Georgetown City Council OKs dissolving rail district membership

Georgetown has been a member of the rail district for six years.

"Some folks want to make these decisions personal, and they are not personal, but when you make the commitment to run for office and do public service, you are bound. I always said if I would do this, I'm going to do what I say I will do and what my constituents want," Gonzalez said. "In my election recently, I did not make rail a campaign issue, and my opponent made it her primary issue. To get the numbers right, there were 292 voters and a 50-vote margin that elected me into office. Those are the folks that I represent—that majority, and they clearly sent the message to me as their elected public official that they were not in favor of this."

Gonzalez said he wanted to ensure the silent majority was not disenfranchised.

Supporters of the rail district presented a Moveon.org petition that, as of 11 a.m. June 26, had more than 1,000 signatures. They asked the council to reconsider the decision that would dissolve the city's membership in the district.

A majority of those who spoke at the meeting were in favor of the staying in the district, including a Southwestern University professor and SU students, who said the rail would benefit students in Georgetown.

LSRD Rail Director Joseph Black said that by dissolving its membership in the district and giving up its seat on the board of directors, the city would lose its chance to help plan the system.

Black also warned that the district's board may choose to halt environmental studies to bring the rail system to Georgetown and prioritize future plans to go to Hutto and Taylor ahead of plans to build to Georgetown.

"We probably wouldn't even complete—I can't say for sure—the environmental impact statement for the Georgetown station area or the track extension," Black said. "Without their membership in the district, it wouldn't be fair to the other jurisdictions like San Marcos and Kyle who are members that are still providing a person to come to the board of directors meetings and are paying the local [dues]. We use that money as operating funds. The rest of our money is federal and state funds that we use for planning."

Councilman Steve Fought said the city was taking on too much risk by being a member without Williamson County also being involved. He said the project was a county-level project at minimum.

"We do have a capital risk involved," Fought said. "I would not put my money on this, and I have a lot of difficulty saying I would put your money on this."

Fought said the Georgetown Transportation Advisory board should continue to look at the rail district and continue discussions with LSRD, as well as begin discussions with Williamson County officials on joining the district.

Black said LSRD has never and will never ask for a tax increase to fund the capital costs of the rail system. He said the district is asking cities and counties to create tax increment reinvestment zones or tax increment financing areas to help fund operating and maintenance costs, which will be shared among member cities and counties and is estimated at about $30 million for the initial service. The zones would be located around future stations.

Councilwoman Patty Eason, who serves on the rail district's board of directors, voted to leave the district, but said she plans to bring the item back to council to reconsider at a future meeting. She said that to bring the item back to council she had to vote with the majority.

Eason said the city will remain a member of the district for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.