Ongoing negotiations between Travis County and Bee Cave have yielded an updated version of an interlocal agreement that would put the county-maintained portion of a low-water crossing on Great Divide Drive in city jurisdiction and result in the city disannexing a stretch of property where a potential extension of Vail Divide would go.

The previous motion voted on during the May 14 Bee Cave City Council meeting put the ball in Travis County’s court to agree to the terms of the interlocal. Once that happened, it would set in motion unofficial timeframes for each party to commence annexation proceedings, public hearings and various other actions.

During the June 11 Bee Cave City Council meeting, officials voted to accept a slight modification of the original draft agreement from Travis County.

Included among the changes from the initial draft are some clarifications to certain geographic elements within the agreement as well as adjusted wording in other areas of the document.

"I was actually pleasantly surprised that the changes [to the interlocal agreement] were no greater than these," Mayor Monty Parker said.

In two examples, an original term within the agreement changes a required “bridge structure” to replace the Great Divide low-water crossing to “Alternate Improvements.” In the same vein, changed terminology shifts the “roadway” Bee Cave is to disannex to the “Vail Divide Southern Extension.”

Another major change for the construction of the roadway extending Vail Divide changes the date from May 2020 to May 2022.

"If they went full-speed ahead, I think three years is possible," City Manager Clint Garza said regarding the Vail Divide extension.

Beyond that, the agreement still stipulates City Council would annex the crossing on Great Divide along with any responsibilities to improvements and ongoing maintenance. In exchange, the city will still disannex areas within the construction limits of a future Vail extension that is between Hwy. 71 and Hamilton Pool Road.

The agreement also maintains Bee Cave would relinquish its ownership of a portion of Vail Divide, which is in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, and Travis County would help fund a bridge and roadway along Vail Divide intended to provide access to a new Lake Travis ISD school currently under construction.