Marble Falls to seek new TPWD trail grant

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

The Marble Falls City Council on Tuesday, Jan. 16, put the force of a resolution behind an application for funding of a new hike, bike and nature trail on the city's north side.

The resolution supports application to to Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) for a $200,000 grant for development of a trail at the Park View park site east of Mormon Mill Road and bounded on the east by Park View Drive and on the south by Park Ridge Drive.

The item was part of the council's consent agenda, so discussion was not part of the meeting, but the council based its decision on background material provided by Robert Moss, director of the Marble Falls Parks & Recreation Department.

“This project is is part of the Park, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan but it is not included in the current budget, so if we don't get the grant we probably won't move forward this year,” said Moss. “Our deadline for the application is Feb. 2 and we should know by May if we are approved.

“It is an 80/20 match. If approved, the city's 20 percent match will be in-kind work.”

Also on the consent agenda was approval of a Qualified Tax -Exempt Finance Contract

with Government Capital Corporation for the financing of six vehicles, a pneumatic roller, an

asphalt distributor and a vacuum truck included in the 2017-2018 budget.

The four SUVs for the Police Department, half-ton pickups for the parks and water/wastewater plant amount to $211,000 to be financed for four years. The other equipment, totaling $652,775 will be financed for seven years. Government Capital offered the best interest--$55,325.94 for four-year and $102,321.39 for seven-year financing.

A public hearing was conducted without comment on the voluntary annexation of 336.472 total acres of land on the east side of U.S. 281, south of Farm to Market Road 2147.

Valerie Kreger, director of Development Services explained that the second public hearing is set for a meeting of the council on Tuesday, Jan. 23 and final action, for Tuesday Feb. 13.

The council also made appointments to commissions, boards and committees.

Appointed to the Parks and Recreation Commission were Steve Hurst, Charles Watkins and Leta Stevenson-Smith, Places 2, 4 and 6 respectively.

Accepted for the Planning & Zoning Commission were Darlene Oostermeyer, Jason Coleman and Angela Taylor, Places 2, 4 and 6.

Appointments to the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) Board No. 1 were Teresa Carosella, Charles Johnstone, Scott Martin and Tony Plumlee, each for a two-year term, and Kyle Stripling to serve one year as chairwoman.

Steve Hurst was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Angela Taylor on the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Committee.