Commissioners Court - Regular Meeting

One more time. A very good morning to you all. I would like to call this meeting to order. This morning's invocation will be led by our very own Pastor Darius Todd. If you will please all rise.

Let us bow. Heavenly Father, thank you for another opportunity to come before you this day. We come to celebrate the freedoms that you have established through this country, in this state, and in this county, that you have given us grace to live in. We thank you, Lord God, for the righteousness that covers us. We thank you, Lord God, for your strength and your grace that you have given us to come to hear and to lead. We thank you, Lord God, and ask that you would help us during every challenge, every conflict, and every concern. We ask that you give us courage to help us to stand in order and in truth so that all may receive your peace and prosperity. Thank you for all that you've given. We seek you today. It is in Jesus' name that I pray. Amen.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,

under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Honor the Texas flag.

I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state, under God, one and indivisible.

Will you please call the roll?

Commissioner Inglesby?

Here.

Commissioner Cohen? Here. Commissioner Hammer? Commissioner Smith?

Here.

Judge Becerra?

Here. Do we have anyone sign up for public comments? One. Perfect. If you will call their name and start a three-minute timer.

Ray Chavez?

Good morning, commissioners. I want to first thank you for your service to the community. It's greatly appreciated. I am a commissioner on the City of Buda's Historic Preservation Commission. And I just wanted to share something with you that we do during our commission meetings. We do have a public comment period. And during that public comment period, we will invite residents OF BUDA, IN SOME CASES OWNERS OF PROPERTY IN BUDA, TO SPEAK TO THE COMMISSION. THEY ARE ALLOWED TO CRITICIZE THE COMMISSION. WE WELCOME THAT BECAUSE IN CRITICISM I THINK WE CAN BUILD UPON THEIR EXPERIENCES WITH THE COMMISSION AND WITH THE RULES AND REGULATIONS THAT GOVERN THE BUILDING OR RENOVATING OF BUILDINGS IN THE HISTORIC DISTRICT. however, to make personal attacks on any individual commissioners. It works very well. I think they soon realize that we are all there for the same purpose, and that purpose is to serve our communities in whatever aspect that we're involved in. We don't often get someone coming before the commission, but on occasion we will get a property owner who is upset with some of the rules and regulations that we have to follow. We work with them, and I just wanted to share that with this commission because I know that there are many individuals who sometimes disagree within the commission, as just happened with our Historic Preservation Commission, but we know that when we work together, we work best. And so we don't allow people to make personal attacks on any individuals in that commission. Just wanted to share that with you, and again, express my appreciation for the work that you do for our community and for our county. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Please open F1.

F1, presentation by Friesen Nichols, Inc. regarding update to the Hayes County development regulations.

Good morning, court. My name is Michael Burlap. I'm the interim director for development services. With me today are a couple of representatives from Friesen Nichols. We're going to provide an update to the court on the development regulation rewrite, kind of where we stand and what the next month is kind of holds for us. Over the next month on July 20th, we're anticipating the release of the preliminary draft, followed by July 28th. We're going to have a public engagement meeting at the Wembley Community Center at 6 p.m. as well as the Dripping Springs Ranch Park at 6 p.m., followed on July 29th at the Buda City Hall Library at 6 p.m. and the San Marcos Library at 6 p.m. During the last court, we also passed a resolution for industrial significant water use. That resolution has also been turned over to Friesen Nichols. Just kind of see what they can do with the resolution, something that we can potentially add in there as incentives or some other voluntary process that we can put within our regulations. Once the preliminary draft is released, we do anticipate getting with the county administrator's office and IT to post on the new website, as well as some social media campaigns and some additional outreach to allow for those public engagement meetings coming up. So with no further ado, I will turn it over to Frieza Nichols. I do have a couple of documents I will pass out to court as well. And then I'll turn it over to David Jones, the project manager for this rewrite.

Thank you, Michael. Good morning. MEMBERS OF THE COURT. WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO GO THROUGH THIS FAIRLY QUICKLY THIS MORNING. WE HAVE A FULL AGENDA. ALSO JOINING ME UP HERE WILL BE JOHN NETT, OUR ASSISTANT PROJECT MANAGER. WE'LL TAG TEAM THE PRESENTATION THIS MORNING. WANTED TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY AT THIS POINT IN THE PROJECT TO BRING YOU UP TO SPEED ON WHERE WE'RE AT WITH THE DRAFT, HOW WE'RE RESPONDING TO SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WERE IDENTIFIED LAST YEAR WITH THE DIAGNOSTIC REPORTS. and what the next steps are, as Michael alluded to, getting to a public draft of the full document, reviewing that, and then coming back and doing some public engagement later in the month. So I think I have to tell you to advance the slide. Yeah, so this will just be our overview and agenda this morning. You do have handouts that will help you follow along with the presentation. So on the next slide, got three of us here today, including myself, John Nett, and Evan Olszewski, who is one of our lead planners on drafting the code. You also met Daniel Harrison last year. He's transitioned into a role as a senior advisor along with Chance Sparks. So on the next slide. Last time we came to you, we were in phase one of the diagnostic report phase that was finalized late last year. We've used that as our basis for drafting the code. We are now in phase two. So that spans fall 2025 through the summer. And then our phase three will be the refinement and adoption phase. We hope to get into that this fall and transition into adoption. So the next slide, last fall we did a series of public engagements. It's a format we're hoping to repeat at the end of this month with a few modifications, but four different engagements at four different locations throughout the county. We have a couple slides here that really emphasize the outreach that's been done to expand across the whole county, make sure that we're representative of everyone's interests within the entire county, each precinct. SO OUR ENGAGEMENTS AT THE END OF THE MONTH WILL BE IN THE SAME LOCATIONS THAT THEY WERE BACK IN SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR TO MAKE IT EASY ON FOLKS. WE HAVE TWEAKED THE TIMES AND THE FORMAT A LITTLE BIT, WHICH WE'LL GO OVER HERE IN A MOMENT. You can see building on that general public engagement, we've also done a lot of stakeholder engagement, a lot of direct one-on-one interview style or conversational style outreach and discussion with various members of the community. On the next slide you can see, go back, yeah. You can see as we kind of map out each of these different organizations and different entities, again, they cover a wide variety of interests across the county, a wide variety of locations so that we're not just focusing all our time on the east side or the west side of things. of 35. We've got a broad base of representation including our cities within the county and many of our organizations dedicated to water conservation. We're dedicated to helping the county grow, economic development, Greater Austin Builders Association. So we tried to cast as broad a net as possible to get as much representation and feedback as possible. These meetings really started last year and they have continued up into the present. We invite anyone who wants to talk to us to set up a time. We can meet with them virtually or in person. to discuss various aspects of the development regulations and the process and get their questions answered. Following today, if any one of the commissioners want to meet with us individually to discuss the draft, we're happy to set up an appointment for that as well. So on the next slide, we'll go through some of the feedback elements and then kind of how we've INCORPORATED THAT INTO THE DRAFT THAT MICHAEL MENTIONED WILL GO LIVE ON JULY 20th. SO SOME OF THE THEMES THAT EMERGED FROM SOME OF THESE CONVERSATIONS, WE CAN KIND OF PUT THEM INTO A COUPLE DIFFERENT BUCKETS. ONE IS OPERATIONAL CONCERNS RELATED TO HOW WE PROCESS DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS, THE PROCESS THAT FOLKS GO THROUGH TO GET A PLAT APPROVED OR TO GET CONSTRUCTION PLANS APPROVED, WHETHER THAT GOES THROUGH THE COURT OR GOES THROUGH So we made a couple of tweaks and refinements to that with regard to things like a submittal calendar, specified dates where people can submit applications, and then follow through a defined process of when you go to Commissioner's Court, when you can expect approval. Third party reviews, the state does authorize those for the county to utilize a third party, both to review and to inspect infrastructure. So having those tools so that staff is not quite as overwhelmed by development applications and processing helps with our coordination and, again, helps set those expectations for review timelines. On the other side of the policy and technical concerns, and we'll get into some of this on the following slides, but... MAKING SURE THAT WATER AVAILABILITY CERTIFICATION IS MEANINGFUL AND ALSO THAT IT'S DOCUMENTED SO THAT THE COUNTY, THAT THE COURT CAN SEE THAT THE SUBDIVISIONS AND PLATS THAT ARE BEING APPROVED DO HAVE WATER AVAILABILITY NOT JUST NOW BUT IN THE FUTURE. MAKING SURE THAT DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS ARE UTILIZED IN A WAY THAT'S BENEFICIAL TO BOTH PARTIES, BOTH THE DEVELOPER AND THE COUNTY. Strengthening the incentives for tools like conservation subdivisions can only go so far in terms of what we can mandate based on limitations of state law, but we work to strengthen the incentive to utilize tools that create better outcomes. So on the next slide, kind of building on that and thinking back to the 2025 diagnostic report, which is the last time we spoke to you as a court, There were several themes that emerged, kind of things that we wanted to tackle within this update. So as we go through the presentation, we'll structure it kind of through this context to talk about how we've responded to each one of these concerns. So there's six on this slide. There's four on the next slide. So there's ten total. Again, we'll try to go through these relatively quickly. So if you can advance two slides. And again, we're looking at it through the lens of improving our processes and coordination with the goal to address recurring frustrations, things that have hampered the development process or resulted in conflicts, making sure that we're making expectations clear and that we've got the endpoint in mind and given the county tools to get the best results out of development. So the first one, if you go to the next slide, The first one really has to do with how the code is organized and how those technical concerns are addressed. So you can see the organization on that left-hand column. It's not drastically different from the organization of the code today. There's benefits to that in terms of staff's familiarity, the developer's familiarity, but within that, we're again addressing some of those policy and technical concerns. MAKING A STRONGER LINK BETWEEN PLAT APPROVAL AND INFRASTRUCTURE OBLIGATIONS. SO WE'LL COVER THAT HERE IN A MOMENT. AND ESPECIALLY BETTER COORDINATION WITH OUR OTHER REVIEWED ENTITIES SUCH AS THE GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT, CITIES WITHIN THE ETJ. ALSO CARVING OUT A SEPARATE PATH FOR MINOR PLATS AND THINGS THAT ARE LIMITED IN SCOPE THAT DON'T MAKE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE COUNTY'S INFRASTRUCTURE. So on the next slide, kind of the big topic that has emerged throughout this process, both last year and then this year, especially as it's kind of grown into a statewide issue in terms of water availability, is how do we, again, assess whether there's adequate water for subdivisions or if there is a strain on the water capacity, how we can document that, how we can report that moving forward. So these regulations and the draft that will be published on July 20th contain additional provisions that classify different water service providers based on their Allocated capacity through the Texas Water Development Board ties it back to the regional water plan. AND REQUIRES A CONTINUAL ASSESSMENT AND MONITORING OF THE CONDITION OF THE WATER PROVIDER'S INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLAN CAPACITY IMPROVEMENTS. SO, AGAIN, THERE'S BETTER DATA COMING IN TO THE COUNTY. THE COUNTY IS BETTER EQUIPPED TO MAKE AN ASSESSMENT OF NOT ONLY THE SUBDIVISION THAT'S IN FRONT OF YOU BUT THINKING ABOUT THE BUILDOUT AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AREAS AROUND THOSE SUBDIVISIONS. And again, before the final plat is recorded, before lots are created, and before homes begin to be sold, we have a trued up on the ground picture of the water availability within that area. It also clarifies the role of the GCD in terms of the plat process, that there's a requirement that within the platting process that the GCD is contacted and coordinated with so that they have a chance to review and provide comment on plats that are going to create a strain on the water supply. Even if you're not tying into a centralized water provider, there's some loopholes that the language should help to close with regard to groundwater that is provided through wells that services subdivisions. THAT DOCUMENTATION IS REQUIRED TO GO TO THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD. IT'S NOT REQUIRED TO GO TO THE COUNTY. SO IF YOU DO A GROUNDWATER ASSESSMENT AND YOU'RE DOING A WATER WELL TO SERVE A LOT THAT'S CREATED, YOU'RE REQUIRED TO DO THAT GROUNDWATER ASSESSMENT. The loophole that's been identified by the development community is that you don't necessarily have to give that to the county. You can say, well, I've given it to Texas Water Development Board. I've given it to TCEQ. So within the draft language, there's a requirement to document that you've actually done that so that the county, if needed, can find those records with TCEQ.

Sorry to interrupt, but it's an easy moment. Instead of... that approach, what if we ask them to submit it to us instead of having to go look for it?

Can you make that tweak? We can make that tweak. I'd have to go back and look at the specific language, but there is language in there at least encouraging that to be given to the county, but we can tweak that further to say that the county wants a copy of that. Yes. And documentation that's been submitted to TCEQ. That's right.

Because instead of having to go look for it, we could say, please provide us the following. Yes, sir. And we know, I've heard all the belly aching, oh, we can demand. I get it, but still, provide it. ASK FOR IT.

ASK NOT FOR YOU HAVE NOT. I THINK AS THE STATUTE IS WRITTEN, YOU CAN PROBABLY CORRECT ME ON THIS, BUT AS THE STATUTE IS WRITTEN, THE ONLY TIME THAT WE CAN DEMAND IT OR REQUEST IT IS WHENEVER WE ARE LOOKING AT A VARIANCE TO THAT INDIVIDUAL ITEM FOR GROUNDWATER AVAILABILITY. BECAUSE WE, IF YOU REMEMBER, WE AS A COURT PASSED A RESOLUTION LAST YEAR STATING THAT WE WOULD NEVER LOOK AT A VARIANCE FOR THOSE PROVISIONS. So that's the reason they don't have to give it to us. But I agree with the judge. I think asking for it is never a hard thing to do. And we can determine whether or not they decide to do it. If they say no, then I guess we go get it. But it also sends a signal to us as far as where they stand and where they want to work or not work with the county.

I agree, Judge, with that too. I mean, I don't know why they wouldn't want to provide a copy to the county. I know it's not, they don't It's not required, but I would hope that they would work with us and provide that. So whatever language you can use to strengthen.

Thank you. And I'm going to ask Chase for a second to chime in. Sure.

Thank you, Judge. Chase Young, Civil Assistant, Hays County Criminal District Attorney, Assistant Criminal District Attorney of the Civil Division. 232.01 Subjection H puts some limitations on what sort of studies we can directly require from them. And so that's where kind of the impulse to try not to grab it and make it a mandatory requirement from them.

I think I was clear with not requiring. Am I right? Perfect. Not requiring. We understand that. It's a chronic beating drum. I'm very well aware. Thank you, Chase.

We can put language in there requesting a copy at the time it's created. So on the next slide, kind of alluded to this a couple times, so I won't belabor the point, but within the language, there is established a submittal calendar. State law does allow you to do that. That has a number of benefits, including kind of enhanced EXPECTATION MANAGEMENT OF HERE'S THE COURT DATE THAT YOU'LL ULTIMATELY END UP ON THAT REALLY HELPS STAFF AND THE DEVELOPER APPLICANT PLAN FOR THE PROCESS, CLARIFIES THOSE EXPECTATIONS AND ALSO LINES UP, OKAY, HERE'S WHEN ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW HAPPENS, HERE'S WHEN TECHNICAL REVIEW HAPPENS AND THE DATES BY WHICH EACH OF THOSE NEED TO HAPPEN. IT HELPS THE COUNTY STAY WITHIN COMPLIANCE WITH THE SHOT CLOCK. and helps kind of provide a path to approval rather than having to figure that out as we go along. So on the next slide, we already mentioned variances, waivers. So kind of looking at that more broadly, setting up some criteria for variances and what the findings are that would guide those decisions. The idea is not to, you know, necessarily limit variances, but to make sure that they're documented and justified according to objective criteria. and improves that distinction between an administrative review and more of a policy type variance. AND THEN STRENGTHENS THAT RECORD KEEPING. SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, A COUPLE RELATED TO OUR PLATTING AND SUBDIVISION STANDARDS. SO THE CREATION OF NEW LOTS, NEW STREETS AND BLOCKS. I MENTIONED ADDING A MINOR PLAT PATH FOR SMALL SUBDIVISIONS. AGAIN, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S IDENTIFIED AND CORBED OUT WITHIN WITHIN STATE LAW, AND THIS HAS A NUMBER OF BENEFITS. IT NOT ONLY KIND OF REDUCES THE LOAD ON THE COUNTY IN TERMS OF PROCESSING APPLICATIONS THROUGH THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT, BUT IF YOU HAVE A SMALLER SUBDIVISION, WE MIGHT CALL THEM A MOM AND POP TYPE SUBDIVISION WHERE YOU'RE ONLY CREATING A FEW LOTS ON AN EXISTING ROAD, IT'S NOT RESULTING IN THE EXTENSION OF INFRASTRUCTURE THAT THERE'S AN ADMINISTRATIVE PATH THAT YOU CAN PURSUE for approval. This also allows us to incentivize certain developments that are low impact, larger lot type developments that don't put a big strain on infrastructure. Flag Lots was emphasized as a Issue that's come up several times, the lack of standards, lack of definition around flag lots, what they are, what the downsides are to flag lots. So we've included a lot of language in there, kind of defining what we consider flag lots to be and how they function. And that's sort of built into the larger property access section. So you'll see that also with the shared access roads and shared access easements and how they function along with private roads. clarifies the requirements for recording and when that happens, that's really one of the strongest tools that you have that is often the most underutilized by counties and cities is the ability to control when a plat is recorded and set it up so that Infrastructure is completed, it's inspected, it's accepted before the plat is recorded. There is still a lot of language in there about financial security and bonds and things like that, but one of the strongest tools you have is when that plat actually gets recorded and lots can be sold. So making sure that that's well calibrated to infrastructure construction and acceptance. Go to the next slide on condominium plats. This is a growing issue. It seems particularly within central Texas. Some of your neighboring counties are perhaps seeing this even more, but building on some of those strengthened requirements for subdivisions, there is some misinformation out there about whether a plat can be required by a county for a condominium subdivision. The property code does allow you to require a plat. I think the exact language is this does not supersede any requirements to plat. That doesn't mean that the county should get into kind of the nitty gritty of, you know, how the individual units are split up and how the association documents are written. We're not trying to do that. What we're trying to do is to make sure that when shared elements are created within a condo subdivision, that there's a mechanism set up for ownership and maintenance of those shared elements. AREAS THAT ARE PRIVATE. THEY'RE NOT BEING GIVEN TO THE COUNTY, BUT THEY'RE ALSO NOT OWNED BY THE INDIVIDUAL CONDO OWNERS. SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SHARED ACCESS DRIVES FOR EMERGENCY ACCESS. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DETENTION PONDS AND DRAINAGE. SO THIS ENSURES THAT THE COUNTY IS AWARE THAT A CONDO regime is being created, that there's documentation that that's being created, similar to when an HOA is created, that there's a mechanism in place to maintain those things so that the property owners aren't stuck maintaining those and the county is not put in the position where it's being asked to maintain those.

Well, the other thing I would add to that is ensuring that that infrastructure is built to county standards. I mean, the worst thing that we one of the worst things we see or I've seen in my precinct over the last five years is condo regimes who say we're going to put a gate out front, but the county will never touch it. Right. And then three years later, because they haven't built a county standards or they've chosen not to, then the roadways are failing. Those those property owners are looking at a tremendous amount of infrastructure costs that they're going to have to come in and do that they would have never had to do had they been built to our standard.

And Tying it to the plat process allows that to be assessed and proven.

And then they come to court to ask us to maintain or to take those in. But I wanted to ask a question just real briefly on the minor plat. SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL, POSSIBLY, ARE WE LIMITING THE NUMBER OF LOTS THAT ARE CREATED FOR THAT?

THE WAY IT'S WRITTEN, IT WOULD BE LIMITED TO NO MORE THAN FOUR LOTS CREATED THROUGH ANY INDIVIDUAL PLAT. WHEN YOU SAY MINER PLATS, ARE THEY MINING FOR PRECIOUS METALS?

It does make perfect sense when you've got the parents trying to give their kids five acres out of their 20 acres. As long as it meets our standards, having to bring those to court over time, when we're dealing with these larger subdivisions that are so much more intricate, having just members of our general public have to go through that entire process is problematic, and I feel for those individual constituents.

And we've had several of those throughout the years.

I'm going to turn it over to, unless there's any other questions, John will go through some of the additional infrastructure pieces.

