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Artists' Work Displayed at Jester Annex

The new J.B. and Hallie Jester Williamson County Annex will display local artists’ work in the public areas through an agreement between Williamson County and the Round Rock Area Arts Council (RRAAC). RRAAC is a non-profit organization whose goal is to “encourage, support and enhance the arts and cultural activities in the Round Rock area.” RRAAC will select artists and organize exhibitions, which will generally be on display for about three months. The first artist to display his work is Micheal Hammons.

Mr. Hammons moved to Round Rock in 1988, but is originally from the Panhandle of Texas. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design and an Interior Decorating Diploma. From 1986 to 1988, Micheal attended West Texas A&M where he pursued graduate studies toward a Master of Fine Arts and a minor in Art History. An award-winning visual artist, Micheal is equally at home with watercolor, acrylic and oil. His favorite subjects are landscapes, urbanscapes, architectural concepts and realism.

Hammons is the President of Art Center of Williamson County, located on historic Chisholm Trail in Round Rock, where he also has been an instructor since 2000. He also teaches Outdoor Landscape Painting Workshops. He is a member of Critique Circle, Williamson County Art Guild, and Austin Visual Arts Association. Hammons has a studio in his home which he shares with his wife, Linda, and their three dogs. In his spare time, Micheal enjoys sculpting, home remodeling, swimming, bicycling, and motorcycling. He also freelances as a web and graphic designer. His work is currently on display at Ministering Physicians and Texas State University, both located in Round Rock, Texas, along with many private collections throughout the southwestern United States. To view his work or read his full bio, visit his website at http://www.mhammonsart.com.

Following the art shows, some of the art work on display may be on sale and a portion of the proceeds will benefit RRAAC. The J.B. and Hallie Jester Williamson County Annex is located at 1801 E. Old Settlers Boulevard, Round Rock.

The Jester Annex holds offices of the Precinct One Commissioner Lisa Birkman, Constable Robert Chody and Justice of the Peace Dain Johnson as well as the Round Rock office of the Tax Collector/Assessor Deborah Hunt.

For more information, please contact Mary Clark (mclark@wilco.org) or Tammy Smith (tsmith@wilco.org) in Commissioner Lisa Birkman’s Office at 512-244-8610.

For a sample of the artists work, click here.

Grand Opening - Events

   The public is invited to the grand opening of the new J.B. and Hallie Jester Williamson County Annex and Williamson County Public Safety Building on Wednesday, June 16 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A ribbon cutting will be held at 10 a.m. followed by free live music, performances, light refreshments and tours of the buildings starting at 11 a.m. The buildings are located at 1801 and 1781 E. Old Settlers Boulevard, Round Rock.

             Performances during the grand opening include:
             11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. – Round Rock Ballet Folklorico
             11:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. – The Curfews band
             2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. - Georgetown Fire Department Pipes & Drums
             4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. – Justice with Pete Hughey band

   Exhibits of art work from local artists will be on display courtesy of the Round Rock Area Arts Council, as well as displays from the Williamson Museum. The Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter will also be on site for adoption of rescued animals.

   The Military Moms of Texas (MMOT) will have a table with information about their group and will be accepting donations for their July 4th Care Package project. For a complete list of items please visit their website at www.militarymomsoftexas.com.   They are especially in need of cash donations to cover shipping costs for the care packages to be sent to deployed soldiers.

   The 29,000 square feet Jester Annex holds offices of the Precinct One Commissioner Lisa Birkman, Constable Robert Chody and Justice of the Peace Dain Johnson. The Round Rock office of the Tax Collector/Assessor Deborah Hunt also is located in the new annex and is the first in the county to offer a drive through window for ease in paying property taxes, vehicle license fees and other business. A large community room with a small kitchen facility is available for meeting rentals. The room can accommodate 200 people or can be split into two separate rooms for smaller groups and will be available for rentals starting June 17. The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) have offices in the approximately 7,000 square foot Public Safety Building just west of the Jester Annex.
For new suite and phone numbers, see below:

Pct. 1 Commissioner: Suite 110, 512-244-8610.
Pct. 1 Constable: Suite 105, 512-244-8650
Pct. 1 Justice of the Peace: Suite 100, 512-244-8622
Tax Assessor/Collector’s Round Rock Office: Suite 115, 512-244-8644

The new Public Safety Building, 1781 E. Old Settlers Blvd., is home to the Sheriff's Substation in Suite 100 and an EMS station in Suite 105.
For more information, please contact Mary Clark (mclark@wilco.org) or Tammy Smith (tsmith@wilco.org) in Commissioner Lisa Birkman’s Office at 512-244-8610.

