2021
Volume 34, Issue 29
www.LHIndependent.com
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June 10, 2021 | 50 Cents
Liberty Hill EDC Board to update business incentives
ALEX RUBIO PHOTO
Gettin’ after it
Panthers running back Noah Long (#21) eludes a pair of defenders during Liberty Hill’s 7-on-7 game against Georgetown this week. The Panthers will play various opponents on Monday evenings at Georgetown ISD Athletic Complex throughout June. See more sports coverage on Page 5.
By RACHEL MADISON Staff Writer The Liberty Hill Economic Development Corporation’s board approved a motion at its last meeting to update and replace the City’s existing incentivization programs with two new programs. Matt Powell, economic development director for Liberty Hill, said the EDC has several incentivization programs, but they all do the “same thing and are slightly confusing.” “The Board requested to get rid of all of them and consolidate [the programs] into two or three easily understood programs, so we came up with two programs,” he added. The first program is called the INVEST Incentive Program, which covers things like exterior signs, facades,
Sweet Heat Jam offers opportunities to students
By ANTHONY FLORES Every Monday and Thursday morning at LIFE Church in Leander, the aroma of jalapenos, bell peppers, and habaneros fills the air. These are the days when students from Liberty Hill ISD’s special needs program arrive at their paid internship with Sweet Heat Jams. Nolan Stilwell is the mind behind Sweet Heat Jams. Nolan has Down Syndrome but doesn’t let that get in the way of his culinary dreams. With the support of his parents Randy and Christine Stilwell, Nolan’s Sweet Heat Jam is on H-E-B shelves. “The reason we started the program was that, as our son was graduating from high school, we saw that he wanted to do something culinary,” said Stilwell. “There wasn’t a program available, so we said since there isn’t a program, let’s create one. This was 10
See SWEET, Page 4
ANTHONY FLORES PHOTO
Gabriel Callaway, Kristopher Draper, Jacob Labay, Bryan Mapel, Austin Neusaenger, Walker Raney, and Caity Bridgeman are part of Sweet Heat Jam’s 18 plus internship program. The program gives students with developmental disabilities the opportunity to work and earn a paycheck.
Living Grace Canine Ranch provides forever home to senior dogs
By RACHEL MADISON Staff Writer BERTRAM -- Rhonda Minardi doesn’t just love dogs. She also believes they deserve respect, especially as they age. That’s the main reason she started Living Grace Canine Ranch in Bertram in early 2020. “My mom was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer,” Minardi said. “Her first worry was about her dog, Lucy—not the shock that she had cancer or was given just a couple weeks to live, but what was going to happen to her dog—the love of her life. That right there was inspiring for me. I thought, ‘Who is going to take care of these dogs?’” Minardi, who is a Georgetown resident, said after that experience, she started to see the great needs surrounding senior dogs because they were not adopted ©2021 The Liberty Hill Independent
as much as younger dogs. “The shelters near me were inundated with senior dogs,” she said. “Either their pet parent would pass away, and they’d go to the shelter, or people wouldn’t want to be bothered with the bills that come with a dog’s old age.” Now, Living Grace Canine Ranch, a 501(c)(3) animal welfare organization, is the only dedicated senior dog sanctuary in Texas, and Minardi’s ultimate goal is to provide a home-like environment that promotes physical and emotional wellness for its canine residents. The five-acre ranch currently has one building that houses the approximately 30 dogs living at the ranch, but a second building is under construction, thanks to a sizable donation from Jack and Camille Garey, who also donated the lands and funds to build Garey Park in Georgetown. “Rhonda is having a second building built, and the plan is that the big dogs will be over there and small dogs will [stay in the original house],” said
Jolene Wells, volunteer groomer and overnight employee for Living Grace. “There will be a veterinary office in there as well to take care of the dogs. It’ll be called Garey’s Big Dog House, and the first building will be the Little Dog House.” The second building’s construction has been delayed the last few weeks due to weather, but the hope is to begin working on it again this month and have it finished within the next few months. Wells added that besides the handful of people on the actual payroll, most of the work done at the ranch is done by volunteers like her. Volunteers do everything from walking and cuddling the dogs to playing with them and soothing them during anxiety-ridden times such as storms. “There is somebody here 24 hours a day,” she said. “When the second building is finished there will be someone in each building. We try to take turns staying the night with the dogs. Rhonda is basically here 24-7. She doesn’t technically live here, but the kitchen is
painting, and other building improvements. Its purpose is to encourage positive business development and redevelopment within Liberty Hill city limits. The INVEST program will offer a 50 percent match up to $10,000 in improvements, and a further 25 percent match up to $20,000 in improvements, with the total matched not to exceed $7,500. The program will offer a one-time grant fund that is available on a firstcome, first-serve basis. The second program is called the Booster Incentive Program. This program covers primary jobs as well as construction costs for buildings that will house jobs or boost municipal sales tax. Its purpose is to encourage primary job and sales tax creation within Liberty Hill city limits. The per-job incentive will be paid one year after the opening of the business or the expansion of the business. Fulltime equivalencies more than $80,000 annually will be at $2,000 per full-time equivalency, while those in excess of $45,000 annually will be at $1,000 per full-time equivalency. Only 40-hour-per-week jobs will count for full-time equivalencies. The total maximum award for any one business is $100,000, with no more than $50,000 for jobs and no more than $50,000 for construction. Applications for both incentive programs will be reviewed to see if the business has the potential to diversify the local economy, support other local businesses, and align with the City’s preferred redevelopment strategies. In addition, businesses that are able to accomplish the creation of primary jobs, new local sales tax, new local advalorem tax, and bring something new to the city that “enhances quality of life,” will be given priority consideration after applying. The funding cycle for both programs will align
See INCENTIVES, Page 3
fully functioning and the bathroom is fully functioning, and she sleeps here with the dogs more often than not.” About 70 percent of Living Grace’s residents are there because their pet parents passed away or went into hospice or assisted living. The other 30 percent come from area shelters, Minardi said. A dog must be 7 years or older to be considered a senior. While some of the dogs come to the ranch with few issues or concerns, others have had difficult and often abusive pasts. There’s Little Red, the newest resident of Living Grace, who was thrown out of a car window in Waco and left on the side of the road. He has a cracked vertebrae in his neck and will need care the rest of his life. There’s also Jack, who was shot in the mouth by his owner for barking and went through multiple surgeries to repair the damage. Other dogs have serious health complicaRACHEL MADISON PHOTO tions because of their age and Rhonda Minardi, founder and executive director of Living need around-the-clock care to Grace Canine Ranch, cuddles with senior chihuahua Tai Chi outside the ranch’s main building. Minardi opened her ranch See GRACE, Page 2 for senior dogs in 2020.