GRANITE SHOALS — The City Council adopted a 2011-2012 balanced budget Sept. 13 that is $200,000 less than last fiscal year, while allowing for the addition of a police officer and an assistant fire chief.

In addition, homeowners may see their overall bill go down even though the council approved a slightly higher tax rate.

"This is a good budget that a lot of work went into," said City Manager Judy Miller.

The city is adding a police officer position in November and an assistant fire chief in April 2012.

The council approved a budget of $2.3 million in expenditures compared to $2.5 million for the previous fiscal year, 2010-2011.

COTTONWOOD SHORES — Auditions are scheduled Sept. 26-27 for "Southern Hospitality," Hill Country Community Theatre’s second production of its 2011-2012 season.

The cast for the down-home comedy, which is a sequel to the theater’s 2009 production of "Christmas Belles," includes five men and eight women.

The auditions are 7 p.m. at the theater, 2003 FM 2147 West.

Written by "Christmas Belles" playwrights Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, "Southern Hospitality" again features the deep-fried antics of the Futrelle sisters.

This time they’re up to their elbows in trouble as they try to save their beloved hometown of Fayro, Texas, from extinction. Along the way — although presented as a farce — the play delivers a testament to Southern strength and ingenuity, organizers said.

Directed by veteran director Mary Ann Fletcher, "Southern Hospitality" runs Dec. 1-11, with 7:30 p.m. performances Thursday through Saturday and 2:15 p.m. matinees on Sundays.

Fletcher was a teacher and the director of theater at Marble Falls High School for 21 years before retiring in 2008. She is a member of HCCT’s Board of Governors, the chair pro-tem of the Texas Coalition for Quality Arts Education, a member and past secretary of the Highland Lakes Service League and a volunteer for the Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce.

"Southern Hospitality" is being produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service Inc., New York City.

Currently running on an all-volunteer basis, HCCT is one of the oldest continuously operating community theaters in Texas. During its 26-year history, productions have drawn more than 100,000 audience members.

Some 5,000 volunteers from surrounding communities have given their time and support to the theater’s operations, from management to acting, backstage work and onstage production, organizers said.

MARBLE FALLS — Economic Development Corp. board member Karen Carter has announced her resignation, marking yet another departure from the city-sponsored nonprofit.

“She cited business reasons,” EDC President John Packer said Sept. 12.

Carter, who was not available for comment, owns The Business Center Printing & Office Supply, 3410 U.S. 281.

A replacement will have to be approved by City Council, but no one has been named this early in the process. Carter resigned late last week.

The council appointed Carter to the EDC board for a two-year term in June 2010.

Her resignation comes nine months before her term expires in June.

“I don’t know of any applicants for the position,” said Packer, who also is a member of the council.

The council also approves the budget for the EDC, a nonprofit organization funded by local sales taxes to attract and retain businesses in Marble Falls.

Carter recently dissented on two crucial decisions that have affected the EDC in recent weeks.

Both Carter and fellow board member Jane Marie Hurst, a developer, voted against allowing non-residents to serve on the EDC board. The measure passed, however.

Then, in a follow-up action, the City Council gave its stamp of approval to the idea, voting 6-1 Sept. 6 to allow non-residents to serve on the EDC board.

Any new board members must live in Burnet County within 10 miles of the Marble Falls city limits.

According to proponents, the change will help promote a more-favorable business climate.

Carter had argued that during the city charter election in 2002, voters rejected a proposed amendment to allow non-residents to serve on city boards and commissions, including the EDC board.

“The citizens didn’t want it,” Carter said.

Voters rejected the amendment 206-87, according to city officials.

And on Aug. 31, EDC board members voted 5-2 to offer the executive director position to Christian Fletcher, who plans to step down as the top administrator at the Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce.

Both Carter and Hurst voted against offering Fletcher the job, which will pay $90,000-$100,000.

The EDC has seen two other departures this year.

In February, Christy Fath, a former Burnet City Council member, was contracted by the EDC to work as an administrative assistant at an annual salary of $35,000 plus benefits. She was first hired on a temporary basis last November, according to officials.

