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.