Good morning, Judge, Commissioners. If we could advance to the next slide. Great segue to this part of the presentation. So we need to look at if we have a gated community and a private street, it still has to be designed and constructed to the county standards. So the reg set up the prescriptive requirements for the design criteria And then throughout the process, making sure that everything's inspected, the certifications are provided, and on the back end, there's not any surprises on the acceptance. Because often you will see a developer will come in and they just have this expectation. Oh, I've met everything in my design process. It should automatically be accepted. Well, it's holistic. You need to go through the whole process to make sure that the quality of construction is there and What's in the plans and specs is actually built.

While you're getting ready to launch, I just wanted to say, and I'm very happy with the work you've done so far. I'm grateful that we awarded you this contract, and so this is not a snub on anything you're doing, but I hate gotcha government at any level. And when people are investing in our community, I think it's most important that they understand the roadmap. And that's what you just talked on right now. And I want to make sure I reiterate it for the viewing public to say, here's your checklist. Here's what needs to happen at this stage. Here's what needs to happen at that stage. So they have a realistic roadmap of start to finish. Giving the community that through your work is priceless. It diminishes so much frustration and it gives us all a good heads up of what's in store. So thank you for that. I just want to say thank you and highlighting that reality of checklist.

Sure. So I'm an engineer by background. Sometimes it's just kind of a paradigm shift. You know, we expect people to understand the code and just be conversant in the language of development, and they're not. And we have a lot to learn. I'm humble. You know, I learn a lot from listening to developers. There's a lot we can all learn in the process to make it better. So the stakeholders outreach process has been very positive, I feel. And I think we have broad consensus on a lot of the topics. So we have requirements for, in the planning process, where does the access need to be? making sure that we have continuity and contiguity to adjoining subdivisions for larger development that's going to generate a lot of traffic, making sure that there's a traffic impact analysis conducted, and the fairness of the process. A county can only exact what is roughly proportional and fair. The overriding theme, too, is protection or promotion of public health, safety, and welfare. So we talk about the groundwater availability. You can bring that back. Okay, is it sustainable? Is it a firm supply? That's grounded in the public health, safety, and welfare aspect. So we have administrative elements and platting, but then we get to the construction plans. That's really where the proof comes into play.

Well, and I hope to your specific reference, YOUR SPECIFIC STATEMENT REGARDING THEIR PORTION OF AN IMPROVEMENT. IF THE COURT WILL REMEMBER, I THINK IT WAS THREE YEARS AGO ON FITZHUE ROAD, WE ACTUALLY PASSED A RESOLUTION ALLOWING FOR OUR TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT TO HAVE A THIRD-PARTY REVIEW OF TRAFFIC IMPACT ANALYSIS SPECIFICALLY TO ASSESS WHAT PORTIONS OF THOSE PROJECTS WOULD BE ADHERENT TO CERTAIN DEVELOPMENTS, WHETHER THEY BE RESIDENTIAL OR COMMERCIAL. THE ISSUE THAT WE HAVE TO BE very aware of. I know Travis County uses this same process. Say a development of any type, a commercial development, a residential development comes in and we find that there will be 80% of the access or the improvements needed on an intersection near them will be pursuant to them. If we assess them for that and they give us that, then there's an expectation that that development or that new enhancement will be done. And so that other 20% is on us, and we have to be willing and ready to do that. I think that's a good use of our transportation funding, but we also have to be aware that that infrastructure will be needed eventually. We just have to be willing to set a timeline on those improvements and say, yes, we'll step up with the other portion. But I think it's a great tool that we've never had in our toolbox to try to get some funding out of these developers where we don't have that assessment ability that municipalities or the state have.

The other thing that sometimes makes it difficult, the developer will have an estimation on build out on the market changes. So we need to also have flexibility, but you absolutely want to lock in those costs and know so you can plan appropriately.

And since you took that pause, I want to diminish as many interruptions as possible. But the spirit in my seat, the county-wide lens, because I see all the cities, I see all the different angles, and people reach out to my office whenever they're frustrated, whenever they're at their wit's end. And so I'm coming to you through that lens. If you guys can, and I'm grateful that everything is being recorded so we don't have to forget, if you guys can make In summary, the spirit of this document, be one where someone from wherever you want on the map, they can look at it, they can follow it, and they have clear, concise expectations, and leave out interpretation as much as possible from staff or from an elected official, because that's when we get into trouble and we are being arbitrary and we're causing problems for people. And that's when I get the calls. That's the gotcha government I'm referring to. So the more of that you can weave into, the more you can concrete and cement collars on a roadway kind of visual. This is the plan. This is the expectation. These are the goals. And they won't need to be interpreted as much as possible. Our community will be better served for it. Sure.

Yeah, and I would think you would hear back from the development community. They want predictability. They want to know what the roadmap is. And as long as they can follow that roadmap and successfully get to the end with an approved project, it's going to go well. So yes, I think that's a great overriding spirit. Thank you. Next slide, please. All right, so on conservation development, the county wants to promote where you can put more intense development in, where groundwater is available or a public water supply is available. or you're not over the recharge zone necessarily, you'd want to encourage that in a preferred development area. There are other areas where conservation development just makes sense. Well, there are certain metrics that have to be met. One of the things we heard is, well, we want a more predictable path. If we're going to design a conservation development, what can we see that the county will encourage by right for development? So making sure we hit at least 50% of the open space being true conservation development with a permanent reserve, that it's good quality, ecologically beneficial land that's being donated. Not double dipping, that if that's an area that's already set aside, you can't get second credit for that. We're looking for enhancing and adding to conservation space.

And while we're here, I'm sorry to do this to you. I've been talking about this for years, and this is literally the time to reiterate it. When you're all done, having a countywide map that shows the zones of the thing you just described, so that people know, wanting to invest in our community. I want to build X. Well, if you do it here... We could support it. If you do it here, we don't have the resources. If you do it here, you're going to get pitchforks, you know, and just give that predictability and the cautionary tale of availability of items and resources to the people trying to invest in our community. We have a slide coming up on development agreements, and that's a great tool.

Perfect, thank you. The county can paper that up.

The pitchforks, go ahead and make that the whole, like, western half of the county, Wimberley Valley included.

Give people the heads up that don't know our County, you know, you you want to do what over the Edwards aquifer? Yeah, you know that kind of thing.

Sure Next slide, please. All right. So one of the comments that we heard was okay. Well, we need to know Winner the fees do and when if we're paying this fee, what are what are we getting basically? So we've there's a section on the fee fee types and permit types and And it shows exactly this is for inspection services. This is for the review. So just making that clear. Also, as David mentioned, the ability to go out through third party. And as the commissioner mentioned, having that ability, it can speed things up or maybe just having that resource that staff may not have the time or they want additional expertise in review. You can go out for a third party review. Perfect.

Did you take the fees and compare them with like comparable counties, or how did you come to, I see a nodding over there, so I'm going to say it's probably the answer.

Yeah, not every county has that incorporated into their fee schedule. It's a relatively new change in state law, but we did compare it to, I know a couple counties in North Texas have done it, so we did do a quick survey of the counties that had done it to make sure that we were We're in the correct range, but the benefit to it is that once you put it in your fee schedule, you're able to basically get reimbursed at cost. You can do a fixed fee, but really it's more beneficial with the way inflation has been that you reimburse the actual cost of doing that review or that inspection that are passed through from the third party.

It's very similar for, say, the city of San Marcos or the city of Dripping Springs, whenever they look at their engineering fees. There's an agreement with the developer that they will pay for whatever fees are incurred in the overall review of that process, and they're given a range in what those costs are beforehand so they understand that more clearly.

Commissioner, some counties use a tool that the third-party engineer generates a level of effort that's provided to the applicant. They're like, yes, I agree to that. It can be on a time and materials basis. You don't You don't want an unlimited number of reviews. You want to, hey, we want predictability. We want to get to approval on one or two reviews. So some of the things that didn't change, the pre-application meeting, pre-construction meeting, all that's in there. The bonding, both on performance and maintenance bonds, that's all still in there. Next slide, please. All right, so another thing that remained the same, the flood damage prevention order, that is reviewed by the Texas Water Development Board. They are the NFIP National Flood Insurance Program enabling body in the state of Texas, and it's important that it follows that model code. There are some higher standards also in the flood damage prevention ordinance, with the exception of getting the internal article references and correcting some typos. That is exactly the same. One thing that did change, We've taken the standard down on defining the base flood elevation, the 100-year event, that 1% recurrence for 10 acres or greater. So there's some concern. We talked to a wide range of stakeholders. Some, as the commissioner mentioned, you know, maybe we just want to convey property within the family or sell off three lots. There are publicly available data sets. For instance, the FEMA flood, a base flood elevation viewer, public domain data that you can define the 100-year inundation on the property. So we just want that, when you're conveying property, to know that encumbers or is inherent to the property. There needs to be some due diligence at that level. And we looked at... BASELINES IN OTHER COUNTIES, THIS IS A STATE OF KAMALA COUNTY IS FOLLOWING, SO YOU'RE ON PAR IN LINE WITH WHAT OTHER COUNTIES ARE LOOKING AT. WE ALSO HAVE DEFINED, I'LL CALL IT KIND OF A NO ADVERSE IMPACT AND LOOKING AT IT THROUGH THE RANGE OF STORM EVENTS FROM THE TWO-YEAR EVENT THROUGH THE 100-YEAR, AND IT ALSO, THE SUBREGS DOVETAIL WITH THE DRAINAGE CRITERIA MANUAL. NEXT SLIDE. RIGHT, SO ON THE PROVISION OF WATER AND WASTEWATER SERVICE, SPECIFICALLY WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE, IT CAN BE CENTRALIZED OR DECENTRALIZED. SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CENTRALIZED, THAT'S A PUBLIC SYSTEM. WELL, ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE COUNTY, WE DON'T HAVE THIS WIDESPREAD PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE, THE ABILITY TO WHEEL WATER THROUGH PIPES OR CONVEY WASTEWATER BACK THROUGH A PIPE SYSTEM. SO YOU'RE LOOKING AT DECENTRALIZED SYSTEMS. It works great in theory, but you also have to look at the environmental settings. So on the west side of the county or over the recharge zone, you cannot be as intense. And in fact, there may be areas where it is not suitable at all because of very specific environmental provisions. So again, we're getting back to that public health safety and welfare standard. That is a hard line. It is a measurable standard. so there was some interest well how does hayes county compare to the neighboring counties based on the availability of water if you had centralized water and wastewater you could have a smaller lot subdivision but if you're over the recharge zone and you're relying only on a private well you're going to need six acres that is a standard that's in the existing regs but looking at neighboring counties that is the right number that's the counties in a good spot

And I would say that the process that we've used for now over a decade is immensely more defendable under statute than what the other counties are currently doing. I've had conversations with folks in the legislature over the last two years, and there are a number of counties in the state that have set that minimum lot size for everything. And in doing so, that, I believe, will be struck down this year, and it will be a topic of conversation.

we met with chase and michael and we're looking at some case law also related to the priority groundwater management area in the western part of the county some of the teeth allowed under regulating development the pigment may be able to extend to the entire county so again it's just you know, we're not picking and choosing. We're saying this is a consistent standard across the entire county.

And that's another place where your map can work in. Sorry, Commissioner. That's another place where your map can lay in and say, with a legend, these colored zones or spots require these, these require these, just for an easy visual for a fifth grader to see that illustration and understand the roadmap. Commissioner?

Yeah, so right now we're currently at six acres for the PIGMA. So you're saying to create the, or to make that consistent within the entire county, But, I mean, I think increasing the PIGMA is what I was hoping for, for greater than six acres. We don't have the authority to judge.

I don't think we can do that through the sub regs, but certainly through the legislature, yeah.

We can do it.

And I don't want to ignore the east side of the county. So the concern on the east side of the county is a proliferation of dense development, probably moving into more condo development. We have service water issues on the east side of the county. So same thing. We cannot look at a high density or proliferation of septic systems. Is a new septic system good? Well, yes, it would be functional. But over time, you know, it will require maintenance. It will not perform optimally. So, you know, we need to look long-term. An overriding theme in the regs, too, is who's responsible for the maintenance. That has to be defined very clearly.

So you're looking at a one-acre lot minimum for the east side?

If they have public water supply, yeah. Now, I mean, that's something we could look if we could change the standards on the east side. Again, I guess consistency across the county, if we're able to extend some of those benefits on the west side to the east side for protection of public health, safety, and welfare, maybe we can look at more surface water impacts on the east side of the county also. All right, next slide, please. All right. I think we just, yeah, last one, sorry. And also in your OSSF order, there is a table that defines the range that I was specifically.

And just so you don't lose the viewing public, when you use letters, will you keep the letters? I apologize, yeah.

On-site sewage facility. Yeah, on-site sewage facility. I've been throwing out a lot of acronyms. I apologize.

I just don't want the viewing public that is interested but doesn't have the jargon down to be lost.

Yes, and sometimes in the transcription, it doesn't come out as the right acronym. Thank you, Judge. All right, so the last topical area is related to development is the coordination with other entities, utilities, and cities. We want to make sure that that's early and an integrated process. And also, I guess the development agreement process kind of dovetails with this. It is not a process to relieve a developer from standards. It's, okay, in consideration of, say, conservation development, what are you going to do to enhance the development and ensure the long-term performance and viability of the development? So, we've talked to stakeholders about innovative concepts re having reuse water taking um treated effluent or even gray water and bringing it back into the development we we want to incentivize that to do that there has to be perform there have to be performance metrics so the the best option would be something that tceq would permit but maybe it doesn't necessarily fit under the the regs well you can use the development agreement process great we want an engineer to design it it has to be inspected here's the fiscal surety, here's the long-term performance, and turn in your annual maintenance reports. You can paper that up in a development agreement. So I think that takes us to David again. Thank you. Thank you, John.

Appreciate the discussion and the questions. So on the next slide, we... I've already alluded to kind of landing the plane here. We've got the draft that we want to publish on July 20th on the website, as Michael mentioned. We're certainly not done yet, but we are moving into a new milestone of the project where the public will have the opportunity to see the full draft, to make comments, to ask questions. We're inviting the public out again to a series of open houses at the end of the month. But again, the website is there to promote transparency, to allow the public to view the full draft regs. We want to do that through the end of the summer. We're not really looking at talking adoption or any final decisions until early fall, as you can see from the timeline. We'll be going through September to do that public review and comment period. We will come back to you with revisions based on that public comment, based on what we hear both from you and from the public during that public review period. And then we will present those findings and any possible changes before we then come and ask for final approval. We know we're also running headlong into the legislative session that will start by the end of the year. No special sessions called right now. We kind of hope that doesn't happen, but if something like that does happen, then we'll be prepared to pivot, to incorporate anything that we need to there. We'll be keeping our eye on that. But the takeaway from today is the draft, we think incorporates a lot of beneficial changes as we've outlined. One thing we didn't cover, but that I wanted to touch on that the judge mentioned, is making sure that this is a document that's accessible to everyone who will need to use it. Anyone who wants to come and file a plat can read through it, not have to hire an interpreter or a lawyer to understand what's being said. That starts with the definition section, so we've made that more robust. We've incorporated new definitions for terms that people like me commonly refer to through acronyms so that folks can understand, you know, what is an ETJ, what is an OSSF. And as they're navigating the document, they can click on a term and it will take them directly to that definition so that there's not a lot of guessing or interpretation. So on the next slide, and we can close with this, July 28th and 29th. Anybody can come to any of these. We've set these up so that there's one in each precinct, but anyone is welcome to come to any of these that works for you. They all start at 6 p.m. We don't necessarily have an ending time there. We probably go about two hours, so six to eight, but REALLY HOPING TO CAPTURE A TIME THAT WORKS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKING, WHO ARE PARENTS, THAT THEY CAN HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO COME AND TALK WITH US, DISCUSS WITH THEM FACE-TO-FACE. THERE WILL BE INFORMATIONAL BOARDS, MAPS, AS YOU MENTIONED. WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT A MAP THAT ALIGNS WITH SOME OF THOSE KIND OF PREFERRED DEVELOPMENT AREAS AS MENTIONED. And, you know, aligns with our recharge zone so that we are identifying here the more sensitive areas where development is more difficult. Here are the areas where you may have fewer challenges.

Sorry to chime in on that expansion potential while the camera gets updated. Almost like I was planning a zoning commissioner for a lot of years. So almost like a zoning of sorts. Of course, we don't have zoning authority, Chase. I know that. But my point is this, to say this purple area is SECTION K, AND YOU HAVE THESE IDEAS OF WHAT YOU WANT TO BUILD, BUT THESE ARE THE GUIDELINES THAT REPRESENT THAT FOOTPRINT. AND THAT WAY IT WILL BE A QUICKER REFERENCE POINT FOR PEOPLE. SO GREAT MOVE. YES, SIR.

THAT ALMOST LOOKED LIKE A HORROR MOVIE THERE. THAT'S MY CUE TO WRAP IT UP.

YOU HAVE COMMENTS.

I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU GOING INTO AND GETTING THESE SCHEDULED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. BUT I HAVEN'T RECEIVED ANY GRAPHIC TO POST ON ANY SOCIALS. I DON'T KNOW IF NATALIE, HAVE YOU RECEIVED ANYTHING TO BE POSTING FOR THE OPEN HOUSES? NO. OKAY.

WE'RE WORKING WITH STAFF TO HAVE A SOCIAL MEDIA that we can share like we did back in September. Yeah, that would be great.

The sooner the better, just so, because I know my community especially, they'll show up if they have significant notice.

Yeah. If they have two hours notice in Wiberly.

They'll show up no matter what. I'd like everyone that wants to show up to be able to make arrangements beforehand. Yeah. Is it okay? Can we go into comment, please?

Yes, ma'am. All yours. You're first.

So there's a couple of stakeholders that I wanted to add in there, two that I know of, and I know that Commissioner Smith has some as well. But the Driftwood Historical Conservation Society, I think, is a really great addition. They don't have, quote-unquote, city officials or anything of that nature to be able to bring to the table. And then the city of Wood Creek also was not mentioned. So I really like them to be able to be brought in and sat down with. And then also, I just had just a quick little question. What has been the most requested, since you've been sitting down with, let's say, the Watershed Association and all these other stakeholders, what has been the most requested addition into the rules and regulations that we can't put in there due to legislation, or we'd have to go to legislature to be able to get these input into our rules?

Yeah, I don't know how specific I can answer that, but water availability studies or information related to that, if we could carve out an area where we need to preserve this for recharge and to not suck the aquifer dry and just say, you know, development needs to go, you know, over here, away from the recharge zone, then it would be great to have a tool to be able to do that. And, you know, we've worked as best as we can within, you know, what I would call the gray areas where it's not a thou shalt not, but it's not a thou shalt not. either from state law. We're not trying to color outside those lines too much and put us in a position where we don't feel like things are legally defensible. But there are certain gray areas within state law where it's really more of a reasonableness test or reasonableness standard. We've tried to maximize the county's position within those areas to really address those concerns. But certainly I would bring it back to water.

And if you had, just in your discovery of going through these, if you could potentially think of a couple of policy or things that we could implement, I'd love to hear those things because, I mean, right now water is the big topic in the legislature, and it will be for this next session. So anything I can do to be able to go to the Capitol on behalf of the county and just giving me some feedback would be great. I appreciate also you working with HDR on that water supply study and getting that feedback there and incorporating that into our rules and regs. I want to say that that was great. I appreciate that. And then also just all of the meetings. I know that we're meeting heavy Thursday and Tuesday. We've got meetings. But I do appreciate you guys being very flexible and meeting with me as much as possible.

Thank you. Commissioner Smith?

