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HomeMy WebLinkAboutreporter.nov07© City of Georgetown, 2007 VOL. 5 • NO. 11 A Publication of the City of Georgetown November 2007 Construction on Recreation Center Expansion Begins Kimberly Garrett, parks and recreation director, Mayor Gary Nelon, Chaz Glace, CEO, Chasco Constructors, and Chuck Croslin, architect, PBS&J with $10 million in bond revenue that was authorized by Georgetown voters in 2004, and with additional funding approved by the City Council. The architectural firm for the project is PBS&J. The construc- tion-manager-at-risk is Chasco Constructors from Round Rock. The project is scheduled to be com- plete by January 2009. A major expansion to the City’s Recreation Center began construc- tion in October. The addition will include an indoor pool, an outdoor splash pool, a new gymnasium, an indoor track, and new rooms for exercise classes and activities. Areas in the existing Recreation Center will be renovated for teen and senior activities. The 47,000 square-foot expansion of the current 18,000 square-foot facility will provide a total of more than 65,000 square feet of interior space once the proj- ect is completed. The $12.5 million cost of the project will be funded Holiday events, entertainment, and shopping in Georgetown. Find it all at: www.GeorgetownHoliday.com. Downtown Happenings The Palace Theater Cats, weekends Oct. 12 – Nov. 11 A Christmas Carol, weekends Nov. 23 – Dec. 23 Details at www.TheGeorgetownPalace.org, or call (512) 869-7469. First Friday,November 2 Downtown shops, gal- leries, and restaurants open 6 – 8 p.m. Market Days,November 10 Handmade arts and crafts, jewelry, woodcrafts, iron- works, and more on the Square Lighting of the Square, Nov. 23 Hot chocolate, cookies, music, and holiday cheer! Christmas Stroll,Dec. 1 Entertainment, photos with Santa, horse-drawn carriage rides, and the Stroll parade. Details at www.DowntownGeorgetownAsso ciation.org. Thanksgiving Holiday City offices closed Nov. 22 – 23 No trash pickup onThursday, Nov. 22 Collection slides one day for remainder of week. Recreation Center floor plans Site plan for Recreation Center Discover the latest news about the city at www.georgetown.org The Georgetown City Reporter is a publication of the City of Georgetown Public InformationOffice located in City Hall, 113 E. Eighth Street, Georgetown, Texas, 78626. For questions or comments, contact KeithHutchinson, Public Information Officer for the City of Georgetown at (512) 930-3690, or by email at pio@georgetowntx.org. Landing a 300,000 square-foot computer data center for the No. 8 company on the Fortune 500 list created some buzz last year in the Texas economic development community. The Citicorp facility, which dwarfs a Super Wal-Mart, is a big rea- son—but not the only reason—that Georgetown’s economic development department won the 2007 community economic development award in September from the Texas Economic Development Council, a statewide profes- sional organization. Georgetown was the smallest city up for the award in the 40,000 to 100,000 population category. The Citicorp facility now under construc- tion will result in a $450 million invest- ment in Georgetown, yielding a net return of $15 million to the City over ten years. Revenue to the City’s community- owned electric utility is a significant por- tion of this return. Another major development this year was the opening of the Texas Life Sciences Commercialization Center, which is already home to two biotech firms: Orthopeutics and Radix BioSolutions. The City is working with the Greater Austin Chamber, Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, Southwestern University, and the University of Texas to identify other companies that may be candidates for the biotech commercialization center. For more information on Economic Development, visit www.InvestGeorgetown.com. In the past year, Georgetown added more than 3,200 residents, accord- ing to estimates from the City plan- ning department. Georgetown’s population now exceeds 46,000—an increase of 63 percent since the year 2000. Meeting the needs of all those new Georgetown residents was a factor in nearly every aspect of the City budget for the 2008 fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1. Budget breakdown ■$2.7 million:Community Development (planning and inspections) ■$6.8 million:Community Services (library, parks and recreation, tourism) ■$6.9 million:Finance and Administration (accounting, support services, municipal court, purchasing, utility billing, vehicle services) ■$5.8 million:Fire Services ■$28.7 million:Georgetown Utility Systems (water, wastewater, and electric) ■$11.7 million:Management Services (airport, city manager’s office, economic development, health and social services contracts, human resources, information technology, legal services, and internal administrative allocations) ■$9.3 million:Police Services (includes animal services) ■$4.2 million:Transportation (road maintenance and new roads) ■$40.7 million:wholesale electricity cost ■$43.7 million:capital improvements ■$14.4 million:debt payments (includes new fire station, library, recreation center, utility infrastructure, and vehicles) ■$10.1 million:interfund transfers (includes 10 percent return-on- investment from utilities and funding for facilities) ■$185.4 million:total budget ■Free wireless access for the downtown Square area ■Renovation of old public library for office space ■Facility needs assessment for police, fire administration, municipal court, community development, and Georgetown Utility Systems ■Communication and Technology Center to open in November, housing information technology and police communications. (Majority of cost in 2007 budget.) Staffing 494.75 full-time employees 36.5 new positions in 2008 4.25 percent payraise, including COLA (non- public safety) Key new positions ■Building inspector ■2 parks maintenance workers ■Visitor Information Center coordinator ■7 firefighters, including squad program ■Community project manager ■9 police officers, including 5 officers for impact team ■Transportation division director For more information on the City budget, visit the Finance and Administration section and the City News section at www.georgetown.org. The complete budget book is available at the Georgetown Public Library at 402 W. Eighth Street. City Budget Highlights for 2008 Property tax rate (per $100 valuation) 35.7 cents (36.7 cents for FY 2007) Sales tax rate (unchanged) 8.25 percent (6.25 percent to state of Texas) Facilities and Capital Projects ■Design parking garage in west side of the downtown ■New bridge at Oak Tree Drive to replace low-water crossing ■Complete kennel building at Animal Shelter ■Parking lots for Community Center, Georgetown Municipal Complex, dog park ■Develop city skate park to replace batting cages in San Gabriel Park ■Replacement of playground equipment ■Repairs at River Ridge Pool ■Complete the Recreation Center expansion (see article) ■Emergency outdoor warning sirensystem ■Defibrillators and 911 call boxes for five sites ■Cable programming and video equipment Georgetown Wins Community Economic Development Award George Gomez and Mark Thomas (holding award) of Economic Development with Eric Hauck and Tom Hedman, Ph.D., of Orthopeutics, L.P.