Marble Falls City Council

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

A representative from the Lower Colorado River Authority unveiled Feb. 5 how the entity responded to the October flood event and addressed criticism about river management as Lake Marble Falls and LBJ residents continue to recover from the devastation.

From staff reports

Two individuals have filed for election so far to the Marble Falls City Council, according to City Secretary Christina McDonald.

The filing period for the Saturday, May 4, city and school board elections began Wednesday, Jan. 16, and continues through Feb. 15.

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

City officials debated the possible merits Jan. 15 of passing proposed fees for the public using two city-maintained boat launch locations to access Lake Marble Falls.

Within the city limits, boaters can access Lake Marble Falls using a ramp on Lakeshore Drive in the Hays Addition and a boat ramp in Johnson Park on Backbone Creek.

The city, opting to expand the two existing ramps, has closed a third ramp in Lakeside Park, to help clear the way for a planned hotel/conference center on Marble Falls Economic Development Corporation property adjacent to the park at Buena Vista Drive and Yett Street.

Councilman Dave Rhodes said the city's parks improvements efforts which are underway and the potential for “user wear and tear” of the amenities prompted him to request consideration of fees.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

The city of Marble Falls is right on track financially with half of the fiscal year completed, Finance Director Margie Cardenas told City Council members Tuesday night.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

The Marble Falls City Council meeting Tuesday, April 17, was the scene of a big announcement about the Children's Day Celebration.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

Marble Falls City Council has authorized city staff to file appeals and motions against the issuance of a standard air quality permit to Asphalt Inc. by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TECQ).

Glynis Crawford Smith/The Highlander

The larger portion of the open session of the Marble Falls City Council on Tuesday, Dec. 5, was devoted to reports and recognitions.

Perhaps the most significant council action followed the closed executive session with City Attorney Patty Akers. It resulted in a formal letter, responding to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) approval of a permit for the Asphalt, Inc. rock crushing facility in south Burnet County. (See related story in The Highlander.)

The reports were important as well, however.

“You have good news in your Fourth Quarter Revenue and Expense Report,” said Finance Director Margie Cardenas of year-to-date figures from the first week of November.

The city of Marble Falls voted to fund a new way to deal with an “old way” of doing things.

At their Tuesday, Sept. 19, City Council meeting, the Marble Falls City Council awarded a bid to Tank Builders to replace the Via Viejo ground storage tank. “Via viejo” translates from Spanish to “old way” in English.

The existing 500,000-gallon tank at Via Viejo was built in the early 1960s and now has exceeded its designed lifespan. The new tank will have a 600,000-gallon capacity and is projected to keep up with the city's future growth. The project, which includes new piping and electrical work, is estimated at $800,000 and will be funded by previously issued bond proceeds.

When the Marble Falls City Council meets at 6 p.m. tonight, Aug. 1, tax rate hearing is on the agenda.

As budget workshops have progressed and priorities have been set, the Burnet Central Appraisal District has reported a Marble Falls property market value of $1,089,763,048, with a taxable value of $815,061,90, adjusted to a certified tax roll of $726,407, 494--an eight percent increase over last year.

Finance Director Margie Cardenas and city staff are proposing the council adopt the effective tax rate for Fiscal Year 2017/2018. That is the rate that would  generate  the  same  amount  of  taxes  on  properties that were on the tax roll last year and on the current tax roll.

The tentative tax rates being considered are:

Effective tax of .6341 per $100 valuation
 Rollback tax rate of .6780 per $100 valuation     
 Current tax rate of .6483 per $100 valuation

Solutions may be at hand for what Broadway Street neighbors consider an eyesore.

A handful of citizens addressed the meeting of the Marble Falls City Council Tuesday night, July 18, among them residents along the new Broadway Street rennovation project.

“Thank you for our beautiful new road,” said Leonard Venghaus “Everybody is walking down the new sidewalks...People that hadn't walked down the street before.”

But that was a preamble to the complaint he had his neighbors had come to register about the derelict house at 516 Broadway Street.

“We have three historical sites on the street and we are about to have a fourth,” he said, in reference to a former First Baptist Church parsonage to be moved from its site at 911 Seventh Street, across a US 281 to its new home at 604 Avenue F.

The vacant Broadway residence would be the blight on a neighborhood experiencing new vibrance.