Thank you. I've got several things. I know this is going to shock you after the meetings that we've had. I probably am going to go out on a limb and say we got down in the weeds a lot more than some of my colleagues, but I do have several things that I want to mention. The first one on our stakeholder list that you have there, the city of Buda is the third largest city in the county. We definitely happen to have meetings with them, and no one more so than the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District. both of those need to be added to that list. And I think those would be fruitful conversations with folks who are on the ground who are seeing these things every day. I do have concern, forgive me, and I'm gonna use, it's not an acronym, but 1445 agreements that we have with the cities, those are way past, meeting to be renegotiated. They haven't been done since 2011. That being the case, I see this rewrite as an opportunity in those stakeholder meetings with those cities. And those who are not familiar with it, that's the agreement between the individual cities Hays County as to who will do what regulations you know how we will administer those to give that clear roadmap to individuals having as much of that incorporated into this before we have to go back into those negotiations maybe next year or whenever that's going to be would be very helpful and in that process one of the things I would say is there I know and I'll just use one example I know that we have PREFERENCES THAN, SAY, THE CITY OF SAN MARCOS ON CERTAIN PLATS. WE HAVE DIFFERENT PREFERENCES THAN THE CITY OF DRIPPING SPRINGS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE CITY OF DRIPPING SPRINGS, THEY DON'T REALLY CARE ABOUT FLAG LOTS. THEY APPROVE THEM EVERY DAY. BUT THEY DON'T LIKE SHARED ACCESS DRIVEWAYS, WHICH WE APPROVE EVERY DAY. AND WE HAVE DIFFERENT, I KNOW THOSE ARE DIFFERENT PREFERENCES THAT ARE BOTH ALLOWED UNDER STATE LAW AND CERTAIN PROVISIONS, BUT IF WE CAN OUTLINE WHAT THOSE ARE AND WHEN WE HAVE THOSE STAKEHOLDER CONVERSATIONS, I THINK IT WOULD BE BEHOOVE ALL OF US AND ESPECIALLY THE PUBLIC AS THEY MOVE FORWARD AND KNOWING WHAT TO DO BECAUSE I GET JUST THIS MONTH ON THAT ONE EXAMPLE I GAVE YOU I'VE GOTTEN RESIDENTS FROM THAT ARE IN THE DRIPPING SPRINGS ETJ COME IN AND SAY WELL THE CITY WON'T APPROVE IT BUT Y'ALL ARE FINE WITH IT OR HEY Y'ALL ARE FINE OR YOU KNOW THE CITY'S FINE WITH IT BUT Y'ALL WON'T APPROVE BECAUSE IT'S A FLAG LINE SOME EXAMPLES LIKE THAT I do appreciate the submittal calendar. I think that makes things a lot easier, not only for our staff, but for the general public to understand when and how to submit their application. And it gives them a reasonable timetable on when they can expect action from the county. And any time we can add that, it would be amazing. Condo regimes. are the bane of my existence. I have probably more of them in my precinct than the other three precincts combined at this point. And I think that through some type of additional coordination with the Office of the Clerk, it would be very helpful. And I say that, I mean, I found a condo regime this week in my precinct that was filed in 2025. And Development Services was completely unaware of it because there was no requirement or there was no requirement that they submit anything to Development Services. I think that at the end of the day, there are really good actors in that area and there are really bad actors in that area. And finding any way on the front end to prevent them and incentivize them, making sure that they're going to be a good actor in the process, I think that's helpful. And so if that... within our development regs or within just countywide policy stating that whenever a condo regime is submitted to the county clerk's office, there has to be notification provided to development services. We at least get a heads up that it's been done. Even though we're not mandating what's in it, what they require, anything else, at least we know that it's there. And as they move forward in the development process, we're aware of it, which we aren't at this point. One disappointment, I will tell you, and I'm not saying it's on y'all, it's just a disappointment, is before Director Pacheco left and whenever we started y'all's contract, one of the things that I was very adamant about wanting, and this goes back all the way to former Commissioner Schell, was even if it was an interim adoption, an adoption of the conservation development regs. Like we wanted to do that Q2 of this year, then that was the plan that we had back then. I would love to see if there's any way possible, even if we don't have full adoption of the entire new rules and reg set, have that done by the fall. Because as we look at moving forward with this, it engages in so many of the things that we've talked about, specifically property set aside, water conservation, all of those that we don't have that legal authority to say, but it gives us the ability to incentivize people to do the right thing where we need it. I think that the sooner the better on that, and I would hope that we could get that done before the end of the year. The other thing I would say, and this is a larger conversation for the court itself, is as we look at those... As we look at those developments that have a special utility district, a municipal utility district, some type of other taxing entity there, within the next two or three months, I want to bring back a provision or a resolution to the court to adopt the type of taxing And I've spoken to both transportation and development services about this to bring in the type of regulatory structure specific to what Williamson County does. Commissioner Inglesby made a great point earlier. A lot of these They may not build the correct standards, or if they do, then they pay for that two-year bond, and we go in five years later and figure out that there was only two inches of road base underneath there. And then we're having to repair that, because at the two-year mark, that bond expires, we do whatever amount of repairs are there. What Williamson County does is they mandate that those have to be built to county standards, and they take ownership of it at that two-year bond. They maintain it to year eight. At year eight, it reverts back to that mud or sud or whatever the special district is. And at that time, that gives that sud or mud that development time to build out and have a maintenance budget and have a dedicated infrastructure budget to maintain those roadways so that they never have to come back to the county. And I've had conversations with their transportation staff and I specifically ask, What maintenance is required in that eight years? How much do y'all do? And the answer is we make them build up to our standards after the two years. There's no maintenance in that eight years, but it gives them the ability to grow to a point where they can take it over and the county never has to worry about it. I I'll probably bring that back prior to this adopted but looking at the standards that they have and the possible inclusion in the final version of this as it should be written would be helpful as well and I know Aaron is familiar with that we've already talked about it several times and that's a give-and-take which I appreciate I like that Commissioner Inglesby

I really appreciate what you just said, Commissioner, regarding the road and the responsibility of that. It's difficult when they want to be private roads and then they deteriorate to a condition where it's so expensive to fix and then the people come here to the court and wanting us to take those over. Anything that we can do to improve that. I really just appreciate the work. I think that there's been a lot of topics that this court was concerned about that y'all have hit and touched on and are improving. I appreciate all the stakeholder and community involvement. I think that's extremely important. The submittal calendar, I think, also is great. And I know, and we've spoken internally about this, and I think consistency is really good regarding lot size and we talked about one acre minimum on the east side and I just want to be careful also because there are a lot of people that may not be able to afford a full acre. I'm open to it and I'm not saying that we shouldn't go there but I'd like to have a little bit more conversation about that. Um, and I would also like to add the city of Niederwald in some of those discussions. I know they're a smaller city, but they are experiencing a lot of growth. And I think that, um, they have come to the county and need assistance. And so I think just getting some of their input would be important. So if you could reach out, yeah, Ulan's in here. I did see Ulan, uh, but Niederwald was not. And so if you would reach out to them, I think it would go a long ways. Yeah, and the notification on the condo regimes, I think, is extremely important. So if we can get something incorporated, that would be great. But thank you all.

Good job. Commissioner? So thank you so much for the presentation. One other stakeholder that came to mind was the school districts, because now we have school districts who are getting into the business of partnering with developers to create a very large development to house the teacher and the staff, right? And we are aware of one going along 21 in, in needle wall. Um, and so I think it's probably a good idea to engage with the school district, specifically, Hey, CISD, you know, because I know that they're, they're working on that. And so, you know, I'm concerned of, what are we missing there? What conversations are we not being a part of that may be happening within the school districts and the developer? So maybe that's another one that we could take a look at, but I do appreciate the information and the engagement. I'm always thinking what more can we do to try and inform people about this effort other than the public meetings, you know, survey, you know, online surveys or, you know, anything we can do to better do that outreach, you know, because there's always, you know, some group that says, oh, you know, I didn't know about it or I wasn't able to go or wasn't enough time. So, you know, trying to cast that net of, you know, outreach of how else can we get this information in front of people, right, to give their input. I do appreciate the work that's been done so far, and I'm really looking forward to the outcome. And I mimic everything that my colleagues have said, the concerns that they have and questions the same as mine. For the east side, it is about the growing infrastructure and the water quality and things that you've mentioned are really important. And how do we move forward with some of these lots? that are in dire straits, like Hillside Terrace, for example, right? How do we find a path forward for that area? Lots of things, you know, that we need to think about, but I do appreciate the work that you have done for us so far, and I'm looking forward to the end result. So, thank you. Thank you.

I repeat, for emphasis, I highlight, I italicize, and underline. Diminish discretion at every opportunity. Diminish discretion. Diminish discretion. Thank you, guys.

The other thing I would say, and to your point, Commissioner Cohen, is that one of the biggest concerns that I have is as we see more of those developments associated with specifically with the school districts, the school districts have never had an issue coming and asking us for variances or coming and asking us for things or telling us they're going to do something a certain way and then we have to figure it out. And I have a real concern. I see a lot of heads nodding on this. I have real concerns that WHILE WE LOVE OUR COLLEAGUES OVER THERE AND OUR TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT JUST TURNED AROUND AND LOOKED AT ME BECAUSE HE KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. There may not be an assumption that they're going to have to follow the same rules that everybody else does. And I just want to reiterate that they should have to follow the same rules that everybody else does. Even though it's for a good cause, and I truly believe in the cause, that doesn't give them the ability or shouldn't give them the ability to not follow the same rules as everybody else.

And just one more, Judge, a Spanish version. Do we have a Spanish version of our subdivision rules and regs online currently? If not, we probably need to consider that at some point.

Thank you. Thank you again. Thank you. Please open F2.

F2, adopt a proclamation recognizing July 2026 as America 250 month in Hayes County.

Second.

Proclamation recognizing July as America 250 month in Hays County, whereas on July 4th, 1776, our nation's founders adopted the Declaration of Independence, establishing the United States of America upon the enduring principles of liberty, equality, and self-government and the unalienable rights of people, and whereas the year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America, a historic milestone known as the semi-quantum providing an opportunity for America to reflect upon our nation's remarkable history, celebrating our shared heritage, and recommit ourselves to the ideals that unite us. Whereas, throughout the past 250 years, generations of Americans have demonstrated courage, resilience, innovation, and service in defending our freedom, strengthening our communities, and preserving our constitutional republic. And whereas, Hays County is proud of its own rich history and contributions of residents, veterans, first responders, educators, civic leaders, and businesses, farmers, ranchers, and volunteers who continue to embody the values of service, hard work, and community that has shaped both our county and our nations. And whereas the America 250 celebration provides an opportunity to honor the sacrifices of those who secured and defended our freedoms, recognizes the diversity of experience, and that has contributed to our nation's story, educated future generations about our constitutional heritage, and inspire continued civic engagement and whereas the Hays County Commissioner Court encourages all residents to participate in patriotic observance, educational programs, community events, volunteer services, and other activities throughout the month that commemorate our nation's founding and celebrate the blessing of liberty for future generations. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Hays County Commissioner Court hereby recognizes July, 2026 as America 250 month in Hays County, Texas and calls upon all residents to join us in collaborating the 250th birthday of the United States of America by honoring our history, celebrating our freedoms and renewing our commitment to the principles upon which our nation was founded. Adopted this the seventh day of July, 2026 statement.

Will you please call the roll?

Commissioner Inglesby. Yes. Commissioner Smith. Yes. Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Judge Posita? Yes. Commissioner?

Yeah, I just wanted to bring forth, first of all, I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July and celebrated the 250th of our great nation. Proud to be an American, and I hope everyone is as well. I think we need to do more things that unite us as a country, and I do think that we are moving in that direction, and I want to continue to see us move in that direction. I was really hoping to be able to celebrate this after a World Cup win. Unfortunately, that didn't really happen for us. But I will say during this time where the World Cup is in North America, you have seen a lot of people come together. You've seen a lot of countries come together. You've seen a lot of countries celebrate America and get to experience it for the first time. So we just live in such an amazing country. And at the end of the day, we're all Americans. And I appreciate this court. And we always move forward with treating everyone with equity and respect. And so Just wanted to give this a, not only recognize it, but to be proud of supporting this proclamation.

Well done, well done. Commissioner? Nothing to add, just excited that, I know there were festivities countywide. I was able to participate in actually several in Wimberley, and the rodeo is always my favorite event in Wimberley during July 4th, and I just also want to thank all of our employees throughout the county who I know participated either as volunteers or as our law enforcement who were at every event. I know that it was a busy weekend for our employees, and I really appreciate their assistance and them helping our citizen.

Mr. Halesby?

Commissioner Wilson, thank you so much for providing this proclamation. And I think exactly what you said, you know, the World Cup has brought so many nations together. And, you know, we're all human. We all should be respected. And, yeah, I appreciate it. There was the proclamation.

Thank you, Commissioner, for your proclamation. And you're right. I think that we can't forget, you know, the unified message of what this country is about and, you know, being united in all of our efforts and take care of one another. So I appreciate that.

All right. Well, thank you very much. Please open F3.

F3, adopt a proclamation recognizing July 2026 as Parks and Recreation Month.

So moved. Second. If you'll please read it.

Proclamation recognizing July 2026 as Parks and Recreation Month, whereas parks and recreation are an integral part of communities throughout this country, including Hayes County, and whereas parks and recreation promote health and wellness, improving the mental and physical health of people who live near parks. And whereas parks and recreation promotes time spent in nature, which positively impacts mental health by increasing cognitive performance and well-being and alleviating illness such as depression, attention deficient disorder, and Alzheimer's. And whereas parks and recreation can encourage physical activities by providing hiking trails, swimming, educational programming, and spaces for play to promote active lifestyle. And whereas parks and recreation increases a community's economic prosperity through increased property values, expansion of the local tax base, increased tourism, and attract and retention of businesses and crime reduction. And whereas parks and recreation are fundamental to the environment well-being of our community, and whereas parks and recreation areas improve water quality, protect groundwater, prevent flooding, improve the quality of air we breathe, and provide vegetative buffers to development and produce habitat for wildlife. And whereas parks and recreation are essential and adaptable infrastructure that makes our communities resilient in the face of natural disaster and climate change. And whereas our parks and natural recreation areas ensure the ethological beauty of our community and provide a place for people of all ages and abilities to connect with nature and recreate outdoors. And whereas The U.S. House of Representatives has designated July as Park Recreation Month, whereas Hayes County recognizes the benefits derived from parks and recreation resources. Now, therefore, it be resolved that the Hayes County Commissioner Court does hereby proclaim July as Parks and Recreation Month, and Hayes County adopted this the seventh day of July 2026. Beautiful.

Please call the roll.

Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. And I think we have someone here to speak on this item.

State your name and title, please. Carl Flocky, Director of Parks and Natural Resources. And I'm very happy to be here joining y'all for my very first Parks and Recreation Month as the Director of Parks and Natural Resources. And if I'm not mistaken, for our second time ever with a standalone department of Parks and Natural Resources. And I would be remiss if I did not thank the court for that. But rather than listening to me pontificate on that, I'd be pleased if Catherine Sturdivant would join me, one of our parks and education coordinators, to speak a little bit on the subject.

Good morning, everybody. Go ahead and pull up some notes. Thank you, Carl. Thank you, Judge and Commissioners, for having me here today. I couldn't think of a better proclamation to follow. We just talked about connection and America and having hot dogs in our parks. And I'm here to talk a little bit more about all of that. I hope everybody had a wonderful Fourth of July, whether you spent it outdoors or inside. And as Carl just stated, I'm here to talk today to you guys about Parks and Rec Month. My name is Catherine. I'm one of our education and outreach coordinators. And I'm here for a seventh year in a row to proclaim it, Parks and Recreation Month here in Hays County. This is an initiative brought forth by the National Recreation and Park Association, who have declared it Park and Rec Month here in America for over 40 years now. It's always something to celebrate. This year, well, every year, National Recreation and Park Association chooses a theme, something to highlight. And this year, we are highlighting the power of parks. Specifically, I want to talk to you guys about the power of our parks, preserves, and natural areas here in Hays County. Our parks have the power. They have the power to connect people physically and mentally. Limestone Link opened up last year here in Hays County. I got to see a few of y'all at the grand opening. Limestone Link forms a critical connection on the San Marcos Greenbelt, which is truly one of the treasures here in Hays County. It connects us along a large swath of trails that span from one side of San Marcos to the other, But beyond the physical connections, our parks and preserves are sites where our community meets, where relationships grow, and where thoughts are shared back and forth between us all. Our parks have the power to restore. As mentioned in the proclamation, time spent in nature promotes healthy minds and healthy bodies. Our natural areas are sites where we can recharge, grow, heal, and seek peace while improving our physical and mental health. Our parks have the power to inspire. They are sites that spark creativity and joy and research and stewardship, memories as well. People come to places like Jacobs Well Natural Area to study and film and paint and play and sometimes propose to each other. And I've witnessed visitors conquer their fear of snakes, find the missing piece in that groundwater puzzle, learn to distinguish moth from butterfly. There is a difference. Discover a passion for conservation and witness firsthand the impacts of drought and flood as they look upon Jacob's Well. These images and experiences, I believe, are powerful, lifelong, and iterative, and they make us who we are. To give you a personal example, I might strike you guys as someone who's pretty outdoorsy. You'd absolutely be right. I am who I am because of the parks, the forests, and the vacant lots where I grew up playing as a small child. But since I've taken this job, I've changed for the better. Believe it or not, I actually have been afraid of birds my entire life. for a very long time. Maybe it was the ostriches at the Natural Bridge Safari Park at a very young age. I don't know. But I was still quite afraid of birds when I took this position. And that has changed over the last few years as I have gotten to see birds up close and appreciate their beauty. I've gotten to learn about them and understand the way that they are, observe their behavior, and learn more about them in depth. In my understanding, there first came an acceptance, then appreciation, and now a deep love. These days, you'll find me usually at the park talking about how cute our vulture population is. So big 180. Along this journey, I found new connections in every corner of this experience. There was a woman at the park just a few weeks ago who'd shown up for a bird hike on a whim. She had come out to Wimberley for her birthday, and her partner had seen the event and signed them up for it. I got to hand her a pair of binoculars that she looked through for the very first time. And as we walked over to the birding station and she looked through those binoculars, a painted bunting, one of our most beautiful migratory birds, landed right in front of her. And as she stared silently and still, taking in the beauty, she said, I think I like birds now. Yes, that was a big day for me. There's our neighbor Tom, one of our lifelong birders, a neighbor who gets up every morning and walks through our park. And I've grown to recognize his handwriting in the birding station. I seek it out on our observation logs to see what he's seen in our parks. And just a few weekends ago, our volunteer Betsy was in the parks checking our bluebird boxes. She comes in, tracks the growth of the baby birds as they grow up in their nest boxes, documenting their lifespan. But two weekends ago, she came and grabbed me and brought me over to the nest that had been predated, unfortunately. It looked like a large raccoon had climbed up the box, reached in, and started pulling the nest out bit by bit, as they sometimes do. She called me over to kind of examine the wreckage. And as she pulled that pin out and slid that lid open, my heart kind of dropped into my stomach. I turned away. And then I heard her exclaim, they're alive. There were tiny little baby mouths, tiny baby bodies in there. They had survived, all of them. I don't know how. Quickly, we put the nest back together. We closed the box back up, and we watched. We waited with bated breath, and soon enough, within an hour, the mom had returned. Betsy came back last week and got photos of those same baby birds. They're huge. They're covered in feathers, and soon they're going to be fledging and leaving that box for good. This complete transformation for me took years, but I watched something very similar play out in the faces and the experiences of our visitors every single day as they find new experiences, new connections, and creativity. Right now, there are 740 acres of public land accessible for our visitors, our residents, our tourists here in Hays County. And soon that number is going to jump up to close to 1,300 as we expect the opening of Cape's Pond, Sentinel Peak Preserve, and tons of other projects that we can't wait to share with everybody. And I just want to remind you guys that there's plenty of space for everybody to connect, to play, and to find inspiration. So go ahead and get out there. Explore our parks. And this July, let's celebrate the power of Parks and Rec. Thank you.

Well done. That deserves an applause. For eight years, I've been watching people at that podium. And yes, I remember the tour you gave me when I went to your shop. That's what I call it, your headquarters. you are one of the best speakers in eight years telling a story. So that was truly enjoyable. Holy smokes. Good job. Good job. Commissioner.

Thank you, Catherine. Thank you so much for sharing that. That, that was wonderful. And you know, Carl, just a testament also to your leadership, you know, the knowledge that you have, uh, really appreciate, um, you know, you being here in Hayes County and choosing us, uh, to further your career. So thank y'all so much. And I really appreciate all the work that y'all do. Please pass that along to your staff, your entire staff. You have a wonderful group of individuals working for us. Thank you.

Commissioner Cohen. Thank you, Catherine, for your speech. I could feel like the passion when you were speaking about the parks and how it's impacted your life and just actually guided you. on where you are today, and I so appreciate your dedication to that, to our Parks Department. Carl, thank you so much. You've done a fabulous job with parks since you've taken over, and it's wonderful. And we saw the testament to what parks give to people over this holiday weekend, right? The parks were full of people participating and just being together and being united. as a country and a community and enjoying the park space. And it just shows how much value that parks bring us and that we need to cherish and protect as best we can. So thank you all so much for everything y'all do. Absolutely. Commissioner Hammer.

