A proposed 253.89-acre residential/commercial development along Manzano Mile in Marble Falls is closer to breaking ground with the approval of a development agreement between the city and Rockspring Development LLC. Among the agreement’s conditions are large additions to the city parks system and increased water storage capacity to meet the expected demands of the new community.
The Marble Falls City Council unanimously approved the development agreement during its regular meeting Tuesday, Feb. 4.
“There’s months and months of sit-downs and negotiations and agreements (that led up to this point),” Mayor Dave Rhodes told DailyTrib.com following the council vote.
Current plans show a multi-use development running along roughly 1.8 miles of Manzano Mile, from the RR 1431 intersection to Colt Elementary School at 2200 Manzano Mile. Plans include commercial lots, single-family homes, townhomes, and multi-family units, all built on largely undeveloped land on the east side of the road.
An aerial map view of where the proposed 253.89-acre development would be in relation to the city of Marble Falls.
While the exact number of homes and businesses was not included in the agreement, it allows for enough water and wastewater utilities to service 1,500 living unit equivalents (LUEs). This unit of measurement is used by developers to plan for the amount of infrastructure needed for a project. One LUE is roughly equivalent to the utilities usage of a standard single-family home with an average of 3.5 occupants.
As part of the agreement, developers will contribute $1 million toward the construction of a new water tower, $2 million toward public park improvements, a 15.43-acre donation of public parkland, $625,787 toward wastewater infrastructure, and $279,080 toward public trail construction.
According to Rhodes, a development like this has been on the city’s radar for years.
“Fifteen-plus years ago, when we built Manzano Mile, it’s not a two-lane highway with a stripe down the middle. It’s a boulevard,” he explained. “We were expecting that whole area to be a main feeder and to accommodate a lot of traffic over time.”
The next step in the development process is a Feb. 18 public hearing on the formation of a public improvement district to service the proposed development. The district would collect funds from future property owners in the development to pay back up to $50 million in utility improvements made by the developer to get the project online.
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Meadowlakes Place 1 City Councilor Don Wheeler died after suffering a severe heart attack Monday, Feb. 3. His death was reported Wednesday by Mayor Mark Bentley in his weekly email.
Wheeler was less than a year into his first term on the Meadowlakes City Council but is remembered as an active member of the city’s leadership team.
According to city officials, the remaining five councilors will appoint a new member to take the Place 1 seat and finish out the remainder of Wheeler’s term, which ends in 2026. No solid timeline for an appointment had been established as of Wednesday afternoon.
“Don was elected just eight months ago and immediately became an active member of the City Council, bringing his construction expertise to the table,” wrote Mayor Mark Bentley in his weekly email update on city news. “When Don spoke on his area of expertise, people listened. His perspective will not go unappreciated. He embodied small town wisdom. In his short time on the council the architects, contractors, and engineers have sat up and listened intently to Don’s dose of utilitarian practicality. Keep Don’s wife Margaret and family in your prayers.”
Wheeler was elected in May 2024, winning the Place 1 seat against challenger Mike Barry.
Meadowlakes City Manager Will De Roos has only been with the city since November 2024, but he had strong words regarding Wheeler’s impact.
“He was just a great man and was a friend and a mentor in the short time that I knew him,” De Roos told DailyTrib.com. “There is a gap that we probably won’t ever fill, but we have to try.”
Wheeler also served on the Meadowlakes Property Owners’ Association Board of Directors and was heavily involved in the city’s building committee and the design of the new Meadowlakes Community Center.
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The Lower Colorado River Authority plans to host a public meeting in the “coming months” on Asphalt Inc.’s permit application for a proposed rock quarry at 3221 FM 3509 near Burnet and Inks Lake. The Burnet County Commissioners Court voiced its support for the meeting with a resolution on Tuesday, Feb. 4.
The river authority is keeping the public comment period open until the end of the future meeting.
