City of Georgetown Texas > Articles by: Beth Wade

Arts and Culture Brown Bag Luncheon: Putting the Fun in Fundraising

The City will host its first Arts and Culture Brown Bag Luncheon of 2022 on Jan. 13 featuring a presentation by Marissa Austin, CEO of the Court Appointed Special Advocates of Williamson County.

Austin’s presentation will focus on the basic types of revenue for nonprofits and how to diversify and develop these revenue opportunities. Prior to CASA, Austin served as the executive director of the Georgetown Palace Theatre. Her accomplishments included a multimillion-dollar capital campaign and modernizing the operating systems of the organization.

The meeting begins at noon in the Friends Room at the Georgetown Public Library, 402 W. Eighth St. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunch. There will be time after the discussion to share and learn about arts and culture programs happening in the Georgetown community.

This quarterly professional development presentation is sponsored by the Georgetown Arts and Culture program. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to arts@georgetown.org.

Hype for the Holidays Teen Party at Georgetown Recreation Center

Georgetown Parks and Recreation hosts its annual Hype for the Holidays Teen Party for teenagers ages 12-15 on Friday, Dec. 17, at the Georgetown Recreation Center, 1003 N. Austin Ave.

The party is from 1:15-4:30 p.m. and will include pizza, drinks, snacks, video games, a dodge ball or basketball tournament, music, an ugly sweater contest, door prizes, and more.

The event is free for recreation center members or $5 for nonmembers.

Visit parks.georgetown.org/hype-for-the-holidays for more information.

Georgetown Parks and Recreation announces day camps

The Georgetown Parks and Recreation Department will offer day camps for students during the upcoming Georgetown ISD student holidays. Pricing and schedules vary for each program.

Participants can select from four camps:

  • Camp Goodwater is offered at the Georgetown Recreation Center on Dec. 20-23 and 27-30 for children ages 5-12. Children must be currently attending Kindergarten to participate. Programming runs from 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. The camp includes outdoor activities, gym games, and seasonal arts and crafts, as well as other activities. Daily fees are $40 for Georgetown residents and $50 for nonresidents.
  • Junior Tennis Academy is offered at the Georgetown Tennis Center on Dec. 27-31 from 9-11 a.m. for ages 7-10 and 1-3 p.m. for ages 11-15. This camp focuses on the fundamentals of stroke production, conditioning, movement, footwork, tactics, and strategy. Daily fees are $20 for Georgetown residents and $25 for nonresidents.
  • Volleyball Camp is offered at the Georgetown Recreation Center on Dec. 20-21 from 9 a.m.-noon for children ages 8-14. The camp covers the rules of play for beginners and defense and positions for more advanced players. Fees are $55 for Georgetown residents and $75 for nonresidents.
  • Basketball Camp is offered at the Georgetown Recreation Center on Dec. 27-29 from 9 a.m.-noon for children ages 6-16. The camp will offer participants the opportunity to improve ball handling, shooting, footwork, defense techniques, and other game-related training. Fees are $100 for Georgetown residents and $125 for nonresidents.

For more information and to register, visit parks.georgetown.org/camp or call 512-930-3596.

Drive-through Breakfast with Santa on Dec. 11

The 21st annual Breakfast with Santa event is 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, at the Community Center, 445 E. Morrow St. in San Gabriel Park.

Participants will be able to drive by and wave at Santa and Georgetown firefighters and grab a goodie bag with treats and coupons donated by local businesses. Similar to last year, no food will be served, and no direct photos or contact with Santa will be available in an effort to keep participants safe during the ongoing pandemic.

Breakfast with Santa is sponsored by the Georgetown Fire Department and the Sun City Rotary Club. This year’s goal is to focus again on providing food-related assistance for kids and families. All of the sponsorships and donations go directly to helping kids and families. The Sun City Rotary Club estimated it helped more than 200 children through last year’s Breakfast with Santa event.

For details, contact the Georgetown Fire Department at 512-930-3473 or visit the Rotary Club’s project website.

City holiday string lights recycling available through Jan. 31

The City of Georgetown has partnered with Texas Disposal Systems to offer free holiday string-light recycling to all Georgetown residents.

