OUR TURN: Getting a handle on Marble Falls’ fiscal challenges for the new year

The start of the new year marks the perfect time for fresh beginnings.

There are plenty of prospects and projects on tap in the Highland Lakes that promise prosperity in 2011 and beyond, so here’s a hope they all come to fruition. But the new year also promises more than just renewal. This should be a time for introspection and even correction as well. This is the perfect time for the Marble Falls city government to pause, review and perhaps even readjust.

The good news is that sales taxes seem to be on the increase — finally. Perhaps 2011 will see better tidings for businesses in the Colorado River basin, especially those struggling along Marble Falls’ historic Main Street, where far too many shops have been shuttered and initiatives to jump-start sales have been delayed or fallen short.

More shops are opening again downtown, as seen by a handful of ribbon cuttings, and the City Council’s decision to extend alcohol sales hours until 2 a.m. won’t hurt. The new brewery on U.S. 281 also promises to give the city an economic shot in the arm.

Meanwhile, the council and others are also considering additional ideas to improve Marble Falls’ image as a tourist destination, including train rides and a bat-viewing center. Thankfully, exhibits such as the open-air Sculpture on Main continue to be a cultural draw.

A much-discussed future regional sports complex could also bring more visitors and sales revenue to town.

And, the new Lake of the Hills Regional Medical Center coming to U.S 281 and Texas 71 promises to make Marble Falls an even greater economic hub for Central Texas, not only through the increased jobs, but by attracting new businesses and shops.

Several new subdivisions that are in the planning stages also sound good on paper, provided the market improves, including Falling Water, Flatrock Springs and the nearby Skywater in Horseshoe Bay.

At the same time, however, the council — which is trying to run the city on a shortfall budget managed through attrition and cost-cutting — must do a better job of making wise spending choices.

For instance, not putting up Christmas lights in town to save money is probably a good idea, but leaving the 80-plus lights blazing every night on The Manzano Mile when no one lives there is not a wise expenditure of public money.

Details are important, too, and the council must remain vigilant by considering even the smallest items when promoting the city as a tourist destination.

A case in point is the home page of the current Web site promoting Marble Falls as a great destination for shopping and culture. The opening page doesn’t show Main Street, the Uptown Theater, Lakeside Pavilion or any other prominent city feature. Viewers instead see scrub brush and a winding river. That doesn’t say “shop in Marble Falls”; it seems to suggest instead that rugged camping is all the region offers.

The Marble Falls Economic Development Corp., which is overseen by the city, also needs to do a better job of communicating its plans for the unoccupied, $3 million vo-tech center. A deal with a tenant fell through — a tenant the EDC shouldn’t have done business with in the first place — and now there is very little public movement on this costly project.

Public safety is also a concern. The city shares a speed-check trailer with Lampasas for half of the year, the type where an LED display alerts motorists to how fast their auto is traveling. Yet, residents say they rarely see this trailer. If so, why not place it in very visible venues, such as the RR 1431 corridor where speeders often plow through the city? Let the trailer do the work, and free up officers to patrol neighborhoods more instead of doing traffic duty on the side of the road.

Here’s hoping the powers at City Hall can spare a little time this new year to take these matters and others under consideration, and make the right decisions that help Marble Falls both fiscally and aesthetically.

If so, the new year promises to bring positive change to Marble Falls with new projects, increased commerce and more good tidings.