City of Georgetown Texas

Today the U.S. Census Bureau released population estimates showing that Georgetown is ranked seventh on the list of fastest-growing cities in the country with a population of more than 50,000. Georgetown’s growth rate was 5.2 percent from July 1, 2017, through July 1, 2018, resulting in a population estimate of 74,180.

“I promise, we’re not trying to be the fastest-growing city in the U.S.,” Mayor Dale Ross said. “Frankly, people choose Georgetown because we are a safe city with a high-quality of life, great parks, an award-winning library, a low tax rate, and the Most Beautiful Town Square in Texas. We recognize what a great place Georgetown is, and others recognize it, too.”

“Georgetown is well-positioned in a fast-growing region. We are working to make the most of opportunities to bring high-quality employers to our city, while preserving Georgetown’s authentic charm and character. We’re fortunate to have like-minded partners like Southwestern University, Georgetown ISD, Williamson County, St. David’s, and Sun City, too.”

Georgetown was the sixth fastest-growing city in the U.S. on the list released last year by the Census. In 2017, Georgetown was the fifth fastest-growing city in the U.S., the fastest in 2016, and the second fastest in 2015.

Georgetown’s population was 47,400 in the 2010 census. According to today’s estimate, Georgetown added 26,780 residents with a growth rate of 56.5 percent from 2010 to 2018.

“The growth does help the City maintain one of the lowest tax rates in the region,” Ross added. “It helps fund the infrastructure needed to prepare for the many new people who will call Georgetown home this year. In fact, we are on pace to complete a decade’s worth of voter approved road bonds in just seven years.”

According to the Texas Demographic Center, the Austin region is expected to more than double in size by the year 2050, growing from 2 million to 4.5 million population.

“We’re kidding ourselves if we think we can stop growth,” Ross said. “It is critically important that we work leverage opportunities that are presented to us, with a focus on preserving what makes Georgetown unique.”

The news release from the Census about the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. is at census.gov.

The annual Memorial Day ceremony in Georgetown will be held at the Georgetown-Williamson County Veterans Memorial Plaza located at 2 Texas Drive, behind the Social Center in the Sun City neighborhood. This free event begins at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, May 27 and is open to the public. The ceremony honors the men and women of our armed forces who gave their lives in service to our country.

The guest speaker is U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. Music will be provided by the 36th Infantry Division Band of the Texas Army National Guard. The ceremony also includes singing of the national anthem, presentation of wreaths at both Memorial Walls, and sounding of taps. The event also includes a flyover by Falcon Flight, a recreational aircraft formation flying team.

Seven-hundred folding chairs will be placed at the Memorial. Guests also are invited to bring their folding chairs and sit under the trees. The Sun City Community Association will serve refreshments on the Social Center patio after the ceremony.

In case of rain, the event will be held in the Social Center Ballroom. Seating is limited to 600 in the Ballroom due to the room capacity.

City of Georgetown offices and facilities will be closed on Monday, May 27, for the Memorial Day holiday. This includes the following:

• Airport Terminal, 500 Terminal Drive
• Animal Shelter, 110 W.L. Walden Drive
• City Hall, 808 Martin Luther King, Jr. St.
• Library, 402 W. Eighth St.
• Light and Water Works Building, 406 W. Eighth St.
• Municipal Complex, 300-1 Industrial Ave.
• Municipal Court, 510 W. Ninth St.
• Parks and Recreation Administration, 1101 N. College 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

The Visitors Center, 103 W. Seventh St., will be open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Monday, May 27. Garey Park, 6450 RM 2243 will be open normal hours, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., on Monday, May 27.

GoGeo transit service

There will be no GoGeo bus transit service on Monday, May 27.

Pools open Memorial Day weekend

All seasonal outdoor pools will open Saturday, May 25, and Sunday, May 26, but will close May 28-30. Below are hours for City pools on Memorial Day.

Seasonal Outdoor Pools: The Village, River Ridge, and Williams Drive pools will be open 1 to 7 p.m. on Monday, May 27. The Tennis Center Pool will be closed on Monday, May 27.

Outdoor Play Pool at the Recreation Center will be open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on Saturday, May 25. The play pool will be closed May 26-May 30, and will reopen for normal hours Friday, May 31.

Splash pads: The splash pads at San Jose Park, 1707 San Jose St. and Downtown, 816 S. Main St. and Rabbit Hill Park, 1109 Blue Ridge Drive are open 9 a.m.-8 p.m. each day through Sept. 30. The splash pad at Garey Park is open daily during park hours from March 9 through October 31. The Garey Park splash pad closes 30 minutes prior to park closing.

