Lakeway Mayor Sandy Cox said she wanted to start working with Bee Cave Mayor Monty Parker even before the two were elected in May.

While Parker ran unopposed, Cox was still running against two other candidates when she reached out to Parker asking him if he would like to get coffee and discuss how the two cities could combine efforts.

“Absolutely” Parker said.

Since then, Cox and Parker have met several times to discuss key issues affecting their respective communities.

Over the past several months the two mayors have brainstormed over creating connections among their various hike and bike trails, attracting more employees to their cities’ businesses, and the expansion and beautification of RM 620 as it traverses their shared community.

“We’re 3 miles apart. What we each decide affects the other,” Cox said. “How do we, as mayors, lead by example, and how do we systematically get the cities together?”

Parker agrees that there is ample opportunity to build on the two cities’ connections and frequently refers to the Lakeway-Bee Cave area as “the
community.”

“If you move to Bee Cave, there are so many things to enjoy and take advantage of in Lakeway and vice versa,” Parker said. “So it’s only natural that the cities should be doing things together to enhance that experience.”

Both mayors acknowledge that their timeframe to affect change for the Lakeway-Bee Cave community carries with it a sense of urgency.

Cox said that for her, that sense of urgency centers on a number of factors, including the fact that TxDOT has scheduled its planning period for the RM 620 widening to finish in the next year.

Because of this, Cox and Parker have already planned a pair of joint Bee Cave-Lakeway town hall meetings designed to share with residents the basic scope and design of the project as well as issues that drivers may experience during the construction process.