GIVE T of erials t F a I G M E e p TH ndsca tine’s Day! La r Valen fo
ERY &
DELIV
ICK
DE P
SI CURB
BLE!
A VAIL UP A
Mon-Sat 7am-5pm am-5pm • 14775 W SH 29, Liberty Hill • (512) 515-1336 • www.989Rock.com
2021
Volume 34, Issue 11
Committee finds consensus in bond proposal
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor A group of 65 community members gathered for the first time in October to determine how Liberty Hill ISD could address its future facility and growth needs. At that meeting, the new Long Range Planning Committee learned first about the growth that has occurred in the district in recent years and the growth expected over the next decade -- setting the group on a course that resulted in a $491 million bond proposal presented to the Board of Trustees on Jan. 25. Committee member Kenneth Huff, a sixth-grade teacher at Liberty Hill Intermediate School, has been in education a long time, but had not been involved previously in issues like the ones facing the committee. “I wasn’t really sure what to expect,” he said. “This is my twenty-third year in education, and in those 23 years I’ve only had the opportunity to work in a brand new building one time. I was not part of the similar process for that new building.” The task proved to be large, with many questions and a lot of data, but Committee member Aurora Trahan, the mother of a first grader at Santa Rita Elementary, said it was presented and covered in a way that it wasn’t too overwhelming. “I would say they did a really good job from the outset setting the tone to let us know this was a big
See COMMITTEE, Page 4
www.LHIndependent.com
Snell discusses ins and outs of potential bond election
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor With a $491 million bond proposal now on the table, it is up to the LHISD Board of Trustees to make a final decision on exactly what will be put in front of the voters May 1. That decision should come at the Feb. 8 meeting, after Board members have had two weeks to consider the information one last time. But the information is not brand new to the Board. “The Board has been involved every step of the way with the committee,” said Superintendent Steve Snell. “They’ve heard the conversations, they understand how this specific proposal evolved over the four-month conversation.” As part of the meeting Mon-
day, the Board will work out the ballot language and specific propositions. “We will go over how every proposition will be worded, exactly what’s in each proposition,” he said. “I’m going to make a good recommendation to the Board and they’ll have all the data they need to be able to vote and then we will move forward from there.” As proposed, the bond on the table calls for additions and renovations to Liberty Hill Elementary and the new Louine Noble Elementary – currently the Intermediate School campus – to bring them up to 800 student capacity and ensure facilities are on par with the newer campuses. It also includes two new elementary campuses as well as funds for the design of the
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer Entering Amanda Ott’s home for the first time, you might be greeted by Sully. Or Stella. Or Winston. Regardless of who greets you at the door, each of these four-legged friends is eager to make a new acquaintance. Ott is the owner of Golden Star Canine, a force-free training facility and dock diving pool just a few minutes north of the US 183 and SH 29 intersection. Golden Star Canine is the culmination of years of Ott’s experience working with dogs, both early in life competing in agility and obedience, and then professionally after graduating from Texas A&M University. “I worked in vet clinics growing up since I was 16. I knew what I wanted to do. I worked with retired chimpanzees in Bastrop and learned the forcefree training there. There’s a lot of science there, and I
thought I could mix the science with behavior and training,” she said. “While working at boarding places, I found that there were dogs that didn’t do well in boarding. There are some dogs it’s great for. Some dogs are a little shy or even too excited. So, I asked myself what if I could set up to cater to those guys and make them feel more comfortable.” Earning her Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) certification, Ott volunteers her time with Travis County Search and Rescue. The experienced trainer has trained multiple dogs for air scent, trailing, and human remains detection. Her home is set up to house up to six dogs at a time, not including her own five. She has several rooms dedicated to housing a half dozen dogs. Integration for boarded dogs is key to comfort.
