Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutreporter.jun07The newly completed Fire Station 1 at 301 Industrial Avenue is now home-away-from-home for the 17 Georgetown firefighters in Quint 1 Company and the Battalion Chiefs who staff the station 24 / 7. The new 11,400 square-foot station is home base for Quint 1—a combina- tion ladder and pumper truck—as well as a tanker truck, an attack or “brush” truck, a reserve truck, and a battalion command vehicle. In April, the firefighters re-located from the old Fire Station 1 at 816 S. Main Street, just south of the downtown Square. Fire Administration offices will remain at the 115-year-old building on Ninth Street, though the City may con- vert these offices to a Visitor Information Center in the future. The new Fire Station 1 on Industrial Avenue provides better coverage for the east and south sides of Georgetown due to its location on FM 1460 near S. Austin Avenue. The $2.1 million cost of the new facility was fund- ed with certificate of obligation bonds. PBS&J designed the new fire station, and the construction manager was Satterfield & Pontikes Construction. © City of Georgetown, 2007 Just as a consumer’s good credit rating can lower the cost of a home or auto loan, the cost of borrowing money for the City of Georgetown has gone down because our credit score on util- ity-related debt just improved. For the second time in two years, the City’s bond rating was upgraded from the single-A to the double-A range by Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services. Last year, the City’s rating for non-utility bonds was upgraded to the double-A range. The City received the second upgrade in April when Standard & Poor’s upgraded the City’s rating for utility bonds to an AA- rating from an A+ rating. Moody’s upgraded the City’s bond rating to an Aa3 rating from an A1 rating. “It’s very unusual to get an upgrade two years in a row,” says Micki Rundell, the City’s finance and administration director. In the rationale for the upgrade, Standard & Poor’s cited Georgetown’s “strong wealth levels with per capita income indicators at 125 percent of state and national levels, and the City’s measures to secure a long-term water supply.” Referring to Georgetown’s electric utility and other electric providers in the area, the report noted that the City “has more than 90 percent of the customers in the multiple-certified areas, a market penetration that has only increased over time.” The upgrade report from Moody’s cited similar reasons, and identified large new commercial customers: “Within the multi-certified areas, growth continues with large customers such as Scott and White Hospital, the Round Rock Outlet Mall, and Citicorp choosing the City’s electric service over independent providers.” The bond rating assessments judge the City’s financial position as “strong,” which is good news for Georgetown residents and utility ratepayers. The Georgetown City Reporter is a publication of the City of Georgetown Public Information Office located in City Hall, 113 E. Eighth Street, Georgetown, Texas, 78626. For questions or comments, contact Keith Hutchinson, Public Information Officer for the City of Georgetown at (512) 930-3690, or by email at pio@georgetowntx.org. Utility Bond Rating Is AA-OK Second ‘credit score’ increase in two years VOL.5 • NO.6 A Publication of the City of Georgetown June 2007 Georgetown firefighters working C shift at the new Fire Station 1 include (left to right) Battalion Chief Mike Faught, Lt. Craig Sossner, Apparatus Operator Jonathan Gilliam, and Firefighters Gary Traxler, Justin Marks, and Scott Laurich. New Fire Station 1 Opens July 4 Holiday Wed., July 4, City offices closed. No trash pickup. Collection slides one day for remainder of week. Discover the latest news about the city at www.georgetown.org Office Furniture Auction The City of Georgetown will be auctioning surplus office and library furniture on Saturday, June 2 at 808 Martin Luther King, Jr. Street (the old Library). The building will be open for previewing items at 8 a.m. Saturday morning, and the auction will begin at 9 a.m. The auctioneer will take credit cards, cash, or checks with a letter of guarantee from your bank. If you have any questions, please call Marsha Iwers at (512) 930-3647. Water Conservation The 5-day voluntary watering schedule, published daily in the summer months in the Austin American-Statesman, can also be found online at www.georgetown.org > Departments > Georgetown Utility Systems > Water Services >Watering Schedule. Starting with June 1 billings, water conservation rates are in effect for City of Georgetown water customers. Rates increase for monthly usage above 19,000 gallons for residential customers. Details about water conservation rates are available at www.georgetown.org. Go to Permits, Bill Paying, & Fees > Utility Bills > Rates. Pools Open The City’s swimming pools will be open for the summer season on May 26, with free admission on that day only. Pool hours and other information can be found on the Aquatics page at www.georgetownparks.org. Blood Drive Donate blood at the Recreation Center on Friday, June 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call (512) 930-3595 to set up a donation appointment. Donations benefit the Scott and White Blood Center. Summer Insect Abatement Starting May 25, the Streets Department will be applying a permethrin-based insecticide to street trees and rights-of-way in residential areas and parks. Fogging will occur in the early morning hours between 1:00 and 5:00 a.m., and will not happen if it is raining or if there is a wind above 10 mph. To help with mosquito control, empty or remove potential reservoirs in your yard such as flower pot trays or old tires. For more information, contact Georgetown Utility Systems at (512) 930-3555. Downtown The Palace Theater,(512) 869-7469 1776, weekends June 1 – July 4 Steel Magnolias, weekends July 13 – Aug. 5 Youth & Teen Workshops, June – Aug. Details at www.thegeorgetownpalace.org. When the thermometer hits the upper 90s this summer, kids of all ages can come to the Georgetown Public Library and Sail Away with Books—the theme for this year’s Summer Reading Program. Austin musician Sara Hickman will lead the kickoff event on Friday, June 1 at the new library, located at 402 W. Eighth Street. The fun begins at 10:30 a.m. in the upstairs community rooms. Each week, events for kids of all ages will be held at the library. News Desk The library’s Teen Advisory Board is planning a June – July summer program for teens with the theme “Around the World in Eighty Days.” Each Friday afternoon event will focus on the music, food, and customs of a different country. All events are free and indoors at the library. Details and the calendar of events will be available in mid-May. For more information and registra- tion for the Texas Reading Club, see the library’s website at www.georgetowntex.org, or call Rosa Garcia at (512) 930-3623. Sail Away with Books Summer Reading Program starts June 1 with Sara Hickman The next time you’re in the kitchen making dinner or in your car com- muting to work, you could be lis- tening to an electronic audiobook of Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich or Life On the Mississippi by Mark Twain. Or you could be laughing with The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank by Erma Bombeck, or learning how to speak Spanish with a Pimsleur language title. Those are just a few of the nearly 2,000 unabridged eAudiobooks now available for free through the Georgetown Public Library. To get started, visit the library during regular library hours and see a staff member to set up a personal user account. Then visit www.netlibrary.com to select your titles and begin your download to your home computer, or transfer it to an MP3 player. Each eAudiobook “checks out” for a three week peri- od, and can be renewed one time for an additional three weeks. There is no waiting period for access, and no hold is necessary. Currently, the eAudiobooks are not available in iPod-compatible formats. The MP3 player must be compatible with Windows Media Player and use Windows Media Audio (WMA) files. Windows Media Player Version 9.0 or higher is required. Call the library at (512) 930-3551 for more information. Electronic Audiobooks Now Available Georgetown Public Library CI T Y Mondays in June: craft days for preteens, ages 8-12 Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m.: entertainment for kids ages 2-5 Wednesdays:special events for kids of all ages Thursdays in June: stories and juggling or magic workshops for older children Grand Finale on July 26: Joe McDermott will perform and grand prizes will be awarded First Friday, June 1 Downtown shops, galleries, & restaurants open 6 – 8 p.m. Market Days,June 9 Arts and crafts, jewelry, wood- crafts, ironworks, and more.