Marble Falls leaders want more time to review the potential impacts of a major operational permit upgrade for a limestone mine owned by Huber Carbonates within city limits. The City Council on May 20 voted to file an official protest against the permit with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Huber Carbonates published public notice of its intention to seek an air-quality permit renewal and amendment on April 18, triggering a 30-day countdown for comments and requests for contested hearings.
The permit, among other things, would allow for continued operations of the facility at 849 U.S. 281 South, authorize an increase in operating hours, boost annual production, and allow for three more rock piles.
A significant figure derived from the application is a request to increase large particulate emissions (dust) by about 330 percent, from 2.45 tons to 10.54 tons annually.
SOURCES: Find Huber’s renewal application and amendment here and the numbers behind the application here.
Marble Falls city staff scrambled to file a protest before the window closed on May 18, and the City Council officially ratified the decision Tuesday.
“We aren’t recommending declaring war on Huber or anything. This is really just us, and my recommendation, that we have some time to properly assess everything,” said City Attorney Josh Weber during the council meeting.
With the protest filed, Marble Falls leaders will spend the coming months doing research on what the permit renewal and amendment would mean for the city and the impacts it could have on residents. A contested hearing will likely be held so the public can voice their concerns.
Huber plant manager Eric Simms attended Tuesday night’s council meeting to speak about the TCEQ permit renewal application. He noted that Humber’s limestone mine on U.S. 281 and its crushing/milling plant on Avenue N would each require their own permit renewals.
“We don’t have any plans to do a large increase in mining out (at the limestone mine), and that’s because we don’t have any plans to increase the size of the plant (on Avenue N). And that’s where everything goes,” he explained. “We can only mine as much as we can mill at that facility.”
Marble Falls Mayor John Packer responded to Simms.
“I think the concern is that you’ve got two different things. What the permit would allow that you’re applying for is one thing, and you say, ‘Well, we really don’t have any plans to do anything like this.’ But the permit would allow (for increased production),” Packer said.
Simms explained that the permit is meant to serve the facility for the next 10 years and the increases were to give Huber some wiggle room and an operational buffer based on future needs.
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A bill that would have protected Burnet County’s natural areas against rock-crushing operations died at midnight May 16, missing a Texas House of Representatives deadline. Its passage was foiled by the adamant objections of a determined South Texas representative.
During its May 15 session, the House upheld a “point of order” called for by Rep. Terry Canales of District 40, who questioned a last-minute amendment to House Bill 5151 that would have clarified the measure’s language. The deadline-busting delay effectively killed the bill despite a 64-57 record vote in the amendment’s favor.
HB 5151, co-authored by Rep. Ellen Troxclair of District 19, which includes Burnet County, and Rep. Terry Wilson of District 20, would have imposed strong restrictions on aggregate material production operations, specifically in Burnet County’s Hoover Valley Road area near Inks Lake State Park, Longhorn Cavern State Park, and Camp Longhorn.
The bill was in direct response to plans by Asphalt Inc., which does business as Lone Star Paving in Central Texas, to build a rock crusher at 3221 FM 3509, or Hoover Valley Road, just southwest of the city of Burnet. The measure was making its way through the Texas House until it hit a wall late May 15.
LEGISLATIVE PROCEEDINGS
During the May 15 session, Troxclair made a terse pitch for the HB 5151 amendment, saying only:“Members, this is a perfecting amendment. I move passage.”
Canales immediately opposed the action, calling for a point of order and admonishing Troxclair for what he called “unstatesmanlike” behavior.
“Can you tell us what the amendment did?” he said. “You ran off really quickly and tried to divert my attention, unstatesmanlike, over here so that I wouldn’t call the point of order. So, at least have the courtesy for the body to tell us what the amendment did. And, by the way, that is extremely unstatesmanlike what you just did.”
Troxclair responded, providing more context for her motion to pass, stating the amendment “ensures that the boundaries that were originally put in the bill are solidified and are clear,” and again moved for adoption.
The House then voted, 64 in favor and 57 against, to accept Troxclair’s amendment.
This led to a 45-minute closed discussion on the matter, after which the House emerged and Canales’ point of order was officially withdrawn.
The South Texas legislator immediately raised another point of order, citing Article 3 Section 30 of the Texas Constitution, which governs permissible changes to bill language through amendments.
This led to another closed discussion, 22 minutes in length, but a different result.
The point of order was sustained on grounds that a change in language from “mines, quarries, or rock crushing facilities” (as listed in the original bill) were not the same as “facilities for the crushing of aggregates” as written in the amendment, and that this change “impermissibly” broadened the scope of the bill’s reach and significantly changed the definitions mentioned.
