Regional COVID Cooperation in Georgetown and Williamson County by Ann Marie Kennon
When the pandemic began
changing our daily lives, cities and counties handled various situations differently. Georgetown attorney Josh Schroeder was part of an ad hoc committee of business leaders that developed a plan to re-open businesses. “When things began heating up, there was a lot of talk about what everyone from the President on down was telling us to do, so we just needed to be consistent.”
Prior to working out timing and safety measures, the committee spent time assessing differences in the manner in which Williamson and Travis County responded. “Austin was very secretive and did not communicate their intentions well. They issued conflicting directives, which led residents and businesses to wonder if or when orders from the County Judge or City Mayor superceded each other.” Schroeder said, “The Austin city rules were very restrictive and created problems in the construction industry—they halted construction of everything from homes to sports stadiums, but continued to build a homeless shelter. Shelters are important, but all construction is important to someone, and the Federal government had already said commercial construction was essential.”
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In contrast, Schroeder says, Georgetown City Council and staff were on conference calls every day, and were consistent in their communications with the County Judge and Commissioners, which translated into better management for our business community. “Under Federal law, our city and county kept going. We knew, in Georgetown, shuttering construction would cause economic chaos; it didn’t make sense to stop construction mid-build. Many homes or businesses with a roof but no windows could be destroyed or suffer a lot of damage. It was also a question of financing; banks expected payments and charged interest whether construction continued or not. That can be devastating to any size company.”
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City Manager David Morgan provided assurances that, despite staff working remotely, builders would continue to get permits and inspections. “We found the Zoom calls were almost more efficient,” Schroeder says. “No driving, no formalities of in-person meetings. What used to be a 90-minute meeting was completed in just the time it took to get the work done.” SMALL-TOWN BENEFITS
Schroeder says another benefit of being a city our size is that leadership recognized there was no time to convene a task force to do a study. “Getting people their resources and money two months from now did no one any good.” Continued, next page
