In recognition of National Preservation Month in May, the City of Georgetown Planning, Public Library, and Economic Development departments are partnering with building and business owners to celebrate historic buildings in Downtown Georgetown as part of the recurring Tuesday Talks series. Other Preservation Month events include an exhibit of historic building paintings at the Georgetown Public Library, a storytelling event at the Williamson Museum, and a tour at the historic IOOF cemetery.

Preservation Month is an annual month-long recognition each May of historic places and people sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Links to the meetings as well as recordings for later viewing will be online at historic.georgetown.org. Facebook Live events will be streamed at facebook.com/CityofGeorgetown.

Preservation Month events in Georgetown:

• May, all month—Rachel Hancock: Art with Heart exhibit: watercolors of historic Georgetown buildings, Georgetown Public Library first floor Café Gallery, 402 W. Eighth St., Monday-Friday 9-6, Saturday 9-5, through June 13. Prints are available; profits will be donated to the Georgetown Main Street Facade & Sign Reimbursement Grant Program.
• May 4— Tuesday Talks & Building Birthday Party for Williamson County Courthouse and Williamson Museum, Facebook Live at noon
• May 11—Tuesday Talks & Building Birthday Party for the Old Post Office, Facebook Live at 12:00 p.m.
• May 15—Marking History with live costumed storytellers, Williamson Museum, 716 S. Austin Ave., 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
• May 18—Tuesday Talks & Building Birthday Party for the Mileham Building and 213 W. Eighth St., Facebook Live at noon
• May 22—We Built This City Cemetery Tour, IOOF Cemetery, 1117 E. 7th St., Williamson Museum, 4-6 p.m.
• May 25— Tuesday Talks & Building Birthday Party for the M.B. Lockett and P.H. Dimmitt buildings, Facebook Live at noon
• June 3—Main Street Breakfast Bites, Hidden Stories of Historic Georgetown, in-person at the Friends Room, Georgetown Public Library, 402 W. Eighth St., or virtually through Zoom (link available through registration), at 8:30 a.m.

For more information about Preservation Month events, call (512) 930-3581, email historic@georgetown.org or visit historic.georgetown.org. Find out more about the National Trust for Historic Preservation at savingplaces.org.

The City of Georgetown is seeking public input on tentative plans to develop public spaces in downtown. The City is working to create new public spaces around several of its facilities between West, Rock, Eighth, and Ninth streets. These facilities include the Georgetown Public Library, Council and Court building, Georgetown City Hall, and the Light & Waterworks buildings, as well as the City-owned property in between – collectively referred to as City Center.

The goal for the public spaces is to tie together the City presence with more functional space for Georgetown residents. Proposed concepts for the new City Center include public green space, art, a playscape, native landscaping, food truck spaces, and more.

“We hope all Georgetown residents will use these public areas to create new memories with friends and loved ones,” City Manager David Morgan said. “We really need your ideas and feedback, so we create spaces together that we all can enjoy.”

The City is hosting a live music event from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 20, at Forest and Ninth streets, near the historic Light & Waterworks building. Local food trailers like Southbound Sips, Takavron Tacos, Lulu’s Pie Shoppe, and Prickly Pear Plant Boutique will be open for business. Enjoy live music by Steve the Brit and Chalk the Walk with Cordovan Art School.

We invite all residents to come out, grab a bite to eat, listen to some good music, and learn more about the proposed City Center public space. City staff will be on hand to talk about the project and answer any questions. Participants will have the opportunity to provide feedback via a printed survey at the event. Following the Governor’s order lifting the mask mandate, the City does not have any COVID-19 specific regulations for outdoor gatherings or special events at this time.

Residents unable to attend, may also provide input on the proposed features of public spaces within the City Center through an online survey. The survey will be open April 23 through May 28.

For more information and updates about this project, visit mainstreet.georgetown.org/downtown-public-spaces.

The City of Georgetown and The Georgetown Project are hosting a virtual Youth Town Hall for community youth from 5 to 6 p.m. Thursday, May 6, via Zoom to connect with 2021 Global Youth Service Day activities worldwide. The town hall is open to all Georgetown residents in grades 8 to 12.

The virtual Georgetown Youth Town Hall will feature teens from around the Georgetown community sharing their experiences and perspectives of the COVID-19 pandemic, challenges they perceive or experience in their academic and personal lives, and barriers for youth to participation in community service and event opportunities.

“We are ecstatic to have this opportunity to connect with the brilliant young minds here in Georgetown, and I can’t wait to hear what feedback, perspectives, and ideas they have to help make Georgetown a place they’re always proud to call home,” Mayor Josh Schroeder said. “We know we need to do a better job reaching out to and hearing from the youth in our community, so we hope any parents, guardians, family members, and teachers who see this will help us spread the word to bring as many of the next generation to the table as possible.”

