JANUARY 13, 2021 REBRANDING
BEST OF 2020
Rebranding Hays High mascot could cost up to $800,000.
Vote for your favorite local businesses and services of 2020.
2020
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Hays Free Press HaysFreePress.com
Vol. 126 • No. 42
Serving Hays County, TX
County preps residents for COVID-19 restrictions
Winter has come
By SAHAR CHMAIS
PHOTOS BY MOSES LEOS III It almost felt like Christmas, despite being over a week into January. Sunday’s snowfall got several neighbors in the winter spirit. See photos on page 6.
counties. When trauma serCOVID-19 hospitalvice areas reach a 15% ization rates in Central COVID-19 hospitalizaTexas have stayed at or tion rate for seven days, above 15% for seven the executive orders kick consecutive days, thus in. forcing restrictions to be When hospitalization put in place. rates fall below 15% for The calcuseven conseclation means utive days, the See 15% of hospital restrictions are Hays County beds are taken removed. COVID-19 by people with According to timeline on COVID-19 Hays County, page 5 cases. th COVID-19 The restrichospitalization tions, per Governor Greg number surpassed 15% Abbott in Executive on Sunday, Jan. 3 and Orders GA-31 and GA-32, continued to increase. include stoppig on-site Businesses are bar services and forcing impacted differently by businesses to reduct to a the order, depending on maximum of 50% capac- what kind of business is ity. All elective surgeries being run. are also paused. Bars not operating as Hays County sits in a restaurant under Texas Trauma Service Area O, Alcoholic Beverage Comone of 22 state regions. mission (TABC) rules The local area includes must close. Bars can offer Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, drive-thru, pickup and Caldwell, Fayette, Hays, delivery services. Lee, Llano, San Saba, COVID RESTRICTIONS, 6 Travis and Williamson
Council disputes appointment of Chapa to Kyle Ethics Commission Taxes not due until appraisal disputes setttled BY MEGAN WEHRING
KYLE — Opinions on who should serve on the Kyle Ethics Commission left some city council members conflicted Tuesday night. Kyle City Council sang the praises of Mike Rubsam with a 7-0 vote yet nominee Rebecca Chapa only managed to swing a 4-3 vote after a heated discussion. Mayor Travis Mitchell, Mayor Pro Tem Rick Koch and council member Ashlee Bradshaw voted against Chapa. Council member Yvonne Flores-Cale nominated Chapa for the ethics commission, noting her moral standards and situation management.
“Rebecca does an excellent job confronting situations with a cool mind and a soft heart. She is the epitome of what an ethical person should look like. In addition to her amazing qualities, Rebecca’s active roles and deep roots in the community are a plus.”
–Yvonne Flores-Cale, councilmember who nominated Chapa for the appointment
“Rebecca does an excellent job confronting situations with a cool mind and a soft heart,” Flores-Cale said. “She is the epitome of what an ethical person should look like. In addition to her amazing qualities, Rebecca’s active roles and deep roots in the community are a plus.”
“She has made comments that were derogatory to individual council members and brought staff issues up in the past. I think the ethics committee, in particular, is supposed to be a group of citizens that do not have that reputation and image from this board.” –Travis Mitchell, Kyle mayor
Council member Michael Tobias highlighted Chapa’s involvement in the community. “She is somebody who is really involved in the community including Hays CISD,” Tobias said. “I have seen her work with a lot of students and I applaud her for all of her hard work when it comes
to that.” Council member Dex Ellison agreed that Chapa has played a vital role in the community but that should not be the sole qualification of interest. “Rebecca Chapa does display a community-minded citizen that we
ETHICS APPOINTMENT, 2
Buda City Council approves active adult units downtown BY SAHAR CHMAIS BUDA – Driving through Buda on Main Street, one of the first things that catches the eyes of residents and visitors is City Hall and small-town-charm architecture. Among that scenery will soon be the new Cantina Development which will sit across from Buda’s City Hall building. The Cantina development is trying to continue
The development will have 76 active adult residential units limited to adults ages 55 and older. with the city’s charm by building to that historic look. On Jan. 5, Buda City Council unanimously approved the adoption of an ordinance request to place a planned development on the 6.5-acre property
COUNCIL MEETINGS
See stories from Tuesday night council meetings online at www.haysfreepress.com or www.haysnewsdispatch.com.
located at the southeast corner of Main Street and Sequoyah Street. The approval came after months of deliberation and added demands for the Cantina Development to follow.
55-PLUS LIVING IN BUDA, 6
BY SAHAR CHMAIS HAYS COUNTY – Residents protesting their property appraisals with the Hays County Appraisal Review Board who have not heard back may have some questions. About 1,800 protests within the county are still pending. Hays County Tax Assessor-Collector Jennifer O’Kane addressed the issue. “My office has to have a value from the Hays Central Appraisal District (CAD) to create a property tax bill,” O’Kane said. “If there is no bill, there is no delinquency.” O’Kane said she understands residents’ concerns about missing a tax payment deadline if they are in this situation. But if residents have not received their 2020 tax bill, they will receive one from the Hays County Tax Assessor-Collector’s office once the 2020 appeal closes. “I want to assure you,” O’Kane said, “that until your protest is heard, decided on and sent to the tax office, you will not have a
The Hays Free Press Barton Publications, Inc. The Hays Free Press (USPS 361-430) published weekly by Barton Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 339, Buda, TX 78610. Periodicals postage paid at Buda, TX 78610 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Barton Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 339, Buda, TX 78610. ISSN#1087-9323
delinquent bill.” Property owners have some time, O’Kane assured residents. Once the bill is generated, property owners have until the first of the following month that allows for 21 days to pay the taxes without penalties and interest. If residents want to avoid this wait, they may make a prepayment. The payment will be held in escrow and applied to the bill when it is generated. If a value was certified by the CAD and the tax office, but a taxpayer filed a late protest, they are required to pay the taxes by deadline, explained O’Kane. “Taxpayers can take the risk that they will win their protest and pay only the undisputed amount,” O’Kane said, “but should they lose the protest, penalty and interest may have already accrued if not paid by Feb. 1.” The deadline to pay a property tax bill without incurring penalties and interest is Feb. 1 because the regular deadline falls on a weekend. Bills are still on time if paid by Feb. 1.