Fair, rodeo comes to Drippin’
Kickin’ it at Wimberley rodeo
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New campuses for DSISD?
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News-Dispatch Volume XXXVI No. 39
Serving Western Hays County, Texas since 1982
75¢
Thursday, July 7, 2016
BSEACD:
Fire in the Sky
Questions discharge permit BY MOSES LEOS III
news@haysfreepress.com
PHOTOS BY KYLA MORA
The sky was aglow with red, white and blue as revelers gathered at Dripping Springs Ranch Park for State Representative Jason Isaac’s Fire in the Sky Fourth of July fireworks show. The event featured food trucks, a petting zoo, bounce house, train rides and more provided by the North Hays County Fire & Rescue. The event featured an optional dinner, with a portion of proceeds benefiting the North Hays Fire & Rescue and The Explorers. See more photos online at www. HaysNewsDispatch.com. Just follow the photos link.
The Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District is asking the city of Dripping Springs and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to delay the city’s proposed discharge permit into Walnut Springs. The move comes after the BSEACD’s board of directors June 30 passed a resolution opposing the issuance by TCEQ of the proposed permit that could directly discharge treated effluent into the
DISCHARGE, 7
What’s the alternative for treating wastewater? BY SAMANTHA SMITH
news@haysfreepress.com
LAGNIAPPE Fourth annual Tomato Roundup
The fourth annual Dripping Springs Tomato Roundup will be held Saturday, July 9 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Triangle (intersection of U.S. 290 and RR12). Come out and enjoy a juicy day of tomato tasting, live music, games and more at this annual celebration of all things tomato. Gardeners are invited to bring their finest tomatoes to compete for prizes in five categories and everyone is invited to taste the fruits of summer.
LAGNIAPPE, 5
every $1 of grant funding is required, to include all non-lodging revenue. “So if you have a $10,000 project, we will fund $7,000 if you can prove to us that you have $3,000 to start with,” Mahoney said. “And if we give you $7,000, we expect you to generate $2 for every dollar we give you in hotel stays.” For events like Wimberley Alive!, this type of funding is crucial. Given that it is an outdoor event, Reece said, the organizers are considering offering VIP packages with reserved seats and commemorative souvenirs, but recognize that there is no real way to control attendance by charging admission. “Right now, the project is in its infancy, and we just want to get people there. So we’re relying on sponsorships and the HOT money, we didn’t think that would be available, so we are really excited about that,” Reece said. Mahoney said HOT funds are designed for “seed or startup capital,” to assist projects that, like Wimberley Alive!, are just gaining traction. “The goal is to make these events self-sustaining,” Mahoney said. “Ideally, that means that if we give you $5,000 this year, next year we expect to give you $5,000 or less. Year after year, eventually we shouldn’t have to fund it for you. It should fund itself.” Approved applicants will receive 50 percent of their designated HOT funds before the event. Applicants receive the other 50 percent after submitting a post-event form documenting the expenditure of funds and analysis of
Citizens packed into the Wimberley City Council meeting last week for a contentious presentation by a citizen ad hoc committee assigned to determine whether or not Wimberley may need a 75,000 gallon capacity wastewater plant. Mike Stevens, speaker for the committee, described the process of exploring the different options and cost estimates for the treatment and discharge of Wimberley’s effluent water. The committee studied the feasibility of a 75,000 gallon capacity wastewater treatment plant, a possible agreement with Aqua Texas, and alternative options addressing the wastewater needs of Wimberley. Committee members urged council to evaluate the data and make a decision about Wimberley’s wastewater needs now and in the future. The committee told councilmembers that the proposed 75,000 gallon per day wastewater treatment plant may not be viable, as the town only generates 35,000 gallons per day. Building the larger facility would require an infusion of capital funds through reclaimed water sales, city contributions, and possibly grant funding. Stevens said one way to reduce the cost of such a plant would be to increase the city’s growth. “You need to encourage the growth of Wimberley,” said Stevens. Other wastewater treatment and collection options include working with a Septic Tank Effluent Pump (STEP) system. It would operate using septic tanks on individual properties to separate solids from liquids. The process would then have it piped to a treatment plant
HOT FUNDS, 8
WASTEWATER, 5
HOT funds bring options to Wimberley businesses BY KYLA MORA
News-Dispatch Reporter
In October 2015, consultant Sharon Reece was heading up Wimberley Alive!, an annual music festival produced by the Wimberley Valley Arts and Cultural Alliance (WVACA). Everything was going well, until it began to rain, and then flood. Reece and WVACA members attempted to reschedule for the weekend after Thanksgiving in the hopes of salvaging the event. But on such short notice? “We went in the hole,” Reece said. “It was just a mess.” Undeterred, Reece is again helping to organize and promote Wimberley Alive! for this Nov. 10-13. This time, she said, she is much more hopeful that the event will be successful, in large part due to the Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) funds newly available to those in the Wimberley tourism industry. On June 29, Wimberley hosted an information session explaining the potential uses and availability of HOT tax funds. Reece was among over 25 Wimberley hoteliers, restauranteurs, shop owners and event coordinators who attended the session. The meeting was led by a committee of Wimberley businesspeople. Members of the committee were Blair House Inn owner Lois Mahoney, Bob Flocke, former mayor and current secretary of the nonprofit Wimberley Crisis Bread Basket, real estate agent Mark Bursiel, local artist Bob Cook, and business owners Dan Sturdivant and Traci Ferguson. The goal of the HOT funds grant program is to promote overnight tourism and the hotel
“So if you have a $10,000 project, we will fund $7,000 if you can prove to us that you have $3,000 to start with ... And if we give you $7,000, we expect you to generate $2 for every dollar we give you in hotel stays.” –Lois Mahoney, Blair House Inn owner
industry in Wimberley, with priority on the “off-peak season” first and fourth fiscal quarters of the year. “The purpose of the fund is to put heads in beds,” Mahoney said. Businesses with a 30% or greater financial equity stake in the proposed event may apply for 70% of the event cost to be granted through HOT funds, up to $20,000. In order to qualify for HOT funds, applicants must be able to demonstrate through documentation that the event will generate hotel activity. That activity must project, using a standard calculation of lodging revenue, a primary return on investment (ROI) minimum of $2 for every $1 of grant funding. If the primary ROI is exceeded, a secondary ROI of $3 to