Community leaders supporting the youth panel during the town hall include Georgetown Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Pitts, City Manager David Morgan, Police Chief Wayne Nero, The Georgetown Project CEO Leslie Janca, and other caring adults who work with youth across the community.

Town hall audience members will also have opportunities to interact with the youth panel through real-time polls and conversation. It will be recorded for those who cannot attend.

“Providing the spaces and supports for the youth voice in our community was a founding principle of The Georgetown Project when our organization was created 24 years ago and remains a strategic priority today,” Janca said. “Engaging our youngest citizens in community issues important to them builds future-ready skills and important developmental relationships. We are thankful for our longtime partnership with the City of Georgetown in offering community-wide youth leadership and service opportunities.”

During the town hall, The Georgetown Project will launch a survey to learn more about issues important to the youth in Georgetown. The digital survey will be open for about a month and will be posted to the project website.

For more information on meeting, please visit georgetownproject.org/youth-town-hall.

We finished collecting debris from the remaining areas as well as from areas submitted for pick up through the online form. Through Thursday, April 1, we collected nearly 14,000 cubic yards of debris from homes within City limits

If you still have debris, here are some options:

• Georgetown solid waste customers who still have tree limb debris can drop it off at the Transfer Station, 250 W.L. Walden Drive, for $8.25 per cubic yard. There is no limit to how much customers can drop off. Click here for Transfer Station hours.
• Texas Disposal Systems will collect bundled and/or bagged brush and limbs on your April brushy collection day, which is the first recycling pickup day of the month. Find your schedule: texasdisposal.com/waste-wizard

The curbside debris pickup service was provided free of charge to people who live inside City limits.

Tree limb cleanup FAQ

The City of Georgetown has contracted with landscaping firms to pick up tree limbs that resulted from the winter storm Feb. 11-20. This FAQ addresses key questions about the special pickup.

Update, April 19: This project is not proceeding at this time due to an access issue with the property owner of the alleyway below the mural.
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A mural is planned at the Georgetown Art Center, 816 S. Main St., as part of the larger vision of the Downtown Georgetown Cultural District. The Georgetown Public Art Program received a Cultural District grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts for the mural, which will feature the theme of diversity. Four artists with diverse backgrounds and styles, who have already contributed significantly to the collection of local public art murals, will team up on this diversity-themed, street art-style project: Sarah Blankenship (Greetings from Georgetown, TX mural), Norma Clark and Devon Clarkson (Preserving History mural project), and J. Muzacz (El Arbol “The Tree” and Best Friends K9 Heroes murals, which he created in collaboration with veteran artist Jay Rivera).

The mural will be installed in April on the two-story west exterior wall of the Georgetown Art Center, which is adjacent to the entrance of the District Six restaurant (rendering at right). A public painting event is planned in collaboration with the constituents of Art from the Streets and other community members. The colors selected for the mural relate to District Six, as well as the accent colors of the historic Mesker Brothers storefronts of the Downtown Georgetown Cultural District. There will be a mural dedication event in July coinciding with the opening reception of the Georgetown Art Center’s Street Art exhibit.

The mural seeks to raise awareness of the diversity of culture, programming, artists, and arts audiences in Georgetown and honors the community outreach, engagement and education efforts by the Georgetown Arts and Culture Program and the Georgetown Art Center, which is managed by nonprofit group Georgetown Art Works. Each artist’s design represents their unique connection to Georgetown and the inspiration behind it.

Muralist J. Muzacz chose to represent hope, optimism, diversity, and the next generation of youth chasing their dreams by painting a stylized portrait of local Georgetown resident and emerging young artist Kayla Moore, whose utility box painting, “Cloudy Day” can be seen at Eighth Street and Austin Avenue on the Square.

“I love that art students are able to express themselves and share their emotions, struggles, and dreams with the community in such an inspiring way,”Muzacz said. Muzacz is a member of the Texas Commission on the Arts Texas Touring Roster, and the Georgetown Arts and Culture Program received additional grant funding from the TCA to include him as an artist for this project.

Abstract artist Norma Clark chose to represent two separate images that are inspirational and personal to her. One image is the sunflower that represents Brookwood in Georgetown, BiG, a vocational community for adults with special needs. Brookwood believes the citizens of “BiG” are unique like the sunflower seed that can lay dormant for years, but under the right conditions, can grow and bloom.

As the mother of an adult child with special needs, Clark said, “I love incorporating this into my work to inspire others to embrace and welcome unique art and accept unique individuals.”

The second image represented is Southwestern University’s emblem since generations of Clark’s family have a history with the institution.

