Republican Hays County judge candidates Bert Cobb and Peggy Jones spoke in depth with San Marcos Local News about the issues leading up to the March 2 primary election. The winner will take on the Democratic nominee, either Hays County Judge Liz Sumter or Precinct 2 Commissioner Jeff Barton, in the November election.
In this letter to the editor, Hays County Precinct 1 Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe says State Representative Patrick Rose is fighting for present and future generations.
The Hays County Commissioners Court honored Paul Peña, the San Marcos Baptist Academy graduate who died in action last month in the American Sector of Afghanistan.
The cost of incarcerating criminals keeps rising for Hays County. Not only has the county already blown its 2010 budget for holding prisoners out of county, but repairs to the Hays County Jail are running about $200,000 higher than anticipated.
A county-appointed task force charged with locating a parcel for a shooting sports complex has put forth an open records request to learn of the parcels under consideration for wildlife conservation habitat. The shooting sports task force hopes to co-locate a facility with habitat conservation land, saying no other funds are available for purchasing land.
Hays County’s governing body resumed course towards up to $74 million in capital improvements and bond sales after dropping anchor briefly last week to check for dark economic clouds on the horizon.
Amidst news of a projected tax increase next fiscal year and fears of a decline in county-wide property appraisals, Hays County Commissioners talked this week about slowing their dash towards massive capital improvement expenditures planned for the near future. As commissioners wait on more precise revenue projections for the coming year, projects on the drawing board could wait in limbo, including a $73 million government center, a $50-60 million jail, $48 million in road work and $10 million in parks and open space allocations.
Hays County is close to finalizing an agreement prohibiting development on 2,275 acres of aquifer recharge land on Dahlstrom Ranch property near Buda, though county residents won’t soon unwrap 350 acres of the land proposed for public access.
The Hays County Commissioners Court hopes to persuade the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) to revise an order to shut down the county jail’s kitchen. At the least, the commissioners could make the penalty moot by procedural means.
The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) ordered Hays County to close its jail kitchen within two weeks and to continue fixing water leakage problems that have rendered some cells uninhabitable.
