Burnet county: Commissioners set for two workshops

by Raymond V. Whelan • Daily Tribune Staff

BURNET - Burnet County commissioners will roll up their sleeves and tackle transportation issues and Emergency Services Districts during two special workshops this week.

The commissioners plan to convene and examine transportation issues Wednesday, and they are scheduled to meet and debate the potential establishment of Emergency Services Districts Thursday.

No action will taken during either workshop, and both meetings are open to the public.

Phase 1 of the state agency-sponsored transportation project will begin with a commissioners workshop 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Burnet Meeting Room, 303. E. Jackson St.

Recently, the Texas Department of Transportation has pledged $500,000 to help county officials produce a new transportation plan to achieve several goals, including improved traffic safety, reduced vehicle congestion and efficient thoroughfares.

Probably, the three-phase plan will take about 24 months to develop and implement, TxDot officials have said.

“This will be a beginning for a lot of our communities, and we are all working together to make it happen,” County Judge Donna Klaeger said recently.

Phase I of the transportation project will call for data collection and motivating public involvement. Phase 2 will concentrate on land-use forecasts, traffic projections, travel demand modeling, needs analysis and scenario planning. Phase 3 will focus on project prioritization, financial planning and final adoption.

Through each phase of the plan, population estimates, traffic counts and trends and “community values” will help officials determine what the county needs to improve its transportation system, as well as identify mitigation projects or other concerns, officials say.

Also this week, the commissioners will discuss ESDs during a workshop 7 p.m. Thursday, Iron Star Hall, 330 N. Lampasas St., Bertram.

An ESD is a political subdivision approved by voters that collects property taxes to fund fire protection and emergency medical services. Under the state constitution, an ESD can levy no more than 10 cents per $100 of assessed property value.

Currently, Horseshoe Bay is the only local fire district that has organized an ESD. During recent weeks, the commissioners have called for other emergency personnel to weigh the pros and cons of forming more ESDs, while considering the Legislature may impose tax limits on counties and possibly inhibit their ability to raise higher levels of revenue for emergency services.

Support for ESDs

Earlier this month, both Marble Falls Area Emergency Medical Services Director Johnny Campbell and Chief Mark Ingram from Burnet EMS told the commissioners they would support establishing two ESDs from EMS units, one to cover the northern part of the county, the other one to serve the southern half.

However, there is no consensus regarding which of 11 volunteer fire districts may want to join an ESD with an EMS unit, which fire districts may want to join an ESD without a EMS unit and which fire districts do not want to participate at all in an ESD.

raymond@thepicayune.com

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Burnet county:
Commissioners set for two workshops