“This was the place that formed my foundation as an artist, an area that otherwise I would have never explored professionally,” Clark said.

Muralist Sarah Blankenship has a background in historic preservation having worked at the Texas Historical Commission and served on historic preservation boards in Georgetown. Blankenship chose to represent an appreciation of art in public spaces.

“I love to see art in our everyday lives, from restaurants, to workplaces, to our downtowns, even in nature,” she said. “I want it to surround us in unique ways, to be available to a diverse audience, rather than it be thought of for museums or galleries.”

The image of the Corinthian column—including a capital featuring leaves and flowers—was specifically chosen because the leaves give a connection to nature, and Georgetown’s parks have been a continual source of spiritual energy for Blankenship. This type of column can be seen on the Williamson Museum on Austin Avenue.

Blankenship’s other images include enlarged and abstracted elements from the Mesker pressed-metal cornices and window caps of the historic downtown buildings. Designs are from the Lockett, Dimmitt, Mileham, and Williamson County Sun buildings and the Georgetown Art Center. The three radiating circles at the bottom right of the mural “represent my family and the three energies we all have to balance in life and as artists from any background: Spiritual, intellectual and warrior,” she said.

Portrait artist Devon Clarkson chose to represent the impact of art education and the importance of engaging children in the process. Clarkson’s own children became the inspiration for the portraits in his section and are shown participating in the creation of the mural.

“My kids were the single most important reason I took a shot at art,” he said.

The second image chosen by Clarkson is an abstracted representation of the bridges in the community, a symbol that is uniquely Georgetown and reminiscent the area’s identification as the “Land of Good Water,” as the original settlements in the area were located where clear, natural spring waters were easily accessible.

For updates on the project, as well as information on other art and cultural events in the Downtown Georgetown Cultural District, visit arts.georgetown.org.

The City’s Arts and Culture Board has two new murals underway in Georgetown.

Animal Shelter—”Pick Me” mural

The “Pick Me” mural is expected to be completed March 28 at the Georgetown Animal Shelter, 110 W.L. Walden Drive.

The Georgetown Animal Shelter and Georgetown Arts and Culture Board selected artist Jason Tetlak of Jacksonville, Florida, in February to complete the mural.

Georgetown Title mural

Georgetown Title, in collaboration with the Arts and Culture Board, has selected Oakland, California, artist Molly Keen for the mural design that will be installed this spring.

The mural design “Railway Rhymes,” features abstract shapes and colors while highlighting a train element that represents the history of the site, which was once home to Belford Lumber Company and a stop on the railroad.

This project is the first commercial mural as part of the Percent for Public Art Adjacent to Capital Improvement Projects. The Georgetown Title building, 702 Rock St., is adjacent to two public improvements projects, including the Rock Street sidewalk improvements and the new Eighth Street parking lot. This program presents an opportunity for public art to beautify surrounding spaces that have become more visible to the public.

For more information about the projects, visit arts.georgetown.org.

A global rail maintenance and rail services company plans to start construction later this year on an innovation center for research and development in Georgetown. Loram Technologies, formally GREX, expects to employ 310 people at the center after the expansion, including 150 new positions.

“The vision behind Loram Technologies Inc. is to build on GREX’s successful railroad technology solutions while harmonizing Loram’s mergers and acquisitions activity over the last several years,” Loram Technologies President Greg Grissom said. “By aligning global software, data, and engineering teams, we will accelerate new product development and bring our railroad customers the very best in next generation technology products and field services. Loram is also thrilled to bring further investment into Georgetown with a new state of the art office and manufacturing facility with construction starting in late 2021.”

Loram Maintenance of Way acquired Georgetown-based GREX in 2018. GREX changed its name to Loram Technologies on Jan. 1, 2021, and remains based in Georgetown. The parent company is headquartered in Hamel, Minn., has six global offices, and is a supplier of track maintenance equipment and services for freight railroads, transit systems, and commuter railroads.

Loram expects to invest $17 million in the Georgetown research and development center with an average salary of $60,000. A Georgetown Economic Development Corporation agreement with Loram approved by City Council at its Feb. 23 meeting includes a job retention and creation grant of $1,000 per job, plus an infrastructure reimbursement for a total incentive of $800,000 for the project.

“We are excited to be home to this research and manufacturing facility in Georgetown,” Georgetown Mayor Josh Schroeder said. “Expanding on the innovation of GREX, a home-grown rail technology company started by Ned Snead, is great. This center adds highly skilled jobs in our community and keeps us on track to strengthen our economy.”

City issues $48M debt issuance, no rate change for customers

Updated, March 24: The City of Georgetown issued about $48 million in a 10-year bond to pay for the unbudgeted energy costs incurred due to February’s winter storm. City Council in a special-called meeting March 2 directed staff to pay the debt over 10 years from electric utility revenues at current rates. Council approved the bond at its regular meeting March 23.