Oh, I just love our parks and natural resources department. It's just, it makes me so happy. Carl and Jay, y'all's leadership in this department has been just top notch. And I know that everyone under you flourishes just because of y'all. And so I very much appreciate everything. Former Commissioner Shell once told me, he said, be a sucker for passion. This is right before I took office. And I didn't know really what that meant. And as I came into this role and I saw the beauty that surrounds my precinct and just the fight that we have to make sure that it stays that way. It has just been, I've become that passionate, right? So all of the passion that y'all have for what you do every day, it is so needed. And passion is what makes us thrive as humans, right? And does unite us at the end of the day. We are on our way to Wimberley for the rodeo this weekend. And My husband and I were just talking about first world problems, you know, things that really don't matter. And then my daughter goes, mommy, look at all, like she just goes, it's so beautiful. And it really just, it hurt my heart. I mean, it didn't hurt my heart. It made my heart really happy because it is so beautiful and it makes us really appreciate everything that surrounds us. And God made this beautiful earth. So I very much appreciate all the things that y'all do. Thank you.

Commissioner Smith.

I was excited when Carl and I talked about me bringing this resolution forth because I knew that the court itself, everybody up here supports y'all, not only y'all as employees, but y'all as people. And again, I'm super excited. I'd be remiss if I didn't say thank you to Tammy Crumley for her direction of the parks department for as long as she had it. Um, I'm super excited that we have that stand alone functional parks department now for a variety of reasons, but having a Having a true system, we've grown enough where we have a true system. I think one of the first things that whenever the judge and I actually got on the court that I was so excited about was going through the post-act process and Commissioner Schell and I sitting down and trying to map out how we could make that process work. And we're seeing the fruit that that tree is bearing finally now in a lot of different ways. And we've gotten a lot of those projects on the ground, but we've still got a lot more to go. say thank you enough to Jay for his stewardship and the work that he's done and the one thing that in that process that I was so excited about and I have to reiterate what my colleague said knowing the passion of the employees in that department I mean it is truly a passion it is a love that y'all have and giving y'all are y'all having the ability to share that with our public on a daily basis I can't wait for Sentinel Peak to open. I can't wait for Capes Pond to open because it's going to give more opportunities for you all to have those interactions and share that passion that you have with our community. It really is one of the, I think, the shining stars of our county. And if you all don't get told that on a daily basis, you should. And whenever you're out there, you know, clearing trails or doing some of those things that aren't the most fun part of your job, just remember that there are people out here who really appreciate it and they know the importance of it and we're really thankful for you.

Thank you. I think you feel the thank yous every time you're out there because if you're in tune, which I believe you are, The whole world is talking to you, from the plants to the birds to the squirrels to the raccoons. They're all talking to you, saying thank you for the nurturing of the environment. Well done. Good job. And I am going to say that I am grateful that I had the privilege of helping to nudge. Tucker, you'll know and see how many times this was required. No one will ever know, but you do, because you kept looking at me. Every time we were having executive session conversations, to make Sentinel Peak happen. I'm so grateful that I did everything I could to drag that thing over the finish line because there were a few places where it was going under. It wasn't going to happen, or it wasn't going to do this, or it wasn't going to do that. And so I'm just so grateful to also say that's my favorite. So when it opens, I know I've had the beautiful gift of the tours and helping to develop its formation for the community. But when that opens, everyone's going to get to see why we keep bringing up that place. It's truly state park designation. I am just genuinely impressed. in love with that purchase that we made for our community. True. And highlighting that it was from 700 to about to be 1,300 acres. People need to realize that because, as Commissioner said, POSAC, Parks Open Space Advisory Commission that we created, was deliberately designed in part to help recharge, to help preserve, to help... us all as a community to help create the sense of place, the sense of community. And I say this periodically, have Hays County be the central park of Central Texas. And so it is truly because of the work you do that we are most rewarded as a community. And I can't wait to be there the day it opens. Commissioner, somebody else?

I was just going to say, I cannot... Since I've been on the court, there's never been anyone who has been as dedicated to y'all's efforts as former Commissioner Schell. And I view, as the judge has stated, the importance of Sentinel Peak. I think everyone up here understands that it is truly the most, I'm not going to say the most important project, possibly the most impactful project that came out of POSAC. And I would be remiss if I didn't say that should be a lasting legacy on behalf of Lawn Shell because he is truly, I would consider, the father of Sentinel Peak, and hopefully someday we can recognize that.

I just want to say, Carl's going to hate me for saying this, but spring 2027, it's going to open. So I'm very excited for Sentinel Peak as well. Thank you. And I just wanted to say thank you for everyone on this court. Everyone on this court made Sentinel Peak possible because they were the ones that took from their, I mean, we're going to repay y'all, but from the parks bond, they contributed to being able to produce Sentinel Peak as fast as we could.

That's right. And it is customary for us all to take a picture.

Judge, just real quickly, I didn't see Jay back there because he's hidden behind the podium, but I really want to recognize him also and just thank him for the awesome work that you do, Jay. Thank you so much.

Thank you so much for all this. Looking right over here. One, two, three. Please open F4. F4, adopt a proclamation recognizing the contributions made by the Council of the Indigenous and Tejano Community, CITC. So moved. Second. If you'll please read it.

PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY THE COUNCIL FOR THE INDIGITOUS AND TEJANO COMMUNITY. WHEREAS WE HUMBLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE LAND ON WHICH WE STAND HAS BEEN HOME OF THE PEOPLE AND RESILIENT COMMUNITY THAT HAS FLOURISHED FOR MILLENNIA PREDATING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE UNITED STATES, TEXAS OR HAYES COUNTY AND WHEREAS THE COUNCIL FOR THE INDIGITOUS AND TEJANO COMMUNITY CITC WAS ESTABLISHED IN JANUARY 2021. with the mission to elevate the voices of those who have historically been silenced and dismissed. And whereas the seven founding members who laid the foundation of CITC are Gina Alba Rogers, Anita Collins, Irma Gitan, Maria Rocha, Frank Arredondo, Bobby Garza Hernandez, and Ruben Becerra. CITC has made significant strides in preserving history, having successfully secured the installation of four historical markers in Hays County, including those of Don Felipe Roque de la Portilla in San Marcos, La Sociedad Mutulista Cuauhtuki in San Marcos, the Alba Ranch in Dripping Springs, and the Veracruz family in Cayo. And whereas, undertold historical marker text is being finalized for the East Guadalupe neighborhood in San Marcos and updates to the application of the Texas Historical Commission for Isabella Gonzalez Cruz of Wimberley. She was the only Mexican female landowner and stock breeder shown on the 1860 CNIS end, whereas CITC has conducted six visual history interviews titled a century of Tejano history with families who have lived in Hays County for 100 years or more, with the footage of three of the interviews available to the public on the CITC website, and whereas CITC proudly opened a museum exhibit in May 2025 titled The Past Within Us that was worked on for years and a half, showcasing the history of indigenous and Tejano people on the Calhoutican land known as Hayes County, and humbly recognize it could not have been done without the collaboration of persons and organizations throughout the state of Texas. And whereas CITC invites everyone to join the other 2,100 guests who have visited the museum exhibits in the past year in Suite 104 in the Hayes County Historic Courthouse every Saturday from 10 a.m. to p.m. and join in recognizing and celebrating the value contributions made by many descendants of the indigenous and Tejano families in Hays County. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that the Hays County Commissioner Court does hereby recognize the several meaningful contributions made by the council for the indigenous and Tejano community as they celebrate their 50th anniversary. Adopted this the seventh day of June, 2026.

Beautifully done. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. And I see two members. Come on up to the podium. If you'll state your name and title for the viewing public.

Yes, hello, Anita Collins with the Council for the Indigenous and Tohono Community. I am one of the founding members. First of all, I'd like to thank Commissioner Cohen for sponsoring this proclamation. Judge Becerra and the commissioners on our court here, thank you so much for approving this proclamation. I'd like to make one small correction to the proclamation. Instead of $2,100, Visitors, we had almost 2,500 visitors. We found another book of signatures and so we counted those in. But also, but to thank me To thank you, I receive thanks all the time when we do anything with the council. We receive thanks from people who visit the museum, who for the first time see themselves in the exhibit of a museum. We receive thanks from families who stand proudly next to historical markers that tell the story of their ancestors. We receive thanks from children who tell us they didn't know about or were not taught that history that they see in the exhibit. And then they find history to be interesting. We receive thanks from Texas State volunteers who help us out year after year. We receive thanks from Texas State students who attended the ICI summer camp and learned about their indigenous roots and then are reminded of those roots when they attend our museum or when they come to visit our museum. We receive thanks when we're invited by the Texas Alliance for Texas History and the Texas Historical Commission to speak on their panels. That is humbling, to say the least. And we've only been in existence for five years. And I thank everyone for that. We have recently been invited to participate in a 2027 Texas Historical Commission Real Places panel. And it is a great honor to be invited. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Gina, would you like to say a few words? I'm surprised. Are you sure?

No, I'm just glad I was able to sponsor this for y'all. Thank y'all for all the hard work and the wonderful work you've done within the museum. It is great to see that representation for those who don't maybe get to see that very often. So it is very impactful, and I appreciate everything that y'all are doing. I appreciate the founders of getting this started and start moving that needle forward of representation. So thank you so much for everything you're doing. Thank you.

Thank you, Judge. Yes, Anita, Gina, and everybody that's been involved, I want to thank you all so much for the hard work that you all have done to bring real meaning and a better understanding of the awesome and significant contributions that the indigenous and Tejano communities have made to Hays County. So thank you so much.

Commissioner Smith? I just want to say you all have come a long way. It's always good to hear from y'all, and I'm glad that y'all keep moving forward. I'm always interested to see and hear what the next untold marker is y'all are looking at. And I would just remind you, as you look at those, come and talk to us. We can always look at resolutions of support on those or how we can be helpful and beneficial. Glad to see that all but one is installed and after the groundbreaking, or not the groundbreaking, but the presentation last year. Commissioner Hammer.

What y'all do is so important to keep the memory alive of everything that's been here and before we've been a country. I know we just celebrated our 250th, but you guys and everything that y'all do extend way before then. So thank y'all for all the work that you do. It's not something that, you know, it's volunteer work that you just put your heart and your soul into. So I very much appreciate you being able to continue to do that work and celebrate those of your ancestors and I was able to go into your, I brought my family, so that was fun. My mom was in town from Colorado, so she was able to go down there and check it out as well. So thank y'all so much.

So what you said, Anita, was right on the money about giving thanks. And people in our community, for the first time, seeing themselves in this museum. And I don't need to go into all the details as to how this council was created and why. But the truth is for since five years ago now, time flies when you're having fun. When you roll the clock back five years to inception, that museum did not represent a whole picture or as close to a whole picture. And I am just a grateful witness because whether some people like it or not, I will go down as one of the guys that helped create it. And so I will always remember how, I won't mention any names, but how people approached my office so furious with what was going on and how people were getting kicked off of boards and commissions and being excluded. And let's fight them and let's do this. And I said, no, let's not use that energy to fight. Let's use the energy instead to create. and thus was the creation of CITC. It was energy well spent. And I will tell you, as I wind down my almost a decade in office here as the county judge, it feels like that for sure, I will tell you, I will feel forever grateful to have opened, because you guys did all the walking, but opened the doorways for people to see themselves, like you've mentioned the children seeing themselves now where they didn't before. Never. Especially at a time when we're deleting people from history and rewriting it. It is ever more important. And so the idea that I had a tiny sliver in It's creation, because I've said it every time you guys put me in front of anyone, you're the ones doing the work. I never want to take credit for that. But I will say, here in this court of record, in this moment, honoring this five-year mark, it is just truly wonderful to see what this wonderful chapter of a reflection of our community that was denied access, because that's what it was, is going to not only continue to do, but in the many years to come. So I'm just totally excited, totally grateful. And this is one of those wonderful little gifts I can take forever with me. So thank you.

Judge, we just want to say as well.

If you'll state your name and title for the viewing public.

Gina Alba Rogers. Just want to say thank you. We could not have done initially getting started without your support.

and commissioners as well where we're truly grateful yeah it's true because and i i i i appreciate that because at a time when we don't even let newspaper stands with no political comments sit next to your door as you're opening up proven no political comments and and you're made to remove it i mean Representation of information is a very big deal. It's a very big deal. And so letting kids see themselves, that they are a part of history, that they do have a legacy here, that they are appreciated and revered. And I think some people might forget that it is that that will make better citizenry. when you have that pressure of being the first, or being the line of, or being in a group of, and people see you, that dials in expectations internally that we all as a community benefit from. And so the more you do this, the more you're serving all of our communities. So thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. It's customary to take a picture.

Yes, and thank you. We look forward to what the future does hold.

Right on. Let's come on up and take a picture. Thank you very much.

I just thought about it. Sorry for thinking about it late. Can you update it to 2,500? That's a great idea. And then you have a big two of them. This is again, I don't think I have an original white number, but I can point to myself.

All right, so that was very cool. I've been asked to pull K-8, and so in the spirit of movement and progress, we're going to go K-6, and then I see you, Mayor, K-1, and then we're going to take a short recess. All right, so we're going to go K6 and then K1.

Good morning again.

K6, discussion and possible action to improve the installation of two National Park Service panels, one interpretive panel and one oriental panel on the southeast corner of the courthouse grounds, which has highlighted the El Camino Real de los Tejas trails that run on two sides of the historic courthouse. and to submit a letter stating such to the National Park Services. So moved.

Second.

All right. Now you go.

Thank you. Good morning again. Gina Alva-Rogers, founding member of CITC, Council for the Indigenous and Tejano Community. Our organization's mission is to preserve the history of the earliest settlers in this area, and we especially seek to preserve indigenous history in Hays County and the San Marcos Springs. We want to thank you for supporting us, supporting trail awareness and the stories of the El Camino Real. These trails trace both sides of this courthouse. and east of IH 35, now Old Bastrop Highway. Our interests in these interpretive and orientation panels is to highlight the existence of indigenous historic lives. And we also want to connect this history to the community and the public who visit this historic courthouse, leading to the San Marcos Springs and also part of Sewell Park. In July 2022, CITSE set out to install 14 El Camino original, El Camino Real original historic signs that had been placed in storage for eight years. Within two months, CITSE had all 14, along with the support of the commissioners, had all 14 signs installed along this historic route connecting Central Texas and Hays County. As early as 2023, we came before this court seeking approval of National Park Service interpretive and orientation panels for the courthouse. And the panels have been secured and the artwork has been created by the National Park Service. There have been many stops and starts, including the COVID season, the closure of some of the NPS government offices across the country, and due to reduced staffing, which stalled some of the work. We are thankful for your confidence in us and continue to continue this hard work we have been doing in the community. Without support like yours, our work would have ceased years ago. On call or available virtually are both the National Park Service, Carol Clark, and then also Stephen Gonzalez, who is the executive director of the El Camino Real. We'd like to allow them to talk a little bit more about what we are proposing for the corner of this courthouse, this triangle that's over here on this end.

That's a great idea. And I want you to know on the main screen, Steven Gonzalez is going to introduce himself and give us his wonderful title and all. But I met him. You're talking about signs being put away for so long. I met him because Anita told me, or maybe it was you, I don't remember, about Camino Real de los Tejas. We had a bunch of signs that were collecting dust for years. also and that were put away and soon as I found out I said oh what let's find out and I leaned in like I do and I reached out to Aaron luckily he's here because I can thank him and I said Aaron this is what's going on and this is what I hear and I hear these are getting these are collecting mothballs and he immediately jumped right to it and said yes sir come on down to transportation they're right here let me show them to you and I mean The rest is history. So I thank Aaron in this space for helping to create Aaron, the director of transportation for the county, in helping to take Stephen Gonzalez's really national mission and make sure that here in Hays County, people can follow the trail with the signs. So Stephen, I gave you a soft intro. All you, buddy.

Thank you judge and thank you commissioners and everyone there in attendance. I'm sorry, I'm not there with you in person. Apparently my incorrect email address was on file and I didn't find out about this meeting until yesterday morning. So I apologize. Otherwise I would have been there in person. Well, yes, I'm Steven Gonzalez, Executive Director of El Camino Real de las Tejas National Historic Trail Association. We're the nonprofit partner of the National Park Service in the protection and development of the Camino across Texas and Louisiana. And we were formerly based in San Marcos at Texas State University from 2007 until 2011 there at the River Systems Institute at the headwaters of the San Marcos. Presently we're based in Austin and we work all across Central Texas with communities like yours. So this is a really great opportunity for the county to highlight the history of the Camino Real. The Camino is the road that led to the founding of Texas. We wouldn't be calling Texas, Texas without it today. Originally it was a Native American footpath that was later followed by Spanish explorers, French explorers, Anglo settlers, even African Americans seeking freedom from slavery in the American South as they came into Spanish and Mexican Texas to escape that slavery. So it really is elemental to the state's history. If you think about Things such as the Battle of the Alamo and those early battles for Texas independence. So many of those battles or the troop movements for those battles took place along routes of the Camino Real as they were going to San Antonio, Goliad and places like that. So again, it is really elemental to the state's history. It did take an act of the US Congress to designate the Camino Real as a national historic trail. And it was Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison on the Senate side that supported that legislation and former House member Ciro Rodriguez from San Antonio who supported on the House side. So the Camino has always had bipartisan support since the very beginning. And it's something that we can all be very proud of as Texans. I heard you a little earlier talking about, you know, accepting the proper proclamation for July to celebrate the anniversary of the 250th anniversary of the founding of our country, the independence of our country. And the Camino was actually, you know, had a connection to that. That is the Camino Real is the Texas connection to the American Revolution. During that time, Spanish cattle were rounded up from the missions in San Antonio and other places across Texas and driven along the Camino Real to places like New Orleans and Florida to feed those Spanish troops as they battled the British in support of the American independence movement. So the Camino is that connection that Texas has, too. American independence. And so, you know, I think the County has a great opportunity right now to allow the installation of these panels on its ground. As Gina said just a minute ago, There are multiple routes of the Camino Real that pass on either side of the county courthouse. And San Marcos itself would not be in existence if it wasn't for the Camino Real. As you know, San Marcos de Neve was founded on the south and west bank of the San Marcos River there at Ligehe Crossing. And so it is something that is a part of your community and has been for years. And the county and the community at large has the potential to capitalize on the Camino and its not only historic heritage, but its economic potential. Heritage tourism is the second biggest section of tourism in the Texas tourist economy, only to shopping. And so heritage tourists are generally older, more fluent, more educated, and they will come to your communities more often to experience these historic resources and spend money at the hotels and the restaurants and the gas stations and things like that. And so these trails can help to drive your communities. We have recently issued a plan that the county and the city can use as an example, to work with developers so that they can develop portions of the Camino Real in their developments along say the old Bastrop Road, Post Road or other places like that within the community. So there's a lot of economic potential for the development of the Camino in the County. And I think it can all begin here at the County Courthouse where the first potential NPS branded signs in the County interpretive and orientation signs in the County could be installed and it could all start right here in Hays County. And so we hope that the commission will be supportive of this and approve this motion to have those signs installed. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Stephen. And then our other speaker, if you'll introduce your name with title, please. We'll turn that one to the big screen.

Okay. Hi, my name is Carol Clark. I'm an interpretive specialist with the National Park Service. I work in an office called National Trails, and I'm talking to you from Santa Fe, New Mexico, which is where our primary office is located. We administer 10 National Historic Trails across 24 states, and El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail is one of them, and actually getting a lot of emphasis in our workload for the public in the next year, thanks to some of the work that Steven has done to acquire funds to expand interpretation along the trail. Our goal is to help communities tell their story. So where these historic routes pass through communities, we have a legal mandated by Congress opportunity to work with partners who tell the stories of the trail. And so SITC is definitely one of them. Our primary partner, as Stephen said, is El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historical Association, which is a mouthful, but it is our official arm. And so I've been working with your community members to design exhibits there for the courthouse, also for the spring. And we hope that we're going to be able to create a retracement path where people who come to down and are interested in the trail can also walk between the courthouse and the springs, walk through campus along the river, and get a sense for moving today along the historic route. And what the exhibits do is orient people to how the trail came through town, It'll use historic maps as well as artwork. So the orientation exhibit is designed to connect San Marcos to the larger context of the trail and invite people to take a walk and experience more of San Marcos than the one stop at the courthouse. So as Stephen said, it's one of those economic motivators where we'll get people to walk through town more, encourage more visitation, and offer people a few things to do while they are in town. And the second exhibit is an art piece that we're investing in, which is reaching its final planning stages. And it will show the trail through time. So if you can imagine sort of the left side of the exhibit will highlight indigenous presence and the footpath. And then we'll move through time as we approach the courthouse and then all the way through to the springs. to give people a sense of the scale and scope of San Marcos history from early inhabitants to the present. And I am the designer for the project.

