Granite Shoals Texas news

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

National Night Out (NNO) will be celebrated in Marble Falls and Granite Shoals on Tuesday, Oct. 3.

The annual community-building campaign promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live.

Locally that national goal is taken up a notch with other first responders taking part in the night of family fun.

The Marble Falls Police Department (MFPD) will conduct their event from 5-7 p.m. on the 200 block of Main Street where the police station is located.

Vendors and sidewalk sales will be found on the street, but also free food, music, bounce houses for kids and more. It is a chance families and neighbors to visit with first responders in a casual setting.

Over the last eight months, I have received more communication from the district about the Speaker of the House than any other topic. Some think he should be replaced; some think he is the only one with any sense. Spending the 140 days of the regular session immersed in the culture and process of the legislature has given me a slightly different perspective on the issue than I had going in, one I feel deserves sharing.

The problem with singling out one member of the legislature, one leadership team, or one Speaker of the House as being the problem is that it assumes that the problem lies with the person and not with the power itself.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

The Granite Shoals City Council forged ahead on financial planning at a meeting Thursday, Aug. 24, despite unresolved differences on fire serve contracts.

The council held its first public hearings on a proposed budget of $7,568,765 budget, with ad valorem tax revenue based on a proposed rate of $0.56313 per $100 valuation.

The fund balance at the end of the 2017-2018 fiscal year is projected to increase by $48,367, bringing the total to $710,689.

“That is approximately 79 days of operation,” said Finance Director Wendy Gholson. “Our goal is a surplus of 90 days.”

Gholson said increasing the tax rate from $0.5472 per $100 value to the proposed $0.56313, based on the increase of property value in the city, should result in an additional $154,196 revenue.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

In another lengthy Granite Shoals City Council Meeting Tuesday, Aug. 22, the council and Burnet County Emergency Service District 3 (ESD #3) remained at loggerheads over a contract for fire coverage.

The two had moved closer but, to finance in one year, three additional firefighters for 24/7, two-man coverage, a proposal for a five-year contract from the ESD #3 falls short of the budget the city has planned. So, the debate continues and the council has sent City Manager Ken Nickel and Finance Director Wendy Gholson back to the drawing board for an even more detailed set of options to be presented at the first formal public hearing on the budget tonight, Thursday, Aug. 24.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

Members of the Granite Shoals City Council left one of their meetings Thursday, Aug. 10, to attend the very first Know Your Neighbor block party.

Know Your Neighbor is a program being conducted by the Granite Shoals Faith Alliance, with the support of Chick-fil-A and Lowe's. The small gatherings, with lots of fun for the kids, are designed to create cohesion in the city's neighborhoods.

With just one neighborhood involved each time, children have the bouncy castle all to themselves, and adults have time to keep an eye on them, while enjoying hot sandwiches, courtesy of Chick-fil-A.

As promised, a picnic table, painted bright turquoise appeared, compliments of Lowe's. One will stay as a neighborhood gathering place after each party as part of the national front yard revival campaign, The Turquoise Table.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

The Granite Shoals City Council has faced a challenging year of unknowns surrounding costs of road repair, but another issue fanning the flames of financial woes has been rising fire department costs.

At their meeting Tuesday, Aug. 8, it was clear council members and staff consider a new stream of financial support from surrounding communities the only remedy.

Granite Shoals Fire Rescue provides fire protection for the adjacent City of Highland Haven and the large, outlying rural communities of Burnet County Emergency Service District #3 (ESD3), each looking at the end of a contract for services that ends Sept. 30.

“My view is, they need to pay their fair share,” said City Manager Ken Nickel, looking specifically at ESD3. “They collect 7.5 cents per $100,000 valuation from their property owners. They have a fund balance of $400,000.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

Granite Shoals citizens will have a chance to learn about their road repairs and to make themselves heard at a Town Hall Meeting for Road Improvement Bond Update at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 29.

There is a lot to learn. Since Feb. 15, when hopes evaporated for a 55 percent match to $3 million in voter-approved road bonds, few council meetings have gone by without discussion of new surveys, new engineering study and, inevitable, cutbacks in the original plan to completely restore the three main north-south traffic arteries in the city.

The council is determined to go back to voters to affirm approval of a $3 million, rather than $6 million, project.

By Richard Zowie

The Highlander

In his childhood, Elijah Brown lived in Buchanan Dam and Granite Shoals before attending Marble Falls schools. When his father became pastor of First Baptist Church in Bertram, Brown finished his high school education at Burnet High School, where he graduated in 1999.

“It was a joy to grow up in this area,” said Brown, who currently serves in Washington D.C. as the executive vice president of the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, which focuses on international religious freedom.

On July 7, the Baptist World Alliance’s general council at a meeting in Bangkok elected him to serve as the next general secretary.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

Volunteers are a big focus in cities this summer.

In Cottonwood Shores and Granite Shoals nominations are sought for outstanding citizens and cities are about to appoint new members to committees, boards, commissions and advisory groups.

Wednesday, July 19, is the deadline for nominations for the Outstanding Citizen of the Year in Cottonwood Shores to be presented at the Aug. 3 meeting of the city council. Carlos Naumann was honored last year for continued efforts to keep the city beautiful.

Nominations for 2017, with an explanation of why the citizen is being nominated, are to be submitted to City Administrator Sheila Moore at city hall, 3808 Cottonwood Drive, or by email, city.admin@cottonwoodshores.org. For more information, call Moore at 830-693-3830.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

A presentation by the Granite Shoals Faith Alliance and discussion of a new social media initiative aimed at drawing neighborhoods together captured the interest of the Granite Shoals City Council Tuesday, July 11.

“We at the Alliance have been working for the past two years to bring our city together,” said Ray Keesler of Abundant Heart Ministries. “This is a way to bring neighbors together block by block.

“We were delighted when Alan Williams of Chick-fil-A came along and offered a simple, fun way with the Know Your Neighbor program.”

Alliance members Jackie English of Christ Redeemer Church and Mike Mitchell of Granite Fellowship Church were also at the meeting where they made it clear they were supporting the new program, not an a church program, but as willing workers to bring the program together.