“Even as we got word on the exorbitant cost of energy while we were in the middle of the disaster, our focus was delivering electricity to our customers and controlling the variables we could,” Mayor Josh Schroeder said. “Another variable we have some control over is the burden placed on Georgetown electric customers as a result of this event, and the steps we took Tuesday will mitigate additional costs for our customers.”

As a result of the planned bond issuance, Georgetown electric customers will see no difference in their electric rates, despite the high energy costs during the storm. The City’s bill currently was due at the beginning of April 2021. Council and staff are committed to retiring this debt as soon as possible, while maintaining competitive rates for customers. Any changes to rates or the bond needed because of an amended bill will be brought before the council for discussion and direction.

At City Council direction, the City will use the existing power cost adjustment of $0.01375 per kilowatt hour to help cover the cost of the bond as it is paid back over 10 years. For the average residential customer, that amounts to about $10 a month. The current PCA generates about $6 million a year, which would cover the additional, annual debt payment of $5.3 million from the 10-year bond.

The City also is pursuing a surety policy to cover an additional $6.4 million in reserves, which may be required to maintain debt service coverage ratios after the costs from the winter storm. The one-time, up-front payment for the policy will be paid for using existing revenues.

Customers might have seen higher-than-normal electric bills for February due to increased usage. Even with the mandated power outages from ERCOT, heating and reheating of a home consumes considerable energy and is likely to result in higher bills this month. The City has multiple options to help you pay your electric bill, such as funding assistance through partner agencies and in-house customer programs you may qualify for. People can contact Customer Care at 512-930-3640 or customercare@georgetown.org to discuss options.

The City currently owes about $48 million for energy used Feb. 14 through 20. About $21 million of that is for about 3,000 megawatt hours. The remaining 13,000 megawatt hours the City used during the storm were generated by providers at contracted rates. Roughly $27 million of what the City owes is for ancillary services, which are charges for reserve or on-demand power supply by ERCOT that cost as much as $25,000 per megawatt hour during the event. For context, the City paid $710,000 in ancillary services in all of 2020. The remaining $21 million is for energy costs, which peaked at $9,000 per megawatt hour. Last month, the average cost per megawatt hour was $20.79. The $9,000 per megawatt hour maximum price was in effect in the ERCOT market for 70 hours from Feb. 16 to 19.

“We’re still hopeful PUCT and legislators find solutions that will help alleviate the financial burden being placed on utilities across the state,” Schroeder said. “I encourage you to reach out to your state representatives and trust we will be doing the same.”

How will the recent winter storm affect my electric bill?

Georgetown rates will not change, but you could see higher bills due to usage.

While it is true that the wholesale price of power increased exponentially for all Texas electric utilities during February’s extreme weather, City of Georgetown electric customers will see no difference in their electric rates at this time. At the direction of City Council, the City of Georgetown took out a loan of about $48 million, to be paid by electric revenue over 10 years, to cover our unbudgeted energy costs from the storm.  Interest on the loan will total about $5 million at a 1.73 percent interest rate. Any changes will be communicated publicly through this webpage, other City communications channels, and the media.

If your electric bill was higher than normal for this time of year, it likely was due to how much energy you used during the storm. Heating your home during cold weather uses a significant amount of energy, even more so if you experienced outages and needed to reheat your home. We know some of those outages were in response to ERCOT’s load shed/rotation outage requirements to protect the statewide electric grid from collapsing. We have multiple options to help you pay your electric bill, such as funding assistance through partner agencies and in-house customer programs you may qualify for.

The rest of this page provides more detail on what happened and answers to frequently asked questions about the situation.

Virtual Town Hall about electric costs

Watch the recording of the March 11 town hall. The event featured presentations and Q&A from Georgetown Mayor Josh Schroeder, City Manager David Morgan, and electric general manager Daniel Bethapudi.

Read the slides from the presentation here.

Resources: 

• • Watch the video from the March 11 Town Hall
  • View the presentation from the March 11 Town Hall
  • Read the presentations from the March 2 Council meeting here: Electric and Finance presentations
  • Watch the March 2 Council meeting here.
  • Watch the video from the March 23 Council meeting here.

Please note: This information is about City of Georgetown electric customers only. If you are a customer of Pedernales Electric Cooperative or Oncor, you will need to review their information or make contact with them to determine how the storm will affect your bill. Here is a map of the different electric service providers in Georgetown if you aren’t certain.

Oncor: 888-313-4747 /  Oncor
PEC: 888-883-3379 / PEC

Electric bills and winter storm impact FAQ

Statewide issue