On Tuesday, Williamson County commissioners approved appointing John Miri from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Amy Ellsworth from Community Impact Newspaper to the Mobility Authority's board with a 4-1 vote. Precinct 1 Commissioner Terry Cook, who was elected in November, was the lone dissenter and said she could not support the appointments.
“None of the members represent the common man or the taxpayers,” said Cook, who also proposed the county implement a vetting process to appoint new board members. “Are you going to be the strong voice that Williamson County needs?”
Other commissioners said they felt both were qualified to serve on the Mobility Authority’s board.
“I respect Commissioner Cook’s opinion, but I feel like we have two individuals here that are well qualified and good individuals that can serve the county,” Precinct 4 Commissioner Larry Madsen said.
The extension of Toll 183A in Leander first opened April 6, 2012, two years after construction began and about seven years earlier than originally planned.[/caption]The Mobility Authority was created in 2002 through a partnership with Travis and Williamson counties to build multimodal transportation projects. The agency built the Toll 183A and Hwy. 290 toll projects and is overseeing construction of the MoPac express lanes and US 183 South toll lanes.
Each county appoints three members to the board, and the governor appoints the chairperson. The last new board member, David Armbrust, was appointed in February 2012.
At the Mobility Authority board’s Jan. 25 meeting, the agency announced one of Williamson County’s appointees, Jim Mills, would be retiring from the board after serving since 2002. Another of the county’s appointees, former Round Rock City Manager Bob Bennett, also stepped down after serving since January 2003.
Miri, the LCRA's chief administrative officer, was appointed to fill Mills’ seat. At LCRA, Miri was in charge of information technology, safety, cybersecurity, enterprise risk management and employee services, according to his bio on the LCRA website. He has a patent for an energy risk software system used at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and also co-authored the state’s first cybersecurity strategic plan.
Miri, who also resides in Cedar Park, said he likes that Travis and Williamson counties work together through the Mobility Authority on common infrastructure problems. His background in technology and innovation could benefit new initiatives the agency seeks, he said.
"I've always been interested in how to be more innovative with public policy," Miri said. "... I think there is an increasing intersection between technology and transportation."
Ellsworth—who has worked as general manager for Community Impact Newspaper’s flagship paper covering Round Rock, Pflugerville and Hutto since January 2013—was appointed to Bennett’s seat. She has experience working as chief of staff for former Texas House member Linda Harper Brown, who also served on the House Transportation Committee. Ellsworth is currently the chair of the Round Rock Chamber board and past chair of the Hutto Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors and previously worked on the Round Rock Chamber's transportation subcommittee.
"I do have experience and knowledge with transportation issues, and I’m excited to bring that to the table, and it's a strength I bring for Williamson County drivers and residents in general," said Ellsworth, a resident of Hutto.
Both Miri and Ellsworth will serve two-year terms through Jan. 31, 2019.
Additional reporting by Cody McCrary
