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Black History Month events in February

There are several ways to recognize Black History Month in Georgetown throughout February.

Georgetown Public Library

The Georgetown Public Library, 402 W. Eighth St., will feature age-appropriate reading lists and displays throughout the library to help celebrate Black History Month. Find more information about their offerings at library.georgetown.org.

Georgetown Cultural Citizen Memorial Association

The Georgetown Cultural Citizen Memorial Association will host several virtual family events in Georgetown to celebrate Black History Month in February.

A Black History Month art exhibit will be shown in the Georgetown Public Library lobby Feb. 2-27 with a panel discussion and reception held from 2-4 p.m. Feb. 13 in the lobby. The exhibit will feature artwork from eight artists in various media, including photography, digital art, mixed media, pen and ink, and paint.

GCCMA will host a virtual panel discussion from 11 a.m.-noon Feb. 19. The discussion “Black Health: Mind, Body, and Soul,” will feature Dr. Angela Eklund, pastoral counselor Debby Sims, and parent advocate Tania Easton.

The group will also host Fitness for the Entire Family, a series of 30-minute workout sessions, including sessions with low and high impact, as well as for senior wellness. The event will be 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Feb. 26 at Tippit Middle School, 1601 Leander Road.

For more information about the GCCMA events and to register for the panel discussion, visit gccmatx.org.

The Williamson Museum

The Williamson Museum, 716 S. Austin Ave., will reinstall its mural of Dr. James Lee Dickey and the Dickey Clinic in the museum to honor this year’s Black History Month theme of “Black Health and Wellness.” The mural features Dr. Dickey, who was the first African American doctor in Williamson County and significantly affected the lives of residents in Taylor. The museum will host an unveiling ceremony at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 18, with a reception to follow. During the reception, attendees are invited to make donations to the completion of the Dr. Dickey Museum and Multipurpose Center in Taylor.

The museum also has an ongoing exhibit titled “Heritage and Horizons: The Black Legacy of Williamson County.” The exhibit, which celebrates Black individuals, families, and groups who were integral to the history of Williamson County, runs through Aug. 1. For more information about the exhibit, as well as additional museum events, visit williamsonmuseum.org.

Sign up now open for Heritage Community Garden plots

The City of Georgetown Parks and Recreation Department is now accepting reservations for plots at the Heritage Community Garden, 2100 Hutto Road.

The renovated community garden features 25 in-ground garden beds, 48 raised beds, and eight ADA accessible beds, which will open March 1, 2022, for gardeners to begin planting flowers, vegetables, and fruits.

Plots are on a first-come, first-served basis, and plots will be assigned by City staff. Leases run from March 1 through Dec. 31, 2022, and may be renewed annually. Fees are paid annually and are not prorated.

Size Resident Nonresident
20 foot x 20 foot in-ground $50 $75
7 foot by 16 foot raised bed $40 $50
7 foot by 16 foot accessible raised bed $40 $50

The garden will be open daily for gardeners from 5 a.m.-10 p.m. The garden area is secured with a chain-link fence.

Other renovations to the community garden include a new restroom facility, concrete sidewalks, a lighted parking lot, and a dumpster with a designated area for green waste that will be recycled offsite. The total project cost was $275,000.

The City is also partnering with the Williamson County Beekeepers Association, and hives will be constructed onsite in a separate area.

A grand opening celebration for the garden is expected to be held in March. More details will be announced when they are available.

To find more information about the garden, or to reserve a plot, visit parks.georgetown.org/heritage-community-garden.

Georgetown Arts and Culture Board awards grants for 2022 Round I

The Georgetown Arts and Culture Board approved $9,284 in grants in January to local arts and culture organizations to help with funding local arts and culture programming that includes visual art, music, and performance art in Georgetown.

The funding is for events in Georgetown taking place between April 1 and Sept. 30, 2022.

Grant recipients include:

Project or event name Grant amount
Austin Civic Orchestra Society for Paint to Music at the Klett Performing Arts Center $4,784
Texas Bach Festival, Inc. for Texas Bach Festival 2022 $4,000
Full Circle for FULL CIRCLE: Speaker Series for Creatives $500

The next grant cycle will accept proposals June 1 through 30, 2022, for events and programs occurring Oct. 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023.

The Georgetown Arts and Culture Grants help the Arts and Culture Board fulfill bylaw requirements, which include recognizing and encouraging groups and organizations that enrich Georgetown life by bringing cultural and artistic values and artifacts to the City. Members of the Arts and Culture Board believe a vibrant arts community and cultural offerings are good for the quality of life for residents, will attract visitors, and will assist Georgetown in becoming a nationally recognized arts destination by 2030. The grant program helps develop and strengthen our local arts community by contributing funding to arts and culture programming that enhances our local community.

For more information about the Georgetown Arts & Culture grants, visit arts.georgetown.org.