This point of order would normally mean the bill is kicked back to be worked on again, but due to time constraints and the looming midnight deadline, its fate was effectively sealed.
Watch the Texas House’s May 15 session concerning HB 5151 at this link between the marked times of 7:08 and 8:21.
HB 5151 was hyper-specific to the Burnet County area, using language that would have restricted rock-crushing operations within a certain radius of multiple state parks and places where children gather, which pointedly applied to Asphalt Inc.’s proposed site on Hoover Valley Road.
DailyTrib.com reached out to Canales for comment but did not receive an answer by the time of this story’s publication. His District 40 includes a large portion of the Edinburg/McAllen area in South Texas, roughly 326 miles away from Burnet County.
According to Transparency USA, which offers public data on contributions to public officials, Canales has received $340,075 with his largest contributor being Associated General Contractors of Texas PAC at $61,000. The PAC is an advocate for the heavy highway construction industry at the state level and, in its own words, supports “candidates who champion policies favorable to our industry.”
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Linda Walker is the new chief executive officer of Llano Regional Hospital as of Monday, May 19. Her hiring is the latest in a series of major changes for the hospital, which recently transitioned from a private to public operation.
Walker was offered the job following the resignation of former CEO Hatch Smith Jr., who accepted another position in mid-April. Smith was instrumental in bringing Mid Coast Health System to Llano to run the hospital in 2021 and also helped facilitate the transition from private to public after Mid Coast left and the Llano County Hospital Authority Board assumed control of the county-owned facility in March 2025.
As CEO, Walker will oversee the operation of the hospital and collaborate with its Board of Directors and the Llano County Hospital Authority Board as the facility re-establishes itself as a public entity.
“I appreciate the trust the board and hospital authority have placed in me at this critical juncture for the hospital,” she said in a May 19 media release from the Llano hospital about her hiring. “There’s never been a more challenging time for rural hospitals, and I relish the opportunity to work with this dedicated team of community leaders and staff to make sure the Llano region has the healthcare system and access it deserves for generations to come.”
Walker previously served as CEO of Val Verde Regional Medical Center in Del Rio from 2019-23. Before that, she held various senior leadership positions at Uvalde Memorial Hospital from 2008-17.
According to an Oct. 13, 2023, article from The 830 Times, a Del Rio online news publication, Walker was asked to resign in 2023 by Val Verde’s board of directors amid accusations from employees that she created a “hostile work environment.” This action was listed as an agenda item on the board’s Oct. 12, 2023, agenda.
Walker took the resignation offer, which included six months’ pay. According to The 830 Times story, board members had mixed feelings about her leaving, and the compensation was “a professional courtesy out of respect for all of the good things Walker had done,” board member Dr. Lee Keenen told reporter Joel Langton.
DailyTrib.com reached out to Llano County Hospital Authority Board President Pat McDowell and asked if Walker’s resignation from Val Verde Regional was considered before her hiring.
“We did a diligent job looking into that,” McDowell said. “We fully vetted her, and we checked into that every way possible. She spent a lot of her career (at Uvalde Memorial Hospital), and they loved her. We didn’t find anything we were concerned about.”
David Willmann, president of the Llano Regional Hospital Board of Directors, voiced his full support of Walker.
“We couldn’t ask for a better person to take on this leadership role,” he said in the hospital’s May 19 media release. “Linda is a veteran of rural healthcare. She understands rural healthcare’s challenges and opportunities and shares our vision for a thriving local healthcare system.”
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The Burnet County Commissioners Court adopted a new harassment policy for its employee handbook, with an increased emphasis on discretion in investigations and disciplinary actions against perpetrators.
The change comes on the heels of former county Judge James Oakley’s 2024 resignation following a state reprimand for sexual harassment.
The court unanimously approved the updated policy during its May 13 meeting.
“Burnet County, number one, will take a hard stand against any kind of harassment or sexual harassment,” said county Judge Bryan Wilson, addressing the court and its audience. “We have done our best due diligence to figure out how to make (harassment) stop and how we deal with employees or even with each other as elected officials so that this pattern does not continue.”
The new policy (found here) is similar to the previous policy (here) but has more teeth when it comes to disciplining offenders and emphasizes discreetness, when possible, during investigations into harassment complaints. It also requires harassment prevention training every two years and includes a mandate that all Burnet County employees and elected officials receive copies and acknowledge the new policy.
The new policy includes the following changes:
“Employees engaging in harassment and/or sexual harassment shall be subject to discipline, up to and including termination of employment. If an investigation reveals that an elected official has committed harassment or sexual harassment then the investigation report will be submitted to appropriate oversight entities.”