New Office Location

1801 East Old Settlers Blvd.

Suite #110

Round Rock, TX 78664

Phone: (512) 244-8610

Fax: (512) 244-8616

Lisa Birkman, Commissioner Precinct 1

Commissioner Lisa Birkman is a native Texan whose family first settled in Williamson County six generations ago. Her family located here in about 1851, when Commissioner Birkman's ancestors founded the town of Bagdad, located just north of present day Leander. They lived on the family farm which is still owned by her family today. Mrs. Birkman was born, however, on the army base at Ft. Hood, Texas, as her father, Marvin Lackey, was a career military officer. She spent most of her early years on Army bases throughout the world. After retirement, the family moved back to her father's hometown of Georgetown, where Mrs. Birkman along with her sister, Nancy, mother, Ann, and father lived in the Precinct One section of old Georgetown while she attended Georgetown High School. After graduating from GHS in 1978, Commissioner Birkman then graduated from Texas A & M University in 1982. She taught public elementary school for thirteen years, mainly in Austin and Round Rock schools.

Healthy Employees Award Nominees and Winners

The winners were:

Yvette Caldwell-Brewer (County Clerk's Office)

Charles Edwards (Juvenile Services)

and Mike Knipstein (EMS)

Saturday, April 3, 2010, has been proclaimed "Military Appreciation Day" by the members of the Williamson County Commissioners Court

Williamson County and the City of Cedar Park are hosting Partners Across Texas Showcase for Veterans and Military Families on Saturday, April 3, 2010, 2 to 4 p.m. at the Cedar Park Event Center, 2100 Avenue of the Stars, Cedar Park. TexVet and the Partners Across Texas will be at the showcase to connect with veterans and their families. The Partners will have important information on programs, support, education and assistance for veterans and their families.

As part of “Military Appreciation Night,” veterans and military families will be invited to stay for the Texas Stars hockey game which follows the showcase at 7 p.m. Free tickets will be given out to 400 veterans and military families for this event. In honor of our U.S. Military, the Texas Stars will be wearing camouflage jerseys. As a door prize, one lucky military guest will win an official camouflage game jersey.

For more information, contact Kathy Grimes (kgrimes@wilco.org) at 512-260-4280 or Donna Harrell (dharrell@wilco.org) at 512-238-2151.

Members of the Williamson County Commissioner's Court enjoy the snow on the balcony of the historic courthouse following a court meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010. (photo by C. Watson)

ESD Commissioner Sworn In to Office

Commissioner Birkman swore Laurie Golding as an ESD#1 Commissioner on Feb. 11th, 2010. More ESD commissioners are needed to serve their community. Go to Wilco.org for more info.

Why does it take so long to build roads?
By Williamson County Commissioner Lisa Birkman

            Before I was in office, I would often wonder why it seems to take forever to build a needed road.   The answer is a combination of many factors, but often the longest part of the process is gaining environmental clearance from state and federal governmental agencies. Environmental clearance can take as long as three to five years, and sometimes much longer.
            Several state and federal agencies are mandated to review road construction project’s environmental documents: including the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPW), the Texas Historic Commission (THC) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).   Having many different agencies all review a project causes red tape that can delay a project interminably.   Another problem is the process itself.   For example, it is not uncommon for one reviewer to send back comments on the environmental document that must be addressed. After that is done, the document is sent back to the agency.    Often, a different reviewer will look it over and bring up additional comments that were not mentioned the first time, causing those to also be addressed.   Currently, state law does not limit the amount of time TxDOT has to review projects.
            A case in point is the extension of O’Connor Road from RM 620 to SH 45.   This approximately 1.4 mile extension has been planned since 1999. It was approved by the voters of Williamson County in 2000 for inclusion as a project funded by road bonds. The road would cross ranchland with very few homes nearby and would relieve traffic on one of the most congested roads in the county, RM 620.   Yet, for ten years, we have not been able to get environmental clearance to build the road because the area in which the road would be constructed contains caves that are home to several blind bugs that are listed by the federal government as being endangered.
            To try to address the environmental impacts of the county’s explosive growth and development, Williamson County worked for over five years to obtain a federally permitted plan to protect these and other species by setting aside land as preserves where these species could live.   I have served as president of the Williamson County Conservation Foundation, and led this effort.   However, officials with the federal government informed us after we obtained the permit, that it could not be used for any federal road projects, only for local ones, which is difficult to understand since the plan actually achieves the purpose of the Endangered Species Act which is to preserve the species.
            These delays in building roads are having a detrimental effect on our county. They cost the taxpayers as much as 20 to 30% more than it costs to build a local road.   Plus, the delays add to the traffic congestion in areas where our phenomenal population growth have already made the roadways more and more unsafe due to many more vehicles being on roads built for less usage.
            Williamson County officials and staff have met with a variety of state and federal officials to try to streamline this process. In December, I was told by top TxDOT officials that they are working to streamline the process. The state senate is studying this problem during the time the legislature is not in session. US Congressman John Carter and State Senator Steve Ogden are also engaged in trying to improve the situation.   Additionally, the other members of the commissioners court and I will continue to work to expedite the process, while building roads that meet or exceed all environmental regulations.