©2021 The Liberty Hill Independent
eighth elementary campus. There is a third middle school included as well as design funds for a fourth. The biggest ticket item in the proposal is a second high school with a projected price tag of $165 million. Another $101 million is planned for infrastructure projects that include technology improvements, maintenance, buses and funds for land purchase for the new campuses. Snell said he understands it is a lot to digest for voters. “To me, at the end of the day that number is a large number,” he said. “People have to know this was a very, very thorough process and the responsibility of this committee was enormous and they took it
See BONDS, Page 5
February 4, 2021 | 50 Cents LHISD NUMBER CRUNCH 13.5%
LHISD 2020 enrollment growth rate
26,286
Projected new home occupancy by 2030
3,305
New homes in Santa Rita Ranch by 2030
12,215
Projected student enrollment by 2025
1,513
Current High School enrollment
5,010
2029 projected High School enrollment
$491 million
Estimated total bond price tag SOURCE: Population and Survey Analysts of Bryan, TX
Golden Star Canine strengthens bonds with dogs
WilCo continues vaccination expansion
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer As Williamson County sees increased deaths and COVID-19 cases, the urgency to get vaccinations to the public quickly and efficiently has grown. Williamson County and Cities Health District Marketing and Community Engagement Director Deb Strahler credits the increased number of January deaths and COVID-19 cases in the county to several factors. “We don’t do all of the case investigations. There is a group the state coordinates called Texas Health Trace. We don’t talk to every single positive case, but we do with a small handful,” she said. “In general, the compounding of all the holidays starting in October with Halloween, then Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. It was the perfect disaster recipe for the explosive number of cases. Fortunately, we’re seeing the hospital rate coming down.” The County continues to roll
News@LHIndependent.com
out its vaccination plan, focusing on category 1b citizens, those 65 and older, or those with health complications. There are 81,282 people living in Williamson County 65 and older and eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. “We are working rapidly to meet the needs of our community. We can open all of the mega sites that we want in Williamson County,” said Williamson County Judge Gravell. “Until we get a significant amount of vaccine, it’s still going to be fairly slow. We’re grateful for the work the WCCHD is putting in. Not only were they able to complete the 1a category. They are now in the process of circling back to check on our nursing homes to make sure we’re vaccinating every senior.” Williamson County is working with Family Hospital Systems (FHS) for their vaccination rollout, successfully administering 15,000 doses to pre-registered individuals so far. FHS will continue administering vaccines by appointment only at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex drive-thru site and Georgetown ISD Athletic
See VACCINE, Page 4
Golden Star Canine offers a wide variety of training options for dogs – and owners – with every
See TRAINING, Page 5 need. Owner Amanda Ott uses years of experience and training to help both reach their goals.
County looks to Legislature over busy courts
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor County leaders are keeping one eye on the Texas Legislature as it enters its first full month of the 87th Session, hoping for action in some areas and no action in others. One area the Commissioners Court is asking directly for assistance is in the local judiciary. “With the continuing growth in the county, we are probably at a place where we need to add another County Court at Law as well as another District Court,” Pct. 2 Commissioner Cynthia Long said. “The case volume is monitored by the office of court administration and they have concurred with what the judges surmised in that we really do need to add one more in each of those court systems and that requires legislative action.” The Commissioners Court resolution in support of creating the two new courts is submitted to State Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, for the legislative process that Williamson County hopes will result in the addition of the two courts. The anticipated future cost to the County is between $1 million and $2 million annually to fund and operate the courts.
“It’s all in the caseload the courts take on,” Long said. “The most conservative approach would be on the low end about $1 million-plus per year, and this doesn’t include the start up cost, but just in ongoing personnel and that sort of thing. It depends on whether it is a civil docket or criminal docket. It takes personnel from both the District Attorney and County Attorney offices to have prosecutors, then it also takes personnel from the County Clerk and District Clerk offices. The judges have worked closely with all those parties to figure out the most financially conservative way to do it.” The bulk of District Judge salaries are paid by the state, but all judicial staff is paid for by the County. County Court at Law Judges are funded at about 40 percent by the state. Long said the County has spent many years making the current courts work effectively, but the growth is dictating needed expansion. “We’ve gone almost 15 years without adding a court on either side and they have rearranged dockets and added associate judges to handle some things, we’ve used magistrates to do some things,” she said. “We’re at that point where there’s really not a lot
more efficiencies they can squeeze out of it.” An area Long said the County hopes the Legislature stays out of is renewed diversions from the gas tax fund which is earmarked for transportation
90s, and hasn’t been adjusted for inflation. The dollar you brought in then is probably worth about 20 cents now and construction price index has gone up more than the consumer price index. (Texas De-
“We’ve gone almost 15 years without adding a court on either side and they have rearranged dockets and added associate judges to handle some things, we’ve used magistrates to do some things. We’re at that point where there’s really not a lot more efficiencies they can squeeze out of it.”
~ Cynthia Long County Commissioner, Pct. 2
projects and maintenance. The state has stepped away from diverting from those funds for other areas in need, but with what is expected to be a tighter budget cycle there are concerns. “We worked really hard over many legislative sessions to stop the diversions from the dedicated gas tax and my hope is in this year of potential revenue shortfalls the Legislature doesn’t go back on their word and start diverting from that again,” she said. “That is already a diminished fund. The state and federal gas tax hasn’t changed since the early
partment of Transportation) is barely able to maintain the roads they have.” The revenue cap instituted previously by the Legislature is something Williamson County has managed well, according to Long, but seeing some struggle to meet the requirements leads to concern it could come up again. “We actually complied with the revenue cap number a year early and unfortunately there were some communities that not only didn’t do it early, but used the pandemic as an
See COURTS, Page 4