She resigned after only a few weeks to work for Municipal Court, marking the second departure of an employee from the EDC in just a short period of time.

Special Projects Coordinator Olivia Cribbs had previously stepped down in early January due to health reasons.

raymond@thepicayune.com

MARBLE FALLS — Budget cuts are forcing two of the largest public libraries in Burnet County — Herman Brown and Marble Falls — to close on Saturdays next month.

The closures begin Oct. 1 because of funding reductions up to 10 percent — or $70,0000 — ordered by county officials for the four-library system.

Also, some popular reading and educational programs will end until further notice at the Marble Falls Public Library, 101 S. Main St.

“Our budget is pretty lean,” said Mary Jackson, the Marble Falls library director. “Our staff will continue to do whatever we can do.”

Until Oct. 1, both the Marble Falls library and the Herman Brown Free Library in Burnet, 100 E. Washington St., open their stacks to book browsers 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays.

The other two libraries funded by the county are already closed on Saturdays, the Bertram Free Library in Bertram, 170 N. Gabriel and the Oakalla Public Library, 29011 FM 963.

MARBLE FALLS — The city now owns the land where officials plan to build a new visitors’ center, with construction possibly starting in January.

City officials recently closed on the purchase, City Manager Ralph Hendricks said Sept. 6.

“We have purchased the property,” he added. “It (the center) will be great for city. It will take our destination hub and push it forward.”

Funding of $99,500 from the Economic Development Corp. paid for the land, Hendricks said.

A 2011 bond issue will fund the construction of the 4,400-square-foot center, which will sit on a triangular patch of land just south of the Blue Bonnet Cafe and northeast of the U.S. 281 bridge spanning the Colorado River, officials said.

The center will be located at Second Street and 281.

The hotel-motel tax occupancy fund — from receipts paid by visitors to area hotels and inns — will pay down the bond debt, Hendricks said.

The estimated cost of construction is pending, the city manager added.

“We anticipate bids (to build the center) will tell us how much it will cost,” Hendricks said. “Hopefully, we will be ready to start construction in January.”

Officials have said the center is needed to replace the outdated visitors facility at 801 U.S. 281.

The current center opened in 1977 and is a converted train depot.

“It (the new center) is a project that is moving,” Mayor George Russell said. “I think it will help tourism in this area.”

raymond@thepicayune.com

MARBLE FALLS — The city now owns the land where officials plan to build a new visitors’ center, with construction possibly starting in January.

City officials recently closed on the purchase, City Manager Ralph Hendricks said Sept. 6.

“We have purchased the property,” he added. “It (the center) will be great for city. It will take our destination hub and push it forward.”

Funding of $99,500 from the Economic Development Corp. paid for the land, Hendricks said.

A 2011 bond issue will fund the construction of the 4,400-square-foot center, which will sit on a triangular patch of land just south of the Blue Bonnet Cafe and northeast of the U.S. 281 bridge spanning the Colorado River, officials said.

The center will be located at Second Street and 281.

The hotel-motel tax occupancy fund — from receipts paid by visitors to area hotels and inns — will pay down the bond debt, Hendricks said.

The estimated cost of construction is pending, the city manager added.

“We anticipate bids (to build the center) will tell us how much it will cost,” Hendricks said. “Hopefully, we will be ready to start construction in January.”

Officials have said the center is needed to replace the outdated visitors facility at 801 U.S. 281.

The current center opened in 1977 and is a converted train depot.

“It (the new center) is a project that is moving,” Mayor George Russell said. “I think it will help tourism in this area.”

raymond@thepicayune.com

MARBLE FALLS — Groundbreaking for an affordable-housing apartment complex supported by the Texas Housing Foundation is planned for later this month, the City Council heard this week.

The ceremony could be Sept. 26, with construction of Oak Creek Town Homes to start soon after, said Mark Mayfield, foundation president and chief executive officer.

The complex will contain 80 apartments, and rents will make them affordable for young professionals including teachers, firefighters and police officers, officials said.

“It is going to be a real nice place to live,” Mayfield told the council during an update Sept. 6.

