 3237, Suite 123 Wimberley. Classes will be held May 10, 17, 24 and 31. Plan to attend all four classes. Space is limited to a maximum of 8 and a minimum of 3 participants. Contact Barbara Rosen at 512-738-7048 for more information.
LAGNIAPPE, 6