App finds niche at local wine festival
Five Tigers make Merit semifinals
Texans hold off rival Hawks page 4
page 3
page 5
News-Dispatch Volume XXXVI No. 50
Serving Western Hays County, Texas since 1982
75¢
Thursday, September 22, 2016
WIMBERLEY CITY COUNCIL
Push it real good
City to spend $25K on signage
New truck for North Hays County Fire Rescue team
BY MOSES LEOS III
moses@haysfreepress.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTH HAYS COUNTY FIRE RESCUE
Several firefighters from the North Hays County Fire Rescue didn’t mind getting a little wet Saturday as they christened their brand new fire engine, Engine 75, with a traditional “push-in” ceremony. The ceremony was for their new two-door 4x4 engine that can carry four personnel. NHCFR’s new engine cost $375,000 and was manufactured by Piece at their plant in Florida. Engine 75 is going into service at Station 75 at Fitzhugh Road and Ranch Road 12. The new truck that Engine 75 is replacing will move to the Henly Station on Creek Road, NHCFR Chief Scott Collard said.
LAGNIAPPE Powerful Tools for Caregivers
Powerful Tools for Caregivers is a 6-week educational series designed to help family caregivers take care of themselves while caring for a loved one or friend. Caregivers develop a wealth of self-care tools to reduce stress, communicate their needs while making tough caregiving decisions. Registration is required and class size limited. Classes will be held at Chapel in the Hills, 14601 RR 12 in Wimberley, on Tuesdays from Sept. 27- Nov. 1, 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Lunch will be provided. Class tuition is covered by St. David’s Foundation and Alzheimer’s Texas. To register, contact Rose Rodriguez at rrodriguez@ txalz.org or (512) 241-0420 x10. For additional info contact Linda Germain, volunteer for Alzheimer’s Texas, at (512) 924-3661.
Pioneer Day
This annual event celebrating early Texas at Dr. Pound Historical Farmstead will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Enjoy a day of pioneer and Native American presentation, old-fashioned games, and crafts for all ages.
LAGNIAPPE, 8
Wimberley to crack down on flood-damaged homes BY MOSES LEOS III
moses@haysfreepress.com
Concern is rising in Wimberley over homes along the Blanco River still showing signs of damage from the devastating 2015 Memorial Day flood. Wimberley city leaders are now looking to possibly take the next step, as they approved an item Sept. 15 to begin code enforcement efforts on damaged structures. Wimberley City Administrator Don Ferguson said the “time has come” to begin the process of addressing damaged structures due to the safety hazard those homes present. “We’ve been patient, and justifiably so, for people that suffered substantial damage to properties to get them repaired and into a state to where they’re usable,” Ferguson said. “We’re a year and a half out from that event. I think we’re at a point where neighbors are starting to grow concerned about the safety of those structures.” Ferguson said he didn’t have an exact number of homes that are damaged, but he doesn’t expect the city to find many. Ferguson said some of the homes were left abandoned by homeowners after the flood, while other homes showed the initial signs of the demolition process, but no further movement. Wimberley’s approach, which Ferguson said is “proactive,” is to reach out to homeowners of damaged structures to spur movement on repairs. He said the city plans to identify structures that do not meet city code, and then send notice to homeowners and work on a possible correction plan. If the city is unable to reach a homeowner after a certain period of time, however, the city would have to go in and repair, or possibly demolish, a home as a last resort. Ferguson said he hopes the city doesn’t “have to go to that extent” and have homeowners take care of those homes. “The city has no desire to go in and start cleaning up people’s property and demolishing people’s homes,” Ferguson said. “We do have a desire to make sure the community is safe and is free of substandard structures.” Council member Craig Fore was concerned about the city possibly tearing “someone’s house down.” Fore said working with volunteer groups to work on
A signage program meant to help visitors find their way around Wimberley is moving forward several years after the project was idealized. The Wimberley City Council earlier this month approved the initial phase of the city’s wayfinding sign project, which costs approximately $25,000.
SIGNAGE, 7
B&B permits on hold BY MOSES LEOS III
moses@haysfreepress.com
PHOTO BY MOSES LEOS III
Citing safety concerns, Wimberley city officials are looking to enforce codes on structures still showing damage from last year’s flood events.
“These will be hard discussions. A legacy may have to go away if it has to, but it’s a safety issue. It’s a public safety issue.” –Don Ferguson, Wimberley city administrator
each individual case as needed would be preferred. Council member Gary Barchfeld said he was okay with approving the item, so long as it was just for notification purposes only.
Barchfeld also focused on working with volunteer groups to provide assistance. Ferguson said several churches in the area, along with the Blanco River Regional Recovery Team (BR3T), could provide assistance. “We need to be as helpful to folks with this problem as possible,” Barchfeld said. “There are so many good organizations that want to help, that we can take it one step at a time.” Ferguson said city staff didn’t want to take the step of code enforcement without council’s blessing, as it is “an important step to take.” Ensuring there is enough discussion with property owners is critical, Ferguson said. “We’re looking at structures that have been in people’s families for a long time,” Ferguson said. “These will be hard discussions. A legacy may have to go away if it has to, but it’s a safety issue. It’s a public safety issue.”
A 90-day hold on the issuance of conditional use permits (CUPs) for short-term rental and bed and breakfast facilities in Wimberley passed the first hurdle Sept. 15. By a unanimous 4-0 vote, the Wimberley City Council approved on first reading its ordinance for a 90-day moratorium on CUPs for short-term rentals. Mayor Mac McCullough and council member Sally Trap were absent from the Sept. 15 meeting. A second reading was scheduled for this past Tuesday. City Administrator Don Ferguson said the moratorium would begin once it’s approved on second reading and would extend until the beginning of December. He said the moratorium would go into effect temporarily and could be rescinded by council before the 90-days expire once the city addresses the in-place ordinance. Ferguson said the city would hold public meetings and combine input from stakeholders on changes that need to be made to the in-place ordinance. Wimberley’s ordinance requires new short-term rental and bed and breakfast facilities to apply for a CUP to operate in the city. The ordinance has led to a wave of controversy, both for and against STRs in Wimberley. Ferguson said the purpose of the moratorium is to give council and planning and zoning commission the opportunity to “wade in jointly, hand in hand” in the water of the short term rental business and some of the neighborhood concerns. “And to try to see if any regulations need to be modified to address concerns the neighbors have
CUPS, 7