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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReporter May 2010© City of Georgetown, 2010 VOL. 8 • NO. 5 A Publication of the City of Georgetown May 2010 The Palace Theater Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, May 7 – June 6 Details at GeorgetownPalace.com, or call (512) 869-7469. First Friday, May 7 The kick-off of the summer street dance series. Downtown shops, galleries, and restaurants are open late. See the Downtown Georgetown Association website at TheGeorgetownSquare.com. Market Days, May 8 Handmade arts and crafts, food, and more on the Square from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Details at TheGeorgetownSquare.com. Grass Clippings: Don’t Bag Them Leaving grass clippings or leaves on your lawn rather than bagging them and putting them in the trash will not only benefit your lawn, it reduces methane emissions. Methane is a major contributor to the greenhouse effect. Methane doesn’t naturally exist in waste. It is created only after organ- ic material such as leaves, wood, and grass clippings are put into a land- fill. Once organic matter is covered up with dirt, deprived of air and sunlight, and kept moist, it will pro- duce methane. Organic wastes account for over 20 percent of landfill volume. Grass clippings or leaves that are left to break down naturally on your lawn or are put into an aerated compost Georgetown Public Library Summer Reading Program Your children can Catch the Reading Express when the Georgetown Public Library’s Children’s Summer Reading Program (for ages 3 – 12) kicks off the first week of June. Each week in June and July there will be special events for little kids and bigger kids, but as always, the emphasis is on get- ting all of the kids to read. Children who register for the Texas Book Club can keep track online of the books they read (or have read to them) and that will qualify them for the end-of- summer prizes. All events and programs are free and open to the public, but you must have a library card to check out books. For more information contact Rosa Garcia at rxg@georgetowntx.org, or see the library’s website at library.georgetown.org. The library’s Teen Summer Reading Program (for teens age 12 – 18) will celebrate the Summer of Awesome. During the months of June and July there will be arts and crafts programs, video games, movies, an author visit, food, drinks and much more! Teens who read or attend events for a total of five hours or more will have a chance to win the grand prize. In addition, teen artists should consider entering the second annual art con- test. Find out more, visit the website at http://teenspace.georgetown.org/ or email Bethni King at bking@georgetowntx.org. For the first time, the library also will have an Adult Summer Reading Program. Each week during June and July you may listen to a Central Texas author talk about his or her work. Share your enthusiasm for reading with your kids or grandkids. Contact Richard Groves (rgroves@georgetowntx.org) about this program. pile will produce much less methane than if they are placed in a landfill. After mowing your lawn, grass clip- pings decompose quickly, adding nutrients that help reduce water loss and the need for fertilizer. Composting yard waste and organic matter from the kitchen produces rich organic matter you can use in a garden or planting bed. For more information, see the Don’t Bag It pages at the Texas A&M Agri-Life Extension office website at http://aggie-horticul- ture.tamu.edu/lawn_garden/landsc ape.html. Or call City of Georgetown Environmental Services at (512) 930-8131, or visit us at www.recycle.georgetown.org. Catfish Fishing Derby, May 1 Held in San Gabriel Park from 7 to 11:30 a.m., this annual event is sponsored by Georgetown Parks and Recreation. Some fish are tagged for prizes, but you must be registered to win! Ticket prices are $2 for anglers 12 and under and $3 for those 13 and older. A fishing permit is required for participants 17 or older. Bait, as well as food and beverages, will be available for purchase at the event. For details, call (512) 930-3595. interactive mapping software for property information, permitting process and status information, population estimates and other statistics, and other resources and programs. Learn about the Georgetown development process and find a way to get involved! The City’s Community Development Division has a new website! Visit development.georgetown.org to learn about general development news and information on everything related to planning, permitting, and more. The new website contains details about current development projects, upcoming meetings, The Georgetown City Reporter is a publication of the City of GeorgetownPublic Communications Department, P.O. Box 409, Georgetown, Texas, 78627. For questions or comments, contact KeithHutchinson, public communications director at (512) 930-3690, or by email at khutchinson@georgetowntx.org. May Events Community Development Website Voters in District 3 will decide their city council representative in the May 8 election. Keith Brainard, incumbent, and Danny Meigs are running for the seat that represents the southwest area of Georgetown. Bill Sattler, incumbent, is unopposed for the District 4 seat, and Tommy Gonzalez is unopposed