Bertram has a new Visitor Center, where tourists and locals can learn about events and attractions in the Burnet County town. The Bertram Chamber of Commerce held a Nov. 14 ribbon-cutting ceremony for its addition, located in the Bertram Library, 170 N. Gabriel St.
County and city officials and residents celebrated the opening with food and drinks, giveaways, and live music by The Steel Belts.
“This has been part of our five-year goal plan for a while. The challenge has always been finding an affordable, maintainable space,” chamber Director Betty Predmore told DailyTrib.com. “When (the library) location became available, the county, city, and (Bertram) Economic Development Corporation helped us secure it. We’re thrilled to have a physical space now.”
The Bertram Chamber Visitor Center will have information about local events, places and businesses to explore in the city, and nearby attractions.
“We have all the tourist-type information people might need, and it’s also a resource for our chamber business members,” Predmore said.
“Festivals are a big draw here,” Predmore said. “Now, people can come directly to the Visitor Center to learn about upcoming events, get involved, and become a part of the community spirit.”
The center opens at a time when Bertram is experiencing a wave of newcomers.
“Growth is coming. There are two new housing communities currently under construction in the area,” Predmore said. “Families are moving in, and with them come people looking to start businesses or expand their home-based enterprises. We want to be prepared to help them with whatever they need as they settle in.”
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The agenda was not posted at the time of this story’s publication, for more information visit the city’s website.
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The Kingsland/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce is fundraising $225,000 to complete a full renovation of the hall at Kingsland Community Park, 155 Lions Park Road. The chamber is turning to the community for money as the park receives no government/public funding.
The Kingsland Hall is a meeting place for the lakeside community that has been in the midst of a makeover since the major flooding of Lake LBJ in October 2018.
“The final piece of redoing that whole park is remodeling that building that has been there for years,” Melody Yanniell, former president of the chamber, told DailyTrib.com. “It’s been my passion for my past three years as president.”
Yanniell recently stepped down as president of the chamber, on Nov. 12, but has overseen all of the work done on the Kingsland Community Park over the last three years.
The only consistent funding the park receives comes from $5 to $10 dollar boat ramp use fee. Otherwise, funding has to come from the chamber, grants, or donations.
The hall is traditionally used by the Kingsland community for parties, meetings, and events.
The chamber has drawn up plans for serious upgrades, like the addition of a patio, but much of the funds will be used to overhaul infrastructure, like adding a new roof, upgraded air conditioning, and electrical work.
The chamber has already added restrooms and picnic tables to the park on its own dime, and received a $25,000 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority to upgrade the hall, but more is needed to get all of the proposed work done.
The park is entrusted to the chamber, it is not county owned, so there is no public funding or tax money funneled into its maintenance and upkeep. The chamber is solely responsible for maintaining and upgrading the park and its facilities.
If the hall improvements were completely dependent on the boat launch fees, Yanniell said it could be several years before any renovations were completed.
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The Llano County Commissioners Court had tough decisions to make on Tuesday, Nov. 12, when it had to decide on how to divvy up $500,000 in grant money among 27 entities asking for a combined $964,000 in tourism dollars. Few got every dollar they asked for, and some received no funds at all.
Llano County held its annual hotel occupancy tax grant hearing on Tuesday, during which the Commissioners Court awarded grants to businesses, nonprofit organizations, or other entities that claim to bring in out-of-county visitors to stimulate the local economy. The grant funding comes from a 4 percent tax on short-term rental transactions in the county, like hotels, motels, and bed-and-breakfasts.
The 27 requests made ranged from $1,756 on the low end for insurance at the Lone Grove Community Club to the highest request of $222,250 from the Kingsland/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce for an assortment of signage, visitor center operations, and advertising.
Lone Grove was denied funding, and the Kingsland Chamber was only awarded $100,000.
Large, Llano-area events received mixed funding from the county. The popular Llano Crawfish Open received $75,000 out of $100,000 requested while the Llano Earth Art Festival received no money from its $40,000 request.
The high-dollar requests and volume of requests for 2024 is far above normal, according to Llano County Treasurer Cheryl Regmund, who oversees hotel occupancy tax collection and management.
The county saw an enormous boost in short-term rental transactions during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, which injected serious money into the HOT grant funds. The county typically saw approximately $250,000 or less collected annually prior to 2020. The number jumped in the $500,000s following the pandemic and got as high $741,000 in 2023.
There were 21 requests for a total of $827,000 in 2023. No requester was completely denied that year.
According to Regmund, increased awareness of the grant application process and the large grant allotment from 2023 likely motivated more requesters and higher asks for tourism dollars from the county.
“The grant applicants were told…Llano County HOT Grants would probably be half the amount from previous years because we had used all of the taxes collected during COVID,” Regmund explained in an emailed response to questions from DailyTrib.com. “So, my guess, the applicants figured they would double their amount knowing we would probably half what they were asking for. Or they just knew how much we had given out in the past.”
