Lady Tigers go to b-ball camp
Radio DJ gives a voice to his town
‘Robin Hood’ brings big cuts to DSISD
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News-Dispatch Volume XXXVI No. 35
Serving Western Hays County, Texas since 1982
75¢
Thursday, June 9, 2016
ESD 9? Home appraisal values up 10% New district offers help BY MOSES LEOS III
news@haysfreepress.com
Hays County emergency officials moved one step closer to the possibility of calling an election for the creation of a ninth Emergency Service District. While boundaries for the potential ESD are still being finalized, San Marcos Hays County EMS Chief David Smith said nearly all entities have supported ESD 9’s creation. ESD 9 is being created to service residents who do not live within an existing ESD in Hays County. One of the major hurdles that remains for ESD 9 is setting service boundaries for neighborhoods west of Hugo Road and Ranch Road 12 in Wimberley. Smith said those areas have been historically served by Wimberley Fire and Rescue (ESD 7). In late May, the Hays County Commissioners Court closed its public hearing on the creation of ESD 9, but delayed the vote to call an election. The reason was to finalize ESD service boundaries in the Wimberley area. Hays County has until August 22 to call an election for November 8. Over the past several months, Smith said officials from the new ESD 9 and ESD 7 have met to redraw boundaries in that area. “That took us a couple of months,” Smith said. He added ESD 9 is waiting for the finalization of boundary maps and legal descriptions before taking the measure back to the Commissioners Court. But Smith said the boundaries are not “hardline” and that all entities “just try to send the closest ambulances” to help emergency situations. “When we talk about district lines, it’s just where the ambulance always comes from … if we get a call, we go,” Smith said. “This is a funding and financial responsibility issue, but when a call comes in, we send the appropriate response.” While the district waits for boundaries to be set, Smith said ESD 9 has received support from a majority of Hays County entities, including Dripping Springs, Kyle, Buda and Niederwald.
ESD 9, 5
STAFF REPORT
Appraised values are on the rise once again in Hays County as property owners feel the ramifications of rapid growth. Hays County’s overall preliminary market value in 2016 increased by 12.79 percent from 2015, according to a press release from the Hays Coun-
ty Central Appraisal District (CAD), The county’s preliminary market value is estimated at $21.69 billion for this year, which was an increase from $19.23 billion in 2015. Over 2,200 homes and 76 new commercial buildings were added to the appraisal rolls, according to the CAD.
Total new improvements added more than $770 million to the taxable value in 2016. David Valle, Hays CAD chief appraiser, said in an emailed response he doesn’t anticipate overall market value increases “slowing down any time soon,” based on what the CAD has seen. He added the preliminary
numbers also didn’t show much of an impact from the Memorial Day and Halloween floods that hit most of Hays County in 2015. The floods, however, led to the delay of the release of preliminary values by one month, as the CAD worked to
HOME APPRAISALS, 5
RED Arena Roundup
PHOTOS BY MOSES LEOS III
With assistants standing nearby, RED Arena rider Brendan Willis shares a laugh as he competes in the mystery race in the 2016 Roundup at the Dripping Springs Ranch Park. Left, a competitor proudly dons large pink glasses while participating in an event during the roundup. Riders from across Central Texas area came to Dripping Springs as they took part in the sixth annual RED Arena Roundup, which is an inclusive rodeo for riders of all abilities. The non-profit’s riders have disabilities ranging from cerebral palsy to learning disabilities. Non-disabled riders were also welcome to compete. See more photos online at www. HaysNewsDispatch.com. Just follow the photos link.
Low water crossings to get updates BY SAMANTHA SMITH
news@haysfreepress.com
The Hays County Commissioners Court approved a proposal request in late May that will enable the county to install new low water crossing warning systems and detention basin monitoring networks across the county. According to documents, Hays County was searching for a “well built and properly maintained gauging/warning system” that utilizes current technology to “increase situational awareness during flooding conditions.” Hays County Precinct No. 3 Commissioner Will Conley said Hays County was the first county to implement low water crossing warning systems ten years ago. The funds used to install the original low water crossing warning systems were a result of seed money from the governors office, according to county documents. However, Conley said most of them have been damaged or destroyed by floodwaters over
PHOTO BY DAVID WHITE
Hays County will soon get a new batch of low water crossing warning systems. 25 systems will be updated or replaced, with improvements such as precipitation gauges and cameras.
the last decade. Conley said the county took the opportunity to seek grant funding to update the system to continue to provide accurate alert systems for county residents. “We want to enhance public
safety overall for the residents of Hays County,” Conley said. The program identifies 25 low water crossing warning systems that need to be replaced and/ or updated to provide discharge and stage values. Ten of the 25 low water
crossings will house precipitation gauges, with four having a camera for near real time visual feed of the low water crossings during “events,” according to county documents. In addition to new low water crossing warning and alert systems planned for in San Marcos, Conley added that systems are planned for low water hazard areas in Kyle and Buda as well. The project will not only update the low water crossing warning systems already in place, but help identify new low water crossing areas across the county that need to be properly marked. Conley said the the goal of the updated technology for the low water crossing warning system is for constituents to follow the data collected online in near “real time,” so they can better prepare in the event of a flood. Although grant funding for the project has not been confirmed, Conley expects results within a year. “I estimate that all planned low water crossing systems across Hays County will be complete within a year,” Conley said.