Several months ago, the foundation and Marble Falls Redevelopment Venture LP formed a partnership to develop more than 4 acres for the new apartments.

They decided to build the new dwellings in the empty tract between Sixth and Seventh streets, Avenue L and an unpaved alley about one block east of Avenue K.

The partnership secured more than $8 million for the development from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Also, the partnership received a loan of $2 million for the development from TDHCA, Mayfield said.

GRANITE SHOALS — The city has joined a list of other municipalities and agencies calling for tighter outdoor water restrictions in the face of the state’s worsening drought.

Granite Shoals is asking residents and commercial customers to observe Stage 2 conditions for water use, officials said.

"It’s mainly at the request of the Lower Colorado River Authority," said City Manager Judy Miller.

The city is a firm-water customer of the LCRA, which means it buys water from the authority.

The river authority has asked all its customers to implement Stage 2 water restrictions, said LCRA spokeswoman Clara Tuma.

"This is part of the water-management plan," Tuma said. "We have certain trigger points and when the water amounts hit those points, we take some actions."

Under Stage 2, Granite Shoals is restricting landscape watering to a twice-a-week schedule.

Residential customers with addresses ending in odd numbers can water Wednesday and Saturday before 10 a.m. and after 7 p.m. Those residents with even-numbered addresses can water Thursday and Saturday during the same hours.

Commercial customers can water on Tuesday and Friday before 10 a.m. and after 7 p.m. as well.

Miller said violations will result in a warning the first time, but the drought-contingency plan does allow the city to issue fines.

For more on the Granite Shoals water restrictions, go to www.graniteshoals.org.

Water for LCRA customers is drawn from two reservoirs — lakes Buchanan and Travis — which have been shrinking due to the drought.

Weather experts said Texas is in the grip of the worst single-year dry spell since 1895.

On Aug. 23, the combined storage of lakes Buchanan and Travis dropped to 900,000-acre feet, which is a trigger point under the LCRA’s state-appoved water management plan.

Tuma said at that point the river authority began asking customers to implement more stringent water-conservation efforts.

According to the LCRA, lakes Buchanan and Travis combined are 42 percent full.

As of Sept. 7, Lake Buchanan is at 991 feet above mean sea level. The normal average for September is 1,010 feet.

Lake Travis is at 633 feet, compared to its September average of 664 feet.

The entire lower Colorado River basin from San Saba County to the Gulf of Mexico remains under an exceptional drought.

Lake inflows  to the Highland Lakes and the Colorado River have slowed to a trickle or stopped completely, officials said.

From January through July, the LCRA recorded only 73,694-acre feet of water entering the Highland Lakes. During a similar period — the 2009 drought — 183,254-acre feet entered the Highland Lakes.

The typical average during that period is 819,530-acre feet.  An acre-foot of water is the amount it takes to cover one acre in a foot of water or 325,853 gallons.

Currently all LCRA-maintained utilities in Burnet and Llano counties including Bonanza Beach, Hamilton Creek, Lake Buchanan, Paradise Point, Quail Creek, Ridge Harbor, Sandy Harbor, Smithwick Mills, Spicewood Beach, Sunrise Beach, Tow Village and White-water Springs are under Stage 2 water restrictions.

The LCRA has placed Lomita Regional Water System under Stage 3.

Firm-water customers such as Windermere Oaks are also under Stage 3. The Kingsland Water Supply Corp. remains at Stage 2, as does Marble Falls.

MARBLE FALLS — Seems everything is going up these days — even the cost of a final resting place.

City officials want to raise the price of being buried in Marble Falls City Cemetery by $200.

Meanwhile, city officials also learned during a Sept. 6 Parks and Recreation Commission meeting that a snack-and-drink vendor is pulling out of Johnson Park because sales were low.

As for the city-operated cemetery, board members proposed raising the one-time fee for a plot from $400 to $600.

“I think (the increase) is reasonable,” Commissioner Kendra Lewis said.

The fee hike is needed to help the city raise more revenue, said Robert Moss, the director of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.

The City Council, which has final approval, could consider the increase during its Sept. 20 meeting, he added.