Leander City Council dedicated an additional $95,000 in legal and expert witness fees for the case involving possible transmission lines from Round Rock to Leander during its Tuesday meeting. The Lower Colorado River Authority has proposed building a 138-kilovolt line from two existing substations in Round Rock and Leander to two proposed substations in Cedar Park and Leander. The agency had previously submitted 31 possible routes to the Public Utility Commission of Texas in April and identified a route that runs along RM 1431 and Sam Bass Road close to the Southwest Williamson County Regional Park as one of its top options based on the PUC’s criteria. The city of Leander previously filed as an intervenor in the case, as did Williamson County and the cities of Round Rock and Cedar Park. According to Leander documents, approximately 95 people or entities filed as intervenors and turned in position statements or pre-filed direct testimony in the case. City Manager Kent Cagle said the process of building new transmission lines has generally occurred in rural areas, which has affected a smaller number of people. Because this line is being proposed in areas that are now more suburban, he said many more people are able to be involved in the process. “Of course everybody wants the power, but nobody wants the line, and we all understand that,” he said. “But because there have been so many different individuals—landowners, organizations—that have intervened, this has become a very complicated case. This has become more complex than we originally imagined.” Leander previously hired special legal counsel and expert witnesses to represent the city in the case hearing. According to city documents, several events have occurred in the case since then which will require more legal counsel, such as the list of intervenors asking for a detailed evaluation of six additional routes. That brings the total number of routes under consideration to 37. Legal fees billed to date are approximately $50,000, and City Council on Tuesday approved additional funds up to $85,000 for legal fees and funds for an expert witness up to $10,000. The total amount for both is now budgeted at $145,000.