The outdoor pools will close May 28-30, but will reopen May 31 and remain open for normal summer hours.

For details, go to parks.georgetown.org/aquatics or call (512) 930-3596.

Solid waste and recycling

There will be normal solid waste and recycling collection for City of Georgetown customers on Monday, May 27. Carts should be at the curb by 7 a.m. on pickup day. The Collection Station at 250 W.L. Walden Drive will be open normal hours, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., on Monday, May 27, for the Memorial Day holiday.

The City will celebrate the completion of all the recent improvements to the Georgetown Municipal Airport with a ribbon cutting May 31 at 10 a.m. The event will be at the Airport Terminal, 500 Terminal Drive.

The most recently completed work includes the rehabilitation of Runway 18-36, the airport’s main north-south runway. Other improvements to the airport include the construction of a parallel north-south taxiway, lighting upgrades, and the relocation of the fuel storage tanks to above-ground.

The event will include remarks from Mayor Dale Ross and Marc Williams, deputy executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, as well as Buz Landry, who attended the airport’s opening in November 1945.

A team of three student attorneys from Georgetown won the teen court state competition held in Bedford last month. Linsey Jensen, Taylor Price, and Matthew McCarthy took first place in the final round on April 13 in which they competed against a team from Allen. Georgetown Teen Court state competition participants were honored at the Georgetown City Council meeting this week.

The annual state competition in which three-person teams of teen attorneys are scored for their lawyering skills in mock trials is sponsored by the Teen Court Association of Texas. Municipal Court and Teen Court Judge Randy Stump and attorney Caden Wenzel served as competition coaches for the Georgetown Teen Court attorneys.

A Georgetown Teen Court team won the state competition previously in 2016. This is the eighth year that Georgetown has sent a team to participate in the teen court state competition.

Georgetown Teen Court is a program of the City of Georgetown Municipal Court. High school students age 13 to 18 serve as attorneys, jury members, and defendants in the program, which is a real court for traffic tickets and other misdemeanor offenses. The program started more than 25 years ago.

Pictured left to right: Municipal Court and Teen Court Judge Randy Stump, Camryn Whitman, Bella Bartholomew, Daniel Nehrbass, Matthew McCarthy, Linsey Jensen, Taylor Price, Caden Wenzel, and Tina Heine, Georgetown Teen Court coordinator.

Pictured left to right: (State champion team) Linsey Jensen, Taylor Price, Tarrant County District Attorney Sharon Wilson, City of Ft. Worth Chief Judge Danny Rodgers, Metroport Teen Court Attorney Luvenia Sanchez, and Matthew McCarthy.

Pictured left to right:  (All Georgetown Teen Court competitor team members) Bailiff Fred Pitcher, Judge Randy Stump, Matthew McCarthy, Linsey Jensen, Taylor Price, Camryn Whitman, Bella Bartholomew, Daniel Nehrbass, Teen Court Coordinator Tina Heine, and Ashley Huey, Georgetown High School teacher/coordinator.

Schneider Engineering has completed its assessment of the City’s practices related to purchasing and managing energy. This assessment is one of many efforts to help improve the financial performance of the City’s energy portfolio.

“The purpose of this assessment is to help the City work through a process to better manage energy contracts,” City Manager David Morgan said. “I think this is a candid and thorough assessment of our current processes and a recognition of blind spots and shortcomings up to this point.”

“I am looking forward to bringing in new partners to help us improve the day-to-day management of our energy portfolio and putting in place policies and procedures that reduce our financial risks moving forward,” Morgan said.

The report highlights several key steps to improve the management of the electric utility. First, the report suggests securing new third-party energy management partners that more rapidly respond and react to changing market conditions and better ensure against market volatility. Along with bringing on new partners, the report recommends focusing internal and external resources on increasing the oversight and accountability for decision-making regarding portfolio management.

Second, the report suggests developing new measures to evaluate portfolio performance, as well as clarifying the process for how these measures are shared in meaningful ways to different audiences. Additionally, the report recommends making better use of the power cost adjustment, or PCA. The PCA allows the City to recover costs associated with purchasing energy.

Third, Schneider recommends developing and implementing a comprehensive risk management policy that sets boundaries on risk tolerances, financial obligations, and guides decision-making at all levels of the electric utility.

