Monday Morning Report
November 19, 2007

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Join us for our Austin General Membership meeting (held jointly with the Capital Area Transportation Coalition) on November 28, 4:00 pm at the Austin Club. TxDOT Commissioner Ned Holmes will be the guest speaker. Please call to RSVP at 512-558-7360 or email council@thecorridor.org. Details here.

The city council in Schertz voted unanimously last week (11/13) to join the Austin-San Antonio Commuter Rail District and appointed mayor Hal Baldwin as their representative to the Board. 14 city, county and other governmental entities are currently participating members.

Corridor Council member Red McCombs (whom we usually refer to as 'the legendary Red McCombs') was honored in San Antonio last week for a lifetime of generosity to area charities and schools. The Express-News story about a dinner sponsored by the University of the Incarnate Word details quite a few of Red's contributions and contains tributes from an impressive lineup of Alamo City civic leaders and educators. Read the item here.

Infrastructure

TxDOT had plenty of bad news last week for people involved in roadway construction and engineering, announcing massive cutbacks that will total $3.6 billion by 2015. That, in turn, will spark even more cutbacks at the local level ($1 billion more in the next few months). Without dollars for construction, TxDOT will cease new engineering and design studies and limit right of way acquisition. Credit Harvey Kronberg's "Quorum Report" with some of the earliest coverage of the announcements, which you can read here and here.

The transformation of the collapsing Rio Vista Dam into a whitewater park has earned San Marcos the 2007 “Municipal Excellence Award for Management Innovations” from the Texas Municipal League, according to The Record. The honor recognizes the city for transforming a collapsing low water dam in 2005-2006 into a whitewater park with three sets of falls on the San Marcos River.  Details.

New Braunfels is turning to the Toyota Prius to fight rising gasoline costs: the city council approved buying three of the 46-mile per gallon vehicles last week for the fire and planning departments. Details.

Economic Development

Edinburg-based First National Bank said last week that it had purchased property in Lockhart for a new branch that will operate under the name of "Camino Real Banks." First National Bank currently operates more than 50 branches in Texas, and has offices in Monterrey, Mexico. Details.

San Antonio's manufacturing industrial sector contributed $14.4 billion to the local economy last year, up from $10 billion in 1996, according to a new study discussed in the Express-News story here. More than 52,000 people were employed in manufacturing jobs, and got paid $2.2 billion in 2006. The average wage was $41,496, 13% higher than the average wage in San Antonio.

Temple announced that a Toyota and Scion vehicle-processing center will be built in Temple's Rail Park, bringing in a $50 million investment and employing 240 people. The facility will distribute vehicles in a five-state region composed of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Mississippi.

The Guadalupe County Commissioners Court unanimously approved a 100% tax abatement for 10 years in a show of support for Continental Automotive. Continental, one of Seguin's largest employers, plans to spend more than $15 million to install more modern manufacturing equipment.

The Hill Country Conservancy is spearheading a plan to create a 30-mile trail system from downtown Austin all the way to Hays County. The trail would run from Barton Springs south of downtown to the Onion Creek Preserve in Kyle. The exact location of the trail and the costs associated with it have not been finalized.

The Lower Colorado River Authority has named a new general manger, Tom Mason. Mason succeeds former general manager Joe Beal, who announced his retirement in August.

Michael Wilson, Canadian Ambassador to the US, will speak on Nov. 28, 2007 at the Marriott Riverwalk Hotel Alamo Ballroom in San Antonio starting at 11:30. Please call 210-229-2129 for information.

The city of Hutto has received a municipal excellence in management innovations award for cities of less than 25,000 from the Texas Municipal League. The award recognizes Hutto's development plan, which city officials developed in the face of a rapidly growing population. The city has seen a 1,278% growth rate in six years.

Register now for The Texas Leadership Institutes' "Tourism Public Relation and Communications" course on November 30, 2007 at the LCRA Riverside Conference Center in Bastrop. For information call 800-776-5272 ext. 3252. 

Thought for the week:

“Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast.”      -William Shakespeare

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