The Granite Shoals Community Cat Advisory Committee is asking residents to help it track down free-roaming felines.
“We need the community’s help to help us find these cats,” committee Chair Michele Landfield said during the Granite Shoals City Council meeting on May 14.
The committee was formed in January to humanely manage the city’s wild cats through a trap-neuter-release program.
Landfield told DailyTrib.com that the group’s current challenge is keeping track of where the cats congregate.
Since January, the committee has processed 39 cats through the TNR program and plans to hold monthly trapping events as long as volunteers and funding are available.
Landfield did not have an estimate for the number of feral cats in the city but believes it could be in the hundreds.
The Community Cat Advisory Committee also needs volunteers to foster kittens until they are old enough to be spayed or neutered, which is typically six to eight weeks.
“We’re trying to control the population,” Landfield said. “If we can spay and neuter as many as we can before they’re old enough to have babies, there won’t be as many kittens.”
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A visiting district judge is considering granting injunctive relief to the Horseshoe Bay Property Owners’ Association from the Horseshoe Bay Resort following a temporary restraining order hearing on May 16.
The order request is part of a lawsuit filed by the POA against the resort on May 6 in the 33rd Judicial District Court in Llano County. The POA is claiming breaches of contract by the resort and seeking between $200,000 and $1 million in damages, among other forms of relief.
The POA filed the lawsuit after failing to receive its 45.6 percent share of money from a maintenance fund for several months. The fund is operated by Horseshoe Bay Resort, which collects and allocates money to the POA for landscaping and other public improvements.
Retired Judge Frank Griffin of the Brown County Court at Law heard the case on May 16 at the Burnet County Courthouse Annex following the recusal of 33rd District Court Judge Allan Garret.
If ordered by Judge Griffin, the court would require the defendant, Horseshoe Bay Resort, to immediately release the operation of the maintenance fund to the POA, provide an accurate list of all property owners in the POA and the number of lots each owns, and provide a monthly account of all deposits into the maintenance fund.
“I’m going to take this into consideration,” Griffin said at the end of the hearing. “I’m hoping you can sit down and work some of these things out.”
According to POA attorney Greg Godkin, Horseshoe Bay Resort has not collected an estimated $4.75 million from delinquent property owners. Also, the resort is sitting on another $195,000 that belongs to the POA, according to a calculation by POA officials.
“We need relief immediately,” Godkin told the court. “(The POA) board cannot govern without it.”
The dispute reached a tipping point in April when the Horseshoe Bay Resort and Maintenance Fund took away the POA’s duties to maintain public spaces.
“ … The POA is relieved of its charge to so improve, maintain, and beautify,” reads an email from Horseshoe Bay Resort attorney Zachary Garsek. “Instead, Horseshoe Bay Resort Development, LCC (“Declarant”) has assumed control of improvement, maintenance, and beautification.”
Another resort attorney, Clark Aspy, said the decision was “within the rights” of the governing documents of the POA board.
“Our clients have the discretion and authority, and they (the POA) don’t,” he told the court.
The POA also claimed it has yet to receive a comprehensive list of owners living within the association’s boundaries.
“The defendants won’t hand over an accurate property owners list that will allow for us to provide notice, which is required by the Texas Property Code, for a duly noted election of (POA) board members,” Godkin said.
Aspy argued that officials had provided the POA board with the list on several occasions.
“I did it three times,” he said. “I gave it to the (board’s previous attorney), Mr. Godkin, at mediation, and a third time in January 2024 after I told my clients, ‘They keep saying we’re not doing it, so send it by certified mail so that I can prove to the court that you did it.’”
Those lists only included the addresses of residents and not the number of lots owned by each. Residents are allowed one vote per lot in POA elections. Horseshoe Bay Resort officials said the lots were not included because of a change in software.
“It’s not appropriate, and it’s illegal,” Godkin said. “It is critical that we immediately receive relief from this court to allow us to govern in accordance with the governing documents that we have to follow.”
He continued, saying the lack of an election and the POA’s inability to maintain its contracted facilities could open board members and the association to litigation from POA property owners.
“We’re subject to litigation from the members for not doing what we are required to do,” Godkin said.
The lawsuit filed by the Horseshoe Bay POA on May 6 followed a separate $1 million suit filed by Horseshoe Bay Resort against the POA in October 2023. That case was later dismissed in March after both parties failed to reach an agreement during court-ordered mediation in February.
Judge Griffin did not give a timeline for deciding on a temporary restraining order.
“I will read through this,” he said.
If granted, the TRO will be valid for only 14 days, Aspy told DailyTrib.com.
