June 15, 2022 Hays Free Press

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JUNE 15, 2022 AGE BREAKS GROUND ON NEW FACILITY

AMVETS HOLDS FLAG CEREMONY

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Hays Free Press

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HaysFreePress.com

Vol. 128 • No. 14

Serving Hays County, TX

Room to grow

Kyle approves spec development project STAFF REPORT KYLE — Kyle is reaching yet another milestone in its growth and commercial development. Alliance Industrial Company, a privately-held industrial development and construction company, launched in May 2021, will build the first-ever speculative project of over one million square feet in the Texas Innovation Corridor with a new development in Kyle. The development will serve as a future home to new and expanding businesses within Hays County. A performance-based grant agreement with Alliance Industrial was approved by Kyle City Council during the June 7 council meeting. The county

also entered into a performancebased agreement with the company during the June 7 commissioners court meeting. Chad Parrish, managing director of Alliance Industrial, said that the speculative space is the largest-ever in the Texas Innovation Corridor, and is bringing much-needed infrastructure to the companies that want to do business in the county. “There was no question about our need to be in Kyle,” said Parrish. “With explosive growth and growing demand for industrial and logistics space in the region, we found ourselves perfectly aligned with the Kyle business community.” The project, named Kyle/35 Logistics Park, will consist of five state-of-theart logistics facilities ranging from approximately 140,000 square feet to 475,000 square feet. The functional

building designs feature clear heights ranging from 36’ to 40’, heavy employee and trailer parking ratios and a mix of single loaded and cross-docked layouts. The buildings are designed for multi-tenant use, and the project can accommodate end-users between 40,000 and 1.4 million square feet. "Developers are building at such an incredibly fast rate in Hays and Caldwell counties that we are now building-to-finish instead of buildingto-spec,” said Jason Giulietti, president of the Greater San Marcos Partnership (GSMP). “Buildings are getting leased before completion, which is a strong sign of economic stability. The scale of demand continues to be unprecedented in our region and companies are able to get to market quickly thanks to the developments being built by these spec developers.” This location is the eighth

announcement in the Texas Innovation Corridor for fiscal year 2022 (which began October 1, 2021). It joins recent notable speculative space projects such as Buda Midway in Buda, Bearden Investments and Live Oak in San Marcos, and Northpoint Development in Kyle. "Hays County is the fastest-growing county in all of Texas for good reason," said Mark Jones, Hays County Pct. 2 commissioner. "The incredible business environment found in the Texas Innovation Corridor is highly conducive for developers like Alliance Industrial to bring new investments online and build custom solutions for future companies. This development will create the opportunity for new quality jobs and increase major capital investment dollars to our great county.”

WHIP IT

Local roller derby league finds footing BY BRITTANY ANDERSON SAN MARCOS — Not even 100-degree weather can stop the women of the San Marcos River Rollers from strapping on their skates and hitting the pavement. The River Rollers are a flat track roller derby league and 501(c)(3) nonprofit that started back in May 2017. Women from all walks of life, including trans women, are welcome to join. Prior to COVID-19, the league often competed in local bouts, consisting of several jams. Their travel team, the Merciless Mermaids, competed against other derby leagues in the state, as well as in home bouts. The league was met with PHOTO BY BRITTANY ANDERSON challenges throughout the pandemic, though, as skatStrawberry Stompcake, left, and Cherry Poppins, right, prepare for ers were unable to meet the jam. Stomp and Cherry were jammers for their respective teams, and practice as often and designated by the stars on their helmets. Roller derby is a contact sport, traveling wasn’t possible. It so full safety gear is necessary to protect against possible falls and other wasn’t until after they held

hip and shoulder injuries.

County prohibits restricted fireworks BY MEGAN WEHRING

HAYS COUNTY – Only certain fireworks will be allowed for the upcoming July 4 holiday due to current drought conditions. On June 7, the Hays County Commissioners Court adopted an order under Section 352.051 of the Texas Local Government Code – which prohibits the sale or use of restricted fireworks, defined as "skyrockets with sticks" and "missiles with fins", in the unincorporated area of Hays County. This also allows for the

OPINIONS – Page 4

expiration of the order if the Hays County fire marshal determines that drought conditions no longer exist prior to the end of the sales period for the July 4 fireworks season. The county’s Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI), which measures drought conditions, was sitting at 536 at the time of the June 7 court meeting. Fire Marshal Mark Wobus explained that he expects it to keep

See FIREWORKS, page 10

a 12-week skate boot camp earlier this year, from February to May, that offered the league a chance to rebuild. Since then, about 20 new members have joined the five or so remaining veteran skaters. No experience is required to join, so skaters have been working on basic skills to help the team find its footing again. They have also been looking for sponsors so they can hold practices in indoor facilities, and continue to hold and participate in a variety of fundraisers focused on inclusivity. Of course, picking a derby name is a rite-of-passage for any roller derby skater. Names are usually a nickname, pun or a chance to adopt an alter on-track ego. The River Rollers are home to skaters like Mega Mad, Cherry Poppins and Strawberry Stompcake “Stomp,” founders of the league. Stomp said that it has been amazing to see the

league “come back to life,” saying that they have found huge motivation with the new additions. The River Rollers’ June 8 practice marked Amy Grant’s, aka Focker Blockher, first time coaching the team. The evening consisted of practicing turnaround toe stops, playing games on skates such as Simon Says, Duck Duck Goose and Vampire Slayer and even a couple jams, all giving skaters the opportunity to find their balance, practice their moves and work together. They ended the night with an off-skate water balloon fight — “just to cool down and have fun,” Grant said. One thing was evident throughout the duration of the practice: this group of women are supportive of each other, both in and out of the sport. Amongst all of the friendly competition,

See ROLLERS, page 10

New Leadership

Buda names Grau as city manager BY C.J. VETTER BUDA - Micah Grau is now entering negotiations to become the new city manager of Buda. The selection followed numerous closed-door meetings and negotiations handled by the city attorney. “The City Council is confident that promoting Mr. Grau provides us with a unique chance to preserve stability within the organization while providing opportunities to make improvements

in the operation,” Mayor Lee Urbanovsky said. “We are excited to be able to continue this relationship.”

FUTURE PROJECTS The council also received a presentation from the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) in regards to existing programs and funding. As a nonprofit organization, CAMPO seeks to help plan and coordinate transportation projects throughout

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

MICAH GRAU Central Texas, such as the Regional Active Trans-

See BUDA, page 10


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