German Casino could be rebuilt
Bastrop is planning to rebuild the historic German Casino on the Convention and Exhibit Center grounds, according to city officials.
The details
The one-story building—which the German-American Social Club constructed in the 1860s on Farm Street as a casino hall—collapsed in November 2023 and was secured with tape and barricades to prevent public entry until it was fully demolished with oversight of the Historic Landmark Commission.
“The German Casino, right now, sits as a pile of bricks at the Public Works office,” City Manager Sylvia Carrillo-Trevino said in early September. “The plan is to create a gathering space as it was before—a place where bridal showers, baby showers and community gatherings can happen.”
The outlook
During the Bastrop Chamber of Commerce’s annual State of the City event in early September, Carrillo Trevino told area residents how the city plans to fund the endeavor.
“If it's on the grounds of the Convention and Exhibit Center, we can use [hotel occupancy tax] funds, which means no effect on the general fund, and again, no effect on taxes,” she said.
A timeline for the project was not made available by press time.
Bastrop to hire engineer for Wastewater Treatment Plant No. 4
The city of Bastrop is seeking a professional engineer who will act as the “engineer of record” for Wastewater Treatment Plant No. 4—a role that will help oversee the design of the facility.
“It is a niche expertise, with only a handful of engineers in the country having worked or designed in this area,” Bastrop City Manager Sylvia Carrillo-Trevino said in a Sept. 23 staff report. “In the city’s current [roster], there are no engineers who have worked through this type of technology.”
What we know
Bastrop City Manager Sylvia Carrillo-Trevino noted that Wastewater Treatment Plant No. 4, an expansion of Wastewater Treatment Plant No. 3, would do the following:
- Reuse the effluent created at the plant
- Generate a new revenue source for the effluent and solids created
- Provide a quicker build time since many parts are prebuilt off-site
- Have a smaller footprint
- Require a lower overall maintenance cost than Wastewater Treatment Plant No. 3
The city of Bastrop has established approximately 2.2 acres along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, near Emile Elementary School, as designated parkland.
The details
Bastrop purchased the site at 610 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in June 2024 for $147,000 through its Land Acquisition Fund, according to city documents.
“The property is located in the Gills Branch tributary,” Bastrop Police Chief Vicky Steffanic said in a staff report.
With much of the land in the floodway and the 100-year floodplain, officials established the property as parkland to prevent development from occurring.
“The area must be kept open to efficiently carry the majority of flood waters during high-flow events, which is necessary for the natural flow of water,” Steffanic said during a Sept. 9 Bastrop City Council meeting.
