A variety of events including a public march and program, service day events, and a race and ethnicity symposium will be held in Georgetown on Monday, Jan. 20, through Friday, Jan. 24. The events honor, celebrate, and continue the legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

MLK Leadership Prayer Breakfast on Jan. 20

The Georgetown Ministerial Alliance and the Georgetown Police Department will host the MLK Leadership Prayer Breakfast from 7-8:30 a.m. at the Public Safety Operations and Training Center, 3500 DB Wood Road. For more information, contact GMA president Rev. Harriett Jones at harriettjones.gma@gmail.com.

Day of Service on Jan. 20

The United Way of Williamson County is sponsoring a Day of Service on MLK Day from 9 a.m. to noon for youth or adults. The Day of Service includes project locations in Cedar Park, Georgetown, Leander, Liberty Hill, Round Rock, and Taylor. To register, go to unitedway-wc.org or call (512) 255-6799.

March and Program on Jan. 20

A march to honor the MLK Day holiday begins at noon Monday, Jan. 20, at the Williamson County Courthouse, 710 S. Main St. After meeting on the north side of the Courthouse on Seventh Street, there will be a seven-block march to Macedonia Baptist Church, 206 Martin Luther King Jr. St. The annual event is sponsored by the Georgetown Fellowship of Churches.

A program beginning at 12:30 p.m. at Macedonia Baptist Church features a panel discussion with Georgetown High School senior Malakhi Perry; Chuck Collins, South East Georgetown Community Council executive director; and Rev. William Quickley, pastor of Wesley Chapel AME Church. The program’s theme is “Today’s Relevance: Dr. King’s Dream Speech.” The march and program are sponsored by the Georgetown Fellowship of Churches and are free and open to the public. For details, contact Tyrone Adams at (512) 968-6361.

In addition, the African American Shotgun House, 801 West St., will be open for visitors from 2-4 p.m. Jan. 20.

Youth Service Day on Jan. 20

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

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

Southwestern University events, Jan. 21-24

“The More You Know about Racism:” The Office of Diversity Education, Race and Ethnicity Studies Program and the Coalition for Diversity and Social Justice sponsor this student panel with representatives from a variety of organizations. The panel will discuss race and racism and the impact on their college experience followed by question and answer session. The event will be from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Jan. 21 in the McCombs Campus Center Ballrooms. Refreshments will be provided.

MLK Keynote Speaker: David Pilgrim, founder and director of the Jim Crow

Museum and vice president for diversity and inclusion at Ferris State University, speaks at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 22 in Olin Building, Room 105. Pilgrim is also the author of “Understanding Jim Crow: Using Racist Memorabilia to

Teach Tolerance and Promote Social Justice.”

Symposium: The Race and Ethnicity Studies Program at Southwestern University is hosting a symposium titled “Peruvian Lives Across Borders: Power, Exclusion, and Home” by Christina Alcalde of The University of Kentucky, Lexington, from 4 to 5 p.m. Jan. 23 in the McCombs Campus Center Ballroom. The interdisciplinary symposium features research on race and racial discrimination.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Multi-faith Service: A multi-faith service will be held Jan. 24 at noon in the Lois Perkins Chapel. Lunch will be served immediately following the service.

Friday Night Live: Comedian Jasmine Ellis performs at 8 p.m. Jan. 24 at The Cove.

All the Southwestern events are free and open to the public. Southwestern University is located at Maple Street and University Avenue in Georgetown. For more information, contact Terri Johnson at (512) 863-1342, email tjohnson@southwestern.edu, or visit southwestern.edu.

10. Growth continues: Last year, growth colored much of the City’s work. Construction began on more than 1,300 new homes in our city and we were ranked by the U.S. Census Bureau as the seventh-fastest growing city with more than 50,000 residents in the U.S.

9. Community events: Georgetown celebrated the 20th Red Poppy Festival with a performance by Texas Country singer Pat Green, great weather, entertainment, and record crowds. The event added more than $2.5 million to the local economy. The first Blazin’ Beer Crawl was a popular new event on the Square in August. The City again sponsored the lights around the Square, helping Georgetown remain a top holiday light destination in the state.

8. Cost of service: While customers faced higher electric bills this year, the overall cost of monthly service including utilities and property taxes for a home valued at $285,000 is the fourth-lowest when compared to 10 other large cities in the Austin-metro area. Georgetown’s property tax rate is the lowest among those cities.

7. Electric utility challenges: Electric customers faced higher bills as the City worked to address increased purchased power costs. Steps to address the wholesale power cost issue included hiring a new general manager and hiring Shell Energy North America to assist with energy forecasting and energy market trading. The City ended the year with a higher reserve in the electric fund than in 2018. This year the City electric utility employees achieved diamond-level status for reliability as a provider.

6. Water utility projects: The water utility expanded capacity with the Sun City water tower and new waterlines along DB Wood Road and Ronald Reagan Boulevard. The utility began work on a new Braun water tower on West Highway 29, a larger water intake structure and expanded capacity at the water treatment plant on Lake Georgetown, and design for a second water treatment plant at Lake Georgetown.

5. Transportation improvements: Road and mobility projects included the opening of Rivery Boulevard extension and continued work on the Williamson County segment of Southwest Bypass, which is expected to open next year. Resurfacing of runways at the Georgetown Municipal Airport, work on the Seventh Street sidewalk project, and the completion of the Bicycle Master Plan were other significant mobility projects in 2019.

4. City facilities and parks: The new City Hall and Council and Courts building opened in January and work started on Fire Station 6 and Fire Station 7. The second phase of the San Gabriel Park renovations was completed this summer, and a proposed downtown parking garage was a hot topic of conversation.

3. Downtown businesses: A number of new shops and restaurants opened downtown this year, including 309 Coffee, Lamppost Coffee, Barrels and Amps, Lark and Owl Booksellers, Barron Creek Vineyards, and the Daytripper World Headquarters.

2. New retail: The opening of Academy Sports and Outdoors as well as the first businesses at Wolf Crossing, including Goodwill and Olive Garden, were among the big retail openings this year. The City also approved agreements with Costco, which plans to open a store at Lakeway and I-35.

1. Safe city: The Georgetown Police Department achieved state accreditation by the Texas Police Chiefs Association’s Recognized Law Enforcement Agency, a recognition of 170 best practices by the department. In addition, Georgetown ranked No. 3 for safest cities in Texas by SafeHome.org, and, as a safe city for animals, the City Animal Shelter achieved no-kill status for the fourth year in a row.

Updated Dec. 20: The application deadline for City boards and commissions has been extended to Dec. 27
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The City of Georgetown is seeking highly qualified and dedicated individuals to serve on one of Georgetown’s Advisory Boards or Commissions. The City Council depends on citizen board members to assist in evaluating local issues to enrich and promote the community.

The City has 30 active boards and commissions with 220 total seats. Approximately 100 seats need to be filled this term, with each appointed member serving two year terms.

Individuals interested in serving as a board member must complete an application.

The deadline to submit an application is Dec. 20. Board and Commission appointments are made in February, and new members begin serving in March.

For more information regarding the variety of boards and commissions and their roles in City government, visit georgetown.org/boardscommissions.

For more information or assistance with the application process, contact the City Secretary’s office at (512) 930-3651.