MARBLE FALLS — City officials approved an amended animal-control ordinance July 3, including a “grandfather” clause for residents who already own so-called invisible fences to keep dogs confined.

Officials also are looking at more stringent rules for vehicles parked in yards and placement of outdoor furniture to enhance the city’s appearance, said City Manager Ralph Hendricks at the regular City Council meeting.

Meanwhile, owners of existing electronic pet containment devices have until Oct. 3 to register and begin paying a $40 annual fee, according to the ordinance passed during the session.

Otherwise, the ordinance requires pet owners who have outside animals to erect physical barriers, such as a kennel or a fence. No new electronic fences are allowed.

In addition, the council also approved steps to request variances to the rule and a section providing a grievance procedure for attacks by animals on public employees.

“It’s protecting the city workers, gas or electric company workers. All those that may have a tendency to get into the backyard,” Police Chief Mark Whitacre said. “The first time, we let the property owners know, they were trying to do some work and couldn’t because of the animal. If it happens again, we can bring them before court and reference it as a nuisance.”

An addition to the amended ordinance, which took about a year for officials to hammer out, excludes horses from references to livestock, Whitacre said.

“When you think of livestock, you may think of horses,” he said. “Horses are not prohibited anywhere in the city limits of Marble Falls as long as they’re kept within a required storage area.”

Exceptions to the livestock prohibition include property zoned agricultural; annexed agricultural property and “grandfathered” applicants, according to the ordinance.

In other business, council members discussed potential changes to the city’s property maintenance ordinance.

Discussions included parking of personal, recreational, service and other vehicles on residential property as well as placement of outdoor furniture, use of carports and lawn care on city rights of way.

Hendricks said streamlining rules could help change the “culture” of the city, enhance property values and reduce the number of neighbor complaints.

“A lot of people talk about property rights,” Hendricks said. “Move that toward property rights of neighbors and the appearance of our community to visitors.”

Recommendations include:

• Allowing no more than three vehicles parked on improved surfaces on a residential property; additional vehicles could be parked curbside or in the backyard.

• Allowing no more than one work vehicle per residence; the aim is to prevent violations of single-family zoning.

• Prohibiting outdoor furniture, playscapes and barbecue grills located in either the front yard or parking areas for more than 72 hours each use.

“Everyone of us knows someone who these (rules) would affect,” Councilman Ryan Nash said. “It’s a start, but we might get hit later and have to adjust it.”

Staff is expected to include additions and changes recommended by the council and present the proposals at an upcoming meeting.

connie@thepicayune.com

MARBLE FALLS — Those who want to learn more about a potential sports park — including what it could look like — are urged to attend the next meeting on a feasibility study July 12.

“We need to do our best to talk it up,” said Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman Dave Rhodes July 2. “We need as much participation as we can get.”

The meeting is 6 p.m. at Lakeside Pavilion, 307 Buena Vista.

MARBLE FALLS —  Although the dog days of summer are here, they will have a lot less bite than last year’s unprecedented heat wave, forecasters say.

In spite of the record high temperatures Central Texas experienced June 26 — 106 degrees in Marble Falls and 109 in Austin — meteorologists say this summer will only see 20-25 days of heat in the triple digits, compared to summer 2011 with 90 days of continuous temperatures at or above the century mark.

MARBLE FALLS — There are plenty of ideas but no consensus yet from city commissioners about developing 9 acres of potential parkland on one of the city’s highest points.

The tract at Park View and Park Ridge drives dominated much of the discussion at the July 2 meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission.

Ideas ranged from a dog park to creating a serene spot for meditation and even selling the parcel.

Not everyone wants the land to be the city’s newest park, one commissioner noted.

Though on a high spot, the tract is in a low-lying area and residents across the street don’t want the city to build something that will increase traffic to the neighborhood, said Chairman Dave Rhodes.

Instead, the city might be able to sell it, he added.

“I would not be ready to say it doesn’t have a future,” countered Commissioner Bern Myers, who lives a block from the tract.

Though he agreed people who live there don’t want increased traffic, the land could be turned into a place to meditate with a water element, benches and picnic tables.

“There’s not a recreation or meditative place in that area,” he said.

Myers suggested allowing a nature conservancy to develop the land.

His idea of contacting a conservancy picked up support from fellow Commissioner Bob Fallis.

“I’d love to be a part of the Parks Commission that did something about that (land),” he said.

Commissioner Kendra Lewis mentioned turning the tract into a dog park.

Fallis also said service clubs might be interested in pitching in and creating a park at the spot.

The land is situated on one of the highest points in the city, Parks and Recreation Director Robert Moss said, adding residents who live there would like to see a walking trail or a quiet park with “a few picnic tables but nothing to attract the community.”

“The biggest challenge is the water,” he said. “There’s no way to keep water there.”

Many people walk in that area and only one side of the street has a sidewalk, said resident Christian Fletcher, who lives close to the tract.

Rhodes noted that whatever suggestion the commission arrived at, the City Council still has final approval.

jfierro@thepicayune.com

MARBLE FALLS — Patrons at the Blue Bonnet Cafe may not have expected a side of politics with their pancakes and eggs June 30 when U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison arrived.

