COTTONWOOD SHORES — Residents who signed up to speak on a proposed city park instead left a City Council meeting in disgust Thursday after a councilwoman’s procedural sleight-of-hand cut them off.

“You just don’t want to hear any input,” said Donald Orr, just prior to a vote by the council. “We signed up to talk.”

The by-the-numbers special meeting exploded into outrage after Councilwoman Janet Taylor-Carusi “called the question” — that is, called for the vote — before residents who were signed up to speak on the issue could voice their views.

Taylor-Carusi said comments made by residents Orr and Roger Wayson against the new park at an earlier meeting were “erroneous,” adding she was unable to attend that session due to health reasons.

Orr, a former councilman who is running again, has been a frequent critic of city leaders.

In the wake of Taylor-Carusi’s action, which effectively stopped discussion on the issue, the council voted unanimously to combine three city-held lots off Lakeview Drive and dedicate them for use as the proposed Aspen Athletic Park.

In earlier meetings, some residents voiced concerns that turning the land over for use as a park would hurt the city’s chances of obtaining government grants in the future.

The park issue dominated debate at the March 18 council meeting, where Councilman William Plumley’s motion to dedicate the parkland died for lack of a second.

“Being absent last Thursday night from the council meeting, thankfully I wasn’t able to hear all the same tired, erroneous statements, unsubstantiated accusations, felonious arguments and acrimonious carrying-on that have accompanied any discussion of this,” Carusi-Taylor said Thursday. “So in answer to all those statements numerous times and the accusations of spending money by one council or another and the argument made as to why we should or should not secure (the park lots) … I think it is time to consider the citizens of this community.”

Taylor-Carusi said earlier protests by Orr and Wayson represented only a small portion of Cottonwood Shores’ residents, adding the dedication of the parkland would serve voters and nonvoters alike.

“Just because people aren’t registered to vote doesn’t mean their voice shouldn’t be heard or taken seriously,” she said. “But unfortunately, we are led by a small number of voters from one particular area of this town, and most of those don’t really have any idea of the issues or the leadership they have put in place. In a voice that cannot and will not be denied, I will call the question.”

Mayor Bentley Martin recognized Taylor-Carusi’s motion, allowing Plumley to second. A vote was held seconds later.

Some residents tried to speak before the unanimous vote was cast, but Martin said parliamentary rules prohibited further discussion.

In many cases, residents are permitted to speak before a governing body’s final vote on an issue. However, under parliamentary rules, a vote must be taken immediately once a council member calls the question, provided that motion is recognized by the chair.

Orr, Wayson and resident Keith Patschke, who had signed up to speak, left the council chambers in disgust.

Orr said the park property represented the city’s last real-estate asset, adding the value of the property could have been used as emergency collateral for future loans.

Because the property has been dedicated for use as a park, the land’s value is essentially off the table when it comes to future grants and loans, he said.

“Are you trying to imitate the irresponsibility of our federal Congress by mortgaging our grandchildren?” he asked in a written statement turned over to The Daily Tribune. “The only difference between you and the federal Congress is that by law you cannot deficit finance and you can’t print money.”

Wayson also opposed the vote.

“We cannot give our largest liquid asset away without getting something in return,” he said in a statement intended for the council. “Remember, it is almost impossible to go back once dedicated. We have no other matches to offer.”

Wayson said other environmental issues tied to burning by the city on the park site also warranted concern.

“Is there lead, (chemicals) or asbestos left over from the home-material burning and dumping? We don’t know,” Wayson said.

Plans for the new park call for a soccer practice field, picnic tables and an open area for playing, hiking and more, according to city officials.

City Public Works Director George Perry said earlier his department is planning on creating street-side parking for the new park, adding he expects to spend no more than $1,000 to upgrade the space.

Also on Thursday, the council discussed possible water-rate increases tied to recent efforts to negotiate a new water contract with the Lower Colorado River Authority. No action was taken.

The next council meeting is 6 p.m. April 1 at the Cottonwood Shores Public Library, 4111 Cottonwood Drive.

chris@thepicayune.com

While enjoying a St. Patrick’s Day theme, the staff at Kingsland Hills Care Center recently threw an employee recognition party to honor workers for their years of service. Managers recognized those who have been an employee for one, three or five years. They include licensed vocational nurse Dee Beaty (left), 26 years of service; medical aide Beverly Wyatt, 23 years; registered nurse Beverly Hester, 12 years; and director of nursing Sarah Josslett, 12 years. The center is located at 3727 RR 1431 in Kingsland. Courtesy photo

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Crews Thursday prepare the former chapel of the Marble Falls Church of Christ for demolition at its Broadway and Avenue H location Thursday. The 30-year-old building is scheduled to be completely torn down soon, but a new chapel and buildings have already been constructed on the same property. Staff photo by Chris Porter

Video: Watch it on the 3-24-10 newcast on ThePicayuneTV.com

BURNET — Road, water and parks projects will top the City Council’s to-do list in 2010, Mayor Alan Smith said Wednesday — though finding ways to fund the projects could resemble a circus “balancing act,” he said.

