Tiger band earns gold at BOA
Survivors lack housing options page 2
Music fest returns to Mercer
page 4
News-Dispatch Volume XXXVIII No. 2
Serving Western Hays County, Texas since 1982
page 6
75¢
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Text
911
Emergency help a tap away with new service BY MOSES LEOS III Calling for emergency services in Central Texas is now a finger tap away. Last week, officials with the Capital Area Coalition of Governments (CAPCOG) unveiled its region-wide Text to 911 service. Text to 911 is the ability to send a text message to a local 911 call center. The service is intended to be beneficial for those who are hard of hearing and/ or speech-impaired. The service can also be used for residents if it’s unsafe to call 911 or it is not possible. Examples would be in the event of a threat, illness or medical condition that prevents a person from calling 911, or if the
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MUTTON BUSTED PHOTO BY DAVE WILSON
A young mutton buster learned the hard way Saturday that sometimes sheep happens, even to the best of them. The good news is the buckaroo wasn’t injured, nor were the many other competitors who took part in the 19th annual Brent Thurman Memorial Bull Ride held at Dripping Springs Ranch Park in Dripping Springs. The event is held in honor of Thurman, who was a local professional bull rider.
LAGNIAPPE Dripping Springs Songwriters Festival
The Dripping Springs Songwriters Festival will be returning again Oct. 20-22 with another incredible roster of songwriting talent. This 4th annual event will present more than 25 free shows a day featuring a wide variety of finely-crafted songs and the people and stories behind them. On Saturday evening, Grammy-winning songwriter Lori McKenna on the South Point Auto Stage at Mercer Street Dance Hall with Angaleena Presley opening the show. The Festival takes place on 6 stages at 6
LAGNIAPPE, 3
1826
Four potential roundabout/ traffic signals Potential roundabout/ traffic signal 150
DRIPPING SPRINGS
967
Curb smoothing
POTENTIAL BYPASS STUDY AREA
Curve smoothing Shoulder widening
Two potential roundabout/ traffic signals Curb smoothing 170
DRIFTWOOD Curve smoothing
150 150
Shoulder widening Upgrade grading
Potential roundabout/ traffic signal
Final phase of FM 150 West Character Plan gets green light BY KATERINA BARTON
The second and final phase of the FM 150 road improvement plan was given the green light by Hays County Commissioners Oct. 10. Joe Cantalupo, vice president of K Friese Associates and project manager of the FM 150 West Character Plan, recommended Oct. 3 commissioners approve the presented plan as complete. Main parts of the recommended plan include widening shoulders, inserting roundabouts, and creating a bypass going from FM 150 to FM 967, among other road improvements. The character plan is a study covering the area from Arroyo Ranch Road in Kyle to FM 12 in Dripping Springs. The corridor was identified in the 2013 Hays County Transportation Plan as an area that would need improvements in order to expand capacity for the growth in the area and continue to ensure safety. In order to update and preserve the road, the county hired K Friese and Associates to conduct a more than three year study on the road, which is now in its final stages. K Friese began its study in May 2014; the county established a Citizens Advisory Panel in order to hear comments and recommendations from the community in the area. The first phase of the
The corridor was identified in the 2013 Hays County Transportation Plan as an area that would need improvements in order to expand capacity for the growth in the area and continue to ensure safety.
plan, the Features and Themes Report, was concluded in 2016. The final public meeting was held in July 2017. Highlights of phase two consist of refining concepts identified in the first phase and obtaining additional comments on certain areas. Also developed were preliminary planning alignments for each of the intersections studied including cross sections, target speeds throughout the county, and determined right-of-way widths. One main segment that will be widened is on FM 150 from Arroyo Ranch road to FM 3237. Within this section there are two
focus intersections, at FM 3237 and one where the potential bypass would take begin with a preference for roundabouts. Although there are other intersections in the study, Cantalupo says that these two intersections are being studied more in-depth. The plan also highlights a bypass that would take off from just south or east of FM 3237, go through the Rutherford Ranch and connect to FM 967 near the Pedernales Electric Cooperative substation. This bypass section includes where FM 967 connects to FM 1826 and then back to FM 150 and would include upgrades on these roads and intersections as well. Community engagement in the project was an important part of the plan and thousands of comments were taken into consideration. In each phase there was extensive opportunity for public comment through public meetings and the Citizens Advisory Panel meetings. Some parts of the FM 150 plan have been contentious with some of the public as people want to preserve historical property, their own private property and the essence of the long winding roads of the Hill Country. Cantalupo says they have tried to take as much of this into account as they can. “This was a very community focused, community rich engagement process,” Cantalupo said.
Sales tax rate hike possible for ESD 1 BY KATERINA BARTON The influx of growth across the Dripping Springs area could push the Hays County Emergency Services District No. 1 to potentially look at increasing its sales tax rate. Such a determination was reached after the ESD 1 commissioners approved its budget for fiscal year 2018. But according to a district press release, ESD 1 must bring in more revenue in the coming years to keep up with the growth. The approximately $1.8 million budget includes $1.059 million for EMS staffing and supplies. ESD 1 also budgeted $460,000 to remount two ambulances and purchase equipment, according the release. Walter Krudop, ESD 1 board president, said with the district growing at eight percent each year and the volume of emergency calls increasing at 15 percent on average per year, the ESD is looking at ways to increase revenue in the future. The expected annual expenses by 2020 are projected to grow by more than $650,000, while the annual income is projected to grow by only around $240,000, according to the release. One of the ways ESD 1 can mitigate the projected shortfall in revenue is by increasing sales tax in the district. The potential sales tax increase is projected for May, when the district will take the proposed increase
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