January Regular City Council Meeting Recap
The regular City Council meeting for January was held this past Tuesday evening at City Hall. Here is a brief recap from that meeting:

FINANCIAL REPORT:
City Manager Julie Oakley gave an update on the first quarter of the FY 2022 budget, which started October 1, 2021. Revenue is slightly ahead of budgeted expectations by $151,536. There is a positive variance of $49,356 (within one-percent of budget) on the expenditures side.

LAKE TRAVIS FILM FESTIVAL FUNDING:
City Council unanimously approved a request by Lake Travis Film Festival for $43,177.97 from the City's Hotel Occupancy Tax fund to assist with their expenses for the third film festival in the area. The funds will be used for arts promotion, marketing and registration of convention delegates for the 2022 festival. The festival will be held in the Lake Travis area from Sept. 15 - 18, 2022. Over a thousand people attended some of the events last year, generating 178 room nights at area hotels.

TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS:
City Council unanimously approved moving forward with engineering services for transportation projects and authorizing the city manager to execute a contract. City staff identified 13 potential transportation projects in need for improvement. This process would allow for an engineer to review to see how much the individual projects would cost, and what type of engineering analysis would be needed in order to move forward. These projects include local road maintenance, drainage and sidewalk connectivity.

CITY COMMUNICATIONS:
The City's Communications Director gave a presentation on the new Strategic Communications Plan, which is a three-year guide, and includes multiple goals for improving overall communications within the City of Lakeway. Additionally, City Council unanimously approved the City of Lakeway's Social Media Policy, which gives guidance on how city staff, along with committee volunteers should engage on social media as representatives for the City of Lakeway.

GENERAL ELECTION ORDINANCE:
City Council unanimously approved an ordinance ordering a general election for the purpose of electing three city councilmembers on May 7, 2022. Terms are expiring for Councilmember Higginbotham, Mayor Pro Tem Mastrangelo, and Councilmember Smith. All will be able to run for an additional term per the city charter. The deadline to file an application for ballot is Feb. 18, 2022 at 5 p.m. CLICK HERE to connect to the City's Election website.

If you'd like to review the full City Council video and agenda from Tuesday evening, CLICK HERE.
Protecting Your Property
This past weekend, Lakeway police officers responded to a burglary incident around Knarr Street in Lakeway. A couple had come home to a burglary in progress. The two male suspects fled, and while the couple called 9-1-1, the suspects stole a vehicle from another property. Officers located the suspects who fled from officers, wrecked the vehicle and ran into a wooded area on foot. Officers continued searching for the suspects, but it is believed they stole another vehicle and left the area. Officers continue to follow up on leads, but if you have any additional information, please call the Lakeway Police Department at (512) 261-2800.

We continue to urge residents to please keep your homes secure when you are away. Please lock your doors and close and secure all of your windows before leaving your residence. Close blinds or curtains to prevent someone from looking inside. Consider getting a simple alarm system or a doorbell camera system in place. Also, lock your vehicles and take your car keys inside with you when parking at your homes. Remove any valuables or hide them from view so it will deter criminal activity.
COVID-19 Update
The number of active positive cases in Travis County slightly dipped again this week compared to the same time last week. However, hospitalizations increased once again this week. As the Omicron variant continues to spread across the country, Travis County continues to offer multiple COVID-19 vaccine events. No appointments are necessary. CLICK HERE for time, date and location details, along with testing information and details on the Stage 5 guidelines in place within Travis County.

A total of 149,949 positive cases have been reported to date in Travis County. There have been a total of 5,309 cases in the Lakeway area (zip codes 78734, 78738 and 78669) since the start of the pandemic (up 209 cases from the same time last week, compared to a rise of 119 cases the previous week). There are currently 4,355 active cases at this time in Travis County (down from 5,326 active cases indicated last week) and a seven-day moving average of 700 hospitalizations in the region (up from 563 last week). CLICK HERE to review the COVID-19 case dashboard. CLICK HERE for more details on hospitalizations.


City Job Openings

Looking to work in a beautiful city alongside a fantastic staff? Look no further than right here in Lakeway! The City of Lakeway currently has job openings relating to the following positions: police officer; police telecommunicator; accounting specialist; facility attendant at the Activity Center; park maintenance; city forester; permit technician; administrative assistant at City Hall; and school crossing guard for Lakeway Blvd. and Highlands Blvd. Interested? Please visit our city job page on our website or simply CLICK HERE.
Trash Service Reminder

As a friendly reminder, if you have service through Waste Connections, please make sure to have your trash and recycling carts out by 8 a.m. on your service day, or the night before after 6 p.m. If your carts are not out when drivers stop by, they won't be able to empty them, and they will not be back until the following week. The drivers change routes and they might be at your location earlier than usual sometimes, so please make sure to have your carts out by the appropriate time. Questions? Please contact our Solid Waste department by calling (512) 314-7514.
Jan. 22 - Feb. 14
Monday, Jan. 31 @ 5:30 PM