Residents can drop off their old or broken string lights through Jan. 31 at one of three collection stations:

  • City of Georgetown Collection and Transfer Station, 250 W.L. Walden Road
  • Georgetown Municipal Complex, 300-1 Industrial Ave.
  • Georgetown Public Library, 402 W. Eighth St.

Sun City residents may also drop off old or broken string lights at the Cowan Creek Pavilion, 1433 Cool Spring Way, in Sun City.

The program is limited to string lights. Lights must be taken to a collection station and cannot be placed in residential or commercial recycling bins because they will damage the sorting machines at the recycling center. Yard art, inflatables, and other holiday lighting will not be collected.

Georgetown was the first city in Central Texas to offer this service when the program launched in December 2017. Last year residents recycled more than 3,000 pounds of Christmas lights.

Proposed Voluntary Annexation of 12 Acres (Rockride Tract)

The City of Georgetown is considering a voluntary annexation of property into the city limits.  A Public Hearing will be held at the December 14, 2021 meeting at 6:00pm. City Council meetings are located at the City Council Chambers, 510 W. 9th Street. This Board is now meeting in-person with a quorum present and the public is welcome to attend. If special accommodations are needed, please reach out to the Staff Liaison, Robyn Densmore at robyn.densmore@georgetown.org or 512-931-7715 for assistance. Additional information on available options for public comment will be provided on the posted agenda.

The area being considered for voluntary annexation approximately a 12 acre tract out of the William Addison Survey, Abstract No.21 and a 1.394 acre portion of Rockride Lane, a right-of-way of varying width of record described to Williamson County, Texas, generally located at 2763 Rockride Lane to be known as the Rockride Tract

After holding the required public hearings, the City Council will consider an ordinance for the annexation.

For additional information, please contact Cesar Acosta in the Planning Department, 512-930-6652 or email at cesar.acosta@georgetown.org.

Downtown Georgetown Association hosts Christmas Stroll Festival this Friday and Saturday

The 40th annual Christmas Stroll is next weekend in downtown Georgetown around the Courthouse Square. This free, family-friendly holiday festival sponsored by the Downtown Georgetown Association is from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 3, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 4. See all the event details at TheGeorgetownSquare.com.

The Christmas Stroll on Saturday includes a parade at 10 a.m., live entertainment, and holiday shopping at more than 150 arts and crafts, clothing, and jewelry vendor booths as well as downtown merchants. The food court areas offer a variety of food items, including sweet and savory crepes, barbecue, hot chocolate, funnel cake, and other seasonal treats. Enjoy Santa’s Village on Saturday, including photos and visits with Santa from noon to 8 p.m.

The young and young at heart can visit the Hewlett Winter Wonderland featuring a human snow globe and other children’s activities on Austin Avenue. The event also includes street hockey, three-on-three basketball, a children’s train, and a Who hair salon and face painting.

On Friday night come dance the night away at Groovin’ with the Grinch at 6 p.m. at Main and Sixth streets. Hill Country Kettle Korn will be providing free kettle corn for children during the event.

Stop by Bethlehem Village on Friday and Saturday to enjoy booths, displays, and performers in costume from the time of Jesus of Nazareth.

Parade at 10 a.m. on Saturday

The Stroll parade starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The mayor will be in the parade and look for Santa as he makes his way through downtown. If you come to the Stroll parade, please bring a toy for Blue Santa. New, unwrapped toys will be collected by Blue Santa Elves along the parade route, which travels along Church Street and Austin Avenue through the downtown Square. Blue Santa is a program of the Georgetown Police Department to provide toys to children in need in Georgetown. New, unwrapped toys also can be brought to donation barrels at many Georgetown locations.

For safety reasons, the Georgetown Police Department asks that no candy or any objects be thrown from floats or participants in the parade. For donation barrel sites and more information, go to BlueSanta.Georgetown.org.

Free Event Parking

Parking is available at the Williamson County parking garage at Third and Rock streets, the lot at Seventh and Rock streets, Eighth and Martin Luther King Jr. streets, and the City parking lot on the west side of Austin Avenue at Fifth Street.

The City parking lot at Ninth and Main streets will be used for handicapped parking.