“A public hearing is both necessary and appropriate,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Damon Beierle read aloud from the county’s resolution during the Burnet County Commissioners Court’s special meeting Tuesday. “… It would allow local residents and citizens to learn more about the requirements to obtain such a permit, the intention of the corporation, and to share their views with the (LCRA).”
Visit the LCRA online comment portal to make a public comment on the Asphalt Inc. application and stay updated on public meeting details.
The LCRA recently sent a review letter to Asphalt Inc. and its consulting company, Westward Environmental Inc., outlining flagged issues in the permit application. If Asphalt Inc. does not provide a response within the allotted timeframe, its application will be considered withdrawn.
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An arrest outside of a Granite Shoals grocery store Jan. 28 led to murmurings of a raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents due to its “significant police presence.” The incident, however, was part of an ongoing criminal investigation by the Granite Shoals Police Department, which quickly put out a statement to dispel the rumors.
While the arrest was not initiated by ICE, many people in the Highland Lakes community are on edge due to recent state and federal policies on illegal immigration and enforcement.
At around 7 a.m. Jan. 28, Granite Shoals police arrested 37-year-old Heric Alvarado-Gonzalez outside of Granite Shoals Supermarket, 7911 RR 1431. According to a GSPD media release, Alvarado-Gonzalez was already a suspect in an investigation. He was booked on charges of manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance and the unlicensed carrying of a weapon later that day.
“Officers conducted a traffic stop in the parking lot of (Granite Shoals Supermarket), which resulted in the arrest of an individual,” reads the GSPD release. “A significant police presence was observed due to an ongoing investigation that led to charges related to narcotics and illegal weapon offenses.”
Alvarado-Gonzalez reportedly illegally entered the United States and, as such, is being held at the Burnet County Jail on a detainer at the request of ICE, which is not uncommon for criminal cases when a suspect without the proper documents is involved. But the U.S. enforcement agency was not involved in the arrest or investigation, according to GSPD.
“To our knowledge, there has been no ICE activity in Granite Shoals today (Jan. 28),” continues the media release. “However, it is important to note that the police department may not always receive prior notification of operations conducted by federal, state, or other local agencies in the area.”
Community concerns
According to Granite Shoals Police Chief John Ortis, the driving factors behind the department’s statement after the arrest were social media rumors and concerns from residents about ICE activity in the city.
“We just wanted to stop the rumors,” Ortis told DailyTrib.com. “We’ve been approached by residents (asking about ICE’s involvement in the arrest). We have a very large Hispanic community, and that is not what is going on.”
The GSPD’s statement, which was posted on its Facebook page the day of the arrest, had been reshared at least 57 times as of the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 4.
One Granite Shoals resident, Cassandra Flores Lozano, spoke with DailyTrib.com about her concerns regarding the incident and the recent push for immigration enforcement from federal and state governments.
“My son is in high school. He has a lot of friends that are immigrants and their parents are immigrants,” she said. “He told me, ‘Mom, my friends told me that his parents finally had a talk about what would happen if they got deported.’ That really gets to me. I feel like no child should even have to think about things like that.”
Flores Lozano is a food service worker at Marble Falls Middle School with three children enrolled in the Marble Falls Independent School District. While she and her children were born and raised in Central Texas, having spent most of their lives in Granite Shoals, she is worried about Highland Lakes residents who are not in the country legally.
Burnet County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Mike Sorenson explained to DailyTrib.com that little had changed at the county law enforcement level despite federal and state actions.
“Nothing has changed on our end,” he said. “We’re not driving around looking for anybody. If people commit a criminal offence, we’ll handle that accordingly, but we have heard nothing from the state level (about additional illegal immigration enforcement).”
He also explained that a person without the proper documents to be in the United States would likely not be treated any differently than a citizen for minor infractions, such as speeding tickets. But, like in the case of Alvarado-Gonzalez, ICE would likely be notified if that person were taken to jail, a practice that has been in place since before recent government policies.