Finally, the assessment recommends studying alternative governance structures for the electric utility (e.g., a separate oversight board) and the implications of opting in to the competitive retail market to fully mitigate the City’s risks associated with operating the utility. This study should focus on understanding the financial implications for customers as well as the City, with a specific focus on how the existing long-term power supply contracts could be addressed when opting in to the retail market.

The assessment will be presented during the regularly scheduled City Council workshop on Tuesday, May 14, at 3 p.m. The City will also host a public meeting to present the findings and answer questions from the public on Monday, May 20, starting at 6 p.m. The town hall-style meeting will be in the Council and Court building, located at 510 W. Ninth St., as well as broadcast on Suddenlink Channel 10 and on georgetown.org/gtv.

Schneider was selected to complete this assessment after a competitive bidding process. Prior to starting the assessment, Schneider presented its scope of work and project plan to City Council at its March 26 workshop meeting.

“This summer, the City Council will review agreements with new energy portfolio managers who will be better able to respond to the complicated and dynamic energy market, as well as provide more data and market insight to inform our decision making,” Morgan said. “Additionally, we will be working on a recruitment and staffing plan for the management of our electric utility to best meet these challenges moving forward.”

The grand reopening for businesses along Williams Drive has been moved to June 1 due to the forecast for rain this Saturday. The event will be from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 1. The party will be held in the parking lot of Lone Star Circle of Care located at 2425 Williams Drive.

The event is a celebration of the businesses affected by the recent evacuations in and around the intersection of Williams Drive and River Bend in Georgetown. The community is invited to attend this free, family-friendly event to support local businesses as they reopen. The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce is coordinating the event, with assistance from the City of Georgetown and Williamson County. The event is sponsored by Atmos Energy.

“This community has proven itself to be incredibly generous and resilient,” Georgetown Chamber of Commerce President Jim Johnson said. “This celebration is a great opportunity for each business to showcase themselves and reopen their doors with strong sales and lots of customers.”

The event kicks off at 9 a.m. with a ceremonial ribbon cutting and remarks from Georgetown Mayor Dale Ross and Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell. Complimentary food and beverages will be provided throughout the event, including food from Mariachis de Jalisco, the Pit BBQ, Golden Chick, and Hydrate Smoothie & Juice Bar.

Informational booths will be staffed by representatives from the affected businesses. Live music, a dunk tank, bounce houses, face painting and a City, County, and Atmos Energy vehicle showcase will run throughout the event. Additionally, attendees will have the opportunity to compete for prizes.

More details about the event can be found at GTXBacktoBiz.com.

About the evacuations

Atmos Energy responded to an underground gas leak on Feb. 20 in Georgetown. Subsequent evacuations affected 140 residences and businesses in the Williams Drive and River Bend area as a result of residual gas underground. Atmos Energy extracted the underground gas, repaired leaks, and has committed to continue pipe replacement projects in Georgetown in the coming months.

Atmos Energy paid claims to affected businesses, connected businesses with resources and facilities to continue their operations, and committed to processing claims throughout the evacuation. Atmos Energy will continue to provide support and work through the claims process with those affected as they reopen for business.

The Williamson County Elections office on May 4 has posted final unofficial results for the City Council District 3, 4, and 7 elections on May 4 in Georgetown.

These are the unofficial final results with 21 of 21 polling locations reporting:

To see complete May 4, 2019, election results, go to wilco.org/elections.

Votes will be canvassed at a special City Council meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, May 13, in Council and Court building, 510 W. Ninth St. During that meeting, newly elected City Council members will be sworn in, and the council will select its mayor pro tem.

In a recent scoring of the safest cities in Texas, Georgetown was ranked No. 3 for cities above 50,000 population. The ranking by SafeHome.org gave Georgetown an overall safety score of 86.49 on a 100-point scale.

The ranking also placed Georgetown at 62 among the safest cities in the U.S., which means that Georgetown is in the top 25th percentile in the U.S. among safe cities. Georgetown is one of only four cities in Texas to make it to the top 100 safest cities on the national level.

“Georgetown is a safe city for many reasons,” said Georgetown Police Chief Wayne Nero. “The men and women of the Georgetown Police Department are engaged with the community, and I’m proud of what they do every day help to keep us safe. Even more important though are the residents of Georgetown. There is a spirit here of helping each other, of protecting each other, and of taking care of each other. I think that spirit more than anything else makes Georgetown such a safe place to live.”

The safest cities rankings are based on FBI crime statistics, the police officer-to-population ratio in a city, crime trends, and demographic factors.

To see the full listing for Texas’s safest cities, go to www.safehome.org/safest-cities/tx.