TEXAS CUT MULCH 6 for $10 BLACK & DARK BROWN MULCH 4 for $10
2021
Volume 34, Issue 22
www.LHIndependent.com
News@LHIndependent.com
April 22, 2021 | 50 Cents
Liberty Hill area sales tax numbers continue to climb City says increased revenue allows more funds for city budget and operations
Many property owners in the area where the proposed Corridor I-2 could be built connecting SH 29 near the Burnet County line to US 183 north of SH 29, are looking for ways to fight the plan. (Courtesy Graphic)
Potential road project raises resident concerns
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor One of dozens of road projects that can be found listed on the Williamson County website as part of the longrange transportation plan cuts a conceptual path through an area north of Liberty Hill, from US 183 to the east and arching around to SH 29 near the Burnet County line. But many residents in the potential path of what is known as Corridor I-2 are not planning to wait to see what the County has in mind for the project’s future. “My family found out about it about five weeks ago,” said area resident Kerri Plaskon. “Not a lot of people have heard about it, so when I shared it people had no idea it was something even being discussed or talked about.” She was surprised to find the project she said she’d never heard of coming through her own land. “The route they want for the corridor would cut through our property, probably hundreds of other people’s as well,” Plaskon said. “A lot of people are super concerned. Obvi-
ously nothing has been set in stone yet, as far as we know, but I know they’re looking at the area.” Many residents in the area have rallied together, discussing how they might fight the project, even forming a Facebook group – Liberty Hill Bypass – to share information and communicate about it. Plaskon said even being near the road would change their lives dramatically. “If it’s not on their property it is going to be near it, then there’s going to be a lot more road noise,” she said. “We have a lot of hunters in this area and people who enjoy the wildlife. We’ve got endangered species out here. If there’s more road noise, more traffic through this area makes us wonder how it is going to affect us, and will it just keep expanding?” Even though the plan has been part of the transportation plan, Plaskon and her neighbors are troubled by what she feels is a lack of information. “If this is the proposed plan, you’d think you’d see it somewhere,” she said. “We had to
See ROADS, Page 5
County vaccination wait list going away
Williamson County has stopped accepting names on its county COVID vaccination wait list. With both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines more readily available through local and private providers, this is the first step toward ending the county’s mass vaccination hubs. According to Williamson County, 29.36 percent of the county population is fully vaccinated, and 46.21 percent has had the first dose. Texas Health and Human Services is reporting that 30.12 percent of residents 16 and older and 59.79 percent of residents 65 and older are fully vaccinated. The state also shows that 42.57 percent of residents 16 and over and 77.05 percent of residents 65 and over have received at least one dose. As of April 19, Williamson ©2021 The Liberty Hill Independent
County officials say that more than 193,000 Williamson County residents have received a COVID-19 vaccination. According to Williamson County, the total confirmed COVID cases are 38,033 with 461 deaths. “The supply has caught up with the demand. We have made great progress in helping people get vaccinated, and we still have a way to go, but the form in which we do it will change,” said County Judge Bill Gravell. “Going forward, people can directly schedule an appointment with Curative or another provider of their choice just as they would for a flu shot.” There are just over 30,000 people left on the waiting list. The county estimates that only five percent of those who receive an invitation to schedule an appointment follow through and says the leading reason for this is the availability of the vaccine through another provider.
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor Not only can the growth across the Liberty Hill community be seen on a drive east or west on SH 29, but it is also reflected in the ever-rising sales tax revenues. With four months of revenues reported for 2021, the City of Liberty Hill, Williamson County ESD #4 and the Liberty Hill Public Library are all on pace to eclipse last year’s total. Liberty Hill has generated $699,366 in the first four months of this year, which reflects sales from November 2020 to February 2021. That puts the City on pace to bring in just under $2.1 million for the calendar year, an increase of just over $100,000 for the year. The current City budget estimated $1.49 million in sales tax revenues for this year. The division of the City’s
two-cent local sales tax allocation directs one cent to the general fund, a half cent going to the Economic Development Corporation, and a quarter cent each to the library district and street maintenance fund. “Long term this provides a sense of sustainability for us to continue providing quality of life services for our residents,” Liberty Hill City Administrator Lacie Hale said. “It seem like it is continuing to increase and it is exciting. It allows more for our budget and operations.” She is optimistic the revenue increases will continue with recent business openings and new ones opening their doors soon. “We haven’t even included McCoys. Higginbotham is seeing success and doing well, and it is exciting what our future holds with the businesses that are coming to our
A starring role
community,” Hale said. The library has also seen its revenues increase annually, jumping just over $190,000 from 2019 to 2020 with $212,150 coming in through April for this calendar year – on pace for more than $600,000 for the year for the first time. For the Emergency Services District – Liberty Hill Fire Department – the economic growth across the district has led to sizable increases each year, and has already brought in $560,824 in four months this calendar year. In 2017, the ESD brought in $468,434 and by 202 that amount had increased to $1.28 million. The payments across the state from the Texas Comptrollers office totaled $677.3 million in April, down slightly from year to date from the same period last year, and April numbers were down 3.5 percent this April from last.
SALES TAX REVENUE City of Liberty Hill
2021 to date $699,366 2020 $1.99 million 2019 $1.5 million 2018 $1.26 million 2017 $1.15 million
Williamson County ESD #4
2021 to date $560,824 2020 $1.28 million 2019 $807,832 2018 $633,820 2017 $468,434
Liberty Hill Public Library
2021 to date $229,150 2020 $597,781 2019 $406,293 2018 $347,794 2017 $282,854
Community working toward preserving local night sky
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor For many, there’s a bright future for Liberty Hill with the amount of commercial and residential growth coming to the area. But for some, they see a dark side – literally – that they believe can be an important positive as well. There’s a movement afoot in the area to shine a light on the benefits of being a Dark Sky community, and making sure the beauty of the night sky and the stars don’t disappear with urban growth.
Donna Leonard, who moved to Liberty Hill with her husband in 2015, said growing up in the suburbs meant they really didn’t know what they’d been missing for so long. But an unexpected benefit of having her own few acres in the area was what she saw above at night. “The skies, we would just marvel at them,” she said. “There were thousands of stars. I could sit out any night and if I sat there 10 or 15 minutes I’d see a shooting star. One of my favorite things to do when we moved to Liber-
Liberty Hill Rodeo awards scholarships
ty Hill was to lie down in the bed of the truck and my husband would drive down the road, and it is sort of a winding road, and with every turn I’d watch the whole universe turn. It was just amazing.” That nightly show in the sky began to fade slowly over time, though. “Over the years, growth in Liberty Hill and also Leander, was creeping our way and little by little we couldn’t see the stars like we used to,” Leonard said. “To be honest, I thought maybe I’d been imagining it.”
But an inconvenient power outage served as a reminder of what had been only a few years ago. “In February, when the whole town was without lights, the high school wasn’t lit up like it was Las Vegas, the baseball field lights were off and all of 29 was dark, and I stepped out on to my back porch and saw it. I’m not crazy, it really used to be this dark. I could see everything. That was the moment that put me into gear on this.”
See DARK SKY, Page 5
SCOTT AKANEWICH PHOTO
Six scholarships were awarded during the Liberty Hill Rodeo last weekend, including Liberty Hill students Tannis Brewer (second from left) and Zachary Aiken (second from right). The scholarships were presented by Liberty Hill Mayor Liz Branigan (center). The City of Liberty Hill was the major sponsor of this year’s rodeo at Harvest Ranch Arena, contributing $20,000 -- $10,000 more than last year.