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Early voting in the primary runoff elections in Burnet and Llano counties is Monday-Friday, May 20-24. Election Day is May 28.
Local Republican primary races on the ballot in Burnet County are Precinct 3 commissioner and tax assessor-collector. Llano County voters in Precinct 3 will choose a commissioner.
All registered voters residing in Precinct 3 in Burnet and Llano counties are eligible to cast a ballot for their respective county commissioner, even if they did not vote in the March 5 primary. All registered voters in Burnet County may vote for the county-wide position of tax assessor-collector, whether or not they voted on March 5.
However, if you did vote in the March 5 primary, you must vote in the same party’s primary—Republican or Democratic—on May 28.
Llano County Precinct 3 candidates are Bull Guthrie and Brent Richards. The winner will replace retiring Commissioner Mike Sandoval as there is no Democratic nominee.
Burnet County Precinct 3 candidates are Chad Collier and Homer Will. With no Democratic nominee, the winner will fill Commissioner Billy Wall’s vacant seat.
Burnet County tax assessor-collector candidates Susan Allen and DeAnne Fisher are running to replace Sheri Frazier, who is retiring after 32 years. There is no Democratic nominee.
Also on the Republican ballots for Burnet and Llano counties is a runoff for the State Board of Education District 10 between Mary Bone and Tom Maynard, who is the incumbent.
Burnet County Democrats will decide on two runoffs. Vying for the Democratic nomination for U.S. representative of District 31 are Brian Walbridge and Stuart Whitlow. District 31 is currently served by U.S. Rep. John Carter, who is the Republican nominee for the Nov. 7 general election.
Two candidates in a runoff for the Democratic nomination for Place 2 justice in the Third Court of Appeals are Maggie Ellis and Edward Smith. Smith is an incumbent, having served since 2018.
Eligible voters may vote in any of the three locations during early voting only. Llano County voters must cast their ballots in their home precincts on Election Day.
Llano County Library 102 E. Haynie in Llano From 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday
Kingsland Branch Library 125 W. Polk in Kingsland From 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday
Oakridge Estates POA Building 404 Lake Point Drive in Horseshoe Bay From 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday
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The Texas Department of Public Safety released the names of the two people killed in a two-vehicle collision on Texas 71 near Burnet County Road 401 on May 16.
Isabel Jiminez Morales, 51, and Robert Byers Tobler, 70, were both pronounced dead at the scene by Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace Debra Bindseil. Tobler is from Cottonwood Shores. He was traveling alone.
No town of residence was given for Morales, who was a passenger in one of the vehicles. The unnamed driver of that vehicle was transported to St. David’s South Austin Medical Center by Marble Falls Area EMS.
Marble Falls Area EMS, Spicewood Fire Rescue, and the Texas Department of Public Safety responded to the accident, which shut down traffic on Texas 71 in both directions for about three hours.
The investigation into the crash is ongoing, DPS told DailyTrib.com.
“The Texas Department of Public Safety would like to remind all drivers to minimize distractions, don’t drive fatigued, don’t drink and drive, obey traffic control devices, and always wear your safety belt,” DPS Sgt. Deon Cockrell said.
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appointment of council representative for Hotel Motel Tax Advisory Committee
discussion and action regarding appointments to the Economic Development Corp. Board
In executive session:
consultation with attorney regarding legal rights and obligations of the city to enforce city ordinances during pending legal challenges to disannexation petitions from the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction
consultation with attorney regarding pending or contemplated litigation or settlement offer related to City of Marble Falls v. The Nancy Shifflet Fowler Trust and the Estate of Nancy Jo Fowler, et al.
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The Burnet County Commissioners Court unanimously voted to clean up a nuisance property at 208 Deer Springs Drive. The property has been on the county’s radar for at least five years due to numerous complaints about extreme trash buildup and potential health and environmental hazards.
The court made its decision during a regular meeting on Tuesday, May 14, greenlighting the “abatement” process. County work crews will clean up the property, located in Precinct 1, and bill the landowner for the cost. A lien will be placed on the property until costs are reimbursed.
Abatements are not common in Burnet County, said Precinct 1 Commissioner Jim Luther Jr. This is the first one he has overseen since he took office in 2017. The cleanup will be paid for from the Precinct 1 road and bridge budget.
“It’s a long process that has to work through the court system,” Luther told DailyTrib.com. “We can only afford to do so much, but I think people need to know that we are serious about cleaning up these types of areas.”
The county does not yet have an estimate on how much the cleanup will cost. County employees and equipment will be used to complete the job.
“There have been continuous, constant complaints,” Kowalik told the court on Tuesday. “The only way it’s going to get resolved is if we do it ourselves.”