Beautiful, beautiful. Does anyone have any questions or comments for either of them that are on the screen, starting with Commissioner Smith? Sure.

I just want to say, as I wrap up my term of service, one of the most exciting, or to me, Fulfilling things that I was able to do as far as the speaking event was in 2023 I was asked to speak at the at the Texas State Cemetery on Texas Independence Day and often we're asked to give speeches or we're asked to attend events That are very primarily focused on one issue. We're worried about this roadway or we're worried about this one issue and for one of the first times they told me speak about whatever you want and As long as it's relevant to Texas independence or to the history of Texas, you can speak on whatever you want. And so I dug, I dove deep into several publications that referenced my family in Texas history. I'm proud to say my three daughters are eighth generation Texans. And the Camino Real came up consistently. One of the things I'm most proud of, and I actually read it at the Texas State Cemetery, was a letter that was published several years ago in a book. The book's called The Whole Damn Cheese. And it's a Maggie Smith, Big Ben legend. This is my grandmother. But in the back of it is part of a family history. And it's a letter from one of my ancestors who was about 12 or 14 years old during the runaway scrape. And the runaway scrape was when settlers were trying to escape Santa Ana's army. And they use the Camino Real to try to seek safety all the way to the Louisiana border. And it was, for me, it's one of the, the Camino Real has a special meeting for my family. And I'm excited for this. I would love to see some renderings as soon as they're available. But we would love to see it. And I can't wait to see what it looks like on the corner.

Wonderful. Thank you.

What an amazing project. I fully support putting this into our community and letting people experience such a great piece of history and visit us more often and, I mean, made good points from an economy perspective just to a heritage and being able to commemorate the history of the El Camino Real. So very much supportive of it. Very cool.

Commissioner Cohen. Thank you all so much. Thank you to the staff, also Candace and your staff, for working with CITC on the logistics of all that. This is going to be a wonderful addition, I think, to the courthouse and just to our community, Hays County as a whole. I look forward to seeing it when it's available. So congratulations. Commissioner Inglesby.

Yeah, thank you, Judge. And I just want to, you know, thank Stephen Gonzalez because I met him several years ago. And, man, he is a wealth of knowledge regarding not just the Camino Real de Los Tejas, but so much more. And, you know, he talked about working with developers. And, you know, that's why we're asking now when development comes on to the east side, We're asking them for trails and hopefully we have some connectivity to install some of these markers. And so I think it's going to be a great addition. And I really think that this is a wonderful opportunity for us because these markers will reveal amazing history of who utilized these trails. And if our backup has a rendition and if that's what it's going to look like, I mean, it's beautiful. And so, yeah, I fully support this. And, Gina and Anita, thank you for your persistence in trying to get this done and well worth the effort. And I think it's going to be a wonderful addition.

People don't realize it, but it's been years in the making. Everything takes time. And so this is a wonderful culmination of efforts, especially with Carol's support. And thank you, Stephen. As said, he's come to our meetings at the Rotunda, helping to educate and inform and Bring the public's awareness to, just like the previous agenda item, to the history, to the history. I remember Bobby Gaza Hernandez, as we were starting all of this, she was trying to talk me into, I know it sounds embarrassing, but I'm now a little more conditioned and weathered, and so I have less concern about ego. But she was trying to convince me that I was indigenous. And I was like, well, am I? And I was like, I had to really reflect and think about it. And It's like, I guess I am. And so it is through these, I don't know, educational components and community engagements and connections and talks that I realize, yes, there is a city in Spain named Becerra, and I do have Spanish roots, but yes, I also have Mexican roots. It's yes and, and so that's why when someone says, oh, these guys, or oh, those guys, I kind of chuckle inside and it's like, well, the more you know, the more you realize you're part of all of those guys. And so it's awesome. I think we're ready to vote. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen?

Yes.

Commissioner Hammer?

Yes.

Judge Becerra?

Yes. And thank you again for all your work, and thank you, Carol and Stephen, for being online.

Real quickly, I think that they were also needing these documents. You'll get those to us.

Okay, so that was case six. We're going to go. We're on a ticking time. ticking clock here, so we're going to go as quickly as we can. K-1-13, I heard you, G-15. And then we're going to take a 15-minute recess. K-1.

K-1, discussion and possible action to authorize civil division of the criminal district attorney office to negotiate a professional service agreement not to exceed $50,000 with Accenture related to the creation of an entirety serving entity serving the Wimberley Valley that would be able to collaborate with water and wastewater providers, apply for grants and participate in other programs for funding to identify the value water supply alternatives and provide other solutions to assist local jurisdictions addressing the challenges currently facing this area, authorizing a waiver to the purchasing policy of obtaining three quotes and amend the budget accordingly.

Second. Okay, Commissioner. Shed light.

Yeah, so, well, do we have any public comments that we have to read before we go?

You have one public comment. All right, let's go for that. In person.

We have one in person, one emailed.

Perfect. We'll do the in person first.

Deborah Hines.

My name is Deborah Hines. I am here as a representative of the city of Wood Creek. I'm in my fifth year in serving on their council, and I am the current mayor. I'm here to ask the court to support item K-1 and approve the funding for this effort for ongoing collaboration with the city of Wimberley, city of Wood Creek, and the county. The purpose for my request is so that we may solidify and strengthen our local partnerships in perpetuity. Our local leaders recognize the importance of collaboration, and I believe that this is the next logical step in order to protect our access to safe drinking water and ensure the longevity of our community by safeguarding the source of the lion's share of our economy as it relates to the tourism centered around our waterways. Each of you likely has a hometown. I'm not talking about the one you find later in life as an adult. I'm talking about the one of your childhood, the one that formed the foundation of who you are. The Wimberley Valley is mine. Please support us in our collaborative work to protect this essential life-giving resource, our water, ground, and surface, and ensure my hometown can thrive for generations to come. Please vote yes to item K-1 as sponsored by Commissioner Hammer. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you. And then the written comment, please.

From Mayor Pro Tem Rebecca Minnick from Wimberley, Honorable County Judge and Commissioners, I strongly support this measure to allocate funds towards establishing a collaborative entity to address our area's growing water challenges. Throughout my four terms on Wimberley City Council, our valley communities have consistently expressed concern about the dwindling water levels in our creek and river as well as the aquifers feeding the wells is sustained. many of our residents, myself included. We are keenly aware of the water availability challenges we face now and in the near future, let alone to support additional growth. In the Wimberley Valley, our communities have well-documented history of working together on projects that have led the way for responsible water use and serve as a model for other regional organizations. The cities of Wimberley and Wood Creek, along with the county, our school districts, and our library and nonprofits, plus groups of individuals are eager to have more formal structure to expand our efforts, which also would enable us to protect our recreational waterways that contribute so much more to our local economy. Creating a cohesive formal entity gives us a critical tool in all our ability to preserve our corner of the Texas Hill Country. We appreciate the county enabling this initiative and will be enthusiastic partners in the process. I speak only for myself today because our council meeting schedule did not allow for a council resolution for all of us to vote on. I will gladly put on an item on our agenda to do so as soon as possible. Thank you, Commissioner Hammer, for facilitating this important step.

All right. Oh, sorry.

Sincerely, Rebecca Minnick.

Council Member. Okay. Commissioner Hammer.

Okay, so last court we discussed the interlocal agreement and us being able to, we had a couple of things that we wanted to decide on and vote on and to see how we wanted to move forward. And this was one of the things that we wanted to do to move forward. So as everyone knows, we're fighting for our water constantly and we don't have local authority. And we always say we don't have local authority from a county perspective. And we're waiting on the state legislature to do something. Well, this is something that we can put into place that will HELP US. WE ARE HAVING TONS OF FUNDS FROM THE STATE LEVEL BEING ALLOCATED TOWARDS WATER. THIS WOULD GIVE US NOT ONLY TEETH BUT ALSO ALLOW US TO ACCEPT FUNDS AND HELP OUR WATER INFRASTRUCTURE AND ALSO IF THERE WAS EVER A TIME WHERE A PIPELINE WAS was run into Wimberley, it would give us some authority to be able to dictate what happens to that and how development is kind of controlled from there.

So for clarification, you're saying that the $10 million water fund availability for development and all the infrastructure is gonna be accessible to this body?

Yeah, this body is able to apply for grants. It would be able to accept funding from donors and things of that nature. If there was ever a time, too, where someone wanted to sell any type of public utility within that area, this could step in and be of great help.

And what will be the makeup of the decision-making mechanism? Board?

Okay. So what this is going to do is this is going to allow Accenture to come in and help us create this PUA. Okay. SO IN THAT PROCESS THEY'RE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT ALL OF THE BYLAWS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, HOW THE BOARD IS GOING TO BE MADE UP AND GO FROM THERE. I KNOW THAT WE, AS AN ILA GROUP, WE'RE GOING TO WORK WITH ACCENTURE AS WELL AND KIND OF GIVE SOME PARAMETERS AROUND THAT.

SO I'M GOING TO ASSUME FOR THE VIEWING PUBLIC FOLLOWING ALONG, WE'LL HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM HAYES COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S CORPS, ONE FROM WOOD CREEK, ONE FROM WIMBERLEY, ET CETERA, RIGHT, TO HELP SHAPE THE DIRECTION OF THIS BODY? CORRECT. Commissioner Cohen?

Well, I fully support this effort. I think it's a great opportunity for Wimberley to be able to tap into that water fund. I'm glad y'all figured out a way to do that, so that's great. But I fully support this. This is great. Commissioner Inglesby?

Yeah, and thanks for the clarification. I didn't realize that we were forming a PUA, and so, yeah, I mean, you know, we've worked lots with our western cities to help in this area. We know it's needed, and if this is the avenue that we need to go to, try to secure and ensure that we have water for the area. I'm fully supportive, so thanks. Good, good.

Commissioner?

I'm going to try to further clarify some of your statements because I fully, number one, I seconded this. I fully support it. I think it's needed. I think it's probably long since overdue. I am glad we have an ILA in place already that will help us promote this. But that being said, there are some lessons that can be learned from the one operating PUA in the state, and that's West Travis County PUA. I was not on the commissioner's court at the time. we are now in a situation where the vast majority of that PUA, once it's developed, is going to be in Hays County. And Hays County on that board, there's five representatives on that board, two from the city of Bee Cave, one from the external areas of Travis County outside of Bee Cave, and two from Hays County. I think that as this is being formed, I think it needs to be an important aspect of it that if Hayes County is stepping up to fund it, and there are going to be representatives from all of those entities, If we're kind of, I know we're leading the way with our partners, but I do think there needs to be more than just one representative from each one of those entities. I think each one probably needs two representatives, and I'm not all for having massive boards, but I think there needs to be a majority, especially if we are going to be the one funding the creation of this at the end, that Hayes County itself needs greater representation than the other individual entities. And that's just, I just say that because of the issues that we've run into where I can promise you of the folks who are on this ILA, some will never see eye to eye on certain individual issues and having the county be able to step in and say, look, from an overall broad perspective, we think this is the best for all of our residents and having the votes to do that, I think would probably be a good step. But I fully support this. Again, I think it's having access to that fund is massive. To clarify again, it's a half a billion dollars a year to identify new water resources and a half a billion dollars a year to improve existing infrastructure. I think the Wimberley Valley is a perfect example of needing both of those. And so this is the entity that could do both those things. And you've got the right entities here to work with, I believe.

I have a question for you, Chase. the formation of this I know that it is purely working with these folks to create the framework but I want to preload some recommendations and so my belief is it is so important representation is so critical especially on water in the Wimberley Valley that's like almost a redundancy all in itself what is our capacity to make those positions elected

Chase Young, ADA Civil Division. So just to make sure I understand the question, you're asking are we allowed on our representatives on this kind of PUA board to be, for instance, one or two members of the Commissioner's Court? Is that correct?

Well, so this agenda item is to support the formation articulation of the details of what's going to be in that formation documentation. My aim is, my hope would be that people of the community, of the five-member body, like the Commissioner's Court, for example, whatever makeup that is, would be elected positions versus appointed positions.

Oh, so you mean like if there wanted to be like a general election or something for us?

Have those positions be elected instead of appointed.

Interesting. That is a good question. I don't have an answer for you off the top of my head. I can look into that, though. Okay.

I think that would be the highest and best use for us, in my opinion.

Commissioner Hammer? Agree to disagree in that regard, right? I do see the value of having elections, right? But elections also cost money, so would the PUA be I mean, these are all things that we're going to determine within working with Accenture. This is just to negotiate a contract, right, to be able to get into it. I fully see where you're coming from, but I also believe that the body that elected me to represent Precinct 3 elected me to represent Precinct 3 and also with, I mean, I am fully aware that Precinct 3 understands water and who will represent that, right? Same with Wimberley City Council and same with the Wood Creek City Council. I think they're going to elect the representatives that are going to best support their water. I do think that this is going to be something for Commissioner Smith, his concern. I agree to disagree on that as well. I do think that as the three entities that have formed this ILA, we've worked together very well. There are some things that we do disagree on, but we're able to come to terms, and I do believe that that will continue within the PUA. But again, this is just to engage with Accenture and to then have open the door to discussion on how that's going to look.

Right on. I would say, to your point, a public utility agency is under statute. And please, if I say anything that you find incorrect, Chase, please correct me. but it is not a public entity in the sense, it is a pseudo government, pseudo public entity. It is a collaboration of two or more public entities. So the participants on that board must be representatives of those entities. And so that being the case, that's the reason all of them to this point that have been formed in the state, there's one that operates, And we just completely rewrote the statute, which dictates or chapters 572 of Texas Government Code on the formation and creation of them. It references specifically they have to be a representative of that entity, not a member of the public. It doesn't say anything about a member of the public or an election. It doesn't even reference elections in there because for an entity to participate, You have to have the leadership of that entity. It has to be someone involved as the leadership of that entity to speak on behalf of that entity. That's the reason that to this point, none of them in the state have had any type of public election process.

So far, everything you said, I was able to follow. I'm grateful. And the way the state, we are an extension of the state. So the way the state governs us as a court is magical words like shall. And those are, you must, you better do this or else. And so let me finish, please. And so my thinking is everything you've said so far is great. I'm not disputing it. And I'm not even trying to create a talking point contest. But I will say that we could see a seat representing the city of Woodcreek. WITH A GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT OF WITHIN THE FOOTPRINT OF THE CITY OF WOOD CREEK. WE COULD SEE THE SAME FOR A COUNTY WIDE SEAT. WE COULD SEE THE SAME FOR ANY OF THESE SPOTS SO THAT THEY CAN RUN AND DO REPRESENT AND HAVE THAT ABILITY AND HAVING THE IDEA THAT A PUBLIC UTILITY AGENCY WOULD BEAR ANY COST TO THAT ELECTION. I would not think that would be a concern. I don't think cost is... Yeah, cost wouldn't be too much of a big deal either, but I would just say that... We could do that like cities do single districts. I think we can capture the representation of the agencies, of the governmental bodies that are partnering up. We need to agree on the formation of it. But what I'm afraid of, because I've been the county judge for countywide and all the nooks and crannies and all the good and the bad that comes with it, there are cliques in our county. And these cliques, if you give people the chance to vote, then that is up to them. If it's a click you like, then you vote for it. And if it's not, then you don't have to worry about it. And so my only thinking is to be most peaceful and most open and most transparent as we go into this contract negotiation, that we simply tell this organization, even if it's just one on the court, well, one member of the court wants to talk about elected positions that are geographically fenced for the positions they're representing.

Can I just read one? This is Section 572.057, Board of Directors for Public Utility Agencies. Each director must be appointed by place by the governing body of the participating public entity. Each participating public entity is entitled to appoint at least one director at minimum. That's the state law. That tells us how we have to appoint them.

Okay, so we've got to appoint one. Well, that doesn't say we can do an elected one, but getting in a contract with these people, they might be able to ferret out those details. Commissioner Hammer?

I was going to say, any and all questions are always welcome. We can always ask questions. I'm never going to shy away from knowing all sides of things, because that's what having an open mind is about. But I just want to say that PUAs are created for different reasons, and we've got like the West Travis PUA was created because LCRA was selling off their portions and they needed one entity to come and grab it all because they didn't want to sell it to individuals. So the purpose of this PUA is simply to come together. We have great ILA, great working relationship with the City of Wood Creek and the City of Wimberley and it's to come together and to be able to dictate what goes on with our water and to be able to kind of pivot where we want to go and be able to accept funding. That's the purpose of this PUA. And I just wanted to say thank you so much for everyone. We've got Councilman Jeff Roscoe. It's so weird to say Councilman and not Mayor, but Councilman Jeff Roscoe from the City of Wood Creek. We've got Mayor Deborah Hines from the City of Wood Creek. We've got Mayor Pro Tem Rebecca Minnick from the City of Wimberley and also Mayor Childs from the City of Wimberley. So I just want to say thank you all so much for your support.

Most definitely. Yes, they are in the public. They're in the audience. And thank you, Commissioner, for pointing that out because the cameras don't pan in your direction. So thank you for being in attendance. And that was in part why I pushed it forward on the agenda. They let you keep going about your day. So please call the roll.

Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. There you go. Have a great day. Let's move on to, what was it, K-13? Yes, sir.

K-13, discussion and possible action to execute a professional service agreement 2026-PSA-80 between Hayes County and Dunaway Associates LLC to provide design services for Cape Ponds Park and amend the budget accordingly.

So moved. Second.

All right. Thank you. Commissioner?

So, Judge, in March, we selected Dunaway to do the design. This is the negotiated agreement for them to move forward with that extremely important project for the east side of San Marcos.

Beautiful. Beautiful. Thank you. If there's anything else to add, otherwise, we'll vote on it.

Carl?

Nothing new? We're not looking for a word count. Oh, we've got a few more seconds.

Now, I'm Molly Pell from Dunaway. I wasn't expecting to be here until last night. I was called. My coworker, who's really running this, is out with his family right now, visiting in Arkansas. But thank you for the opportunity. We're really looking forward to this one.

Beautiful, and thank you. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. Thank you. G15, and then a 15-minute break.

G15. Approve out-of-state travel for one jurisdictional service employee to attend the 2026 National Association of Pretrial Service Agencies NAPSA Annual Conference, August 30th through September 2nd, 2026 in Reno, Nevada.

So moved. Second.

All right. We have a motion and a second. If you'll please state your name and title. Good morning, Judge, Commissioners. Jason Facundo, Judicial Services. Just here to seek approval for one of our employees to attend this conference. That employee was actually awarded a scholarship that is going to pay for the registration, the hotel stay, and it's going to reimburse the flight as well at the completion of that conference. Magnificent. I mean, who can say no to that? And what will be the takeaway from this experience? This will be our first time sending someone to the national pretrial conference. There is a pretrial conference here in Texas that we send staff to yearly. It'll be learning, networking, and of course, learning the best practices that we could bring back here to Hays County.

Perfect. Honestly, that is one of the most powerful things we can do as a government is look to our bigger, higher population brothers and sisters in government to see what they've done, see what they've learned, see where they've failed, see where they've gained, and bring it home. Good job. Good job. Commissioner, anything else?

No. Thank you. Jason?

No. All good? Please call the roll.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. Thank you. We are back from a short recess and I move that we open the remainder of consent agenda items.

Second.

Any items to discuss? Seeing nothing, please call the roll.

Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith? Yes. Commissioner Cohen?

I'm refusing myself from G1 due to a family member working at Quiddity on the invoice, but yes for everything else.

Commissioner Hammer?

Yes.

Judge Becerra?

Yes. And then we're going to go to Rhodes. Please open I-1.

I-1, discussion and possible action to call for a public hearing on July 28, 2026 to change the yield sign to a stop sign at the intersection of Creek Road and Mount Gaynor.

So move. Second.

Do you really want to turn a yield into a stop sign? Actually, yes.

Yes.

Just making sure. No.

No, you go. You've had that in your precinct.

Yeah, I thought this this intersection is a horrendous intersection. It's right at the low water crossing. We've done no parking there. We've done other things. There's now development that has been certified by the city of Dripping Springs that has an entrance that is immediately at that at that intersection. And a stop sign is well patented.