for the District 7 seat. Ben Oliver, incum- bent in District 7, is not seeking re- election. Early voting starts on April 26 and goes through May 4. For polling locations or hours, go to georgetown.org, or call City Hall at (512) 930-3652. District 3 Election on May 8 Memorial DayMay 31 City facilities closed Normal solid waste and recycling collection. Discover the latest news about the city at www.georgetown.org What are the top three issues Georgetown will face in the next five years? Traffic/transportation: 66 percent (phone) 75 percent (online) Managing growth/development: 59 percent (phone) 65 percent (online) Education/schools: 36 percent (phone) 29 percent (online) Taxes: 32 percent (phone) 26 percent (online) Economy/jobs: 20 percent (phone) 25 percent (online) Clean/available water: 20 percent (phone) 23 percent (online) Housing/affordable housing: 13 percent (phone) 18 percent (online) What change would make Georgetown a better place to live? Improve traffic situation: 20 percent (phone) 20 percent (online) Managed growth/development: 15 percent (phone) 14 percent (online) More employment opportunities: 13 percent (phone) 13 percent (online) Public transportation: 11 percent (phone) 23 percent (online) In general, do you think the quality of life in the City of Georgetown is: Getting better: 46 percent (phone) 40 percent (online) Staying the same: 36 percent (phone) 38 percent (online) Getting worse: 7 percent (phone) 15 percent (online) Overall, how would you rate the City in terms of providing quality customer service? Excellent: 34 percent (phone) 23 percent (online) Good: 53 percent (phone) 56 percent (online) Fair: 7 percent (phone) 13 percent (online) Poor: 0 percent (phone) 1 percent (online) How would you rate the value that you get for your City tax dollars? Excellent: 15 percent (phone) 18 percent (online) Good: 51 percent (phone) 40 percent (online) Fair: 20 percent (phone) 26 percent (online) Poor: 4 percent (phone) 4 percent (online) In general, how safe do you feel in Georgetown? Very safe: 58 percent (phone) 45 percent (online) Safe: 33 percent (phone) 42 percent (online) Unsafe: 1 percent (phone) 1 percent (online) Depends on where/when: 7 percent (phone) 11 percent (online) Support or oppose: A public trans- portation fixed-route bus system that costs the City $900,000 per year and raises taxes by an average of up to $58 per year: Downtown retail: 14 percent (phone) 18 percent (online) Citywide tourism: 11 percent (phone) 12 percent (online) The online survey allowed respondents to provide additional comments. The most frequent concerns expressed were a need for public transportation, a need for more sidewalks, and having more grocery store choices. Who answered the survey? In which quadrant of the city do you live? Northwest: 47 percent (phone) 44 percent (online) Southwest: 14 percent (phone) 13 percent (online) Northeast: 21 percent (phone) 22 percent (online) Southeast: 18 percent (phone) 21 percent (online) Mean age:53 years (phone) 47 years (online) Years lived in city: Less than 5 years:51 percent (phone) 43 percent (online) 5 to 9 years: 20 percent (phone) 20 percent (online) 10 to 19 years:14 percent (phone) 24 percent (online) 20 or more years:14 percent (phone) 13 percent (online) No children in household: 70 percent (phone) 67 percent (online) Race: Caucasian:86 percent (phone) 83 percent (online) Hispanic/Latino:6 percent (phone) 6 percent (online) African American:3 percent (phone) 1 percent (online) Asian:1 percent (phone) 1 percent (online) Other:3 percent (phone) 2 percent (online) To see the complete survey responses and more information about the quality of life survey, go to georgetown.org. City of GeorgetownQuality of Life Survey Earlier this year, a professional market research firm conducted a survey of Georgetown residents. The Quality of Life Survey has been conducted every two years since 2000. Results are used by the city council and staff to guide priorities for the City budget and services. The 2010 survey, conducted by National Service Research, included a telephone survey of 400 residents from all areas of the city and an online survey with an additional 337 responses. The telephone survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent. Below are highlights from the 52-question survey. Strongly support: 16 percent (phone) 31 percent (online) Support: 34 percent (phone) 27 percent (online) Oppose: 29 percent (phone) 18 percent (online) Strongly oppose: 13 percent (phone) 21 percent (online) Which of the following transporta- tion options should be the first priority the City should direct resources to make a reality? Improvements to existing road systems: 29 percent (phone) 32 percent (online) Passenger rail service between Georgetown, Austin, and San Antonio: 22 percent (phone) 25 percent (online) Bus or rapid transit service between Georgetown and Austin: 14 percent (phone) 13 percent (online) High occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes between Georgetown and Austin: 13 percent (phone) 5 percent (online) Fixed-route bus system within Georgetown: 13 percent (phone) 20 percent (online) Which of the following are the two most important aspects of economic growth the City of Georgetown should make a priority? Job creation: 48 percent (phone) 47 percent (online)