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OCTOBER 19, 2006
THURSDAY
VOLUME 96, ISSUE 24
City borrows money to fund road expansion By Zach Halfin The University Star
where it currently dead-ends at Hunter Road to Ranch Road 12, right outside of town. City Manager Dan O’Leary said the estimated $50 million project will be funded through the use of a pass-through toll agreement with the state. “This is an unusual funding mechanism,” O’Leary said. “The state of Texas says that they don’t have any more money to build roads, so if we want this road, we have to participate.” O’Leary said the city is going to borrow the money to conduct
The San Marcos City Council awarded a Houston-based engineering firm a $4 million contract Tuesday night for design and construction management of the planned Wonder World Drive extension project. Kellogg Brown and Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton, was awarded the design and management construction portion of the project. The project will extend Wonder World Drive from
the project, and the state is going to make the payments on the debt incurred. “We are one of the first ones in the state of Texas to use this type of funding mechanism,” he said. “It’s called a pass-through toll agreement. There is no toll on the road, but it’s using the same toll legislation,” O’Leary said. “We are doing a state project where we are fronting the money to do the road that they don’t have any money to do any more. We are borrowing the money; they are making the payments.”
The planned road is intended to relieve traffic in the downtown area, O’Leary said. “It will basically be a bypass for San Marcos for people coming in from the Wimberley area,” he said. “They will be able to get down to the interstate without having to go through the middle of town.” The council also held discussion regarding a Community Development Block Grant project that would expand existing See COUNCIL, page 3
Karen Wang/Star file photo CITY GOVERNMENT: The San Marcos City Council, awarded the Wonder World Drive extension project to Houston-based Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root.
Our way or the highway Zoning laws forcing some students out of their homes
By Jacqueline Davis The University Star
By A.N. Hernández The University Star Monique Mounce stood in a nearly empty house Friday afternoon. In the living room, all that was left was an orange couch against a wall and a couple of board games in boxes. The kitchen, also in a state of frenzied moving, had white candles, saltshakers and other knickknacks gathered in small heaps, begging to be packed. Mounce, biochemistry junior, and her two roommates signed the lease at 1810 Nevada St. until next spring, but were notified by the city marshal’s office in late September that they were in violation of San Marcos’ single-family zoning law. They were issued a conditional ticket and had the option of staying in the house if one of the three left. But rather than splitting the rent between two of them, the three women decided to pack up and leave. “That’s one of the first things I asked before I signed the lease. I said, ‘Is this single-family zoning?’ and my landlord pointed across the street and said ‘that side is, but this side isn’t,’” Mounce said. “We wouldn’t have gotten this house if we knew this was going to happen.” Mounce said she and her roommates did “pretty well asking questions about the lease and the house,” considering they did not know everything about renting property. “This is all really inconvenient,” she said. “I am pre-pharmacy; I have a huge PCAT test next week and I have a Kaplan course I have paid for to prepare me for it and I have to miss it because I have to do things like move out of this place, sign a new lease and switch my electricity over to my new place.” She said one of her landlords, whose name is listed on the leasing contract as “R.E. Leal,” is the per-
David Racino/Star photo HEADING OUT: Joseph Michelbook, marketing junior, (left) helps Monique Mounce, biochemistry junior, move the last remnants from her former home Friday afternoon.