As long as conscientiously discussed, that's all I'm asking, because

I know one that I'm going to try.

Yeah. Very good. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. I, too.

I, too. Discussion and possible action to call for public hearing on July 28, 2026 to change a yield site to a stop sign at the intersection of Shadow Bend Road and Wayside Drive.

So moved.

Second. Same thing.

Call the roll.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Judge Becerra?

Yes. Open I-3 and 4.

I-3, discussion and possible action to consider the release of a two-year maintenance bond number EACX4020543 in the amount of $162,339.05. and release the revocation bond number EACX4020546 in the amount of $6,518 and accept the acceptance of the roads into county road maintenance system for Sunset Oaks subdivision section 4, phase 1B. I4, discussion and possible action to consider the release of the two-year maintenance bond number EACX4042089 in the amount of $119,612.46 and the acceptance of the roads into the county road maintenance system for Sunset Oaks subdivision section four, phase 3B.

So moved. Second. And we do have staff recommendation. Judge Tu.

Okay, good. Aaron, I was about to ask you, these roads have been inspected. Were they built to our standards, and are we going to have this road mapping repair situation?

Well, these are, Judge, these are actually not built. These are just passing the security for those, the bonds. These are prior. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith? Yes. Commissioner Cohen? Yes.

Judge Becerra? Yes. Open I-5 and 6.

I-5, discussion and possible action to accept physical surety for street and drainage improvements in the amount of $4,782,646.62 for the Ridge West at Camino Real Phase 1 Final Plat Bond No. CS0000613. I6, discussion of possible action to accept fiscal surety for the street and drainage improvements in the amount of $2,373,227.78 for the Ridge West Camino Real Phase 2 Final Plat Bond number CS0000614. So moved. Second. All right. And this is the fiscal surety for the street and drainage improvements.

Very good. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. I-7.

I-7. Discussion and possible action to authorize the execution of a contract for right-of-way acquisition services 2026-PSA-81 between Hayes County and Lockwood Andrews in New NAM Inc. LAN to provide right-of-way services for the High Road Project and Precinct 1 and amend the budget accordingly. So moved. Second.

And, Judge, they were selected in April of this year, and this is the negotiated contract.

Very good. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Smith? Yes. Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. I hate.

I hate. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO AUTHORIZE THE EXECUTION OF AN ADVANCED FUNDING AGREEMENT AFA AND ASSOCIATED RESOLUTION BY AND BETWEEN THE STATE OF TEXAS ACTING BY AND THROUGH THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TEXDOT AND HAYES COUNTY FOR THE CHANGE ORDER TO 0683-05-017 PROJECT 0.177 miles west of RM12 to 0.185 miles east of RM12 in Hayes County, Texas, and amend the budget accordingly. This AFA relates to the RM12 at Fitzhugh Road Intersection Improvement Project, Project 891-036. So moved. SECOND.

THIS IS JUST ANOTHER ITERATION AND ANOTHER CHANGE TO THE ADVANCED FUNDING AGREEMENT. IF YOU'LL REMEMBER ON THIS PROJECT, THE STATE OF TEXAS IS ACTUALLY EXPANDING AND IMPROVING RANCH ROAD 12 FROM DRIPPING SPRINGS ALL THE WAY INTO TRAVIS COUNTY. AS PART OF THAT PROJECT, ONE OF OUR BOND PROGRAMS PROJECTS was the interim safety improvements and then overall design and construction of overall improvements to Fitzhugh Road. We broke out the intersection at 12 in order to have that design done specifically in time for those improvements to be paid for by TxDOT. And so this is an update to that advanced funding agreement. IN ORDER TO HAVE TEXDOT WILL GET THERE BEFORE US, WE PROVIDED THE DESIGN, THEY'RE PROVIDING ALL THE CONSTRUCTION.

ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD, AARON? NO, THE PROJECT ACTUALLY SOME LEFT TURN LANES, THEY'VE ACTUALLY GOT THEIR CONTRACTOR STARTING here in the next probably month or so they've had their pre-construction. So this one actually, as the commissioner said, it ties in this intersection, which gets that completed quicker. Good. Thank you very much for that efficiency.

Please call the roll.

Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen?

Yes.

Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. I-9, please.

I-9, discussion and possible action to execute the third amendment to the traffic signal maintenance contract between EZ Bell Construction and LLC in Hayes County with the proposed price increase so moved second Commissioner Cohen, what's the price increase?

So it's 3,500 per annual for preventive maintenance and we're adding for precinct to They see Lane and Windy Hill intersection and then the nutty brown road So, can you approach the podium please and state your name and title I

Stephanie Hunt, purchasing agent. So the current price is $3,000 for the maintenance of each signal. It's going up to $3,500 per signal for the maintenance.

Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Judge Becerra?

Yes. J-1 and 2 and wait, 3. 1, 2, and 3. They're all calls.

J1, PLN-2981-PC, call for a public hearing on July 28, 2026, regarding the Rolling Oaks, Section 4, Lot 77, Replat. J2, PLN-2899-PC, call for a public hearing on July 28, 2026, regarding the Brittlewood Ranches, Section 2, Lot 17R, Replat. J3 PLN-2980-PC call for public hearing on July 28, 2026 regarding the Douglas Estates replat of Lot D-12.

So moved. Second. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. Aye for. Aye for.

J4.

J4, sorry.

PLN-2988-PC, hold a public hearing regarding the Silver Spur Wrenchettes, Section 2PT of Lot 11, Replat.

I'm opening this agenda item for a public hearing. If there is anyone here to speak for or against this agenda item, please approach the podium. I see no movement. I am closing the public hearing.

Thank you.

All right. Handing it over. Commissioner Smith. I should say Colby can give a description.

Colby, all you, buddy. Individual project. All right. Good afternoon, Commissioners. Judge Becerra. Colby Mahachek, Senior County Planner with Development Services. This project will create two lots across 5.9 acres. It is along Davy Crockett Drive and Old Baldy Trail in Precinct 4, water utility at will be achieved through individual private wells and wastewater accomplished through individual on-site sewage facilities. This project is currently under review. Once all review is complete, deficiencies have been cleared, we'll bring this project back to court for further discussion or possible action. Beautiful. Thank you, sir. Please open J5s.

J5, PLN-2898-PRE, discussion and possible action regarding the Ellington Tract Revised Preliminary Plan. So moved. Second.

Commissioner. Thank you again. Colby Mohacek, Senior County Planner. The Ellington Tract Revised Preliminary Plan proposes 1,049 total lots over 218.92 acres. This is located along Satterwhite Road and Williamson Road in Kyle and in Precinct 2. Water utility will be achieved through GOFOR Special Utility District and the wastewater treatment will be accomplished through the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority, otherwise known as GBRA. Staff has completed review pursuant to the current development regulations as set forth. There are no variances requested and action remaining consists of possible approval for this project. staff does recommend approval for the preliminary plan. Okay.

So we'll turn that into a motion to approve, Commissioner?

Yes, motion to approve.

And second, please call the roll.

Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. How many acres was that? 200 what? Sorry. 218.92. I just didn't want to slow you down. Got it. 1,049 doors. Got it. J6.

J6, PLN-2869-PRE, discussion and possible action regarding the Hayden Place preliminary plan.

So moved.

Second.

All right, Colby. So Hayden Place proposes 36 lots over 52.84 acres. 28 of those lots lay in the fully unincorporated area of Hays County with the remaining eight falling within the City of Dripping Springs incorporated limits. The subject property is located off of College Street in Dripping Springs, that is a city road, and in Precinct 4. Water utility will come from Dripping Springs Water Supply Corporation. Wastewater treatment accomplished through individual on-site sewage facilities. This project has also been fully reviewed, meeting all requirements with the Hays County development regulations that set forth. There are no variances requested, and this item has a staff recommendation for approval. Commissioner, motion?

Not yet. There is one thing I want to say on this specific piece of property. It's very unique because it lies both inside the city and outside the city. I do have some serious concerns relative to access to the property, and I think the city is trying to address those. But that many units coming off of the small street that feeds that property without additional access to Ranch Road 12 in some form or fashion, I just want it noted that I believe that there needs to be additional access there. Even though we can't require it, and they have met all of the requirements that we do have, I would just encourage the city to keep working with the developer in order to achieve some additional access. And you're making a motion?

I would move to wrap it. And second, please call the roll.

Commissioner Cohen?

Yes.

Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith?

Yes. Judge Becerra? Yes. J7? J7.

PLN-2917-NP, ratify approval for the 1826-Bear Creek Business Center Subdivision.

Second.

Second.

Ratify approval. Anything else to add? Please call the roll.

Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen?

Yes. Judge Becerra? Yes. J-8.

J-8. PLN-2666-PNP, discussion and possible action to consider granting the variance to Chapter 7215.05 of the Hayes County Development Regulations for the Gold Nugget Final Plat. So moved.

Second.

Colby. Thank you again. Colby Mahachuk, Senior County Planner, Development Services. This plat proposes one lot. that will consist of 5.98 acres, water utility achieved through rainwater collection, and wastewater treatment achieved by an onsite sewage facility. The subject property is located off of Goldnugget Road, which is a private access easement in Wimberley and in Precinct 3. Owner and applicant are requesting a variance to the previously named Chapter 721, Subchapter 5.05 of the development regulations. This regulation states that except with respect to lots served by shared access driveways, each lot shall have the minimum direct frontage onto a regulated roadway set forth below in Table 721.02, which is the design requirements based on roadway classifications. And driveways shall be placed no closer than the minimum space interval set forth below, depending on the classification of road onto which the lot has frontage and the driveway has access. Under Table 721.02, a country lane or a local roadway, by classification, requires a minimum lot frontage of 30 or 50 feet, respectively, onto such regulated roadway. The variance request itself and justification to this request have been included in the backup. Commissioner Hammer.

Yeah, so it's an undeveloped piece of property, and they're desiring to build a home on it. And for them to be able to build a home on it, it must be plotted. So this is kind of the variance that's required. They originally came to us and wanted to do two, and we said no. One is, in my opinion, we request a variance. Two is just, in my opinion, is... is not a good actor, right? So basically, subdivisions, decades old, it's unplatted, and they just need a plot to be able to build their home.

All right. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen?

Yes.

Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Judge Vecetta?

Yes. J9? J9. J9.

Discussion and possible action to execute the First Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement, RFQ 2024-Q03, Development Regulations and Standards Update between Hayes County and Fridson Nichols, Inc., extending the duration of the contract through December 31, 2026. Second. Second.

All right. Would you like to take that?

One of you.

Just to explain for the viewing public. Thank you, sir. And thank you in the audience.

Michael Barletta, Interim Director for Development Services. This is just a contract extension. There's no additional monetary value or anything going to it. We're just extending our contract for the development regulations through the end of this year.

So it's a contract extension of time, not of money. Correct. Thank you for that. Please call the roll. Oh, you have a question?

I do. As I mentioned when they were here during the presentation, we were very adamant that we wanted to have these things done in a timely fashion. AND CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF IT TO BE DONE PRIOR TO THE END OF THE YEAR FOR IMPLEMENTATION. ORIGINALLY WHEN WE SAID THIS, IT WAS GOING TO BE IMPLEMENTED Q4 OF THIS YEAR. AND NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT JANUARY 1 OF NEXT YEAR.

I STILL ANTICIPATE THE REGS COMING BACK IN Q4 AND BEING DONE IN THE EARLY PART OF Q4. I DON'T ANTICIPATE GOING THROUGH THE ENTIRE TIME FRAME TO THE END OF THE YEAR, BUT JUST IN CASE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE AN AMPLE TIME IN CASE WE NEED TO DO ADDITIONAL PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT MEETINGS.

I'M ALL FOR GETTING IT RIGHT, We signed a contract we want to deliver in a timely manner, and I'm getting very concerned over the fact that I know we gave them some additional work today, but I want to ensure that it gets done on time.

So what's the current cutoff of the contract at this moment? At this moment, the contract expired back in April. And your extending request is for? To the end of the year. End of the year, December 31st?

Yes, and we're expecting deliverables in the early part of Q4.

So what we want to do, if I hear Commissioner Smith correctly, what we want to do is ensure that the completed task of this contract is brought to court before our last court in December. Is that clear? Yes, sir. So please convey that.

Well, I just want to add, Candace Poutet, County Administrator, Michael, the understanding is that the actual deliverable, the updated regulations will be presented to court BEFORE SEPTEMBER 30th, CORRECT?

YES. THAT'S OUR CURRENT ANTICIPATED DELIVERY TIMEFRAME.

WE JUST WANTED TO BUILD IN CUSHION IF THERE WERE ANY CHANGES OR TWEAKS THAT NEEDED TO BE MADE. BUT WE WILL DEFINITELY BRING IT BACK TO COURT FOR APPROVAL BEFORE WE GET TO OCTOBER.

WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S DONE BEFORE Two to three people on the court change.

Correct.

I agree with Commissioner Smith.

Yes, sir. We'll make sure that happens.

Thank you very much. All better? Because it's sound. Good point. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen?

Yes.

Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. Let's go on to K-2. Am I right? Yeah, we've done K-1, so K-2.

K2, discussion related to updating the Hayes County Commissioner's Court Rules of Procedure, Conduct, and Decorum. So moved. Second.

All right. So what's this about?

Really just bringing this up. We had a lot of people within my precinct reach out and just ask if they could have some clarity and just understanding. This was related just to we haven't looked over the rules of decorum or adopted anything since the 90s. So I reached out and I also wanted, there was just back and forth that what's legal, what's not. I just wanted to be able to speak to everything that was legal and whether it's the First Amendment, those types of things. So I also, there's some questions and backup too or some things that we can kind of discuss and look at. There's no action on this because I didn't want to have to come to terms with anything. I wanted to them for a legal division to come back and give us something.

I like that. And you're talking about that last court session. And your suggestion to me was beautiful, perfectly timed, and most sound. Ask for a legal opinion. Absolutely. I'm so glad I'm always listening to the commissioners for feedback, because your suggestion at that moment was absolutely on point. Because I do have the responsibility of running the court, but we do have an entire legal division charged with making sure that we're doing things as we're supposed to be, exactly as you pointed out with First Amendment and with everything else of the free speech space. So, Chase, this is over for your direction to provide comments. If you have anything to add.

Yes, of course. Chase Young, Assistant Criminal District Attorney with Hayes County Civil Division. We were asked to, like, look into what sort of weaknesses the current rules might have from a constitutional perspective and whether or not the rights would get what's given. I do believe that Jordan Powell gave the correct advice in the moment about whether or not that's there. I don't know how detailed you want me to go into because constitutional enforcement in the law is very particular, but there's these concepts, right, of different types of forums that can be any time you're engaging with the body politic, right? There's the idea of an open public forum, the idea of a designated public forum, the idea of a limited public forum, and the idea of a non-public forum, okay? And so public forum, think like the traditional places like sidewalks and such where people the First Amendment protection is the strongest with the government, right? And so whenever we have an item here, like with the Commissioner's Court, The way we currently have our rules set up is that we actually occupy two different spaces depending on what timing of the area we are. We have the general open public comment forum, right? Which is, it's called a designated public forum. And so those areas where I believe, I wasn't here during when that happened, but I watched the tape. That was during the general open public comment. period. And then we also have what's called a limited public forum, which is whenever we have the items that would come up specifically for the, like, if we're talking about agenda item K2, for instance, right? And so there are also things like content neutral versus like content specific regulations. And there's different tests that the government has to meet in order to regulate the speech of any person that's talking to their governing body. And so in something like an open plug-in forum, the best bet the government body can have are to do content-neutral restrictions, time, place, and manner, right? That's something that a lot of people have heard in that instance, right? And so our rules currently have in there, let me pull them up, potentially saying, like, profane, insulting, or derogatory language directed towards the court or any person in the court's presence will not be tolerated and subject to sanction. Also going on about talking about insulting the honesty or integrity of the court, right? And so there are particular sort of constitutional principles you want to think about that because there's a recent case that actually came out two weeks ago, Marriott v. City of Bossier City, that was analyzing a city council that had language saying that it couldn't have impertinent or boisterous or a couple of words that are similar in the kind of insulting vein. And the Fifth Circuit actually ruled more aggressively in favor of constitutional protections that way because Inside the law, there's different ways you can challenge things, right? There's the idea of as applied versus facial challenges, as applied being the you violated my rights in this way and you're suing them there. Then there's what's called a facial challenge, which is the idea of saying that this concept, this law that is passed is so overbroad that you just can't, like you don't have to have a particularized damage to be able to move forward in a court area. And so they found here that in this court case, Marriott v. Sevier-Bossier, which I'm happy to share with any of the court I'd like to review, they actually found that there was a case to be made that their version of the rules that didn't allow things on certain like impertinent, language was potentially constitutionally impermissible on its face. And there's also other challenges like the idea of void for vagueness because there wasn't sufficient definitional controls on what actually is meant by what is impertinent, right? The idea being that because there wasn't definition there, the dictionary definition was so wide that it essentially gave the court or the city council in that instance unfettered discretion to decide when am I insulted, right? When is this impertinent? And so the The exception will swallow the rule, and it went from having a constitutional protection to de facto having none if they just decided they didn't like you at that point. And so there are categories where you can get into certain content-specific restrictions. The idea of particular vulgarity, though that has a technical definition, things like very overly sexualized kind of comments that has no place in public decency. For sure. There are also these comments called speech acts. The idea of the most common definition or example would be yelling fire in a movie theater, right? The idea there is that you saying fire, like you saying the word fire is protected, but it's not just a speech. It's also the act of causing a panic. That's right. And so J.L. Austin has a great work on that, on how to do things with words. So finding that line there is really where we're kind of looking at from a constitutional perspective for freedom of speech. And so, yes, sir.

I will say that I agree with Commissioner Hammer that our rules are dusty. They need to be freshened up. And I will... push for all the things that our Americans are expecting and hoping that we provide, which is follow the Constitution. I mean, if I got a nickel for every time I said, follow the Constitution, I don't know, I'd have another car. I'm a car lover. But the point is, I want to start with what you've just said to break it up a little more detailed, a little finer granulated for the viewing public. Some people find this important. The two places where you said that people can speak, which will help shape the conversation style and tone, I'm going to explain it a little bit slower, just to be honest. You're great, you're sharp, you're everything right, but I'm going to explain it in a way that I feel people that aren't used to speaking in government spaces might understand it better. I could be wrong. So there's two places to sign up in. an agenda item for court. You could sign up at the very beginning under public comments, citizen comments, I'm not sure how it's worded. But the point is, in that sign up, you can speak about anything under the sun. I hate the trees you have. I don't like the way you guys have striped your parking spots. I don't like the color tie you're wearing. Wide open. your free speech wide open, as long as you're not yelling fire, et cetera, as you've described. And then the second way that people can sign up in executive session, I mean in commissioner's court, is when they sign up to speak on a specific agenda item. That piece is more restricted because I, as the chair of the court, I, as the county judge, now have the responsibility to keep you talking about the subject item of the agenda. And so there's where there's governing. You can, when you sign up for G19, for example, you can no longer speak about trees and ties and shoes. Now you're bound to that agenda item. And so you did it most perfectly, but I just wanted to slow it down and restate it so that people can understand what that first part was. Was that pretty good or accurate? Yes, no, that's spot on. And before we go any further, Commissioner Cohen, would you like to start with any comments?

Yeah, I think, you know, like Commissioner Hamburger had suggested, that there was a lot of just commentary about why weren't decorum rules followed, you know, First Amendment trumps decorum rules, the language that was used that was, you know, obviously directed towards me from an individual who obviously was campaigning from the podium, basically. And so, but it, Regardless of all of that, you know, realizing that our decorum rules had not been updated since 98. I mean, just basic, okay, we need to just take a look at that anyway and, you know, talk with TAC, you know, compare it to other large counties like us and just kind of bring them all back up to speed, right? But also just to, I think, we wanted to take the moment to have Jordan or the division to explain the opinion of that day so others could understand. understand why that was that Jordan gave Judge Becerra that advice, right? And I don't think she was able to explain it because it was going so quickly at that moment. But it was also to give you the vision, since Jordan's not here, the opportunity to explain that. And so, I mean, we've all been attacked on this dais many times. We all have. We all have. We all have. And it's kind of been the norm. And, you know, we listen, you know, and we respectfully listen to them. We don't say anything back. But I think in that particular moment, you know, the individual who was coming from, the reason behind it, and the fact that I could not respond to defend myself was not fair, right? And so, but, you know, regardless of all that, I think just, okay, we just need to take a look at the decorum rules anyway. We need to, you know, we need the public to better understand, you know, the First Amendment over decorum rules and it's, you know, what takes precedence over what, and then maybe better clarifying that language of, you know, can't be used, like, you know, you can't use threatening verbiage, right, or yell fire, or those kinds of things, right? You know, just need to be better clarified, I think. But I think that's the purpose of this, is just to Let's just relook at this, revise it, bring it back up to date. I mean, it's 98, the last time that's happened. So we obviously need to take a look at it. So that's just the purpose.