Best of Georgetown, TX winners announced

The votes are in for the best places in Georgetown. Here are some of the gold (first-place) winners:

Best Overall Restaurant
Blue Corn Harvest Bar & Grill

Best Veterinary/Pet Services
Zoot Pet Hospital and Luxury Boarding

Best Boutique
BiG Café and Shop

See a complete list of gold, silver, and bronze winners at bestof.georgetown.org.

Winning businesses receive window decals as well as certificates showing their award and category. All 2021 Best of Georgetown, TX recipients can pick up their award certificate and decal from the Georgetown Visitors Center, 103 W. Seventh St. The visitors center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday.

In addition, the business name will be listed on the 2021 winners’ flyer at the Visitors Center and on the Bestof.Georgetown.org website for one year. Winners will have access to the Best of Georgetown 2021 logo for use in their websites and printed material.

The annual Best of Georgetown, TX contest is sponsored by the City of Georgetown Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Candidate filing period starts for District 3, 4 and 7 elections

The first day to file for a place on the ballot for candidates who wish to run for the District 3, 4, or 7 Georgetown City Council seat is Wednesday, Jan. 19. The filing deadline is Friday, Feb. 18.

Completed applications for candidacy should be submitted at City Hall, 808 Martin Luther King Jr. St. To see maps of council districts, go to maps.georgetown.org.

Georgetown City Council members serve three-year terms representing one of seven single-member districts. A candidate for City Council must be at least 21 years of age on the first day of the term of office and a citizen and qualified voter of the state of Texas and the City of Georgetown. Candidates for council district seats must be a resident of the council district the member would be representing for a period of 12 months preceding election day.

The last day to register to vote for the May election is April 7.

Early in-person voting is April 25-30 and May 2-3. Election day is May 7. Early voting and Election day polling places, dates, and times will be listed at wilco.org/elections.

For details about the city election, go to government.georgetown.org/city-secretary/elections.

Chase the Chief 5K and Fun Run on March 6

See if you can catch Interim Georgetown Police Chief Cory Tchida at the 10th annual Chase the Chief 5K and Fun Run: Sunday, March 6, at East View High School, 4490 E. University Ave.

People who would prefer to complete the run virtually also have that option this year. Participants can track their distance on a fitness app, take a screenshot, and email it to chasethechief@georgetown.org to be entered into a prize drawing. All submissions are due by 5 p.m. March 12.

Registration for the event is open and priced at $5 for students and $10 for adults. Register by Jan. 31 to be guaranteed a T-shirt. Packet pick up, including those participating virtually, will be from 11 a.m.- 7 p.m. March 2-4 at the Public Safety Operations and Training Center, 3500 D.B. Wood Road.

Chase the Chief features a Fun Run, which starts at 2:15 p.m., and a 5K, which will start about 2:45 p.m. Other activities include a police department obstacle course and fitness fair open from noon to 5 p.m. Look for race day registration and other event activities on the athletic fields.

The goal of Chase the Chief is to encourage students and their families to lead active, healthy lives. This event is a joint fitness initiative by the Georgetown Police Department, Georgetown ISD, and the Georgetown Health Foundation.

Proceeds from this event will help fund grants for physical education programs at Georgetown area schools.

For more information and to register, go to ChaseTheChief.georgetown.org.

MLK Day Events in Georgetown on Jan. 17 and 20

A variety of events including a virtual program, service day events, and a race and ethnicity symposium will be held in Georgetown Jan. 17 and 20 to honor the legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Several City offices and facilities will be closed Jan. 17 in recognition of the holiday. For more information about City closures, visit this page. 

MLK Leaders Prayer Breakfast on Jan. 17

The Georgetown Ministerial Alliance and the Georgetown Police Department will host the MLK Leaders Prayer Breakfast at 8 a.m. The event is at the Public Safety Operations and Training Center, 3500 D.B. Wood Road. A light breakfast will be provided.  RSVP via the Facebook event at facebook.com/GeorgetownMinisterialAlliance. 

Day of Service on Jan. 17

United Way for Greater Austin is hosting an MLK Jr. Day of Service on Monday, Jan. 17. All activities are socially-distanced, and there are opportunities for individuals, families, and groups to participate. Learn more here.

Virtual MLK Day celebration on Jan. 17

The Georgetown Fellowship of Churches will host a virtual MLK Day Celebration event at noon featuring speaker E.A. Benson, senior pastor at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Georgetown. The theme for the event is “Dreaming While Woke.”

Youth Service Day on Jan. 17

The Georgetown Project will host a Youth Service Day on MLK Day for high school students in grades 9-12. The Youth Service Day starts at 9 a.m. at the Georgetown Community Center at 445 E. Morrow St.  Students will be given certificates for three hours of service.

