The City of Georgetown has partnered with Lyft to offer rides in Georgetown with the transportation network company. The program is a limited-time promotion to allow the City to learn about rideshare use in Georgetown.

Rides that originate in the Georgetown city limits are eligible for the Lyft partnership. Lyft passengers are responsible for the first $2 of the cost of the ride. The City will then pay up to $10 above that initial passenger payment. The passenger is responsible for any additional cost of the ride. The promotion allows for up to 10 rides per customer.

“The City understands that ridesharing has a role in providing reliable transportation to the citizens of Georgetown,” Mayor Dale Ross said. “Transportation networking companies have become one piece of the puzzle as it relates to regional mobility solutions, and the City looks forward to partnering with Lyft during this pilot program to study how ridesharing can provide benefits to our region.”

To use the promotion on a Lyft ride in Georgetown, download the Lyft app on an iPhone or Android smartphone and set up a Lyft account using a credit card. Then add the code GTOWNTX18 to the promo section of the Lyft app before you request your ride. Note that you must be in “personal” mode for the code to apply. You will only need to enter the code one time. Once you have requested your ride, “applied credit” is displayed on the ride payment screen.

Data from the limited-time promotion will help the city to better understand ride use patterns for a transportation network company. Ride data available to the City after the pilot will not include names or addresses of riders or any credit card information.

The W.D. Kelley Foundation announced this week that it has named Eric Lashley, director of the Georgetown Public Library, as the recipient of the 2018 W.D. Kelley Leadership Award. The award acknowledges and celebrates extraordinary leaders in the nonprofit community in Georgetown.

The award comes with a grant in the amount of $20,000 to be used for the benefit of the Georgetown Public Library. When he learned of the award, Lashley said, “I was extremely surprised and humbled by this award. It was truly unexpected. I consider this an award for my entire staff. I want to thank the W.D. Kelley Foundation for this recognition.”

Georgetown attorney Dale Illig, president of the W.D. Kelley Foundation, said, “When we thought of outstanding leaders in the non-profit community in Georgetown, we immediately thought of Eric Lashley and his incredible staff and the extraordinary work that he and his staff do to make this library an ‘oasis’ for the citizens of Georgetown.”

The W.D. Kelley Leadership Award has only been awarded once before, in 2015, to Tamara Hudgins, executive director of Girlstart.

The W.D. Kelley Foundation was established in 1997 with funds from the estate of William D. Kelley (1914-1996). The foundation aims to support organizations, projects, and individuals with a proven history of strong leadership or educational innovation. Since its inception, the foundation has awarded over $6 million to nonprofit organizations primarily in the greater Georgetown area. The Georgetown Public Library has been a recipient of a previous grant from the foundation for the purchase of art exhibit panels.

Pictured in the photo (left to right) are Eric Lashley, Dale Illig, Katelyn Illig, and Carl Illig, executive director of the W.D. Kelley Foundation.

For more information about the Georgetown Public Library visit library.georgetown.org.

Georgetown Utility Systems is launching a new utility billing system Aug. 6 that will allow customers to manage their usage and pay bills more effectively.

The new system will allow customers to receive bills via text or email, get payment reminders and alerts, and have more control over credit card and payment data.

As part of the new system all auto-draft customers will need to create a new online account on or after Aug. 6 at gus.georgetown.org/guspay.  Please contact Customer Care at (512) 930-3640 or 1 (888) 474-4904 with questions or if you need assistance.

GUS will suspend late fees and disconnects for nonpayment in the month of August. Regular late-fee and disconnect practices for nonpayment will resume Sept. 1.

Credit card transactions on the website or via the phone system will not be accepted for utility account payments between Aug. 1 and 6.

Customers will still be able to pay their utility bills by mail or at the Utility Customer Care Center, located at 300 Industrial Ave., Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. during the transition.

For more information, please visit gus.georgetown.org.

The first segment of Southwest Bypass will be opened to traffic on Wednesday, July 18 after a ceremony by the City of Georgetown. The ribbon cutting event is at 9 a.m.

Southwest Bypass provides a north-south connection on the west side of Georgetown from DB Wood Road to Leander Road. The new $18.3 million arterial was one of 20 transportation projects approved by Georgetown voters in the May 2015 bond election. The contractor on the project was Jordan Foster Construction and the engineer was HDR. (Southwest Bypass bridge under construction shown at right.)