son she and her roommates made their checks out to every month. Because Mounce had the master bedroom, she paid $360 each month and her two roommates, Lori Kinser, undecided sophomore and Katie Corbin, marketing junior, paid $320. R.E. Leal declined to comment on the situation, saying only that he was under the impression that the housing was undergoing a “zoning transition” from single-family zoning to multi-family zoning. Holly Mullins, senior planner with San Marcos’ planning and development services department, said she was not aware that the owners of that address have applied for a zoning change. Mullins said her office takes zoning-change applications all the time, and that the application, which is about half a page, takes 10 minutes to fill out. She said once the application See ZONING, page 3
Good Neighbors program to act as bridge-builder By A.N. Hernández The University Star A new program is taking a proactive approach to making Texas State students good citizens and neighbors. The Good Neighbor Program, introduced in August and spearheaded by the Vice President for Student Affairs Office, hopes to build a bridge between students and San Marcos residents by providing students with information on the city’s zoning codes, moving tips and ways students can break the ice with their neighbors. “We are not trying to be punitive; we are trying to be really proactive,” said Joanne Smith, vice president for Student Affairs. “We are just trying to get neighbors comfortable about students living
in their neighborhoods, because the reality is that they are there.” In late September, Smith sent an e-mail to 7,800 Texas State students living offcampus in San Marcos and surrounding areas. The e-mail provided students with links to the city’s student Web site and to the Off Campus Student Services Web site. Smith said one of the key purposes of the initiative is to make sure students graduate and boost Texas State’s retention rate. At more than 76 percent, the university’s retention rate is one of the highest in Texas. “We thought we just needed more outreach to give students the information they needed on how to be successful in living off-campus,” she said. “Pretty See NEIGHBOR, page 3
Cell phones slowly edging out traditional landline use By Chris Parrish Special to The Star Students use their cell phones to chat while driving in the car. They text while strolling through campus from class to class. Ring tones interrupt class lectures with the latest hip-hop hit. The wireless-communication age is here. It’s especially evident on the Texas State campus, and it seems that tra-
ditional landline telephone service has taken a backseat to cell phones. More and more people have decided to ditch their landline in favor of strictly using a cell phone as their only source of interpersonal communication. Cassie Cordoba, elementary education senior, recently decided to join this trend. “I didn’t want to pay the extra charge for a landline phone
Today’s Weather
A.M. Showers 69˚/49˚
State, local candidates slated to debate
Precipitation: 30% Humidity: 62% UV: 6 High Wind: N 16 mph
when I already pay for my cell phone,” Cordoba said. “I think students would prefer to have a cell phone because it’s such a more convenient way for people to get ahold of you.” Cordoba said cell phones are more appealing because of the mobility factor and the numerous tools associated with them, including address books, organizers and text messaging. “Last time I checked, I didn’t
Two-day Forecast Friday Sunny Temp: 77°/55° Precip: 20%
Saturday Partly Cloudy Temp: 84°/ 56° Precip: 10%
get any of these features with my home phone. Now I rely on them,” she said. The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press released a study in May concerning the impact of cell phones. Their findings concluded a growing number of the American population, approximately 7 to 9 percent, is relying on cell phones and considering dropping their landline phones.
This growing percentage of “cell-only Americans” is characterized by the study as young, unmarried, politically liberal and less affluent. Harris Bass, general manager of Grande Communications in San Marcos, said more than two-thirds of 18-24 year olds are cell phone users. “Interesting technological See PHONES, page 3
Candidates for state and local offices will debate at 7 p.m. Monday at the San Marcos Activity Center. The San Marcos Area League of Women Voters will host the debate. The event is free and open to the public. The debate will feature 24 confirmed candidates running for state, city and county races. While the debate focuses on 11 contested races in Hays County, uncontested candidates may also attend. After all candidates from each race have been given the opportunity to speak, candidates will field questions from the audience. In past elections, many of the races went uncontested. Jeannie Lewis, a member of the League’s voter’s service committee, said more candidates are vying for office in this election and as a result are generating increased voter interest. “We expect a big crowd,” Lewis said. “It’s a packed ballot, and so many races are hotly contested. There’s a lot of interest even though you usually don’t get that much interest mid-term.” The League will distribute a local voter’s guide, which features candidate information and early voting locations and dates. The 20-page guide provides voters with details of the candidates’ experience, education and background. The voter’s guide also includes information on 16 propositions to the San Marcos City Charter that will be on the November ballot. “We like to provide every opportunity we can to help voters be better informed,” Lewis said. Many candidates expressed excitement, and said they were looking forward to the debate. Pete Plotts, running for County Court at Law No. 1, said the debate is a great example of democracy. Plotts said he appreciates the opportunity to tell citizens who he is and why he believes he is the best candidate for the job. “I think these debates are invaluable,” Plotts said. “The people who sit in judgment should answer questions to make a case for their judgeship. It’s really fitting and proper.” While this is Plotts’ first run at office, others are veterans of debates. Republican Jeff Wentworth is running for his sixth term as state senator in District 25. Wentworth said past debates held by the San Marcos area League of Women Voters have been productive, balanced and fair. “I find the debates to be a very valuable resource,” Wentworth said. “I’m happy to be there, and I welcome the opportunity to answer questions.” The debate will be taped by Time Warner Cable and broadcast at 6 p.m., Oct. 25 on public access channel 22. The debate will be broadcast at varying times every day until Nov. 6. Early voting in Hays county starts Monday and runs through Nov. 3. On campus voting in the LBJ Student Center will be Wednesday and Thursday.
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