Regmund waded through the mountain of requests and made recommendations to the Commissioners Court on where cuts could be made prior to Tuesday’s meeting.
“(It was) very challenging (making reduced recommendations) knowing that all of the events and requests for Historical buildings mean a lot to the Llano community,” she said. “I made recommendations to the judge and commissioners by reducing the amount requested in half for the grant applicants who have been receiving grants for several years now.”
The Castell General Store, a longtime HOT grant requester, had to go without. The store received $17,500 from its $35,000 request to support its wide assortment of annual events, including the Testicle Festival, chili cook-off, and White Trash Bash.
Llano County history preservation was a big winner with a $40,000 grant going to the Llano County Historical Society to redo the flooring of the Llano County Historical Museum.
According to Regmund, the county could have a lot more money coming in thanks to a new software that tracks short-term rentals. She said there are currently 223 short-term rental properties paying their hotel occupancy taxes in the county. She estimates there could be as many as 500 more short-term rental properties that are not paying and hopes they can be brought into compliance by 2026.
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Burnet County Judge James Oakley could be back in criminal court for three 2023 charges that were quashed by a district judge before they could go to trial. On Thursday, Nov. 14, a panel of judges from the Third Court of Appeals in Texas reversed the three quashings, ruling in favor of appeals from the local District Attorney’s Office.
Two of those three charges are related to a 2021 vehicle collision in Spicewood in which Oakley was involved. He was accused of tampering with evidence, a felony, and attempting to impair an investigation after he moved debris from the road following the accident as well as misdemeanor official oppression for allegedly mistreating another person involved in the collision.
The third charge, a misdemeanor, is for conflict of interest regarding his dual roles as Burnet County judge and Pedernales Electric Cooperative board director.
Oakley was indicted on a fourth charge in 2023 that did go to trial: a class B misdemeanor for abuse of official capacity. It was alleged the judge used a Burnet County-owned vehicle to commute to his job as an elected PEC director. He was found not guilty in August 2023.
The three charges that did not go to trial were quashed, or set aside/voided, by visiting District Judge Dib Waldrip. The 33rd/424th District Attorney’s Office, which covers Burnet and Llano counties, appealed Waldrip’s ruling in an attempt to get the charges reinstated.
With the appeals court’s ruling on Thursday, the three previously quashed charges are now eligible for further prosecution.
“(With the quashes reversed) we go back to the position that we were in before the court quashed the charges,” 33rd/424th District Attorney Wiley “Sonny” McAfee told DailyTrib.com following the ruling.
Oakley was suspended without pay for six months by the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct due to the abuse of official capacity charge. That suspension was lifted after he was found not guilty, but another suspension could come with the quash reversals as the charges are pursued, depending on another ruling from the commission.
“The Texas Constitution and other relevant authorities which govern the Commission on Judicial Conduct states that ‘Any judge may be suspended from office with or without pay by the Commission immediately upon being indicted by a state or federal grand jury for a felony offence or charged with a misdemeanor involving official misconduct,’” reads a statement from Jacqueline R. Habersham, executive director of the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct. “As this rule is discretionary, the Commission can consider issuing a suspension should the DA move forward in pursuing the charges.”
McAfee told DailyTrib.com he plans to pursue the charges and return to court, but it might not be in his hands. McAfee leaves office in January and will be replaced by DA-elect Perry Thomas, who won the 2024 election after McAfee chose not to run.
“(Pursuing the charges) will be up to (Thomas), and once he takes office, that is totally within his discretion,” McAfee explained.
The Third Court of Appeals ruling does not contribute to a decision on guilt or innocence for the charges. It just allows the prosecution to move forward as long as the quash reversals are upheld.
According to court documents from the original quashings, Waldrip dismissed the tampering with evidence and official oppression charges because the original indictment failed to “allege properly or state offenses.”
The conflict of interest charge was quashed on Waldrip’s opinion that the legislative intent of Chapter 171 of the Texas Local Government Code was more directed at for-profit business interests than Oakley’s role as a board member of a nonprofit organization (PEC).
The Thursday ruling from the appeals court panel of judges stated:
“We will reverse the trial court’s orders granting the motions to quash and remand these causes for further proceedings.”
The quashes were originally granted based on Oakley’s legal defense that the actual charges filed by the state were flawed and not applicable. The appeals court panel disagreed.
Oakley provided a written statement to DailyTrib.com following the Nov. 14 ruling.
“While I’m surprised by the reversal by the Court of Appeals of the orders to quash issued by the District Court judge, the rulings are not that of guilt or innocence. The original orders quashing the indictments were based solely on the charging instruments that were filed and had nothing to do with the evidentiary facts of the cases. We look forward to challenging the State to prove with evidence the allegations contained in the indictments.”