The manager of Granite Shoals Supermarket, Assaf Mahmoud, told DailyTrib.com he looked into rumors of an ICE raid after the Jan. 28 arrest in front of the store.
“I was here, I checked the cameras, I saw that it was the police,” he said. “It had nothing to do with ICE.”
He did note that he had seen a difference in business since recent state and federal announcements regarding illegal immigration enforcement.
“A number of our daily customers stopped coming in, about a third,” he said. “Less traffic, less sales, less gas. We are in a small town, and word spread right away.”
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TheDaily Beat is a new branch on the Victory Media family tree that highlights weekly Highland Lakes news delivered through conversations between DailyTrib.com reporters and KBEY 103.9 FM Radio Picayune hosts. Listen to the first-ever segment on the radio or at KBEYFM.com on Friday, Feb. 7.
TheDaily Beat airs at 9:20 a.m. Fridays and features the top stories from the week as reported by DailyTrib.com. Video recordings of the KBEY interviews will be available on the DailyTrib YouTube channel.
“We always try to keep things local and keep people informed, and this is just another way to do it,” said Ben Shields, operations manager for KBEY 103.9 FM.
“We look forward to sharing the stories of the Highland Lakes in a new way and, hopefully, connect with the community on a conversational level,” said DailyTrib.com News Editor Dakota Morrissiey.
News stories, staff photos, and other online content are copyrighted property of Victory Media. Reproduction in part or in whole is prohibited without the express written consent of the publisher.
Burnet County commissioners could vote on a new county judge by Feb. 11 after changing the appointment process during a special meeting Tuesday, Feb. 4. Due to the small number of applicants, the county reduced the number of public forums from two to one.
The single forum is Thursday in the Burnet County AgriLife auditorium, 607 N. Vandeveer St. in Burnet. Doors open at 5 p.m. for a meet-and-greet; the main event starts at 6 p.m. District judges Evan Stubbs and Allan Garrett will moderate and hold a random drawing to determine the three applicants’ speaking order.
Each applicant will have:
three minutes for introductions;
two minutes per question to respond to 10 prepared questions;
and three minutes for a conclusion, presented in reverse order of introductions.
Questions were curated by First Assistant County Attorney Colleen Davis, who said she sifted through hundreds of emailed responses from residents about what they wanted in a county judge.
“I looked for common themes, repeated topics, and the most frequently asked questions from the public,” Davis said during the Tuesday meeting. “I didn’t use any specific question as written but instead created a set of 10 questions that best reflect what the community wants to know about the applicants and their vision for the role.”
The county judge is the presiding officer of the Burnet County Commissioners Court, overseeing county operations, budgets, and legal matters.
The Commissioners Court will hold formal interviews during its Feb. 11 meeting, which will be open to the public. An appointment discussion and possible vote to select the next county judge will also take place that day.
The decision to hold just one forum was made due to the small applicant pool. Retired Judge Gil Jones, Burnet County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Alan Trevino, and resident Bryan Wilson were the only people to apply by the Jan. 31 deadline.
“With only three candidates, one forum is sufficient,” said Precinct 2 Commissioner Damon Beierle. “The public will still have multiple ways to engage in the process.”
Residents may continue submitting questions for interview consideration via email to any county commissioner before the Feb. 11 meeting.
The appointed county judge will serve through Dec. 31, 2026, filling the elected seat vacated by former County Judge James Oakley, who resigned in December 2024. Voters will have their say during the November 2026 general election.
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The Burnet County Sheriff’s Office is increasing its enforcement of commercial vehicle regulations in 2025 with the addition of a second dedicated deputy. Chief Deputy Alan Trevino gave a breakdown on the BCSO’s efforts during a Jan. 28 meeting of the Burnet County Commissioners Court.