Prayers for Ft. Hood

By Williamson County Commissioner Lisa Birkman

The terrible tragedy that occurred on November 5th at Fort Hood, which borders Williamson County to the north, hit very close to home for many county residents. Williamson County is home to more than 50,000 veterans, many of whom served or trained at Fort Hood, including my father, Marvin Lackey. He is a retired colonel who served multiple tours there. I was born at Darnall Army Hospital on the base at Ft. Hood, where the man charged in the crimes by the military as the shooter worked and also where many of the wounded were treated. I lived on base as a child for several years, and as an adult, I visit the base on occasion. My parents, like many retired military members, go there regularly still. Quite a few county citizens work in Killeen and/or are the spouses of active duty military members based out of Ft. Hood. For all of us, Ft. Hood has always been a safe place. For one of our own Army officers to commit this terrible act, is quite frankly, unthinkable.

Since the tragedy, a discussion has started voicing concern for the mental health of the military men and women who are on active duty or who are veterans. Williamson County, and the USA in general, has seen an increase in the amount of mental health crisis calls involving the military as more and more cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are being diagnosed. Because we have such close ties to Ft. Hood, the county’s Mobile Outreach Team of mental health counselors and Sheriff’s Crisis Intervention Team report that more and more often these days, they are called to the scene of a veteran or active duty military member in a mental health crisis. Dr. Kathryn Kotrla, associate dean and professor of psychiatry at the Texas A & M Health Science Center in Round Rock, serves on the county’s Mental Health Task Force along with me and many others. She has worked hard on the issue of caring for the mental health of the military and their families for years and recommends folks visit www.texvet.com, a website with a wealth of information and resources. We have also worked with her and Congressman John R. Carter to apply for a federal grant for a veteran’s peer counseling program. We hope we will be awarded that in the coming months. Additionally, the county now has a website, www.wilcomentalhealth.org with information on local resources.

Many folks in the county have been involved in the Adopt-a-Unit program with Ft. Hood. Commissioner Valerie Covey has led that effort for the county and says it has been the most rewarding part of her job so far. She recently spearheaded the donation of cookies to the soldiers and their families at Ft. Hood for Veteran’s Day. These sort of small gestures mean a lot to those that serve all of us. I attended several Veteran’s Day events recently, and at each one, I was told how much it means to the vets and their families to be acknowledged and remembered. The mother of Matthew Morris of Cedar Park, who was killed in Iraq, summed it up by saying, “Having Matthew remembered helps just a bit to heal the hole in my heart.” Please pray for all of those affected by the tragedy at Ft. Hood and when you see a member of the military, take the time to thank him or her for their service. A little kindness can heal a heart, at least a little bit.

Road Plan: How do we pay for it?

Road Plan: How do we pay for it?
By Williamson County Commissioner Lisa Birkman

After months of public input and discussion, Williamson County recently adopted an updated version of our Long Term Transportation Plan (LTTP). The LTTP is a comprehensive look at what needs to be done to over the next twenty-five years to adequately provide for the transportation needs of county citizens. The plan covers the building of about 100 miles of additional roads, plus adding lanes to about 250 miles of existing roads. It also includes approximately $280 million in 2009 prices for “bottleneck” projects, which aim to improve intersections that are now causing or are projected to cause traffic to bottleneck, causing congestion. Additionally, the LTTP calls for the implementation of additional mass transit projects, such as possibly fixed route bus service and/or more commuter rail lines. The estimated cost, should it all be funded, would be approximately $2.2 billion, if built today. It is contemplated that city, county, regional, state and federal government(s) will pay the costs. So, the question is, “How do we pay for all these needed transportation improvements?”

About Precinct One

Precinct One is a vital part of the county that covers parts of several cities, municipal utility districts and unincorporated areas. Our precinct is a mix of urban, suburban, and rural areas, with a blend of tradition, technology and communities. Local governmental entities located entirely or partially in Precinct One include: the City of Austin, the City of Georgetown, the City of Round Rock, Anderson Mill Municipal Utility District, Brushy Creek Municipal Utility District, Fern Bluff Municipal Utility District, North Austin Municipal Utility District # 1, Springwoods Municipal Utility District, and the Brushy Creek Water Control Improvement District.