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Internal
About 150
people attended the Nov. 28, 2007 General Membership Meeting
in Austin to hear TxDOT Commissioner Ned
Holmes at an event jointly hosted by the Capital Area
Transportation Coalition. Howard Faulkenberg, current
chairman of the Capital Area Transportation Coalition,
opened the meeting with a description of CATC's activities
over the past year. Corridor Council president Ross Milloy
asked for membership approval of some charter changes, a
2008 draft budget, and the election of Robert Huthnance as
chairman, Austin, and Richard Perez,
San Antonio, as vice chairman for 2007-9 -
both were unanimously elected. Mr. Huthnance introduced
Commissioner Holmes, who outlined TxDOT's current funding
situation and presented some of the agency's goals over the
next five years. Among the many statistics presented by the
Commissioner was the fact that TxDOT has experienced an
astounding 62.5% increase in construction costs over the
last five years: "In other words, we can only build about 38
miles of roadway for every 100 miles we used to be able to
afford," he said. Commissioner Holmes' speech and power
point presentation will be up on the Corridor Council
website,
www.thecorridor.org,
later this week. A cocktail
reception honoring Mr. Holmes followed the meeting.
The
Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District
Board meeting is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. this Friday,
December 7 at the Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG)
offices at 8700 Tesoro in San Antonio.
Infrastructure
Round Rock city manager Jim Nuse reflected on the city's growth over
the past three decades in a speech last week filled with
interesting details: "Thirty years ago Round Rock had
an assessed value of $26 million," said Nuse, who has served
as city manager since 2003. "Today the city has an assessed
value of $7.4 billion." More from the
Round Rock Leader
here.
The often ugly
fight over the State Highway 121 toll road in the
Dallas-Ft. Worth area ended last Friday as the
North Texas Tollway Authority presented the state of Texas
with a $3.2 billion check. The 26-mile road - called the
second-richest toll project in America - will fund scores of
new transportation projects in North Texas,
but not without substantial controversy. Read details
here.
Engineering
contractors Jacobs Carter & Burgess have presented Seguin
with a preliminary plan that could transform the Walnut
Branch creek into a 2.5-mile long park linking the existing
Starche Park with downtown. The Seguin City Council
passed a $3 million bond to complete the first phase, which
will focus on restoration of the stone path and bridges.
A 100-acre, $17
million sports complex is in the works for the city of
New Braunfels. The complex would feature two football
fields, eight soccer fields, eight softball fields, hiking
paths and an amphitheater. If would also include concession
stands and parking. Read
more.
Economic Development
Construction on
Williamson County's new Seton Medical Center is on
time, on budget and set to open in February. The 365,000 sq.
ft. facility located on 74 acres will be the largest
hospital in the county.
The Temple
College Board has picked the city of Taylor to house
the East Williamson County Higher Education Center.
The city has optioned 70 acres near U.S. Hwy 79 to house the
center, due to be completed near the end of 2009.
Round Rock
ranks as the 13th safest city in the U.S. according to
CQPress' survey. All cities with a population of 75,000
or more were ranked by compiling rates for murder, rape,
robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle
theft.
The Boeing Co.
contributes some $3.5 billion annually to the Texas economy,
according to an independent economic impact study. Boeing
has created more than 20,000 direct and indirect jobs in the
state. Boeing has 5,200 Texas workers on its payroll,
including about 1,500 at the Port of San Antonio.
In 2004 BMC
West, Inc. moved its millworks division to Cedar Park
and created more jobs for Williamson County. Now the
company is moving its building materials division, the last
Austin operation, to Cedar Park and creating
another 100 jobs for the county. Read the details
here.
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