The City parking lot at Sixth and Main streets will be closed on both days

Street Closures

Austin Avenue will be closed from 6 a.m. on Friday until 1 a.m. on Sunday between Sixth and Ninth streets. The Austin Avenue closure will expand from Second to 11th streets on Saturday between 9 a.m. and noon to allow for the Stroll Parade. The Austin Avenue detour will be on Rock Street.

Main Street will be closed between Eighth and Ninth streets from 5 p.m. on Thursday until 1 a.m. on Sunday.

Other streets around the Square will be closed starting at 6 a.m. on Friday through 1 a.m. on Sunday. Street closures include Austin Avenue and Main Street from Sixth to Ninth streets, Sixth Street from Austin Avenue to Church Street, Seventh and Eighth streets from Rock to Church streets, and Ninth Street from Austin Avenue to the parking lot exit on Ninth Street. Visit TheGeorgetownSquare.com for details.

More Information

Admission to Stroll is free. A donation of a new toy to Blue Santa or Brown Santa is appreciated.

Stroll is a rain or shine event. In the event of severe weather conditions such as lightning or high winds, festival activities will be adjusted as warranted. Check the DGA Facebook page at facebook.com/GTXChristmasStroll for updates.

For more information, go to the Downtown Georgetown Association website at TheGeorgetownSquare.com. The Stroll is brought to you by the Downtown Georgetown Association with the support of the City of Georgetown.

Georgetown asks for feedback on downtown parking garage

The City of Georgetown is asking the public for feedback on various options for a downtown parking garage, including location, levels, costs, and more.

“As businesses continue to open and grow in downtown, space for parking diminishes, and we risk losing visitors and patrons to our beautiful, vibrant downtown,” Mayor Josh Schroeder said. “We want to hear from as many voices as possible before the council makes a decision. If you live, work, or visit downtown, you are a stakeholder in this project, and we hope you’ll share your experiences and preferences with us.”

The City has been working to evaluate and address parking concerns for the downtown area for several years. Research and recommendations for parking solutions have been informed by numerous City Council discussions and presentations, a Downtown Parking Study from 2015, land-use codes, public engagement about the design, a stakeholder steering committee, our consulting firm, Wantman Group Inc. (WGI), and others.

Potential parking garage locations also were informed by the 2014 Downtown Master Plan update. The plan identified four potential parking garage locations, including the Tamiro Plaza and Ninth and Main streets site, both of which are being considered now (page 8 in Chapter 5 of the 2014 plan identifies the original, potential sites).

In 2021, WGI evaluated potential parking garage sites on a series of criteria, including:

  • Overall cost
  • Number of new parking spaces added
  • Location (relative to the Square)
  • Concept should support residential, retail, or both
  • Traffic access and impact

On Nov. 9, 2021, City Council identified three potential locations for the parking garage:

  1. Tamiro Plaza, on the southwest corner of Sixth Street and Austin Avenue
  2. Ninth and Main streets, the entire square block
  3. Sixth and Main streets, on the southwest corner

People can share their feedback through a digital survey, available Nov. 27 through Dec. 31, 2021. Through December, yard signs with a QR code to the survey will be posted around the Square, and postcards, with the survey QR code and three short questions, also will be available at the Visitors Center, 103 W. Seventh St. People who came to the Square for Shop Small Saturday also had an opportunity to learn more and share input with City staff.

The survey provides additional details about the proposed locations, including the number of parking spots gained and costs, and asks the public to share their feedback about the potential sites, how many levels they would like to see in a garage, costs, and other options being considered. After the survey closes, City staff will compile the results and share them with the council to help inform their decisions for the project. Council is expected to discuss the parking garage project in early 2022.

For more information about the downtown parking garage project, visit the project website.

2021-22 Sculpture Tour awards announced

The City of Georgetown Arts and Culture Board has awarded Anthony St. James the first prize award in the 2021-22 Sculpture Tour, a juried year-long outdoor exhibit in the historic downtown Georgetown Cultural District. Anthony St. James won for his piece 1969-Yesterday, a 3D contemporary sculpture of The Beatles created using steel and stainless steel. The sculpture is located at the corner of Main and Ninth streets across from the Georgetown Art Center.

