4 minute read
STATE OF THE CITY
by Charlotte Kovalchuk
From Growing Pains To Glowing Gains
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was Rick Hall’s campaign slogan when he ran for mayor of Liberty Hill in 2018. Two years and one term later, that vision has not changed.
“There are a lot of fast-growing towns around the country, but they don’t have this anymore—this smalltown feel,” Rick says. “Liberty Hill will not always be small, but I want to keep that hometown feel in [the downtown] while improving and building our future.”
MORE ABOUT MAYOR HALL
Born in west Texas, Rick’s career at DHL Express included a brief relocation in Ohio. He returned to Texas to open an Austin regional call center in Liberty Hill, and later became a health insurance agent. After retiring from the private sector, he decided the next chapter would be about service to his community. He moved into leadership of the Liberty Hill Chamber of Commerce and the city’s Economic Development Corporation Board. While on the EDC board, he recognized the trend in Liberty Hill’s growth was more than standard; it was a boom. “I knew someone needed to step in and help guide the city through its growing pains. I decided to become that person as mayor of Liberty Hill.”
As a relative newcomer to the small community, his mayoral campaign was an uphill climb, most notably because his opponent was an 11-year incumbent. However, after much door knocking and connecting with constituents, Rick won by 17 votes. He considered it a pretty good margin considering there were only 129 ballots cast. Having managed all of North America for DHL Express, Rick figured managing one small town would be easy.
Despite its challenges, Rick believes listening to residents at town halls, improving infrastructure with road and water projects, being surrounded by a great staff and having the chance to serve his community—all during a crucial time of growth for the city—have made it all worth it. “Serving this community, seeing the changes as it’s growing; I want to do this for many more years to come as the city keeps growing,” Rick says.
BY THE NUMBERS
Like many communities in the Austin metro area that are quickly evolving from their robust ranching and farming roots, the data show Liberty Hill has reached superlative growth rates. “It still has a small-town feel, but it’s rapidly growing,” Rick says.
The 2018 population count showed 2,600 residents within the city limits, which the mayor estimates will grow to 4,000 this year. He credits a fair part of that growth to well-run, highly-rated schools serving a district that also includes nearly 38,000 residents of the city, ETJ, and Liberty Hill zip codes. In fact, it was the ISD that led Rick and his wife to move here in 2011 and, he says, the main reason others are flocking to Liberty Hill.
Liberty Hill ISD has a 15-to-1 student-teacher ratio, has received an “A” rating and “Recognized, Character Plus” district designation from the Texas Education Agency, and earned a place on the Ninth Annual AP District Honor Roll. LHISD is also a recognized District of Innovation.
Another outstanding attraction is the one-of-a-kind International Sculpture Park on the Liberty Hill Intermediate School campus. The park was established in 1976, when 25 sculptors from six countries came to Liberty Hill for two months to create more than 20 monolithic sculptures. The park continues to draw sculptors and festival crowds on an annual basis, and The Smithsonian has even asked to borrow one of the sculptures to include in its Washington, D.C. collection. “It’s a great way to put us on the map to have something at the Smithsonian,” Rick says. Fortunately, the hard work necessitated by the town’s booming growth has allowed local leaders to raise the bar on city improvement projects. Among the most critical, new water and sewer lines, which the mayor says the city struggled with for years, are in process. Following that, Rick estimates 80 percent of downtown roads to be resurfaced within 18 months. He adds, “Even with this volume of work, thanks to careful planning and good stewardship, Council was still able to lower taxes last year.”
KEEPING IT PERSONAL
Being Mayor is about improving quality of life. In addition to working to make Liberty Hill a better place to live, Rick is pleased to have helped improve citizen engagement and stronger community bonds. He gives credit to many who participate in local town halls, but also consistently seeks feedback from folks outside the city limits.
“I really, really enjoy my job as mayor; knowing that I have the responsibility of keeping people safe, providing what our citizens need, being the type of leader who is willing to listen to everyone—that’s what I’ve enjoyed about being mayor,” he says.
