Opinion

Are you may be aware on September 16, 2020 the City is considering a budget proposal from the road committee to close the front entrance to Cypress Point and open the rear gate for entrance of traffic onto Doolittle Drive thus creating a new road.

Gretchen has been my colleague and friend for nearly 30 years, and I can tell you that she is a fine person, a concerned educator, and a dedicated advocate for students and parents.

In July 2019 I wrote an opinion published by the View about the work of the Roads Advisory Work Group which, at the time, involved assessing the condition of all streets within our City. We were about 75% done with the on-site inspection and our next step was to consolidate the data and come up with recommendations on which streets to repair or replace first. The findings of the work group, which were supported by a professional engineer, were reviewed as part of the budget development process. It was clear that funds were not available to proceed with the repairing Augusta Drive, which was the street given highest priority for repairs. The work group looked at options available within our budget, and these were presented to Council at the December 11, 2019 meeting. This meeting also included an agenda item to purchase two trailer-mounted speed radar signs to collect detailed data on traffic volume and speed. This was necessary to have actual data, rather than perception, on speed and traffic patterns. The first sign was installed for testing on January 19, 2020, and rotation of the signs throughout the City began on January 31, 2020. Signs were located on collector streets and focused on areas identified by citizens and staff as potential for speeding.

I have read a copy of the lawsuit filed against our Mayor and the City of Woodcreek. In the suit, Brent Pulley asks for $100,000 or less, his expenses, and his attorney fees....money which this taxpayer believes could go a long way toward improvements to our aging infrastructure.

Do the Right Thing Council Member Pulley!

I was shocked and saddened to read that Constable Ray Helm was resigning. I don’t know what he did to prompt an investigation by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, but I know about Helm’s reputation among Wimberley residents: If you want a quick response requiring law enforcement, call Ray Helm. I saw this opinion many times on the community forum platform, Nextdoor.

Dear Hays County Residents,

I wanted to take a moment to share a bit more regarding one way Wimberley has stepped up to take care of our neighbors. In early May, a small group of organization leaders met to discuss where needs were in the community and what would be needed as the pandemic drags on. Several organization leaders agreed our focus would be in keeping families and especially our school age children, fed. Luckily the state agreed to allow Wimberley ISD to continue to serve our families through June 30th. Leadership from Amigos de Jesus, Barnabas Connection, Camp Good Sam-Wimberley, Crisis Bread Basket, The Fig Tree, First Baptist Wimberley, Ministerial Alliance and Wimberley ISD worked together to create the plan and work logistics to shift food service to First Baptist which had the facilities and the call to continue serving not only our kiddos and families, but EVERYONE who may have food insecurity in our community. This service began last week and offers delivery and the ability to pick up meals. We hope any and all will reach out and allow your community to provide meals. At WISD we have a saying which originated in 2015, the year of the flood; ALL OF US! This group immediately stepped up to ensure continued availability of meals. Much may be difficult during these unprecedented times, meals and food is something our community can assist with and show our love to this community. Although many may not be aware, so match has been happening omg behind the scenes to ensure our neighbors are cared for.

In (last week’s) edition of The View, Ms. Pamela LeCompte writes she is appalled that Council Members Scheel, Pulley, and I made a “proposal” to have Mayor Gloria Whitehead resign. There has never been a proposal to request that Mayor Whitehead resign, at least not one in which I have participated. I was one of three Council Members who requested a Special Council Meeting to address the Mayor’s social media post as it relates to the City’s Social Media Policy, as well as to discuss the City’s Policy on Public Comments. During this meeting I read two statements on the items on the agenda. In my statement, I said: “I will not judge the content of the Mayor’s post as part of this discussion. I have provided a response when asked, and I believe it is well known I disagree with her post and its content. I have said this to the Mayor, and she has explained her reasoning. We still disagree.”

The construction of the Permian Highway Pipeline (PHP) by the Kinder Morgan Corporation is a perilous and unprecedented threat to the Texas Hill Country. From the beginning of this project, Kinder Morgan demonstrated a thorough lack of concern and understanding of the ecological sensitivities, the hydrological uniqueness, and the sensitive nature of our region.

This letter was going to ask you to join me in a letter writing campaign to the Burrells. I am writing to tell you why it isn’t.

To Council Members Bill Scheel, Brent Pulley, and Aurora LeBrun,

Recent events involving a neighbor of 7A Ranch have the Wimberley Valley in the news yet again, for all the wrong reasons. Last week a group of concerned residents and business owners from different backgrounds, industries and political leanings came together to begin to address the issues associated with racism in our community.