The Volente Neighborhood Association held a general membership meeting on November 5, 1998, to hear a presentation by John Clary about the process to incorporate cities in Texas. Mr. Clary is Manager of Local Government Services from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. He has also been city manager of Abilene.

Clary pointed out that neither his agency nor the state government was an advocate for incorporation. His purpose was to provide information about the incorporation process. During the presentation, Clary outlined both the pros and cons for incorporating an area like Volente. Key points he made during the presentation are outlined below.

PROS

City is liable for damages

Adds another layer of government

Residents must pay city taxes

No guarantee of service quality

Requirements for incorporation:

At the end of the presentation, a straw ballot was taken indicating whether the attendees were opposed or favored incorporation. The result of the straw vote was that 26 (60%) attendees were opposed and 16 (40%) favored incorporation. The results were quite similar to those from earlier straw ballots. Comments from the ballots opposed to incorporation cited two key reasons. First, they think it is premature to incorporate since we’re not likely to be annexed by either Cedar Park or Austin in the near future. Second, there was a concern about another layer of government and the associated increase in taxes.

Those favoring incorporation are concerned that either Cedar Park or Austin will annex us before we have a chance to react. Another common theme was that incorporation provides the means to control growth and land use.

Currently there is no active program to incorporate Volente. At VNA’s request, Bob Tinstman (Reed Drive) has provided his thoughts about incorporation (see center column). Bob, a Volente resident, is a former City Manager of Austin, Oklahoma City, and Abilene. He has a Master’s degree in government.

Over-simplified, the steps would be:

1. Lower municipal taxes than either Austin or Cedar Park.*
2. Local control of government on development/land use, etc.
3. Less risk of special assessments for water, sewer, street construction, etc.
4. More responsive local government (litter, road maintenance etc.).

 

 

*Using a property assessed for tax purposes at $100,000, Austin taxes would currently be $514.20 per year, Cedar Park taxes would be $453. per year, and the maximum Volente Village taxes would be $250 or about half.

Disadvantages for incorporation are:

1. No city taxes (at least for a while)
2. Local, or petty, politics (crackpots do emerge to fill vacuums)
3. Don’t need another layer of government
4. Let’s keep it "rural."

 

 

Finally, a few suggestions about incorporation:

1. The best time to act is in conjunction with the convening of the state legislature.
2. If we are to incorporate, growth occurring in our area says not to wait too long.
3. Let’s not "over-reach" either in area or numbers.
4. Let’s follow the ‘KISS" principle.
5. Let’s agree to disagree without holding grudges, or attacking each other’s motives.

The Volente Volunteer Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary is sponsoring a pot-luck meal for the entire Volente Community on Thursday, February 11, at 7:00 p.m., at the fire station (15406 FM 2769, across from VJs). Bring a dish to pass for each two people in your party. Table service, coffee, tea, and lemonade will be provided. Come and meet your old Volente friends and some new ones too!

It's not true that if Volente has a fire, the VFD tries to extinguish it by throwing fish on it. However, the volunteer fire fighters have developed quite a reputation for mouth-watering catfish and french fries. And the Ladies' Auxiliary puts together the rest of the show. Stop by for a delicious afternoon or evening meal and see what's happening at VVFD. They guarantee better weather than last time!
 
 

Since its original construction, VIP Marina has added approximately 30 personal watercraft (PWC, a.k.a. jet-skis) ramps that are bolted to the existing marina structure. On July 22, Tran-Quang-Thiet (Booth Circle) protested to the Volente Neighborhood Association (VNA) that the inclusion of the ramps represented an expansion of the marina in violation of the March 1996 marina permit agreement, and requested that they be removed.

When presented with this issue, LCRA stated that the ramps were not a permanent attachment to the marina structure and, under the existing marina ordinances, did not require either a new permit or modification of the old permit.

Members of the VNA board met with VIP officials on July 29, (see August Voice) to discuss several issues, including the protest of the PWC ramps by Thiet. At that meeting, VNA concurred with the LCRA position that the ramps did not represent an expansion of the marina as described in the agreement.

On September 1, Thiet again presented his case to the VNA board at its monthly meeting. Bob Vann, president of Protect Lake Travis Association (PLTA), supported Thiet’s position and said that PLTA would notify LCRA of their position. With this additional encouragement, the VNA board voted to oppose the ramps, reversing the VNA position at the July 29 meeting. On September 9, VNA sent a letter protesting the PWC ramps to LCRA. On September 16, Jim Richardson (LCRA) informed VIP Marina that it must comply with the marina ordinance within 14 days. The PLTA also protested the presence of the ramps in a letter to LCRA dated September 22.

Conrad Werkenthin, representing the VIP Marina, responded that the ramps did not violate Provision 12 of the agreement (letter to VNA on September 25) and that the position taken at the July 29 meeting was correct. The VNA board reaffirmed its opposition to the ramps on October 6, and sent a letter to LCRA challenging the conclusions in Werkenthin's letter on October 13. Tom Eastes, representing Thiet, also sent a letter to LCRA protesting the presence of the PWC ramps.

On October 30, LCRA informed Werkenthin that the PWC ramps do constitute an expansion of the marina and is in violation of Special Condition #12 of the marina permit. VIP Marina was given until November 16, to bring the marina into compliance. On November 11, Mr. Werkenthin requested an extension until January 16, 1999, to comply with the permit provision prohibiting expansion of the marina. On November 16, LCRA granted VIP Marina the requested extension. However, LCRA reaffirmed that VIP Marina was in violation of the of the permit agreement.

On December 2, at VIP Marina’s request, representatives from VNA, PLTA and LCRA met with Rick Redmond and Werkenthin to discuss the issue of the PWC ramps. Possible alternatives to the problem were discussed but no agreement was reached. On January 5, 1999, Mr. Werkenthin presented a proposal to the VNA Board at its regular monthly meeting. The proposal included a change of Special Condition #12 to clarify the ambiguous wording, and limiting the number of ramps to its current number (about 30). The proposal also allowed VIP Marina to increase the number of rental PWCs from the current 10 to a maximum of 20 over the next seven years.

It was pointed out the neither the VNA or LCRA considered the wording ambiguous. The VIP Marina proposal was taken under advisement and the board will discuss the issue at the February 2 board meeting.

To continue receiving these newsletters and to support your neighborhood association, please send your $10 annual dues today, along with the form on the back of this page.

Find out everything you need to know about Lake Travis and the other Highland Lakes on the LCRA website at www.lcra.org. Lake levels are updated every 2 hours! That’s important during a flood or rapid drop. The Daily River Report tells you planned releases at Mansfield Dam. For example, in the next few days, Lake Travis will drop about a foot when water is released to refill Lake Austin that was lowered in December to control growth of aquatic vegetation.

Aerial view of VIP Marina, Volente Beach, and Dry Hollow cove