Bee Cave Mayor Caroline Murphy made it official at the March 27 City Council meeting—she is expected to submit a formal letter of resignation from office this Friday. Recently, she said she would not run for another term as mayor in the May 5 election.
“I want you all to know this is my last meeting as your mayor,” Murphy said, indicating she would remain living in the area, but outside city limits with her husband.
Mayor Pro Tem Bill Goodwin will preside over remaining City Council meetings, City Manager Travis Askey said. Murphy served as Bee Cave’s mayor since 2000, the city's website showed.
Council Member Monty Parker is running unopposed for the city’s mayoral spot and Goodwin will continue to lead the council until the May election votes are canvassed, Askey said.
Library annual report received
Bee Cave City Council received the city library’s annual report. 2017 marked the 10th year the lending and educational facility has been open in city hall. Circulation of physical materials dropped by 9 percent due to a two-week closure for renovation work, while checkouts of digital material rose by 4 percent, Library Director Barbara Hathaway said.
Attendance at library programs rose 7 percent in keeping with the facility’s role as a community center. The library has added more programs for young people with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math, Hathaway said.
Renovations last year aimed to make better use of the library space. In 2017 the library also earned a Family Place Library designation, which recognizes creation of a family-friendly environment with an emphasis on play and parental involvement.
Bee Cave’s library fiscal year 2016-17 budget was $711,745, records show. Actual expenditures totaled $671,142. The original FY 2017-18 budget was $688,142 and included salaries 11 full-time equivalent staff.
Signal Hill Estates site plan approved
City Council approved the site plan for Signal Hill Estates, a 94.4-acre planned subdivision located between W. Hwy. 71 and the 16300 block of Hamilton Pool Road, south of Terra Colinas neighborhood.
The community will have no access to Hamilton Pool Road; instead, future residents and emergency vehicles will enter and exit via Palermo Drive near the Terra Colinas amenity center and Vail Divide Court in the Bella Colinas neighborhood to access Hwy. 71.
In September 2017 the city of Bee Cave annexed 128 acres of what is known as the Grumbles tract, located on both sides of Hamilton Pool Road. Council approved the preliminary plat in October.
Minor changes to Signal Hill’s planned development district include demolition of two existing homestead buildings (including conducting an asbestos survey), associated driveways and ranching elements to make way for 61 single-family rural residential lots, most more than an acre in size. Thirteen acres of privately maintained open spaces will remain available to residents, city records show.
Council approves agreement with Austin Energy to bury cables along Bee Cave Parkway
Council agreed to spend nearly $900,000 in public funds to offset the cost of burying electrical cables along Bee Cave Parkway.
The agreement means council agreed to amending the current year budget and preparing for an impact on the next two-three fiscal year revenue estimates, records show.
Per Austin Energy policy, City Council authorized reimbursing the city of Austin up to $872,795 for the increased costs associated with burying the cables instead of allowing them to remain overhead.
The first installment of $150,000 is due within 30 days of the agreement’s approval. A portion of the remaining reimbursement amount will be paid by Austin Energy waiving the annual franchise fee for street rental (3 percent of gross receipts from electricity sales). The utility pays the fee to the city as part of its 10-year franchise contract with the city of Bee Cave that was signed in 2011.
The agreement shows the additional feeder lines are needed to “increase the safety and overall reliability of electrical service to both existing and future customers of Bee Cave.” The document also shows the project is time critical and feeder lines must be installed prior to this summer when demand for electricity typically peaks.
Survey finds drivers in Bee Cave’s Ladera are following posted speed limits
A Bee Cave Police traffic survey in the Ladera subdivision found driver’s speeds are “acceptable,” according to the city’s recently amended traffic calming policy. At three sites, most vehicles were recorded traveling average speeds of between 15 mph and 27 mph.
The policy shows “ideal” speed on local streets is 25 mph, “acceptable” is 30 mph and “not acceptable” is 35 mph. Cut-through traffic should represent at least 25-50 percent of the local daily traffic to justify traffic calming efforts.
Complaints of drivers speeding through Bee Cave’s Ladera subdivision en route to nearby commercial areas have been an issue for more than a year, records show. Chief Gary Miller told the council he recommended his officers continue with police presence and traffic enforcement as well as reminders through the HOA to keep drivers traveling at safe limits.
Lake Travis Youth Association calls for replacement sports field lighting
It is slowly getting darker over the ball fields at the Field of Dreams complex run by the Lake Travis Youth Association. A city report showed 20 percent of 121 metal halide lights installed in the 1990s are burned out.
LTYA received permission to replace the bulbs after making sure doing so would not trigger the city requirement to bring all or portions of the entire system up to current safety codes adopted in 2007.
Council also accepted LTYA’s offer to conduct a sample test of the impacts of adding visors and/or re-angling select lamps on field one, provided the test also would not trigger the full compliance requirement. The visors would better direct light onto the field and away from neighboring properties, council documents show. If the re-angling and visor tests are deemed successful, LYYA told council it is open to improving all the lights over time.
A third-party lighting study in November 2016 recommended the changes.
City staff was also reviewing a related LYTA proposal to replace six mobile, generator-powered light towers on soccer fields 2 and 3 with other similar lighting systems.
Bee Cave OKs police, court needs assessment contract
Bee Cave’s police department is going ahead with hiring a contractor to assess needs and locations for a possible future expansion that would include municipal court, according to March 27 approval records from City Council.
Staff received submissions from six firms. After further consulting with an outside architect to review qualifications, city staff selected the Austin-based firm of Brinkley, Sargent and Wiginton as the top choice— the same architectural company that city of Lakeway staff and council chose to build the neighboring city’s new police facility, which isnow under construction on Lohmans Spur Road.
Brinkley, Sargent and Wiginton has also drawn plans for or built public safety and court facilities in Sunset Valley and Buda, Texas.