Kowalik enforces the Texas State Health and Safety Code on behalf of the county, and the property at 208 Deer Springs Drive reportedly violates numerous aspects of Chapter 343 of the code, which details “public nuisances.”
Some of the language from Chapter 343 defines a public nuisance as:
“Keeping, storing, or accumulating rubbish, including newspapers, abandoned vehicles, refrigerators, stoves, furniture, tires, and cans, on premises in a neighborhood or within 300 feet of a public street for 10 days or more, unless the rubbish or object is completely enclosed in a building or is not visible from a public street.”
The regulations are specifically for unincorporated areas. According to Kowalik, cities may have far more restrictive and enforceable ordinances. The county’s powers are limited to state laws.
“My authority is given to me by the Texas Health and Safety Code,” he explained. “We’re much more lenient than (city) code enforcement.”
Kowalik expects the cleanup will begin sometime in the summer, which will give the property’s occupants a final chance before the county steps in.
“I’ve been communicating with the residents on the property, and they’re aware of what’s going to happen,” Kowalik told the court. “They’ve been very cooperative, but the (state of the property) has not improved at all.”
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Ascension Seton offices in the Highland Lakes are still in recovery mode following a ransomware attack on May 8 that took down the health care company’s computers nationwide. All Ascension Seton facilities are open despite the difficulties, a company spokesperson said.
“We are making progress toward restoration,” said a spokesperson at Ascension Seton’s Texas headquarters in Austin. “We are still engaging in downtime procedures across our Ascension Texas hospitals.”
Ransomware is malicious software or malware that encrypts computer systems until a ransom is paid to release the data. The cyberattack disabled the electronic record-keeping systems used by Ascension Seton hospitals and clinics across the United States.
A Marble Falls Ascension Seton office reported on Thursday that it and the Burnet facilities were back online. The spokesperson corrected that information on Friday, saying local offices are still experiencing problems.
“If we determine sensitive data was potentially exfiltrated or accessed as part of this incident, we will notify applicable individuals and parties in accordance with our obligations,” reads a statement on the webpage.
Until all Ascension Seton facilities are back online, patients are asked to bring prescription information, including bottles, and any necessary medical information to appointments.
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Allegations of interference in the March primary election for Llano County Precinct 3 commissioner are “unfounded,” said County Attorney Dwain Rogers in a media statement released Thursday, May 16.
The release addressed rumors spread by anonymous text messages to some Kingsland residents that the Llano County Attorney’s Office is investigating “election interference charges” against two members of Precinct 3 commissioner candidate Brent Richards’ campaign.
Richards is in a May 28 primary runoff against Bull Guthrie for the Republican nomination. Kingsland makes up the lion’s share of Precinct 3.
“No criminal charges will be brought against any citizen for activities alleged to have been in violation of the Texas Election Code regarding the complaint made to this office related to the March 2024 Republican primary,” reads the media release from Rogers. “All charges were thoroughly investigated and determined to be unfounded.”
Since the anonymous text messages dragged the investigation into the public eye, the Attorney’s Office was required to address the situation, according to the release.
“Normally investigations of citizen complaints, both civil and criminal, are not publicly disclosed upon completion and rejection of a complaint,” the release reads. “Unfortunately, a recent text message that discloses the existence of the investigation has been sent out to Llano County residents today (May 16). Because this information has been made public, it has required this office to respond.”
DailyTrib.com acquired a screenshot of the text messages that were sent to residents in Kingsland and Precinct 3.
One reads:
“Kingsland Breaking: Election Troubles!
At least 2 Members of Candidate Brent Richard’s campaign team are under investigation by the Llano County Attorney’s Office for ELECTION INTERFERENCE charges, including at least one FELONY charge, according to officials. Richards is in a runoff election against Bull Guthrie.
Stop to Unsubscribe.”
The other reads:
“Cheating in Kingsland Commissioners Race???
Kingsland Commissioner candidate Brent Richards wife accused of election interference.
Stop to Unsubscribe.”
The first text came from 325-305-0571; the second from 325-305-7667. DailyTrib.com attempted to contact both of these numbers but reached dial tones on all attempts.
The screenshots were pulled from a Facebook post made by Kingsland resident Tammy Manning on Friday, May 17.
Manning said she did not receive the texts herself—they were sent to her by neighbors—and she isn’t sure how many Precinct 3 residents got them.
“We know many that got the message, I was notified by many people,” she wrote in a Facebook Messenger exchange with DailyTrib.com. “The person is only sending it to certain people, and they are picking and choosing. Not everyone in Pct 3 got it.”
