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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReporter Feb 09© City of Georgetown, 2009 VOL. 7 • NO. 2 A Publication of the City of Georgetown February 2009 The nine-lane indoor pool is three-feet deep on the shallow end where submerged steps provide a comfortable zone for beginning swimmers. Regular times for lap-swimming also will be available. The outdoor splash pool, which opens in the summer swim season, has two water slides, water cannons, and other fun features for kids. A new gymnasium and new aerobics room have suspended wooden floors that provide extra spring and reduce the chance of injury. New locker rooms for the facility are greatly expanded and improved. Other features at the new 65,000 square-foot center include weight and cardio areas, a multi-purpose room for martial arts and other classes, a spinning area, and a larger babysit- ting room with access to an outdoor playground. The existing center will be renovat- ed this spring to become a teen and senior activity area. Sporting a new indoor pool and indoor track, the City celebrates the Grand Opening of the new Recreation Center on Saturday, January 31. Ceremonies start at 10 a.m. followed by facility tours and demonstrations. Regular use of the facil- ity begins on Monday, February 2. Funding for the new Recreation Center was approved by the voters in a bond election in November 2004. The Recreation Center is located at 1003 N. Austin Avenue. For infor- mation about membership fees and other details, go to parks.georgetown.org, or contact Greg Olmer, Recreation Center supervisor, at (512) 930-3596, or by email at golmer@georgetowntx.org. Grand Opening for New Recreation Center on Jan. 31 Recreation Center Supervisor Greg Olmer and Recreation Specialist Brandi Williams in the new cardio and weight training areas that will soon be filled with Cybex strength-training machines and Precor cardio machines. A cardio theater system will have nine televi- sion screens and headsets to allow users to select the audio they prefer. The outdoor splash pool will be a popular place for kids when it opens later in the spring. Workers doing finishing work on the new gym with an elevated indoor track. City of Georgetown 2008 Employee Awards Trish Long Administrative Assistant III Finance and Administration Customer Service Employee of the Year Michael Bezner Crew Leader Electric Department Safety Employee of the Year Paul Pausewang Facilities Coordinator Support Services Supervisor of the Year Kimberly Garrett Parks and Recreation Department Director Manager of the Year Keith Hutchinson Public Information Officer Employee of the Year Downtown Happenings The Palace Theater Love, Sex and the IRS, weekends January 9 to February 1 Details atwww.TheGeorgetownPalace.org,or call (512) 869-7469. First Friday,February 6Downtown shops, galleries, andrestaurants open 6 – 8 p.m. 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. Friends of the Georgetown Public Library, or by calling Louise Beyer at (512) 635-3447. Proceeds of the fundraiser will be used to support unbudgeted projects at the library. The library is located at 402 W. Eighth Street. Friends of theGeorgetown PublicLibrary If you have ever been in the Georgetown Public Library and browsed through the CD collection, used the reference databases, gone to a Summer Reading Program performance, admired artwork in the second floor atrium, or purchased a book at Second-Hand Prose, then you have benefited from the contributions of the Friends of the Georgetown Public Library. In 2008, the Friends raised more than $60,000 to fund programming, materials, and projects at the library. To learn more about the Friends or to join, visit their website at www.folgeorgetown.com or contact Christi Adams at membership@folgeorgetown.com. All membership fees are used to support the library. City Secretary Sandra Lee Retires After 20 Years at City Hall Having shepherded the City through 25 municipal elections and having worked for 35 different city council members, City Secretary Sandra Lee retired in December after a 20-year career working at City Hall. She served six mayors including Tim Kennedy, Bill Connor, Leo Wood, MaryEllen Kersch, Gary Nelon, and George Garver. She worked with four city managers including Bob Gaylor, Bob Hart, George Russell, and Paul Brandenburg, as well as two interim city managers—Hartley Sappington and Tom Yantis. Lee started with the City in January 1988 as a temporary employee work- ing for the city manager. She became a full-time employee later that year and also was appointed deputy city secretary. In December 1993, she was appointed city secretary. A mainstay of her city secretary duty was the posting of all agendas for the city council and the city’s various boards and commissions. Creating city council meeting agendas and assembling the council packets— including documents like contracts, ordinances, and resolutions—is a multi-day job before each semi- monthly council meeting. After each council meeting was over and before the next meeting, Lee prepared the minutes. This was a painstaking task—often involving re- listening to a recording of the meet- ing—that she completed more than 330 times. Her other major responsibility was City elections. Before the City began contracting with the Williamson County Elections office in 2000, Lee hired and trained election judges herself and arranged for polling places. Results were tabulated manually at the polling places with one election judge reading off each ballot and two other judges tallying the results. “You count. You re- count. You can’t make a mistake,” she recalls. Asked about the election process, Lee realizes it won’t be her job in 2009, for the first time in 14 years. “It’s hard to believe it’s not my concern.” Though she isn’t working for the City, Lee isn’t really retired, either. At her home office in rural Weir on her “wild cherry red” laptop, Lee will be the administrative guru for the construction company run by her husband Jim and her son Randy. “Sandra has been a rock of consisten- cy at the City through many cycles of change,” says City Manager Paul Brandenburg. “Her personal history and experience with hundreds of City and community leaders are irreplaceable. Her work ethic and commitment to the City are legendary. It’s hard to imagine City Hall without her there. Sandra’s retirement is well-deserved, and I know she looks forward to spending more time with her family.” Register online starting on January 1. (Online accounts must be set up by 5 p.m. on January 28.) Registration before January 29 is $15 for those 13 or older, $10 for seniors 55 or older, and $10 for children 12 or younger. From January 30 to February 5 the cost is $20 per person. On Race Day, February 7 the cost is $25 per person. Race details and registration at parks.georgetown.org. Austin novel- ist Elizabeth Crook is the featured writer in the next installment of the Hill Country Authors series at the Georgetown Public Library, sponsored by the Friends of the Georgetown Public Library. Her talk on Thursday, February 26 begins at 2 p.m. Crook is the author of three novels: The Raven’s Bride: A Novel of Sam Houston and Eliza Allen, Promised Lands: A Novel of the Texas Rebellion, and her most recent book, The Night Journal, which won the Spur award for Best Long Novel of the West and the Willa Literary Award for Historical Fiction. Her first novel, The Raven’s Bride, was the 2006 Texas Reads: One Book One Texas selection. Crook current- ly lives in Austin with her husband and two children. Tickets for her talk are $13 in advance and $15 at the door. Desserts and beverages served by the Red Poppy Café are included. Tickets may be purchased at Second-Hand Prose, the used book store in the library operated by the Cupid’s Chase 6K on February 7 The annual Cupid’s Chase 6K will be on Saturday, February 7. The run/walk event is sponsored by Georgetown Parks and Recreation. The race begins at 8:30 a.m. at Rivery Park on a course that follows the San Gabriel River Trail and is USA Track & Field certified. Overall male and female winners will receive a prize and a trophy. Each age division will receive a trophy for first, second, and third place. Georgetown Public Library Hill Country Author Elizabeth Crook on February 26