SPOTLIGHTING Transportation, Mental Health Projects with Commissioner Valerie Covey

On The Move

During her last decade on the dais, Commissioner Covey says that “Williamson County has been very proactive in trying to address safety and mobility issues regarding transportation. We have partnered with cities, developers, and the state but have led the charge in making sure that we prepare a plan for the ultimate buildout of the county throughout our Long-Range Transportation Plan.”

Launched in 2009, the plan outlines a network of road projects throughout the county and is regularly updated based on population projections as well as current and anticipated future needs. The plan focuses heavily on collaboration with landowners and developers, Commissioner Covey says, and proposed projects are taken to voters only when the need becomes evident.

SEVERAL PROJECTS ARE IN THE PIPELINE FOR GEORGETOWN:

•  Ronald Reagan Blvd. at SH 195 intersection improvements

•  Ronald Reagan Blvd. expansion from FM 3405 to Sun City Blvd.

•  CR 245 expansion from Ronald Reagan to Williams Dr

•  CR 255/ CR 289 realignment from CR 254 to Ronald Reagan

•  IH-35 at SW Bypass and Inner Loop interchange improvements

•  Leander Road expansion and realignment from SW Bypass to US 183A

•  SE Inner Loop improvements from FM 1460 to SH 29

•  FM 971 expansion from Gant St. to SH 130

•  Sam Houston Ave continuation to SH 29 east (Corridor C)

•  Trail extension from Berry Springs Park to Georgetown's Westside Park

Wellness Focus

With Williamson County’s growth causing an uptick in behavioral health issues, the county’s Behavioral Health Task Force has been working to fill a gap in state services by starting a jail diversion program. “Jails have become mental health hospitals and don’t serve well in that capacity. One of the goals the county has had from the beginning is to divert non-violent offenders out of our jails or from even going to jail,” Commissioner Covey says. She is the county representative on the task force, which consists of law enforcement agencies, hospitals, and local mental health authority Bluebonnet Trails Community Services.

County projects include the San Gabriel Crisis Center for adults and a youth respite center recently opened in Round Rock, both of which offer short-term mental health care. A diversion center owned by the county and run by Bluebonnet Trails allows law enforcement to admit people facing a behavioral health crisis rather than taking them to jail or a hospital ER unless medical attention is needed.

In 2023, the county also launched the Jail-Based Competency Restoration program for defendants deemed incompetent to stand trial. In the past, they would be taken to an Austin hospital to receive services but would face long wait times to receive care — sometimes up to three years. Thanks to the Jail-Based Competency Restoration program, defendants have been able to receive services through Bluebonnet Trails. “We’re seeing a turnaround of less than two months now and some really good results of having these folks regain competency so they can continue through the judicial process,” Commissioner Covey says.

These facilities and programs allow law enforcement to focus on their regular duties. “Mental health issues really do affect law enforcement. That’s why we’re trying to address them and I believe our targeted actions will make significant improvements.”

Other public safety goals include opening EMS facilities and adding paramedics, sheriff’s deputies, and stations as needed, along with increasing law enforcement salaries to reduce turnover and continue to help keep Williamson County citizens safe.

ANIMAL ISSUES

When it comes to caring and finding homes for stray animals, the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter serves the unincorporated areas of the county, as well as Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, and Hutto, and potentially soon, Georgetown. Georgetown has its own animal shelter but may join the Williamson County shelter, which is also located in Georgetown. “It would be more efficient for them, and they think so too. Instead of having two separate groups in the same town, we could combine efforts and resources and improve collaboration,” says Commissioner Covey, who is also president of the Williamson County Shelter Board.

She also serves on the Williamson County Conservation Foundation, which provides protection for endangered species in the county while allowing developers to apply for a permit through the county instead of having to go through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “[Going through U.S. Fish and Wildlife] was taking a long time and an unknown amount of money and that’s why the county stepped up to provide county permits. We are currently in the process of adding species to our permit, the main one being the Salamander, so development can continue as well as protect the species.”

CONSTITUENTS CAN REACH OUT TO COMMISSIONER COVEY AT COMM3@WILCO.ORG.