Smith made the comments at his annual “State of the City” address at the Burnet Community Center, where more than 100 residents and local officials gathered to hear the latest on projects ranging from water meters to airports.

The council is looking for ways to fund all of the planned projects without resorting to a tax increase, Smith told the audience.

“For every $1 million we spent, that would result in an additional 3 cents on your property tax bill,” he said. “But we’re looking to find other means (to pay for the projects), and that is the challenge of this council. I think that we as a council and in previous councils have stretched dollars as far as they will go.”

Most of those other funding methods include state and national grants, such as $300,000 in federal recovery funds that have been earmarked for a citywide sewer survey, Smith said.

The event marked the second State of the City address given by Smith.

“This is to let you guys know what’s going on in the city to benefit all our citizens,” Smith said to listeners. “Last year (the address) focused on the new strategic plan the council worked on. I think we’ve come a long way, and a lot of that is as a result of that strategic plan.”

Smith said city leaders continue to work on projects such as a proposed wastewater treatment plant, which he said is nearing a resolution despite an uproar from other cities and groups over plans to pump treated effluent into a creek leading into Lake Travis.

“It has been a long and sometimes arduous process, but I believe we’re coming to the end,” the mayor said.

The new plant will allow the city to handle the needs of anticipated population growth, he added.

Also, Smith said the city will continue to participate in a regional water study that could eventually result in a water system serving residents in Burnet and Llano counties.

“The goal of this is to study and plan for water availability on a regional basis,” he said. The city will contribute cash and in-kind services to the study, which officials said is expected to begin sometime this year.

Business growth during the economic downturn is another topic city leaders are working to address, Smith said, adding that officials are taking a cautious approach.

“The reality of this financial situation is that the best economic development is to prepare for the future,” he said. “We are working to ensure our policies will help us prepare for future growth.”

A recent $2 million street bond project that’s nearing completion will help, Smith added.

“We got eight miles of new streets from that project,” he said. “The success of that program goes to the hard work of the men and women of the Street Committee that identified the streets that were repaired, and of course the Public Works employees.”

Smith said the road program also created some beneficial side effects, adding residents and businesses are beautifying their spaces to keep pace with the high-quality streets.

“If you drive around town, I think you see a sense of pride and ownership in the city,” the mayor said.

Other projects include planned re-pavings of U.S. 281 and Texas 29, scheduled to begin in spring 2011. Smith said the projects will give the city a chance to upgrade utility lines buried along those roads.

The city also will work to complete the 51-acre Haley-Nelson park on the city’s west side.

In the meantime, he asked residents to continue to stay involved with their government.

“We thank our citizens for the trust they’ve placed in us to represent them,” he said. “We pledge to continue working to make Burnet the best it can be.”

chris@thepicayune.com

MARBLE FALLS —  A brief storm system passed through the area Wednesday evening, pummeling the Highland Lakes with hail and howling winds.
Officials with sheriff’s offices in Burnet and Llano counties said no initial damage was reported, however.
A National Weather Service forecast indicated showers and thunderstorms will continue until 4 a.m. Thursday — with chances of precipitation at 90 percent.

The rain is not predicted for the day or evening on Thursday — a high of 72 is expected, with a northwest wind between 10 and 15 mph, and gusts as high as 25 mph.
Friday’s forecast will be available during the Highland Lakes Headlines newscast at www.ThePicayuneTV.com.

MARBLE FALLS — From new songs by local crooner john Arthur martinez to a Caribbean cruise for two, the First Baptist Christian School benefit Friday promises a good time for all, organizers said.

"It’s a casual evening with a lot of fun," said Ed Necker of the First Baptist Church of Marble Falls.

The event will raise money for the private Christian school located at the church.

The fundraiser will be held at FBC’s property at 901 La Ventana, located south of Lake Marble Falls off U.S. off of 281.

It starts at 6:30 p.m. Tickets for the event are $35 apiece or a table of eight for $500.

"The main focus this year is to raise money for our scholarship fund," Necker said. "There are so many families struggling right now because of the economy that we want to help as many as we can."

The church and school are at 501 Twelfth St.

The FBC School offers programs for infants through fourth-graders this year, but there are plans to someday include grades up to the 12th. Necker said the school will add a fifth grade next year.

Though the private school has offered infant and preschool programs for more than 25 years, Necker said the school only added the elementary classes five years ago.

Interest has quickly grown, and more than 200 students are enrolled now through the fourth grade.

"We want to continue to provide a learning experience and programs for families who are looking for a private, Christian five-day-a-week school," he said.

Necker said Pappasito’s is catering the event and there will be an "el mercado," or market.

"It’s really a silent and live auction," he said.

Visitors can bid on a wide spectrum of prizes, including a seven-night Caribbean cruise for two.

"But it’s not just big items," Necker said. "There’s something for every budget. We’ll have sports memorabilia and several prints by local artists."

Some of the most popular auction items last year, Necker said, actually came from some of the humblest "artists."

"The things that really went over well were the handmade items from our students," he said. "There were abstract paintings and other things they made in class. And people just loved them."

The evening includes a performance by Martinez, a popular singer in the Americana genre who recently released a new CD, "Purgatory Road." Martinez, of Cottonwood Shores, was a finalist on "Nashville Star" in 2003.

