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Weekly hillcountryweekly.com
Thursday, January 28
Handren Running for second term as Mayor Tim Handren announced he will run for a second term as Mayor of Boerne in the upcoming May election. Since his term began in 2019, Handren has worked on the “top five issues” of his original platform, in addition to the pandemic of 2020. “Since day one in this role, my number one priority was to dramatically improve the level of communication, transparency and collaboration within our great community. I believe our community has seen that come to life, not only in day-to-day issues, but also as we have dealt with COVID-19,” Handren said. Upon taking office, Handren laid out his top five priorities, which addressed transportation, water issues, long-range planning, and updating Boerne’s city ordinances as well as the city’s original charter. Throughout his term, the mayor has worked with his communications team to increase conversations between citizens and city officials. He is now known for his “Mayor’s Minute” video where he recaps important city information, while acknowledging the vast array of ways people receive information. He also reached across to other regional officials to create unity in what was previously a somewhat disjointed relationship. In 2019, Handren worked together with officials in Boerne, Kendall County and Fair Oaks Ranch to form a Transportation Committee. Local community members from across the region came together with a major focus of complete transparency. Although the pandemic curtailed the group’s in-person progress, no
ground was lost, and interim recommendations have been made. The group will continue working to find transportation solutions to meet the growing needs of the region. Handren served as an original member of the steering committee tasked with combining the city’s ordinances into a Unified Development Code. After taking office, Mayor Handren collaborated with city council and staff to bring to fruition a project that puts Boerne at the forefront of responsible growth and poises the city as a leading example to the state. “Many of our ordinances had not been updated in decades and did not reflect the current desires and needs of our community,” Handren stated. “The updates we’ve approved this past year will protect the vitality of our natural resources, the beauty of our hill country and set some of the highest standards for any future development in our community.” Before the pandemic took hold in 2020, Handren established a Water Committee with broad community representation. With everyone invited to the table, this group is now communicating and looking at long range planning for water in our area, with a primary emphasis on water conservation. Using the Boerne Independent School District’s long range demographic plan, it is predicted that Kendall County will double in population over the next decade. The committee is tasked with planning for that. “The growth rate in our area has been alarming for some time, and we cannot simply ignore the
demands it will be place on our natural resources,” Handren said. Despite the pandemic, Handren remained focused on his five primary goals, and in November, Boerne voters approved all but one of the proposed amendments to the city charter. “When entering the role of Mayor, it was clear that our city charter was years out of date with state law, and there were other items that needed updating based on decades of experience. Updating our city’s founding charter was long overdue and I was very happy to have led the charge,” Mayor Handren said. In the midst of the pandemic, Handren and the City Council ushered in a new city manager — Ben Thatcher. Handren said Thatcher understands the value of culture within an organization, and he’s been able to bring about much-needed improvements for employees and citizens of the city. “As I have reflected on this past two years as mayor, I believe we have an incredibly committed and involved city council, and it’s been an honor to serve with them in our community,” said Handren. “The level of collaboration among the county, the city of Fair Oaks, the BISD, the Chamber of Commerce, the city of Boerne and the entire community is at an alltime high. Our collective response to the pandemic has further united us, and I would love to continue moving forward on the many initiatives underway,” Handren said.
