Co-Op District developer Bob Wunch told Hutto City Council on Thursday night that construction on the mixed-use development has been delayed by the consistent rainfall the area has experienced the past several weeks. As a result Wunch told council that the move-in date for the new Hutto City Hall, located at the Co-Op District site, is now moved back to mid-January at the earliest. "Obviously during the rain we’ve had some delays on what we can accomplish," Wunch told council members Thursday. Crews have been delayed by 65 documented rain days on the site, per Wunch, and 900 hours of work have been lost due to rain. However, work is still continuing on the site. Wunch reported that two roads in the development site will be paved by Dec. 15, weather permitting. Additionally, the developer told the dais that Texas Department of Transportation crews will work on Hwy. 79 improvements by the first or second week of January. Those improvements will add a turning lane into the development near the intersection of Short Street and Hwy. 79.

Hutto police fielded more than 30,000 calls in 2018

In his annual crime report to Hutto City Council, Hutto Police Department Chief Byron Frankland showed that the number of total crime reports in the city is down slightly while arrests have slightly risen. Frankland also reported that Hutto PD has experienced a 12 percent climb in total calls to the department, up to 30,626 calls. "Historically, as Hutto grows we typically increase anywhere from 10 to 14 percent [in received calls]. Twelve [percent] is right in the middle of what we expect to see," Frankland said. The Hutto PD filed 853 crime reports to this point in 2018, eight less than the department filed in 2017. No homicides have been reported in Hutto in 2018. The department filed 162 drug offenses in 2018, up from 159 in 2017, per Frankland's report. The number of reported assaults dropped 11 percent in 2018, down to 107. Hutto PD made 491 arrests in 2018, up from 478 in 2017. However, the number of citations given by Hutto PD dropped 16 percent in 2018, down to 1,844 total citations, per Frankland.