City of Granite Shoals

By Nathan Hendrix
Staff Writer

The Granite Shoals Police Department is seeking alternative solutions to safety concerns at Clear Cove after some citizens objected to the entire cove remaining a no-wake zone.

At the Sept. 24 regular city council meeting, Granite Shoals Police Chief Gary Boshears presented the department's reasoning for the buoys placed by the Lower Colorado River Authority in June regulating speed on that portion of Lake LBJ after receiving several pages of emails about the decision.

By Nathan Hendrix
Staff Writer

With the current waste services contract expiration looming, Granite Shoals City Council opted to accept a contract offer with a pricing increase from Waste Management due to the lack of alternative options.

Council Member Todd Holland said the city gambled with their request for proposals (RFP) earlier in the year and is now seeing the results of the gamble.

“We have no leverage,” he said. “[Waste Management is] the only one who came back and said 'we'll haul your trash off.' We don't have the upper hand here.”

By Nathan Hendrix

Staff Writer

The Granite Shoals City Council approved $280,000 in debt in the form of a tax note to purchase heavy equipment needed for street work and other city projects.

At the Aug. 27 regular council meeting, financial advisors presented the lowest bid among the five bids that were returned on specifications sent to approximately 30 private banks throughout Texas.

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

Burnet County authorities have arrested a suspect in an illegal dumping investigation tied to several properties in a Prairie Creek Drive neighborhood, including one on Elm Creek Drive, where a blaze threatened homes three days after the man was taken into custody in the Brazos Valley.

Levi Dakota Baay, 19, of Bernard will face a state jail felony charge of illegal dumping (less than 1,000 pounds and/or 200 cubic feet). He was booked into the Robertson County Jail on Aug. 18. Baay was released on Aug. 20 after posting a $10,000 bond, according to jail records.

By Lew K. Cohn
Managing Editor

The City of Granite Shoals will ask voters to approve a $7 million bond package for water system improvements on Tuesday, Nov. 5, after City Council members adopted an ordinance calling for an election at their Aug. 13 meeting at City Hall.

By Lew K. Cohn
Managing Editor

A majority of Granite Shoals City Council members balked Tuesday night at the idea of charging residents a fee to launch their boats from city-owned boat ramps.

The council instead directed City Manager Jeff Looney to redraft a proposed ordinance to remove any reference to charging residents boat launch fees and to make several “technical corrections” before bringing the ordinance back to the council in a “simpler” form for passage at their Aug. 27 meeting.

By Lew K. Cohn
Managing Editor

Granite Shoals City Council proposed a “not to exceed” tax rate of 60.5 cents per $100 valuation for 2019 at their regular meeting Tuesday, Aug. 13.

The tax rate proposed Tuesday by the council includes 35.15 cents for maintenance and operations and 25.35 cents for interest and sinking (debt service) to fund an anticipated $7.29 million expense budget, Mayor Carl Brugger said.

By Nathan Hendrix
Staff Writer

Discussion concerning the clarification of the role of Granite Shoals City Council members serving as liaisons to city boards and committees evolved into a broader debate on July 23 about the necessity of the position at all.

By Phil Reynolds
Contributing Writer

Pending the signing of an agreement with the selected contractor, work on the planned Granite Shoals sports complex could start “within a month,” officials said.

By Phil Reynolds
Contributing Writer

It’s not Bob Sylvester Airpark in Granite Shoals any more, though the airport itself hasn’t changed.