Second prize went to Dan Pogue for Moment of Reflection, a cast bronze peacock on a steel pedestal. This piece is located on Main Street at the Plaza between Grace Heritage and Kork Wine Bar.

The other sculptures accepted into the tour and awarded Honorable Mention include:

  • Balancing Apple by Cindy Debold
  • Batik by Marla Ripperda
  • Fractal Variation #4 by David Mikitka
  • “Giant Burger” by Faith Schexnayder
  • Hot World / Cool World by Peter Mangan
  • Icosahedron by Kirk Seese
  • Intersection by Scott Shubin
  • Magnify by Kirk Seese
  • Me, Myself, and I by Cindy Debold
  • Vector by Scott Shubin
  • Wings by Kirk Seese
  • Woman with Rose by David Mikitka

The board selected these 13 sculptures from a total of 28 pieces submitted for consideration by 14 artists, with Moment of Reflection by Dan Pogue remaining a part of the Sculpture Tour from last year due to the popularity of the piece. All sculptures will remain on exhibit until October 2022.

For more information, including a map of the sculpture tour and images of the sculptures, visit arts.georgetown.org/art/sculpture-tour.

Thanksgiving holiday City facility closings and events

City of Georgetown offices and facilities will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 25, and Friday, Nov. 26, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. There is no solid waste or recycling collection on Thanksgiving Day (details below).

City facilities and offices closed Nov. 25-26 include the following:

  • Animal Shelter, 110 W.L. Walden Drive
  • City Hall, 808 Martin Luther King Jr. St.
  • Council and Courts Building (including Municipal Court), 510 W. Ninth St.
  • Georgetown Art Center, 816 S. Main St.
  • Georgetown Municipal Complex, 300-1 Industrial Ave.
  • Parks and Recreation Administration, 1101 N. College St.
  • Planning Department, 809 Martin Luther King Jr. St.
  • Public Library, 402 W. Eighth St.
  • Public Safety Operations and Training Center, Police Records and Fire Support Services offices, 3500 D.B. Wood Road
  • Recreation Center, 1003 N. Austin Ave.
  • Tennis Center, 400 Serenada Drive

Other Facility Closures

The facilities listed below will be closed Thursday, Nov. 25, and open these hours on Friday, Nov. 26:

  • Airport Terminal, 500 Terminal Drive: Open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Garey Park, 6450 RM 2243: Open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Transfer Station, 250 W. L. Walden Drive: Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Visitors Center, 103 W. Seventh St.: Open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Georgetown Public Library will close at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 24, and reopen 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 27.

Solid Waste & Recycling

There will be no trash or recycling pickup for Texas Disposal Systems customers in the City of Georgetown on Thursday, Nov. 25. Solid waste collection for Thursday and Friday slides one day:

  • Thursday slides to Friday
  • Friday slides to Saturday

Solid waste and recycling carts should be placed at the curb by 7 a.m. on pickup day. For questions, call TDS at 512-930-1715.

The Transfer Station at 250 W. L. Walden Drive will be closed Thursday, Nov. 25 (Thanksgiving Day), but open regular hours, which are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Friday, Nov. 26.

Curative COVID-19 Testing Site

The COVID-19 testing site located at 707 S. Martin Luther King Jr. St. (near the Georgetown Public Library) will be closed Thursday, Nov. 25, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.

COVID-19 testing by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, click here. To schedule a rapid PCR test, which provides results in fewer than four hours, click here.

Events

Georgetown has multiple events the week and weekend of Thanksgiving, including:

  • Lighting of the Square: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 26, on the east steps of the historic Williamson County Courthouse, 710 S. Main St.
  • Shop Small Saturday: Starting at 10 a.m. Nov. 27, holiday shoppers and visitors are encouraged to celebrate the season and support a small business by shopping at locally owned businesses. Participating retailers and restaurants will have specials and discounts available.
  • Artist Sunday: On Nov. 28, shoppers are encouraged to support local artists, and art-based businesses will have unique offerings perfect for gifting to friends and family.

There will be no community Thanksgiving meal this year; however, we are working to bring it back in 2022.