“All claims of sexual harassment will be handled with discretion. While there can be no assurance of full confidentiality, every effort will be made to protect personal information.”
“Once the investigation is complete, the employee making the claim shall be notified of the result of the investigation and any actions that are to be taken.”
Both the original and new policy make clear that harassment incidents should be immediately reported to the appropriate supervisor, or whomever the complainant is comfortable speaking with if their superior is part of the issue.
Judge Wilson did not make a direct connection between the new policy and the sexual harassment incidents surrounding the December resignation of Oakley following a public reprimand from the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct. Oakley was found by the commission to have sexually harassed multiple women in Burnet County government, including Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Lisa Whitehead.
One attendee of the May 13 meeting, Patricia Cope, did ask about the Oakley incident when the new policy was presented.
“After having gone through quite a bit of length of time of harassment with the previous judge, I’ve analyzed the policy that you attached to the agenda,” she told commissioners. “I’m curious, if a Burnet County department head is not suitable, employees can report to other people, but whose choice is it to report to other people? Is it the employee’s choice?”
Wilson responded.
“I think it is clearly stated that it is the employee’s opportunity to go to whoever they feel safe for,” he said. “The policy just states that if somebody does something to an employee that is uncomfortable, they should say so. At the end of the day, nothing in this policy will hold the victim accountable for their failure to do so.”
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Agendas for Highland Lakes governments are posted 72 hours before a meeting so are not always ready by the time this story is published. Check the links for more information.
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With the successful debut of Hart InterCivic’s paper-based ballot equipment during the spring city and school elections, Burnet County has officially adopted the voting system for future use.
Voters in Marble Falls, Burnet, Granite Shoals, and Cottonwood Shores used the system during the May 3 local elections. With the switch official, the equipment will be in place for the spring 2026 primaries and November 2026 general election at polling sites countywide.
“We just completed our first election with the new paper ballot system that we have, and the election went really well,” Burnet County Elections Administrator Doug Ferguson told the Commissioners Court on Tuesday. “It was fast and furious at the beginning, but it came out really well.”
Ferguson explained that he and his crew had to learn the new system in the midst of the election, but the results were accurate. Three of the races—MFISD Board of Trustees Place 1, Granite Shoals mayor, and Cottonwood Shores City Council Place 2—all had to be recounted by hand and matched the system’s tally.
“There was a manual paper hand count for three races, and it all came back the way the machine said, so this is really the best of both worlds,” said Precinct 2 Commissioner Damon Beierle.
Voters using the Hart equipment manually mark ballots that are then scanned by a machine and tallied. The physical paper ballots are kept as a backup in case a recount is needed.
The Commissioners Court’s decision is a long time coming, with the Hart voting system first being considered during a public demonstration in June 2024. A town hall on the machine switch was held in February of this year to brief the public on the change and address concerns about election integrity.
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Evidence of rapid growth in Marble Falls is all around, and the city now has official numbers to back it up. Recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows a major population gain over the past year, confirming previous estimates made by city staff.
According to the latest census numbers, Marble Falls’ estimated population jumped from 7,594 in July 2023 to 9,413 in July 2024, a 23.95 percent increase in just one year.
This graph illustrates the large leap in the estimated population of Marble Falls from 2023 to 2024. DailyTrib.com generated image
“This was certainly a shocking number in terms of a single-year population increase, and I think it speaks to the continued westward migration from the Austin (metropolitan area),” Marble Falls Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Christian Fletcher told DailyTrib.com.
The boom was not a complete surprise for the city. Marble Falls Development Services offered its own estimate of the population in April, guessing at roughly 9,738 residents. At the time, Development Services Director Scarlett Moreno admitted that number could be high, as the city uses an in-house formula based on available residences. However, the U.S. Census data shows that city staff were in the ballpark.
The official U.S. Census is conducted every 10 years. The count in April 2010 showed a Marble Falls population of 6,077. The one in April 2020 came out to 7,037. In between those official counts are annual July estimates, like the recently released July 2024 data. Percentage-wise, the city has grown 33 percent between 2020 and 2024, with the lion’s share occurring over the past year.
For a local comparison, the city of Burnet’s estimated population is shown to have decreased by 1.74 percent, from 6,991 in 2023 to 6,869 in 2024. Granite Shoals saw a drop of 1.38 percent, from 5,593 in 2023 to 5,417 in 2024. It should be noted that both of these cities have seen overall population growth since the 2020 U.S. Census. The number of Burnet residents rose from 6,476 in 2020 to 6,869 in 2024. Granite Shoals’ population increased from 5,152 in 2020 to 5,417 in 2024.
