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2021
Volume 34, Issue 8
www.LHIndependent.com
News@LHIndependent.com
January 14, 2021 | 50 Cents
City aims for improved transparency
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor Financial transparency has been a hotly debated topic in Liberty Hill for some time, and while there have been many conflicts over how transparent the City has been, and what it means to be transparent with that information, Mayor Liz Branigan believes with the help of City staff she has found a solution. “I moved into City Hall and I met with staff members and I asked them the burning question, ‘Is there a way to identify best practices in relation to our financials’,” Branigan said. The answer was to pursue an application to the Texas Comptroller’s Transparency Stars Program. “I brought this to Mayor Branigan’s attention right after she came into office,” said City Administrator Lacie Hale. “This is a designation that’s
See COUNCIL, Page A6
Filing opens for May elections
The filing period has opened for candidates seeking a place on the May ballot for Liberty Hill City Council and LHISD Board of Trustees. Candidates can file to run for either until 5 p.m., Friday, Feb. 12, with three seats up for grabs on the Council and three on the School Board. The election is May 1. To file for City Council, candidates can download the application packet from the City website or pick one up from City Secretary Nancy Sawyer by appointment. Completed packets must also be dropped off by appointment due to current COVID-19 precautions. City Hall is located at 926 Loop 332 and the phone number is (512) 778-5449. Terms for City Council Place 1 Steve McIntosh, Place 3 Gram Lankford and Place 5 Liz Rundzieher are up and residents within the city limits can file for any of the three seats. On the LHISD Board ballot will be Places 3, 4 and 5, held by David Nix, Kathy Major and Anthony Buck, respectively. District officials also plan to call a bond election for May, but the final decision rests with the Board and there has been no bond amount or specific projects settled on at this time. To pick up applications to file for any of those three seats, candidates should go to the district office between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. to pick one up or one can be requested by mail. The LHISD Administration Office is located at 301 Forrest Street and the phone number is (512) 260-5580. The Independent will hold a virtual candidate forum for all contested places for both Council and School Board in April. ©2021 The Liberty Hill Independent
Liberty Hill Snow Day
Bianca Lapusan-Klotzer shared this photo of her daughters, Juliana (left), age 6, and Kaida (right), age 4, with their Liberty Hill snow family. Sunday’s snowfall with significant accumulations in some locations, was the most memorable snowfall in years. See more Snow Day photos on Page B6 and at Facebook.com/LibertyHillIndependent. (Courtesy Photo)
Jails to Jobs blends two critical goals
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer Every afternoon at the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter, a select group of individuals spend time working with and training some of the more rambunctious dogs in the shelter. They are all part of the Jails to Jobs program, taking young men and women getting out of lockup and providing them with job-training opportunities. “We help them get trained and equipped and ready for a next-level job. We employ the kids and pay them the entire time,” said Williamson County Jails to Jobs Director Eddie Franz. “It’s not just a program where we teach skills. It’s a program where they get paid a wage. They do actual work, and through that, they learn these skills.” But there’s more to the program than job experience. “It’s not just about skills,” he said. “We’re intent on teaching character development. We After completing their tasks around the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter, Jails want to teach the entire person. to Job members spend afternoons training some of the more excitable dogs, working to make I can teach you how to paint a wall, but if I don’t help you them more adoptable. (Courtesy Photo)
with your anger or help you with dealing with the stresses of life, then what good am I really teaching you?” A symbiotic relationship For Franz, this is a unique opportunity to bring together two unique populations that can benefit from the time together. “You’re watching two populations in society that have been discarded, kind of left off to the side, almost marginalized,” said Franz. “You have all of these animals here that have been abandoned or lost, and then we work with the same type of population. Our kids have been traumatized. They’ve been through the criminal justice system. A lot of them don’t have a lot of support, so there is a lot of similarities between the two populations.” Part of the work with the shelter dogs involves the opportunity to work with and learn from a professional dog trainer two days of the week. “Those two days a week, the kids learn from them, and
See JOBS, Page A4
Newspaper monitored during City meetings
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor It is unclear how often, to what extent, and to what ends staff from The Independent was video recorded during City of Liberty Hill meetings, but evidence has been provided to the newspaper that video equipment was used to monitor reporters. A screen shot, provided to The Independent, shows one of the cameras installed last year in the Municipal Court building pointed down over the assigned media seat provided for The Independent. According to City, Attorney Tad Cleaves, IT Director Randy Hodges confirmed this week that he was instructed by former Mayor Rick Hall to point the camera – situated in the ceiling just inside the door to the Council Chamber – directly down over the chair.
Hall did not respond to the newspaper’s questions by press time Wednesday about the decision to position the camera as it was. In July, for the first time, a chair was designated with a sign for media, just inside the door. The City also confirmed that in early July the camera was moved to that location. The screen shot provided to The Independent has a date of Aug. 14, but it is unclear which meeting it came from. There was a special called meeting Aug. 13 during the City budget process. The City only has recorded footage back to Oct. 5, and said the camera has not been positioned as seen in the screen shot since at least Oct. 13, which is when early voting began in the building and the ceiling was redone.
See VIDEO, Page A4
Site work has begun on the Heritage Ridge development on SH 29 in front of Liberty Hill Junior High. The development is expected to include up to seven retail and restaurant businesses, including Starbucks Coffee.
Trio of agreements highlight new frontier for local economy
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor Liberty Hill has been a new growth center in Central Texas for some time, with a City focus on making sure the local economic growth keeps pace with residential growth. The approval of three new
economic development incentive agreements in the last week is a strong signal that Liberty Hill is entering a new frontier in business growth. The agreements with Heritage Ridge Investments, Golf Cart King and Tex-Mix Concrete come with limit-
ed investment from the City and Economic Development Corporation (EDC), but are projected over a decade to net the City an estimated $14.1 million to the general fund, according to EDC Executive
See BUSINESS, Page A6