Thank you, Commissioner, for your perspective and for pointing out that... I mean, Commissioner Smith and I are the ones I remember most easily. We've all been attacked a bunch, plenty. And so, Commissioner Inglesby, is there anything else you want to add to this idea? Because I say, although it's – I don't want to harp on the court since 1998 because the Constitution has been around forever and there are foundational rules that keep overall things in place. That's why if someone hears or sees this in the future and says, oh, they didn't touch this since 1998, well – how often do you got to edit something like that? So I'm not trying to go to you next since you've been here for the longest.

Yeah, I mean, you know, I think I just agree with everybody. You know, I think we all had questions of how those events turned out the last court meeting. And so there's clarity. And just to review our rules, you know, I'm supportive of that.

Yeah, so basically the purpose of this is to give direction to... I was going to go to Commissioner Smith. Oh, okay.

As the person who's probably been attacked more on this court than anybody, let me just tell you that while I agree with our office general counsel on 90% of what was said, there is a distinct difference in what we do in this courtroom. And I say that because, Judge, you make an excellent point very often of saying this is a court of record. If we look at Texas law Individuals who come here, they don't just come to give a public comment. They are the public coming to give comment to the governing body, number one. We as a governing body are a court. And therefore, under statute, any one of those witnesses, not members of the public who are just giving a comment, but each person who comes here is giving public witness testimony. And it's our prerogative as a court, and I've seen courts do it. They do it fairly often in the state of Texas. Those individuals can be sworn in, and they have to be able to swear to the statements that they make because they are witnesses in front of a court. We have that ability. Unlike a city council, unlike a commission, anything else, we are a very different entity. It's for those reasons that I brought forth an update to the rules of decorum adhering specifically to the recommendations of the Texas Association of Counties earlier this year, and I intend on bringing that back within the next month. I pledge to you all that after going through it with Office of General Counsel and trying to get any additional outside information that we could, I would provide a document that outlines what our current rules are, what the recommendations from the Texas Association of Counties is and a proposal for an updated rules of decorum, a red lining. Good job. A not just a red line, but a side by side with each each section of that. I will again commit to do that. However, the one thing I would say that if we want to look at right now that I do not believe is legal and it's pretty clear from the from the direction following COVID, is the emailed statements because we have no way to verify those. If they are a witness, we have no way to verify that those are, number one, real people, number two, that those statements are true. And if we want to call those into question and have them swear to the authenticity of what they're saying, we don't have a way to do that because they're not in court. Every other commission or every other council out there, the way that they ensure that those comments are heard, again, because they're not speaking to the public, it's the public speaking to us as a body, they ensure that there is a unified email address or a submission process where if they email in that statement, it's automatically sent to each member of this court. So that individual knows that it was shared with the court and that's the purpose of the law under the Texas Open Meetings Act. And so I would say that first things first, we need to ensure that we're adhering, that we as a court are adhering to the law. I have issue that we aren't doing it right now. And number two, as I bring forth back a proposal, I would encourage, because I'm going to, I mean, Office of General Counsel has the proposal that was brought forth months ago. They will have that document. And I would, the court, if you have suggestions or if you have, input on it, you know, ask the questions to our Office of General Counsel. Get their input and give your input to them as to what should be included. Look at those other counties out there because other counties have gone through the same process and there has been a tremendous amount of change in our state law and the Texas Open Meetings Act since 98. And the last three sessions, there's been tremendous changes. And so I would just encourage you to do your own research and then take the product that they're already working on and they already have copies of and make suggestions or make corrections. And those things that there isn't a consensus on, have them bring it back and let's talk about it in open court and why it's needed, why it's not needed. Have them prepared to answer those questions and And we can get a good conversation in front of the public where they understand what we're talking about. Good points, all of those.

And Chase, just to recap a couple of those items. I don't remember at this moment when you started, but the letters written, read in court, that is something I've kept as a chair of the court. while commissioners have asked me to delete it. And I've done that specifically because there are too many people that can't get here. There are too many people that, for them, it's a one-hour drive one way, not to mention the whole day burnt here. A lot of people can't take that time off. A lot of people don't have that time off. They don't have capacity. So the way I've pushed emotionally supporting that idea is access to your government so that we can hear you. And so although I continue to hear just now, one more time, we should end letters written in court, I still will push back until I'm out. that we should leave it in because we should hear from people no matter how they can reach us. And so my question will be county clerk's office will be focusing on I love that you're here. I'm looking now just past you. The new ask will be, because the complaint is valid, let's let these be real people. Let's make sure they're real people. And so maybe we can modify a little landing, a little simple, tell us your name. I know you have an email address because it's not in a vacuum. But still, if there's something else that you can link to who sent something, perfect. I think that low level threshold ask of documenting who has sent you an email to be read in court can also be shared with court members. Easily. I see that as a, and she's nodding, Roxanne is nodding off screen, but I want you to know that is a low-level ask, not a problem, no concern. Now, I am going to chase on this part, witness, and that we're a court of record. I always say we are a court of record, not because I want people to feel the pressure of speaking in this court, but because I want people to know that you're speaking into the future. I always, I live in this space 25 years from now. That's my average looking glass. I don't care what's happening next week or next month. I really don't. I don't see that lens. We're dealing with those things. That's still cooking. It's like opening the oven and wondering if that cake is ready every 30 seconds. It's never going to be ready. Just wait for it. And so 25 years from now, that's why I always stick to the idea that when someone clicks an agenda item 25 years from now, they're going to know that it was Chase Young. Who was that guy in a tie sitting there telling us all these great details and spoke so eloquently? I mean, he rattled off stuff off the top of his head. He must have been practicing. I mean, he was that good. We'll never know. 25 years from now, none of us are going to be in this room. And so that's why I do that. And so with that... understand that I'm looking for a court of record recording voice, recording text, recording all these pieces for the future, for capturing intents and actions. I always say we are a court of record. But Commissioner Smith is saying that the people at the podium are witnesses. And so I want to give a little pushback on that. And I want to ask you, through your legal lens, Court of record, yes, we are easily established just now. Witnesses, though, I wouldn't call them witnesses until I swore them in, put them under oath. Would I be right? Would I be wrong?

This is something I haven't specifically looked at, but I can talk about my general understanding, but I just want the asterisk. Very good. Right. My understanding is that the court has the ability to swear them in, the ability to put them under oath with potential perjury charges and things like that, but Barring that swearing in that they're not that they're not they're not a straight witness at that point to the same level that they have like if they're in district court, for instance.

That's how I interpreted it. That was my understanding as the chair of the court. And so my belief is one more second commission. I'll give it back to you. I'll give it back to you. But my understanding has always been just what you said. And we can be wrong and you can shoot us an email. But your alignment and mine are the same, which is you are a citizen of the community speaking at the podium. depending on how you sign up, as we've articulated, will determine your type, form, nature of speech. And not unless and until I have you raise your hand and swear to tell the truth and the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God, not until that ritual is enacted would you become a witness. At that point, after swearing in, you become a witness. But not before. Commissioner Smith? I would completely agree with you. Okay.

Under state law, Because we are a court, we have the ability to do that to anyone who presents to us. Whether it's someone giving a presentation, whether it is someone who's giving a public comment, I completely agree with you. Whenever we have someone stand at the podium and give slanderous comments and they have to back it up, we have the ability to swear them in or ask that they be sworn in to certify that they are speaking in a truthful manner. We don't have that ability as we have under state law when someone emails in a comment. They're an hour from here. They may not be from here. They may be from a different state. We have no idea of how to do that. And so, therefore, we don't have the ability. Whenever Governor Abbott suspended certain provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act for COVID, that was one of two provisions that were specifically cited as attendance-based. And whenever those were put back into effect, actually the AG opinion that came out after that specifically mentioned under those two provisions that were reenacted that those were attendance-based provisions. And so that's the reason I have issue with it. I fully want whoever wants to send in their comment, again, we are the forum they're speaking to, not the public. I want them to have the ability to reach their government and to reach us each individually and to understand that we all received that communication. Having a unified point to receive those messages and making sure that the clerk's office or whomever that is distributes it to each one of us. I think that's the way every other public forum, actually every forum in Hays County does it, whether it's a school board, whether it's a city council, any of those things. We should operate in a similar manner and therefore be where I feel and I'm looking forward to hearing from our office of general counsel, but the The determination of tack and others have been that that's the way it should be handled I would just like this to get to what I believe is what the law states and and I believe we can easily articulate something in the county clerk's records that would say I forgot I got another I

clerk over here. Sorry, I was looking at Roxanne. Anyway, so I also believe there's a way to easily delineate this was a written document versus these people spoke at the podium. I think that's easily identifiable. You can articulate that pretty easily in the search. And I would equate that to someone getting a monetary, financial type document put together by an accountant versus certified by a CPA. And so we can easily, if necessary, because it is so infrequent, we can easily say also furthermore, these individuals were put under oath if that was necessary. But I just, I don't see, I don't see and I hope the future court doesn't see a way out of allowing community members to write their comments to be read in court. I just hope there isn't a way where we don't allow that. Commissioner Hammer.

OK. So the purpose of this was to give direction to the district attorney's office, civil division, and the accounting administrator's office, with Tucker specifically, to come back to court with a version of what they think that's updated.

That sounds great. Tucker, anything you want to add to contribute? There's not. Enough said. Thank you. If there's nothing else, there's no action. Chase.

I just want to make sure that I have my marching orders. Yes, sir. Thank you. Okay. So... Are we primarily engaging in just a constitutionality check, or are we looking into legality of email public comments? I just want to make sure, what is our list of? I think that's a great point.

Let me see if I encapsulate the interest and see what happens. And if I miss something, a commissioner will chime in. So yes, confirm that we have the ability and authority to allow written comments from our community to be read in court. You can confirm that. That's not a bad idea. Absolutely sound. Also, consider updating our decorum rules to 2026 style framing, because I'm sure there'll be little, if any change, it might just be wordsmithing, some shifting of variation of phrases. And so maybe look at Texas Association of Counties for best phrases to be most easily understood by the general public of do's and don'ts. And even go further as to present, of course, with Tucker's help, present a a draft for us to review before it comes through the hopper so we can all have a chance to give you guys feedback individually. Because all we got to do is remember this. Our guiding principle must be the Constitution. And so make it where we're not going to modify this to where we're going to get sued. And I feel comfortable with TAC. And so don't overreach where you're trying to put your hand over someone's mouth. I don't think you are, but I'm just saying. But yeah, just provide a freshened up suggestion and then confirming our legal ability to allow written comments. And did I miss anything?

I mean, if there's already a document that you've been working on, Chase, I think that you can provide that to the court so we can give feedback if you feel confident and comfortable with that document. I mean, we can at least start there if there's something that you've been working on.

Just read it over one more time after this conversation and then send it to us.

And then include Tucker into the conversation because he had some good points to make as well.

Yeah. Good. Wonderful. Thank you, guys. It's very good. It's very useful. It's very important. And, you know, civil disobedience is right. Getting into good trouble, yes, that is exactly why we are land of the free, home of the brave. But we must be ready to be bold and defend those rights. So thank you so much. Next agenda item is, if I'm not mistaken, K-3. K-3.

K3, discussion and possible action to authorize execution of a professional services agreement 2026-PSA-85 between Hays County and LJA Engineering Inc. related to public engagement facilitation services for the Hays County strategic plan with a contract not to exceed $50,000 and amend the budget accordingly.

So moved.

Second. So, Commissioner Cohen, what are you thinking behind this?

Well, we approved LJA to do the public engagement services for the strategic plan. So this is the... This is just bringing a contract? We can negotiate a contract.

But do we have a scope that we want to be honing in on? Candace, if you don't mind, name and title and shedding light with the viewing public what we are looking to spend $50,000 on specifically.

Absolutely, Judge. Candace Boutte, County Administrator. So as Commissioner Cohen mentioned, this agreement will allow us to work with LJA to handle the public engagement component for our strategic plan. as you are aware, sir, but more so for the public. Staff has been working with the court members to identify those five strategic pillars. that will serve as the framework for the plan. And the public engagement phase will include eight community listening sessions, a public survey, as well as the development of outreach material for our county website and our social media platforms. The feedback that will be collected through this effort will help us to identify priorities and themes and to make sure we're on track with what the public views as the priorities for the court. At the staff level, sir, you mentioned the costs associated with the $50,000. We have been very intentional of ensuring that this was a cost-effective process. Obviously, we've done the majority of the work as far as gathering the input from our internal stakeholders, including our elected officials, department heads, and staff who report to the court, as well as those that don't, to ensure that we have a solid framework. We also are internally doing the drafting and the actual development of the plan and we will also manage the actual monitoring of those goals as we achieve them. So we think this is the best route to go using a third party to ensure that residents are able to give candid, excuse me, and honest feedback about the framework and then we will present those findings to the court.

So, Candid was your last word. Yes, sir. Feedback for the Hays County Strategic Plan. Can you tell us, the viewing public, what's included in the Hays County Strategic Plan?

So, the five strategic pillars evolve around governance, stewardship and sustainability, community well-being, partnerships and collaborations, and lastly, criminal justice. So essentially, the various initiatives that will go more in depth as we go through this process to ensure that it reflects the entire picture or the vision that the court has said that they'd like to complete in the next five years. So we'll give more information and updates to the public.

Here's my concern with it. I support the idea of community outreach. I've never stopped praising the idea. And even when people do community outreach, I've seen too many times where it's just the checking of the box. We did our job, but yet nobody had meaningful impact recorded. So everything you've said sounds perfect and it sounds right and necessary. My hangup is, I mean, I've been to commission, just top of mind, the last one I went to, Commissioner Smith had a public, I don't know, what would you call that thing? A public forum where you had a whole room by the church talking? Uh, Driftwood? That wasn't, that was their, that was their meeting. It wasn't a public forum. Okay, so you're going to get lost in the weeds, never mind. He's not going to be a good example in this moment. So, Commissioner Smith, on his own time, went and spoke to a roomful of people in a community forum. Aaron, Transportation Director, was there at the very front, also on the ready, and very ready, willing, and able to engage people effortlessly. I've seen the different engagement pieces. Where I'm going is, that's why I didn't want to get into the weeds. Where I'm going is, we have historically done community engagement pieces with all of this highly qualified horsepower that we have on hand. I'm looking over at Matthew, and he's done a lot of different events. And I mean, you've got tents, and you've got tables, and you've got trucks. I don't know if we need to spend $50,000 on this right now. The reason I bring it up is people like, very simply, nearby San Antonio, they're having to make a decision and it's being publicized, advertised. Are we going to raise taxes or are we going to cut employees in that government? And so everywhere I look, as far as I look, that is the tone that people are taking. And so through that lens, I'm just wondering. I support public outreach. Of course you know I do. But I just don't know how much of it can be internalized. I've given just a couple of examples of very successful, again, they just knew Commissioner Smith was going to go talk on an item and it filled the room. So that was my point about it. People will come if you talk to them and let them know they will come if they're interested. And so why do we... not give some of that capacity and experience of engaging folks that way to our own people internally versus a $50,000 check when everyone else is seeing this financial headwinds coming. It's just an opportunity for us to not spend. I'm not saying don't spend any, but maybe not as much.

Sure, sir. And those are excellent points. And we will continue to work with LJA to customize it. The way I understand it is up to the $50,000. If there's a way that we can cut down on the cost where it makes sense, again, this has been an internal staff effort, so we will definitely have staff present. But I do believe that we need to have a third party come in to evaluate and make sure that those areas where we may have blind spots that we are really making space for the public to give us that honest feedback. So we will look where we can cut back. We will not go over. If we can go less, we will definitely look at those options. But I do think it's important as we talk about the development of the FY27 budget that we open this vehicle so that the public can give us feedback and we can all make sure that we are aligned. Uh, so hearing you respectfully, we will make sure where we can cut back. We do. Uh, but we still believe at the staff level that this is an important step into work with LGA.

Right. And I want to make sure your last statement, uh, there's no disagreement in it. I agree too, that it's important. I'm just discussing the dollar amount. Whose agenda item was this?

This is mine.

Commissioner Cohen. So Commissioner Cohen, you want to say anything? Sorry about that.

Well, no, I just, um, you know, what I've said before, you know, the county has not had a plan since 2011. And I truly feel that this is too important of an initiative because it is the foundation to the upcoming budget and the rest of the year. Because my belief is that we are going to be holding anyone accountable to who have requests of any initiative within their offices, that it is going back to the strategic plan that this court adopts later this year. And so I know that we, even though that I know our group or our departments have done a really superb job in collecting the data and identifying the pillars. Um, we don't have the true capacity to, uh, really collectively bring all this together. Like I, I wish we did, and maybe eventually we will have that capacity. Um, but I think Candace is right that we need this third party to help us. this is is too important of a project or an initiative because it is the going to be the foundation of our budget that we're looking at and so we need to go out to the public and we need to ask them what are you concerned about what do you want the county to really focus on in the next you know five years and in this upcoming budget like what what are you asking for and so I just feel that we do have a not to exceed of 50,000. And like Kansas said, we're going to try and do our best to keep it lower if at all possible. But I think this project is just too important to not move forward with it.

Right. And I'm just going to recap just for a second the thing that you said about being too important. I'm not arguing the importance of it. I want to make sure you understand that. As often as I hear that, I'm going to repeat, I'm not saying it's not important. I'm just looking at dollar amount. Commissioner Inglesby?

I'm going to be supportive, and I think, as was mentioned, I think we're supportive of us moving forward with this initiative. I think it's important. The other thing I'll say is that many times I think we've mentioned on this court that, and cities have been mentioned, how much public involvement they have with all their programs and initiatives. other areas. And so I think that we need to be more emulating that also. I think that there is a lot of public that feels that we're not reaching out in certain areas and we need to honor their wishes and go out and make sure that we're listening and hearing what's important to them. And so I know that LJA will do great work. I think Erin Gray is now on their team and she has done fabulous work when it comes to public engagement and getting those comments and just getting that information together and analyzing and putting it together for us. And so, yeah, I mean, and I'm always supportive of cutting where we can, so I'm sure that YOU'LL TAKE THAT TO HEART.

COMMISSIONER HAMMER? MY FELLOW FISCAL CONSERVATIVE?

I WAS THINKING ABOUT THIS, TOO, AND COMMISSIONER COHEN'S POINT, MAYBE EVENTUALLY WE HAVE A HUMAN STAFF MEMBER THAT ALL THEY DO IS THEY FOCUS ON PUBLIC OUTREACH AND THEY COORDINATE ALL THESE THINGS INSTEAD OF SPENDING 50 GRAND. on six different things for public outreach, we spend a hundred grand on a position and they get this all done. And I would more than willing to workshop that into the budget or look at it for fiscal year 28, whatever that looks like. But I do understand too that we as a court talked about engaging LJA for this contract and it's hard to go back whenever you've, YOU HAVE BEEN SUPPORTIVE OF SOMETHING. I HAVE BEEN SUPPORTIVE OF SOMETHING, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO THE PUBLIC OUTREACH PIECE OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN. I DO THINK THAT THE STRATEGIC PLAN IS IMPORTANT, AND I JUST DON'T SEE US BEING ABLE TO GET IT DONE WITH A STAFF MEMBER CURRENTLY, BUT PUTTING THAT INTO OUR NEXT BUDGET I THINK IS SOMETHING WE CAN LOOK AT DOING. Public outreach in terms of this topic in particular is probably the most important thing because it's where we put our tax dollars that The public will care about And hearing their feedback, so I know there's a lot that comes with it I just we just reviewed all of the the transportation public outreach and from foam boards and Website design and consistent, you know keeping up with all those things There's a lot that comes up with that and I don't think we can get a staff member on board and get them up to speed that quickly Commissioner Smith

would you say you know I think we recognize that public engagement outreach in a general sense is something that we've all supported I think for that reason earlier this year I wasn't a part of that selection process but I know there was a selection process a pre-qualified process to identify firms that could do that on behalf of the county which we all supported this is the first contract I believe that's been awarded from that pool What I would say is that I know that each of y'all have been involved in, and I say that to my colleagues, each of my colleagues have been involved in the development of the strategic plan. One of the biggest concerns that I have in the development of the strategic plan, no matter how well we think that we do internally with our department heads and our employees, there will always be internal biases for those departments for which they work. And prioritization will rise to the top for their specific needs and wants, both within the budget, but even more so as prioritizations for the county. And I say that if I'm, and I'm going to throw Aaron under the bus here, if I'm transportation, I want infrastructure. If I'm Matthew, I want a higher focus on providing health care. If I am Tammy, I'm more worried about our county facilities withstanding over time. And as we work through our internal process, at times whomever has the loudest voice is going to have the loudest, in our strategic plan internally, is going to have the loudest voice both in our budget process, in our planning moving forward, how we view things as a whole. And I think by doing this, this overall engagement of the public in a very, I don't want to say an unbiased manner with the third party, We'll get a view from our public as to what those priorities they see are the most important. And I worry that if we do this internally, we're not going to get that because those inherent biases that we have, I mean, I'm always going to ride for precinct four, no offense. I love all y'all. But if I have an opportunity to do more for precinct four, I'm gonna do that. That's your job. And so I just, I think that this is well, it's not only needed, but it's well past time. And I'm really excited about the strategic plan. I'm really excited for the public to understand what's in it and for that public document to be out there and to get comments on it. Because I worry that at times we're in an echo chamber on some of our, what should be the prioritization of the county. And this will give us the opportunity to really air that out and hear from the general public.