Hutchison, a Republican, served up plenty of smiles, handshakes and greetings Saturday morning at the famous 83-year-old roadside eatery.

PHOTO: John Kemper (left), co-owner of the Blue Bonnet Cafe in Marble Falls, speaks with U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (center) and Burnet County Judge Donna Klaeger on June 30, as the senator greeted constituents at the cafe. Staff photo by Jared Fields

She spoke about the recent Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act, discussed her plans for when her term ends and weighed in on the plight of French bakers who own a business in Marble Falls; the couple is stuck in France with visa troubles.

Back from Washington, D.C., the Republican senator stopped for a pie to-go and to greet constituents before heading off to visit the LBJ Ranch in Johnson City.

“I think people are more concerned about the future of our country than I’ve ever seen in my senate career,” Hutchison said.

Hutchison has voiced her disappointment with the Supreme Court’s ruling June 28 that for the most part upheld President Barack Obama’s universal health-care package, which has been dubbed Obamacare.

Hutchison, the first female Texas senator, said now is the time to look ahead.

“I think now we move forward because we have one last chance to assure that this health care bill does not take hold and that is the elections,” she said.

The Republican-held Congress has said the health-care law, which takes effect in 2014, will bankrupt America. Obama is a Democrat. The GOP is urging future elected leaders to repeal or amend the act.

The senator, who failed in 2010 to unseat Gov. Rick Perry during the Texas gubernatorial race, said she is looking forward to new pursuits after her senate term ends. The former Texas treasurer was first elected to the Senate in 1993.

“I’ll certainly be there for my colleagues in every way, but now it’s time for someone new to come in,” she said. “I am going to keep working, but in the private sector, and I’m really looking forward to that.”

On the Republican ticket, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and former state Solicitor General Ted Cruz are in the running for her seat during the July 31 runoff. The winner of that race likely will face the Democratic runoff victor — either Paul Sadler or Grady Yarbrough  — Nov. 6 in the general election.

Hutchison said she has nothing lined up yet and is only beginning to see what possible options might be available to her later.

“Hopefully by the end of the year I’ll be ready to go in the new direction,” Hutchison said.

The Galveston native said she has not endorsed a senate candidate, but hopes whomever takes her seat will keep focused on Texas issues.

“If we don’t have a senator that will help cities and counties and the people of Texas, then no one else will and we’re elected to do that and that’s been my trademark,” Hutchison said.

“I hope that our next senator pledges to do that as well,” she added.

Hutchison’s office also has worked recently on an issue involving French nationals Jean-Claude and Beatrice Walter, owners of Fleur de Ble bakery at Main and Twelfth streets. They left in May to visit relatives in France and now remain there, barred by the U.S. government from returning. The couple are trying to get their visas renewed through the U.S. Embassy in Paris, but have been stonewalled.

The Walters had been in the U.S. on an entrepreneurship visa that requires a business to make a certain income.

“It’s our job to help people if there is something that hasn’t been looked at or they have not been rightly adjudicated,” Hutchison said. “We’re going to do everything within our power and within the law to see if the government has made a mistake and if so, that it’s corrected.”

Hutchison during her visit also spoke with Blue Bonnet co-owner John Kemper and Burnet County Judge Donna Klaeger, a Republican.

jared@thepicayune.com

MARBLE FALLS — Rising temperatures have social agencies scrambling to handle a spike in the number of people needing financial assistance with their electricity bills.

The climbing mercury and the sluggish economy both have contributed to more clients asking for help than last year, add social workers.

PHOTO 1: Janie Atkinson is a social worker with Williamson-Burnet County Opportunities Inc., a nonprofit that has seen an increase in applicants for utility bill aid at the Marble Falls Community Resource Center, 1016 Broadway St. She is seen here with Millie Rhoades-Pike of Rural Opportunities Providing Encouragement, who shares clients. Staff photo by Connie Swinney

BERTRAM — Peggy Simon’s reappointment as Municipal Court judge June 26 didn’t come without friction as the veteran jurist and the mayor traded barbs.

The dispute arose after Mayor Winnette Morris suggested hiring another candidate — resident Elton Heine — instead of Simon, who has been the city’s judge for years.

MARBLE FALLS — Donations from fans are flooding the Marble Falls Independent School District in memory of athletic director Todd Dodge’s father-in-law, former coach Ebbie Neptune.

Everette Brown “Ebbie” Neptune Jr., 73, the ex-Austin Westlake football coach and athletic director, died June 22 due to complications from a stroke he suffered in 2007, according to reports. His daughter, Elizabeth Dodge, will be a Marble Falls Middle School teacher this fall.

After purchasing new lifesaving equipment with a $20,000 grant from the Chas. White Foundation, Horseshoe Bay Police Department officers recently participated in a training operation on Lake LBJ with the Department of Public Safety Dive and Rescue Team. The new items include a Forward Looking Infrared Radar which picks up heat signatures and a side-scanning sonar that gives vivid pictures of underwater structures and objects on both sides of the boat. Courtesy photo