Marble Falls’ growth is no secret, with major developments, infrastructure projects, and economic investment popping up regularly as noted by the following DailyTrib.com stories:
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Llano resident and library advocate Leila Green Little received the Community Star Award from American Short Fiction during the organization’s annual gala May 2 in Austin. Little is leading the charge in an ongoing lawsuit against Llano County for alleged book banning within the library system.
Little was recognized for her efforts alongside other awardees during the event, authors Joy Williams, Carrie R. Moore, and Emily Hunt Kivel.
American Short Fiction is an Austin-based nonprofit and nationally syndicated literary publication founded in 1991 that focuses on emerging writers and those who advance the literary arts.
“Anytime I get any attention or recognition for (the lawsuit) it’s nice because it brings more attention to the issue,” Little told DailyTrib.com after receiving her award. “There are people all over Texas and even in Llano who still don’t know what’s going on.”
Little and a group of Llano County residents filed the civil suit in April 2022, alleging elected officials and members of the county’s Library Advisory Board worked together to remove books from libraries without following any sort of due process. Many of the books focused on racial and LGBTQ+ issues. The case is ongoing, with the last update in September 2024 concerning the return of 17 removed books to library shelves.
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The new Marble Falls City Council is full of familiar faces after the winners of the May 3 election were sworn in during a special meeting Tuesday, May 13. The four new council members, including Mayor John Packer, will serve two-year terms.
Packer, who was mayor from 2015-21, replaces Dave Rhodes, who termed out of council service this year.
“I’ve been on council a lot in the past, and I think it’s about continuing our vision for Marble Falls,” Packer told DailyTrib.com. “Staying ahead of the water (needs of the city) and the planning and things that kind of help keep the downtown area and the old small-town feel, keep that vision going as well.”
Dee Haddock ran unopposed for the Place 2 seat, which had been occupied by Councilor Karlee Hubble, who chose to run for the Place 4 seat instead. Haddock served on the council on and off between 2017 and 2022.
“I have to get back up to speed on a few things, but the obvious big project is the wastewater plant, making sure I contribute to that,” Haddock said. “Supporting the staff is really big for day-to-day operation. Getting them the equipment they need, getting them the bodies they need to get the job done is also a major priority for me.”
Incumbent Place 6 Councilor Craig Magerkurth ran unopposed. He previously served in the Place 1 seat from 2016-22.
“We have a lot of old infrastructure, clay and brick pipes, that we really got to look at replacing to make sure we’re future-proof and so that the city can handle its growth and just maintain where it is now,” he said. “The other things that I’m really interested in are traffic patterns and traffic control. We need all of that, and it is just vital to keep this area usable.”
In a game of municipal musical chairs, former Place 2 Councilor Hubble chose to run for the Place 4 seat of outgoing Councilor Bryan Walker, who did not seek reelection. Hubble was pitted against another former councilor, Rene Rosales Sr., who served in the Place 3 seat from 2020-22. Hubble won by a vote count of 362-204. This was the only contested race on the Marble Falls City Council ballot.
Hubble sought reelection on a platform of “thoughtful” family-oriented growth and sculpting a community that caters to residents across the board.
“I’m definitely blessed and very thankful that I keep getting to serve our community,” she said.
The newly sworn-in members join councilors Griff Morris (Place 1), Lauren Haltom (Place 3), and Richard Westerman (Place 5), whose seats will be up for election in 2026.
FAREWELL, MAYOR RHODES
Outgoing Mayor Dave Rhodes accepts a plaque from Place 6 Councilor Craig Magerkurth. Rhodes left the mayor’s seat after eight consecutive years of service on the council, having termed out in 2025. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey
According to Councilor Magerkurth, outgoing Mayor Dave Rhodes has the second-most years on the council, one term behind current Councilor Westerman. Magerkurth cited Rhodes’ notable contributions to bringing the city’s incoming $86 million wastewater plant to fruition, the largest project the city has ever seen.
“We’re honoring a very great man. He has been an amazing mentor to me,” Magerkurth said while handing Rhodes a plaque honoring his service to Marble Falls. “His leadership for this city has been over the top.”
Rhodes followed up with a brief speech, thanking the gathered city employees and elected officials.
“It has been more than pleasure: It has been an honor, it has been a privilege,” he said. “I’m going to miss you all. I’m going to miss working with you. I’m going to miss fighting with you. I’m going to miss the challenge, but I’m grateful that John is stepping in to fill my spot. We’re in great shape. Thank you for (allowing me) to serve the city for this long.”
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