Commissioner Hammer.

If we are going to spend this money, I will say I want to make sure that we have the best of the best firm on it. And recently, Erin Gray's firm was bought out by LJA, and she is, in my opinion, the best of the best at public outreach. So I do feel like this is the number one firm that we would want doing this.

Absolutely. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith? Yes. Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Judge Becetta?

Yes. K-4.

K-4. Discussion and possible action associated with the resolution regarding the Hay Central Appraisal District's request for the authorization to purchase land and construct improvements to establish and operate the Appraisal District's office. So moved.

We have a motion in the second any questions or comments? Yes Don't worry there's time for everyone Commissioner do you want to go? I mean you said that the loudest go ahead There's two resolutions in the backup there's no way that we can What if we go to civil first I was gonna say we should have some explanation How about we go here first civil would you say your name and title for the viewing public?

Chase Young, ADA with the Civil Division. So the county received a letter from the Hayes Central Appraisal District essentially wanting to buy land to improve their facilities. Under a version of the tax code 61051, any sort of tax entity that would bear part of the financial burden has to approve it within a certain time frame. Because of the nature of when we got it, this is the only time we could bring it forward before the next court because they have to have an answer by July 18th. And if we don't send any response, it's presumptive that we approve it. And so there are two things in backup. One that says, yes, we're good with this, move forward. The other one is saying, no, we need more information, please. Nothing as far as my division was able to figure out would prevent them from doing this again later on. So that way if... the court does see fit to move forward with it, they could give the court more information if you all want more. It was any sort of, and when I said any sort of tax entity, say there are like three cities and the county all involved, it requires a three-fourth affirmative vote of all of the different tax entities that are affected in order to move forward. So it's possible that if there are four entities involved and we say no, the other three may vote yes and move forward or vice versa. So. Very good. So you say the Shaw clock is upon us? Yeah. And I do believe that.

Perfect. We'll go.

Scott Woodland, budget officer. And I'd like to give you some information based off what's been presented to us. It's not everything, but they sent us their budget. And I just want to give you some of the hard facts of, One thing to understand is how the entity works. They are not a taxing entity. They get all of their revenue and proceeds from the taxing entities that they do appraisals for. So they proportionally charge what their expenditures are to the taxing entities, and it's proportional based off size and dollar amount from the taxing. With that being said, I want to let it be known that right now, Hayes County, Our MNO slash INS rate, which they include as one, accounts for 19% of those expenses. And then our special road tax accounts for 2.2%. So essentially, through this budget, Hays County is covering 21.2% of the appraisal district's expenditures. That's important to know because now I'm going to give you the facts about the change in the appraisal district's budget. The biggest change is that the appraisal district, and it's the reason that this has to go to the taxing entities, is looking to move to a new location over growth concerns in their current capacity. Now, what that does is, in their budget, they're asking for their capital investment on their property to go from $50,000 to $1,050,000 in order to start building up the money needed in order to pay for that new facility. In addition to that, their personnel expenses are going up $330,859 as part of a reorganization of their entity. And then in services slash general expenditures, their budget is increasing by $187,250, mostly to do with increases in general expenses such as attorney's fees, security, janitorial services. That's the overall. Let me tell you how that breaks down to how it affects what our budget would be expenditure wise. On our M&O and INS billing, it would increase $455,706 from roughly $1.1 million to roughly $1.59 million. And then in the road and bridge, it would increase roughly $36,770. When you combine those, we're looking at a total increase from the prior year's expenditures of $492,479.26. Okay.

And so, Commissioner Smith, now we can continue.

So, I have several real problems with this, and the first of which I MAY BE TAP DANCING ON OUTSIDE OF THE AGENDA ITEM, BUT PROVIDING ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO THIS ENTITY AT A POINT WHERE I DON'T BELIEVE WE CAN GET RESPONSIVENESS TO OUR CONSTITUENTS, NUMBER ONE, AND TO OUR INDIVIDUAL OFFICES, NUMBER TWO, AND HIM COMING TO US WITH A REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING, WITH SOME SERIOUS QUESTIONS REGARDING THAT ADDITIONAL FUNDING, I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH. NUMBER ONE, I DON'T BELIEVE We have no idea what this project looks like. We have no idea where it's to be located. We don't know. We've been told it's going to be no more than a $15 million facility. There's nothing statutorily that holds them to that. And we don't know, again, where it's going to be, what it's going to look like, what those new services are, what those new personnel are. Yet we are being burdened with, I'VE TALKED TO MUNICIPALITIES I'VE TALKED TO MUNICIPALITIES OVER THE LAST WEEK AND THEY OVER THE LAST WEEK AND THEY OVER THE LAST WEEK AND THEY HAVE THE SAME CONCERNS THAT WE HAVE THE SAME CONCERNS THAT WE HAVE THE SAME CONCERNS THAT WE DO. DO. DO. WE DON'T KNOW. WE DON'T KNOW. WE DON'T KNOW. THERE IS SO MANY UNKNOWNS ON THERE IS SO MANY UNKNOWNS ON THERE IS SO MANY UNKNOWNS ON THIS THAT I WILL TELL YOU, I THIS THAT I WILL TELL YOU, I THIS THAT I WILL TELL YOU, I WON'T SUPPORT IT. WON'T SUPPORT IT. WON'T SUPPORT IT. I WILL SUPPORT THE RESOLUTION. I WILL SUPPORT THE RESOLUTION. I WILL SUPPORT THE RESOLUTION.

I THINK IT'S AN ABOMINATION You bring it up all the time?

Exactly. And so I will be supporting, if we pass a resolution today, I will support the resolution in opposition in order to find out this additional information that they should have provided. This didn't come up yesterday. And them sending this information to us two weeks before the deadline is absolutely nothing that we would ever do. And so I have a real issue with that, and I would hope that they would look at it. I know they are not county employees. I know there's a huge misunderstanding amongst our citizenry that because they have the words Hays County, that they are employees of the county. They are, in fact, employees of the comptroller's office, and they do not answer us whatsoever, hence the fact they don't return our phone calls. And I would support the resolution in opposition. Thank you. Commissioner Hammer.

Very much echoing Commissioner Smith. I have a ton of issues with getting any type of response from them and then also them putting back my constituents to me for problems that they need to be solving. I was looking into their salary increases, and it looks like the chief appraiser would be making $80,000 more in this. I mean, if that's a pay increase, I've, whew. I mean, that's insane to me. And that's not an efficient use of county taxpayer dollars, in my opinion. So, I mean, there's a lot of different issues with this. And first of all, who did they reach out to? They didn't reach out to me. Does anybody know who they reached out to? How did we know about this?

They reach out to, they emailed me and Judge Becerra on June 18th. I immediately forwarded the email to the county administrator and the budget officer.

Okay. And we forwarded it immediately, I think, to Civil Division as well. Okay. Commissioner Cohen?

No, I have the same issues. I mean, 15 million, that's, I don't know what building they're thinking about.

I think it was 16.

Yeah. Yeah, I don't, we just, there's just too many questions, like my colleagues have said, and I think we need to, I support the opposition resolution. It's just not enough time and what our impacts are gonna be to us as a county.

Commissioner Inglesby, anything you'd add?

Yeah, I mean, I have the same concerns, Judge. As I read through it fairly thoroughly this morning, I was like, oh my goodness. I mean, so I was wondering, okay, so what are our legal responsibilities? And it sounds like we have to pay in whatever, 21% of the district's budget, or that's what we're doing now, and then it's gonna increase. What's this, does the state bear any responsibility in this? I mean, it's, I just don't understand. I mean, is this another unfunded mandate that happened many, many years ago? I just, you know, there's just too many questions just for me to be supportive.

So the resolution that is in the backup asking for more information, would you be able to pull it up so you could read it out loud?

And Judge, while they're pulling that up, I just want to make one clarifying statement. We did get the letter, but there was no context that we had to respond within the 30 days. That came afterwards when we were speaking with legal and hearing from some of the other entities. So we did not recognize when we received it on the 18th. And so you can speak differently if you. have a different thought, that we needed to give a response in 30 days to oppose.

Well, and I think that there, I think that is a tremendous point. I think that they did that initial letter fully knowing that if we didn't act by a certain date, that it was assumed that we would just assume that debt.

Well, fully knowing, that sounds a little aggressive. Let's read the resolution. Let's just not make those kind of calls since we're trying to update ourselves. Let's just read the resolution. We've heard a lot of good opposition energy. I think we've beat that horse. Let's hear the resolution.

A resolution of Hayes County Commissioner's Court regarding the Hayes Central Appraisal District request for authorization to purchase land and construct improvements improvements to establish and operate the appraisal district office, whereas Hayes Central Appraisal District, the district, by letter dated June 18, 2026, has requested approval from the governing bodies of taxing units entitled to vote on an appointment of appraisal district board members for the district proposed acquisition of real property and constructions of new appraisal district office building, and whereas Hayes County is a taxing unit entitled to vote on the appointment of appraisal district board members pursuant to section 6.031 of the tax code, and whereas the district request states that the proposed project would include the purchase of land and construction of approximately 26,000 square foot facility to serve as the appraisal district office, and whereas the materials provided by the district described as an estimated project cost not to exceed $15,000, $15 million, and whereas Section 6.051 of the Texas Tax Code authorizes an appraisal district board of directors to purchase, finance the purchase of, or lease real property and construct or finance the construction of improvements as necessary to establish and operate an appraisal office or branch appraisal office, and whereas Section 6.051 of the Texas Tax Code requires the acquisition convenience of real property or the construction or renovation of a building or other improvements by an appraisal district to be approved by the governing body of three-fourths of the taxing units entitled to vote on the appointment of board members and whereas section 6.051 of the Texas tax code provides that on or before the 30th day after the day of the presenting officer of the governing body receives notice of the proposal the governing body of a tax unit may approve or disapprove the proposal by resolution, and whereas the 30th day after the date of the district delivered its resolution requesting authorization to purchase land and construct improvements to the Hayes County judge as presenting officer of the Hayes County Commissioner Court is July 18, 2026, and whereas Section 6.051 of the Texas Tax Code provides that if the governing body fails to act on or before the 30th day after receipt of notice or fails to file its resolution within the chief appraiser on or before the 20th day after the 30th day, the proposal is treated as approved by the governing body. And whereas the district's 2027 proposed budget reflects an increase in total expenditures from approximately $6,786,900 INCREASE APPROXIMATELY $1,568,109 AND WHEREAS THE DISTRICT'S 2027 PROPOSED BUDGET REFLECTS AN INCREASE IN CAPITAL INVESTMENTS FROM $150,000 TO $1,200,000 INCLUDING an increase in the proposed new building fund from $50,000 to $1,100,000. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Hayes County Commissioner's Court that pursuant to section six point.

I'm sorry, Judge. You wrote the wrong one. She read the wrong one.

That was in favor of 18% of the same thing.

80% is the same, so if you could tell a part to read over.

She's good to the...

So, Kenneth, will you point out to her where she takes off from? Please?

It's at the exact same point. They're the exact same.

There's a little variation at the end, yeah. To that point, they're the exact same.

The whereas that starts the Hayes County Commissioner's Court's fines.

So if you will read that last piece, which is the real fork in the road, we will be good.

It's the second page.

If you'll go there, we'll make sure you keep going. So far, everything is right.

Whereas the Hayes County Commissioner's Court finds the additional information, analyses, and discussion are needed regarding the proposed project, including project scope, financing, alternatives, timing, and budget impact on participation, taxing units, and whereas the Hayes County Commissioner's Court is not necessarily opposed to a long-term facility solution for the district, but find that approval of the proposed acquisition and construction request is not warranted on the presented record. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Hayes County Commissioner's Court that One, disapproval pursuant to Section 6.051B of the Texas Tax Code. The Hayes County Commissioner's Court disapproves the district's proposed acquisition of real property and construction of a new appraisal district office building as proposed in the resolution adopted by the Board of Directors of Hayes Central Appraisal District and submitted to taxing units for approval under Section 6.051 of the Texas Tax Code.

All right.

There's additional.

But that's the gist of it. Okay. Is there more you want to hear at the very end? Yes. Let's read to the very, very, very end.

Two basis for disapproval. This disapproval is based on the determination that the district should provide additional information and allow further discussion among affected taxing units before approval and proposed real property acquisition. and construction projects, including information regarding project scope, financing, alternatives, timing, and the effect of the project on the district's 2027 proposed budget and future allocations for taxing units. Three, no determination regarding future facility needs. This resolution does not constitute the determination of the district and no long-term facility needs. Rather, this resolution disapproves the pending proposal on the present record and preserves the commissioner's core ability to consider any revised or future proposal submitted in accordance with accessible law. For filing with chief appraiser, a copy of this resolution shall be filled with the chief appraiser of Hays County Appraisal District within the time required by section 6.051 of the Texas Tax Code and in any event on or before July 28th. SECTION 4 EFFECTIVE DATE.

SO MOVED.

SECOND.

SO, CANDICE, ON THE CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT BOARD, WHO IS OUR REPRESENTATIVE RIGHT NOW?

GIVE ME TWO MINUTES AND I CAN GET THAT NAMED, TOO. IT'S OUR TAX ASSESSOR COLLECTIVE. I'M SORRY, JENNIFER ESCOBAR. MY APOLOGIES.

IS SHE STILL OUR FULL REPRESENTATIVE OF ALL THOSE VOTES? Yes.

As far as I know, yes. It's always been there.

I remember appointing O'Kane. I know. I remember. I'm just making sure.

And, sir, just to get clarity, I know that we're in opposition of this. Is it the desire of the court that we have the appraisal district come out and do a presentation to the court to give more information for future budget years? Or do we just want to pass the resolution and go from there?

I think that sounds like past the resolution that we don't support this action as presented, and we would like all the pertinent details that have been spoken in court.

I would just say if this kills this proposition for the 2027 budget, I think because of the way that, and Chase, correct me here, but if they should know by the 28th whether or not This works, whether they've got the three quarters or not. They still have time before the adoption of the 2027 budget to come back if there's that 30 day notice. If they choose to do that, then there needs to be a presentation. Each of us needs to be given information on where the property is, what the acquisition costs are. with the construction, all of the information. Specifically, this is the first I've heard, because I've not seen any of the funding numbers relative to staff and those kind of things. It's a first from Commissioner Hammer. I've heard that. We need a full accounting of what these expenses are. And if they're not willing to do that before FY27, then if they want to do it in 28, then they need to do that in February or March, not with 30 days left.

So a presentation in court. Understood. Okay wonderful. So the motion is Made and seconded to pass the resolution Not supporting this effort if there are no other comments Yeah, and who's gonna be responsible for filing this with the chief appraisal.

You need to do it within that time frame It says so who's gonna do that?

So the County Administrator's Office will work with legal to make sure that we get it filed Please call the roll Commissioner Inglesby.

Yes Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Judge Becerra?

Yes. K-5.

K-5. Discussion and possible action to modify the 1A106 Employee Status Policy of the Personnel Policies Effective July 8, 2026. So moved.

Eric Glenn-Hendel, you are up.

Good afternoon, Judge. Eric Glenn-Hendel, Human Resources Director. Good afternoon, Commissioners. So this updated policy would allow the county administrator human resources director and budget officer to create new temporary positions for special staffing needs related to recruitment delay or special projects within HR's intern budget, so there would be no fiscal impact. That does tap into a new type of talent pool, so unlike our interns who may have limited experience, we can tap into other experience such as working parents who are looking for part-time temporary positions, retirees looking for temporary positions, so different type of talent pool other than our interns. We love our interns, but different type of skill set.

Sounds really good, very creative, forward-thinking, and not micromanaging. Commissioner Inglesby?

Yeah, and so I'm supportive. I just want to, and I don't want to make this seem as micromanaging, but I think maybe every six months, maybe even a year, that you bring us back some kind of report on how the program is working. maybe how many employees have been hired, what the cost is. Hopefully we don't go over the budgeted cost. But if we need to, I'm sure that'll be brought to court. But I think just a report on how the program is working would be very helpful.

Maybe a quarterly report, Commissioner?

Well, it could be. I mean, we can make that determination, but just to... I mean, I don't know if a quarter is enough time after... uh... just implementing well i know we have one already but this is uh... fairly new because it's going to be under y'all's discretion so silly okay let's stay within the budget yes absolutely

very, like Judge was here, very forward thinking of tapping into a pool that we may not be thinking about. Sometimes we think of young people filling the temporary roles, but there's definitely, like you said, retirees or maybe just an adult looking to change the whole, you know, where they want to go in their career. So fully support.

Great.

Yeah, my reason for supporting this was also to POSITIONS THAT DON'T NEED TO BE FULL TIME AND THEY DON'T NEED, I MEAN, I THINK IT WILL HELP US FROM A BUDGETARY STANDPOINT AND NOT HAVE TO WORK THOSE POSITIONS IN OR THEM SIT VACANT. IT'S KIND OF LIKE A GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, I WOULD SAY. SO I THINK IT WILL DEFINITELY ADD TO THE POOL AND PULL FROM A BIGGER TALENT POOL. COMMISSIONER SMITH.

I WOULD ECHO. BE MEAN TO MY STATEMENT. I REALLY LOOKED AT THIS PROPOSAL AS A WAY WHERE WE COULD REALLY maybe kind of reengage and access some of those former employees that I know still want to spend time with us, save us on a training budget, and have the ability to fill some of these positions, at least in a part-time basis, and provide some budgetary savings at the same time. Yeah. Part-time commissioner? They're just kidding.

All right. I think we're good. Please call the roll. Thank you.

Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. I think we're on to, we've already, are we seven? We're on seven.

K-7, discussion and possible action to execute the reclaimed water use agreement between Hayes County and the City of Dripping Springs to be used by the Hayes County Transportation Department effective April 2, 2026. So moved. Second.

Okay, Commissioner, explain this. Sure. So our transportation, I'll let Erin clarify. clean up whatever I don't get correct or if I misstate something. Our transportation department uses a tremendous amount of water in our construction and our just overall usage. This would allow us to purchase reclaimed water instead of potable water from the city of Dripping Springs at a reduced rate. So I think it's a win-win for us. It's cheaper than potable water. And number two, we're actually putting our money where our mouth is using reclaimed water instead of potable water on our project.

That sounds like a great idea, grabbing reclaimed water for your construction projects. That's what the framework is, correct? Yes. And what about the price?

The price is well below what we would pay if we were to meter. the water so say if we go typically if we put a meter on a system a water system uh we're required to put down a deposit those range anywhere from 500 to 2 000 then we're paying this rate is substantially less than what we would pay for metered water through there. And then we're also not putting a strain on the potable water, the drinking water throughout the county. This way they're reusing this water that they're generating that It just fills that gap where we wouldn't have to use somebody's drinking water for something we'd put into the construction.

Plus, people are sometimes fighting which creek to try to pour it down, so this really helps on that front as well. So who would be the person we would be buying it from, the company?

This agreement is with the City of Drippen Springs with their treatment plant. So this is specifically those.