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Marble Falls will begin transforming Park View Park into a “destination” greenspace in January 2025. The City Council on Nov. 5 approved an array of amenities and upgrades to the 11.9-acre park, located at the intersection of Park View and Parkridge Drive, including new restrooms, shade structures, and expanded trails. The work should be completed by October.
The project began in 2016 as part of the city’s 2017 Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Master Plan update. In 2022, residents, city officials, and the Austin-based Luck Design Team all collaborated to shape the park’s concept and address the need for recreational space in northeast Marble Falls.
“The Park View Park project brings a dynamic upgrade to our community,” said Lacey Dingman, director of the Marble Falls Parks and Recreation Department.
“The improved trails, accessible play areas, and bird-watching stations will provide something for all ages, turning Park View into a year-round destination.”
The play areas and bird-watching stations are in future plans for the park but not part of upcoming improvements.
The project’s total budget is around $1.9 million, funded with a $726,207 grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and a $1.2 million contribution from the city.
“This blend of state support and city investment reflects our commitment to enhancing our parks and recreation facilities for the community,” Dingman said.
Several contracts have been awarded to bring Park View Park to life:
restrooms—Restroom Facilities Ltd., $186,230
three shade structures—purchased from The Play Well Group Inc. at $79,067.89 and installed by PlayWorks Inc. for $29,152.06
general construction and trails—Wellcraft Builders, $699,707
The budget also covers design, engineering, and a 7 percent contingency, rounding out the total project cost to $1,914,397.
“We’ve designed the park to make visits comfortable and convenient,” Dingman said. “With new restroom facilities, three shade structures, and an improved parking lot, these upgrades will allow visitors to enjoy the park in comfort, whether they’re there to relax or explore.”
When construction begins, access to the park will be temporarily restricted to ensure safety.
“We are working to keep disruptions to a minimum,” Dingman said. “Signs will be posted to inform the public of any closures, and nearby parks will continue to be available for alternative outdoor activities.”
Dingman spotlighted the collaboration that brought the project to fruition.
“We’re grateful for the support and collaborative efforts of our community in making this project possible,” she said. “It’s been a joint effort that reflects our commitment to creating a lasting, enjoyable space for Marble Falls residents and visitors alike. We look forward to welcoming everyone to the upgraded Park View Park.”
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Granite Shoals has taken the first administrative step toward securing $750,000 in state grant money to improve its old and problem-plagued water infrastructure.
“If awarded, this grant would provide essential support for our community’s water infrastructure projects,”City Manager Sarah Novo told DailyTrib.com in an emailed response to questions.
The grant application and award process is lengthy, and the city might not see the $750,000 until late in the 2025-26 fiscal year.
If awarded, the money could go toward the following projects:
installing a larger water tower on Valley View Lane
refurbishing the city’s primary pump station on Blue Briar Drive
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A waterline break reported at around 2:30 p.m. Nov. 13, in Marble Falls has been fixed. The issue caused little to no water pressure for many residents and businesses on Wednesday.
Check back with DailyTrib.com for any updates.
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Burnet County is stepping up its compliance with Texas Senate Bill 1893, which bans the popular social media app TikTok on government devices. The county’s IT department is considering a new security software to monitor county employees’ internet-connected devices, including cellphones and laptops.
The new policy will enforce the December 2022 mandate from Gov. Greg Abbott, which requires all state agencies ban TikTok and similar apps due to concerns over potential for Chinese surveillance through ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company.
All state agencies, including county governments, must adopt policies to enforce the ban by Nov. 20 per Government Code Chapter 620. Example policy provided by the state outlines the need for an agency to be able to remotely wipe noncompliant or compromised mobile devices and remotely uninstall unauthorized software from mobile devices.
Burnet County’s IT department is looking at BeyondTrust software, at a cost of $19,863.24 a year, to manage and monitor devices.
“It allows us to prevent the downloading of applications, block any compromised content, and remotely wipe a device if it is ever stolen or misplaced,” said IT Project Coordinator Jackie Haynes. “This software gives us a means to enforce the Senate bill effectively, particularly as it pertains to device management.”
BeyondTrust also fulfills the federal Criminal Justice Information Services compliance security policy, a set of guidelines and regulations that govern how criminal justice information is handled by law enforcement and other agencies. This compliance is essential, Haynes noted, because it ensures Burnet County can securely manage things such as criminal histories and investigative details.
“If we’re not CJIS compliant, we risk losing access to critical resources like background checks, which would significantly impact operations, even potentially shutting down the jail,” Haynes said.
Burnet County’s adoption of the Covered Applications policy brings its practices up to par with new government standards, offering robust security features and device controls that previous software lacked.
“Currently, if someone downloaded TikTok, we’d have limited means of knowing or enforcing the policy without the necessary tools,” Haynes said. “This new software allows us to monitor, enforce, and act if anyone violates the policy.”
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