"He’s going to perform some new songs off his new album, which is a Christian one," Necker said. "The event is outside at our new facility in La Ventana, so I think it’s going to be a wonderful setting for a wonderful cause."

For more, contact event chairwoman Deanna Nail at (830) 596-3630 or dmarienail@gmail.com.

daniel@thepicayune.com

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SMITHWICK — Firefighters from Burnet and Travis counties battled a blaze at a local Christian camp that destroyed the facility’s main building and sent up a towering plume of smoke that could be seen for miles.

Investigators are unsure what caused the fire that destroyed the office and meeting hall of Camp of the Hills, a faith-based summer camp that caters to inner-city teens from across the state.

No injuries were reported, according to officials with Marble Falls Area EMS Inc., which responded to the scene.

The blaze broke out just before 4 p.m. at the camp off CR 344 near Smithwick.

Camp of the Hills board member Raymond Whitman said the blaze couldn’t have come at a worse time for the camp, which is preparing for an influx of campers this summer.

"We’re going to have 150 people a week that will need to be fed three times a day," Whitman told The Daily Tribune. "We’re going to have to set up some type of temporary facility, but first we’ll have to determine where to set it up."

Camp Director Mel Bowman said the fire claimed all of the camp’s office equipment, first-aid supplies, kitchen equipment and more.

"We have a fireproof safe, and I guess we’re going to find out if it really is fireproof," he said.

Fire crews poured water onto the burning building, which was lined with cedar siding that made the blaze difficult to extinguish, officials said. Tanker trucks were driven to the shores of nearby Lake Travis, where they filled up with water from the lake to help fight the blaze.

Pedernales Electric Cooperative crews also were called to the scene to cut power to a sparking electric wire that had fallen to the ground.

It took units from Marble Falls, Granite Shoals, North Lake Travis, Bertram and Cottonwood Shores more than an hour to contain the blaze, which consumed most of the wooden structure.

Whitman said the fire left camp officials struggling to determine where to put their campers when summer session begins in a few weeks.

"It may be a true camp experience for them," he said. "They could be eating out of a tent."

Camp of the Hills was started in 1990 to minister to inner-city teens, Whitman said.

"The mission was to get them outside and in a surrounding where they could look at something besides concrete," he said.

Since 1991, the camp has accommodated almost 6,000 boys and girls, according to the camp’s Web site, campofthehills.org. It encompasses 105 acres of land, where activities include swimming, fishing, canoeing, sports, crafts, singing, reading, skits and Bible study, according to the Web site.

During camping season, the facility employes several counselors in addition to regular staff and dozens of volunteers, Whitman said. In addition to the camp’s main office and meeting and dining hall, Wednesday’s fire also destroyed quarters for the counselors and the nurse’s office, he said.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

chris@thepicayune.com

MARBLE FALLS — A local granite supplier is involved in a multimillion-dollar project to help build a jetty at the mouth of the Colorado River.

About $21 million in federal stimulus funds is financing the project, which is expected to be finished by June, officials have said.

All materials for the Matagorda Project are being supplied by the Cold Spring Texas Granite Co., based in Marble Falls.

"The jetty blocks are 10 to 14 tons or 14 to 16 tons per specification," said Sharon Jensen, a Cold Spring spokeswoman.

Subcontractors include Gulf Coast Limestone based in Seabrook and Target Construction in Nevada, Jensen added.

According to various sources, the 862-mile Colorado River is the 18th largest river in the country and the longest river with both its source and mouth in Texas.

It originates south of Lubbock and flows from Dawson County through Marble Falls, Austin, Bastrop, Smithville, La Grange, Columbus, Wharton and Bay City before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico at Matagorda Bay, according to Wikipedia.

raymond@thepicayune.com

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MARBLE FALLS — If applause is any indication, students at Colt Elementary School had a blast Tuesday.

Members of the Highland Lakes Flyers brought more than a dozen remote-controlled airplanes to the school for a morning demonstration as part of the school’s science-themed Flight Week.

Students watched in awe and excitement as the planes — which were powered by electric motors — dipped and zoomed over a playground.

"It’s been wonderful," Highland Lakes Flyers President Mike McDougall said. "The kids have been very enthusiastic. I think they’re having a good time."

The Flyers practice their piloting skills nearly every day at Hank Nilson field off RR 2545, a scaled-down airfield near Kingsland built specifically for model planes.

McDougall said the Flyers frequently give demonstrations for young aviation enthusiasts.

"We’ve got such good questions from the students today, a lot of them are going to be engineers and scientists, I can tell," he said. "It’s very important that they see something like this when they’re young and give them an opportunity to experience this. You can watch it, or you can come out and fly."

Tuesday’s demonstration was part of a weeklong event planned by school administrators to let students learn more about aviation.

Other events include a balloon release Wednesday afternoon, and a presentation by former NASA engineer and Bertram resident Jerry Bostick.

Organizers also have planned a hot-air balloon demonstration Friday, leading into the school’s science night 6-8 p.m. at the campus, 2200 The Manzano Mile.

chris@thepicayune.com