Enforcement in 2024
Trevino reported a single Burnet County deputy, despite being off duty for four months, issued 1,078 warnings and 77 citations to commercial truck drivers in 2024, a total of 1,155 contacts. With a second deputy now in place, the Sheriff’s Office expects enforcement efforts to increase.
“For a county our size to have two CVE deputies is rare,” Trevino told DailyTrib.com. “With the amount of truck traffic we see—especially from construction and quarry operations—it’s important to have specialized enforcement.”
Burnet County’s commercial vehicle enforcement focused on overweight loads, equipment violations, and expired registrations. Equipment violations were the most common issue, accounting for 939 warnings.
“These inspections are much more time-consuming than a regular traffic stop,” Trevino said. “A standard stop might take 10 to 15 minutes, but a full CMV inspection can last an hour or more, depending on the condition of the vehicle.”
Task force operations and regional efforts
In addition to local enforcement, Burnet County participated in multi-agency task force operations alongside the Department of Public Safety and neighboring counties. These efforts led to:
98 warnings issued
81 citations issued
13 drivers taken out of service
29 vehicles deemed too dangerous to remain on the road
“These operations allow us to pool resources and conduct large-scale enforcement efforts,” Trevino said. “We’ve been able to take unsafe vehicles and drivers off the road, making the county safer.”
Looking forward
Burnet County’s second CVE deputy joined in late 2024 and is currently working alongside the current deputy while awaiting a fully outfitted enforcement vehicle. The Sheriff’s Office expects the vehicle to be ready within three to six months, allowing both deputies to operate independently.
“Once we have both deputies fully equipped, we’ll be able to expand enforcement and increase coverage across the county,” Trevino said.
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The Austin-based company proposing to build a rock-crushing facility near the city of Burnet and two state parks must correct multiple deficiencies in its permit application after a review by the Lower Colorado River Authority.
The application, submitted by Westward Environmental Inc. on behalf of Asphalt Inc. LLC, failed to meet key regulatory requirements, including proof of property owner notifications, detailed stormwater containment plans, and groundwater protection measures.
In its review letter, the LCRA gave the applicant 30 days from Jan. 31 to submit revisions or request an extension. Without corrections, the project could face delays or potential denial. The total time allowed for revisions cannot exceed six months from the original application filing date.
The public may comment online on the permit application now until the LCRA sets a public meeting on the issue in the future.
Among LCRA’s concerns are unclear stormwater containment plans, missing hydrological data, and a failure to properly mark environmental buffer zones. The river authority also raised questions about groundwater protection, quarry pit depth, and compliance with state and federal environmental regulations. Additionally, the cost estimates for erosion and sediment control did not align with LCRA standards.
While not an outright rejection, the LCRA’s findings require Westward Environmental and Asphalt Inc. to resolve deficiencies before approval. Failure to comply could lead to prolonged delays or potential denial.
For more information about the LCRA permit application review process, contact the authority’s Water Quality Protection at 512-578-7500 or hlwo@Icra.org.
Rock quarry backlash
The proposed quarry, which would be built at 3221 FM 3509, just south of the Burnet city limits, is opposed by many Burnet County residents due to its proximity to Camp Longhorn, Longhorn Cavern State Park, and Inks Lake State Park. Asphalt Inc. previously submitted an air-quality permit application (#176835) to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in August, which remains active.
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A Silver Alert was called off after a missing 73-year-old Burnet-area man was found in “fairly good” condition Tuesday, Feb. 1. Michael Pirie was last seen around 6:20 p.m. Saturday in the 2300 block of Texas 29 West in Burnet.
Pirie reportedly has a cognitive impairment, according to the Silver Alert, a notification sent out when senior citizens, particularly those suffering from medical issues, go missing.
Burnet County Sheriff’s Office searchers found Pirie on County Road 108, also known as Old San Saba or San Saba Road, outside of Burnet. He was transported to Ascension Seton Highland Lakes in Burnet, most likely for minor exposure, but seemed to be in “fairly good” condition, according to the BCSO.
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