Service projects hosted by The Georgetown Project and its partners in the Afterschool Alliance will benefit children and youth of all ages, as well as the aging and military families.

Participation in service projects will be followed by a free pizza lunch at the community center. For details, contact The Georgetown Project at 512-943-0074 or georgetownproject.org.

Southwestern University Symposium on Jan. 20

Updated: This will be a virtual online event. Here is the link to participate: https://v.ringcentral.com/join/518033964.

Southwestern University will host the Race and Ethnicity Studies annual symposium from 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 20. The symposium, “Without Borders or Boundaries: A Panel on how U.S. Immigration Enforcement Racializes, Criminalizes and Punishes Migrants,” will be on online event. The panel includes Luis Romero, assistant professor of Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies at Texas Christian University, and Esther Ramos, graduate student at Teresa Long Lozano Institute of Latin American Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. The annual symposium is sponsored by the Race and Ethnicity Studies Program. A question and answer period will follow the presentation. A campus map is available here.

Winter resiliency steps for utilities

After the winter storm in February 2021, the City of Georgetown conducted an assessment and took steps to reduce cold-weather risks in the future. Below are some of the key measures the water and electric utilities have taken to winterize equipment. In addition, the City is implementing a new texting platform to increase notifications to customers about electric or water outages.

Water utility: Steps to winterize the water system include:

  • Replacing heaters, purchasing additional heaters, and adding insulation to field equipment such as water pumps
  • Contracting for three large portable generators to operate stations that were most affected by the freeze
  • Designing permanent generator backups for existing and new water treatment plants
  • Purchasing cold-weather fuel additives for generators
  • Ensuring that water and wastewater equipment powered by non-City electric providers are on their Critical Customer List
  • Joining the statewide TXWarn mutual aid agreement to expand mutual aid assistance beyond local partners

Electric utility: While most of the outages in the February storm were the result of mandated load reductions from ERCOT, the City has taken steps to reduce the chance of outages on the Georgetown electric system. These include:

  • Changing energy portfolio management practices to better protect the utility financially from events like the winter storm
  • Continuing focus on tree trimming near primary power lines
  • Enhancing preventive maintenance and inspection programs
  • Conducting emergency preparedness exercises
  • Incorporating resiliency into infrastructure planning and installation

Critical load non-residential customers such as hospitals or emergency response facilities as well as critical care residential customers can visit gus.georgetown.org/electric/chronic-condition-critical-care-critical-load-information to submit an application. In a situation with state-mandated rotating outages, the electric utility will work to reduce outages to critical load customers like hospitals. However, the utility does not have a way to protect individual residential customers from such outages. For this reason, critical care residential customers who cannot be without power should acquire battery or generator back-up for their residences.

Georgetown utility customers should make sure their contact information is up-to-date, so we can reach you with important information: https://bit.ly/3yMBkB6.  Look for details later this month about a new text notification platform to alert utility customers about outages or other important service changes.

New pet for Christmas? Here’s what you need to know

Did Santa bring you a new puppy or kitten for Christmas? Here are some important things to remember when caring for your new pet.

Leash your pet: Always leash your pet in public. It is against City ordinances for dogs to be at large in the City limits, and for cats that have not been altered or vaccinated to be at large. It is also against City ordinances to chain or tether your dog unless a person is holding the restraint.

License your pet: All dogs and cats that live within the city limits are required to have an annual city license. The City’s pet license requirement helps keep rabies under control by enforcing the rabies vaccination requirements. The cost of a license is $5 for animals that are spayed or neutered or $20 for unaltered animals. For residents age 65 and older, the license is free if the pet is spayed or neutered. Free licenses are limited to one per person. Licenses may be obtained online, by phone, email, mail, or at the shelter. Visit pets.georgetown.org/licensing-your-pets for more information.

Take care after your pet: You may not allow an animal to damage private property other than the owner’s property. Pick up after your pet by immediately removing any waste on public or private property and properly disposing of it. Free roaming cats that cause a nuisance while off their owner’s property can be impounded and their owner can be fined.

Learn more about Georgetown’s animal-related ordinances at pets.georgetown.org/overview/ordinances.

Here are some additional tips to consider this New Year to ensure pets are safe:

  • When making an emergency kit for your family, consider your pet’s needs.
  • Take a current photo of you and your pet together in case you get separated during a disaster.
  • Keep your pet’s microchip registration info up to date.
  • Put your name and contact information on your pet’s ID tag.

Learn more at ready.gov/pets.

About the Georgetown Animal Shelter

The City of Georgetown Animal Shelter is located at 110 W.L. Walden Drive. The shelter is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon-4 p.m. The shelter offers animal control and adoption services, as well as various programs throughout the year, including low-cost immunization and sterilization clinics, citywide dog and cat licensing, and adoption events. For more information, visit pets.georgetown.org.