Candidate Brent Richards addressed the text messages in a Facebook post on Thursday afternoon.
“I assume (the Llano County Attorney’s Office press release) is referencing a text that went out on March 4th and 5th for the final voting day and it specifically mentions my wife,” Richards’ post reads. “Then this morning (May 16) another text was sent out which is referenced in the Attorney’s Press release. As you will read, these charges are UNFOUNDED.”
DailyTrib.com reached out to the Llano County Attorney’s Office for further comment on the matter, but County Attorney Rogers stated that the media release was the only statement his office wished to make.
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Burnet County officials have made progress in managing the county jail’s finances, which have been a point of concern in recent years. According to Burnet County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Alan Trevino, the jail is fully staffed for the first time in its history, pursuing more lucrative federal contracts, and consistently housing strong numbers of inmates.
“The good news is that the sky is not falling,” Trevino told the Burnet County Commissioners Court on Tuesday, May 14.
Trevino presented an update on the jail’s finances to the court following months of work and collaboration with an interdepartmental committee established in December 2023 to address the jail’s financial troubles.
Those troubles came to a head during a November 2023 meeting of the Commissioners Court, during which Burnet County Auditor Karin Smith and County Judge James Oakley expressed serious concerns over the jail’s rising medical costs, jailer understaffing, overtime costs, lagging revenues, and the loss of a big contract with Bell County for prison intakes.
A freshly formed jail committee, with Trevino in charge, spent the past few months working on these issues. The committee includes BCSO Capt. Matt Kimbler, Auditor Smith, County Attorney Eddie Arredondo, and Burnet County resident Patricia Cope.
“We started out in the red,” Trevino told the court. “We are definitely in the black now.”
The jail’s finances are based on its operating costs and the money it earns from non-local prisoners housed under contract with other entities.
Non-local inmates are sent from other counties, the state, or the federal government, which all effectively pay a daily “rent” for their prisoners to stay. Right now, the charge for non-local inmates is $80 per day. It costs approximately $65 for the jail to house an inmate, local or non-local, so anything over that is revenue.
Major factors of concern include the number of jailers on staff and the number of non-local inmates housed in the jail on a daily basis, Trevino told DailyTrib.com.
Historically, the jail has been severely understaffed, an issue that has come up several times at Commissioners Court meetings. In March, the court had to approve large increases to the BCSO overtime budget to compensate jailers working overtime because of a lack of staff. The jail was down 13 jailers at the time.
According to Trevino, as of May 14, the jail is fully staffed and fully trained for the first time. Also, 14 job applicants are undergoing background checks as possible replacements in case of staffing losses.
A fully staffed jail should reduce overtime numbers and the accrual of holiday time that has to be paid back and prevent inmate reductions during the holidays due to understaffing. The jail has had to reduce the number of inmates in November, December, and January because of a lack of staff. By reducing inmate counts, the jail, in turn, loses revenue.
The Burnet County Jail is currently budgeted to bring in $5.16 million in non-local inmate housing revenue by September, which is the end of the 2023-24 fiscal year. If this target is not reached, money must be drawn from the county’s regular budget to cover any unfunded expenses.
Trevino is confident the jail will bring in its expected budget. As of May 15, the jail has brought in $2.45 million in non-local revenue for fiscal year 2024. The chief deputy crunched the numbers and said the jail is currently bringing in an average of $14,839 per day, which is greater than the average of $14,136 per day necessary to reach its $5.16 million goal.
These revenue increases are rooted in the jail’s coming to terms with the number of inmates it should be housing to function properly, he said.
The jail can hold up to 587 inmates, but according to Trevino and jail Capt. Matt Kimbler, the “sweet spot” for adequate revenue and operation is closer to 432. This number is divided between Burnet County inmates, who provide no revenue for the jail, and non-local inmates, who do bring in funds.
As of May 14, the jail had 420 total inmates.
“I would venture to say that before the summer is out, we’ll be above (the 432 inmate sweet spot),” Trevino told the court.
According to old estimates, the jail should be housing 140-170 Burnet County inmates to function properly, but upon a closer look, the interdepartmental jail committee found that number was closer to 200-250. This is likely a reflection of growth in the county, according to Capt. Kimbler, who said the jail could actually be over capacity within the next six years if current trends continue.
The remaining spaces not taken by local inmates represent lucrative non-local inmates. Burnet County has specifically pursued federal contracts it believes could be worth more than $80 per head per day in the future.
“(Forming the committee) was valuable mostly, I think, for the commissioners to get an understanding of where our numbers come from,” Trevino told DailyTrib.com. “I think it was a huge success.”
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