The Southwest Bypass project includes the construction of an arterial roadway from State Highway 29 to Interstate 35. Southwest Bypass will provide a continuous arterial around the south and west sides of the city. The road is being designed and built in conjunction with Williamson County. In addition to the City’s 2.4-mile segment from University Avenue to Leander Road, the County is building a 1.25-mile segment from Leander Road to Interstate 35. The County’s project is anticipated to be completed in late 2019. Information about Southwest Bypass can be found on bonds.georgetown.org and on roadbond.org, a Williamson County site.

Ribbon cutting event location

From I-35, take the University Avenue/SH 29 exit and go west past the Wolf Ranch Town Center. Go to the signal at D.B. Wood Road. Turn south (left) onto D.B. Wood road at the signal. Follow the new roadway to a right turn and continue to the west. Follow the new road for about seven-tenths of one mile and take the left turn to the south in the roadway. Continue a short distance to the ribbon cutting site. The ribbon cutting event will be at one of the bridges on the roadway. Parking will be available on a wide shoulder at the ribbon cutting site. (Click on map image to see larger version.)

Southwest Bypass opening map 7-18-18

Georgetown will officially be powered with 100 percent renewable solar- and wind-generated energy on Sunday, July 1, when the city begins receiving electricity from the Buckthorn solar plant in West Texas.  The 154 megawatt solar farm, owned by NRG Yield and operated by NRG Renewables, provides power for the City utility, making Georgetown one of the largest cities in the U.S. to be 100 percent renewable.

At a ribbon-cutting event at the Buckthorn facility on Thursday, Mayor Dale Ross said, “Buckthorn represents more than just energy. It represents a defining moment in history when renewable energy officially became competitive with fossils fuels on the cost of energy.”

Georgetown officials were joined at the ribbon cutting by representatives from Pecos County; NRG Energy; Wells Fargo, who provided financing for the solar farm; and Swinerton Renewable Energy, who constructed the solar facility.

The 1,250-acre Buckthorn solar plant located 15 miles north of Fort Stockton contains 1.7 million solar panels. The panels are mounted on a single-axis tracking system that rotate over the course of each day to maintain a 90-degree angle to the sun in order to maximize output. The plant is in Pecos County, which has the second-highest radiance factor in the state. Radiance is a rating for available sunlight.

In addition to the Buckthorn solar farm, Georgetown’s energy providers include Spinning Spur 3, a wind farm near Amarillo owned by EDF Renewable Energy, and the Southwest Mesa and South Trent wind farms in West Texas owned by AEP.

As of July 1, Georgetown takes another step forward in continuing to provide customers with 100 percent renewable energy. Together the wind and solar contracts provide enough energy to cover the City’s electric usage. Since April 2017, Georgetown has been 100 percent renewable based on the state’s system of accounting for renewable power based on renewable energy credits.

An annual report for the City of Georgetown for the 2017 fiscal year is now available online and in print copies. The report, titled A Blooming City, highlights projects, initiatives, and financial information for the 2016-17 fiscal year that started on Oct. 1, 2016, and ended on Sept. 30, 2017.

The report highlights projects and initiatives related to the City’s growth, including planning for growth, new construction projects, as well as new initiatives and achievements. A financial section includes details on revenues, expenses, assets, assessed valuation, and taxes.

The annual report is available online here. The document was designed by Presley Design Studio and features photographs by Andy Sharp and City staff.

A limited number of free printed copies of the annual report are available at the Georgetown Public Library, 402 W. Eighth St. Pick up a copy near the book drop in the lobby or at the Reference Desk on the second floor.

The annual report provides a brief overview of the 2017 fiscal year with key financial information. The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, which is a much longer report for the 2017 fiscal year, is available online at finance.georgetown.org. Click the green box for “Annual Budget/Publications.”

The 66th annual Juneteenth celebration in Georgetown is Saturday, June 16, at the Georgetown Community Center at 445 E. Morrow St. in San Gabriel Park. The Georgetown Cultural Citizen Memorial Association hosts the annual public event which is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Juneteenth event schedule

The event starts at 11 a.m. with a special program until 12:30 p.m.

The event also includes jewelry and specialty items vendors, food vendors, college readiness information, representatives from area nonprofits, a DJ, music from “The Groovers,” and games for youth and adults.

Juneteenth history

Juneteenth marks the day on June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers landed at Galveston and reported that the Civil War was over and slavery had ended. The Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves had been in effect since January 1, 1863, but word did not reach Texas for more than two years. Juneteenth was declared an official state holiday in Texas in 1980.

Contact information

For more information, please contact Paulette Taylor, president of GCCMA, at (512) 863-2109.