The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) Board of Directors voted unanimously Wednesday to hire Phil Wilson, executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, as the organization’s 11th general manager. Wilson will begin work at LCRA Feb. 1.

Wilson will replace Rebecca S. Motal, who announced in September she is retiring Dec. 31, ending a 27-year career with LCRA. Deputy General Manager Ross Phillips will serve as interim general manager.

Phil Wilson

Wilson will come to LCRA from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), where he has served as executive director since October 2011. At TxDOT, Wilson oversaw 12,000 employees and a $10-billion budget. Prior to that, Wilson worked as senior vice president of public affairs for Luminant, Texas’ largest competitive power generation company. In 2007, Gov. Rick Perry appointed Wilson as Secretary of State. He also served as chair of the Governor’s Competitiveness Council and as a member of the Texas Border Security Council. Continue reading →

By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

Leander ISD is expected to take its final vote on elementary school attendance rezoning tomorrow night but one Steiner Ranch neighborhood does not want the latest recommendation to go through.

The final rezoning vote by the LISD Board is scheduled for Dec. 19 at Reed Elementary.

Many families who live in the Savannah neighborhood strongly disagree with the latest recommendation up for vote which would move 173 students who live in Savannah from River Ridge Elementary to Laura W. Bush Elementary.

“As a parent I’m frustrated and as a community I’m frustrated,” said Samuel Monti, a concerned parent and CFO of a local software company. He is one of the leaders of the group of nearly 100 supporters who do not want to see these latest rezoning recommendations made.

“Rezoning is a very emotional process. It involves emotional attachment to schools, which is a great thing and says they’re (parents are) invested. It’s not done lightly,” said LISD spokeswoman Veronica Sopher.

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By RICH KEITH, Four Points News

Thompson Realty has submitted a proposal to develop 131 homes on 211 acres called McCormick Ranch at the southeast corner of Quinlan Park Road and Selma Hughes Park Road. The exclusive development has 2,600 feet of frontage on Lake Austin.

Residents within 500 feet of the proposed development on Lake Austin received a notice of public hearing for Dec. 17. But the meeting is postponed until Jan. 7; only four out of seven council members were in attendance tonight.

The notice states the City of Austin has received an application for the 211-acre subdivision McCormick Ranch, located at the end of the Steiner Ranch peninsula. At Tuesday’s meeting, the city Zoning and Platting Commission was expected to reconsider the application, which has run into several issues with the city.

Four Points residents and the Steiner Ranch Neighborhood Association were expected to attend the hearing tonight. They want the city to account for traffic, safety and services.

“We have poor emergency egress options from Steiner,” said SRNA president Brian Thompto. “And our infrastructure for roads and schools are overloaded already.”

Leander ISD officials also planned to attend.

Richardson-based Thompson Realty states: “This is the last available undeveloped large parcel of land on Lake Austin.”
Aerial photo by Thompson Realty.

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By RICH KEITH, Four Points News

The Vandegrift High School band participated in the Texas Music Educator’s Association or TMEA Region 26 Band audition on Saturday. Students advancing from the audition will play a series of concerts in January under the direction of a distinguished visiting conductor.

“This is the first step in the process to be named a TMEA All-State Musician, which is the highest honor a high school band student can receive,” said director of bands Jeremy Spicer.

In a school-record audition performance, band students secured 39 chairs in the Region Bands and another 10 students being named to the District Band. The auditions were held at Cedar Ridge High School in Round Rock.

photo by Rich Keith

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By RICH KEITH, Four Points News

Texas Department of Transportation officials met recently with local officials and discussed the shortened dual-turn lanes at the congested RM-620 and RM-2222 intersection as well as a potential new bypass option.

TxDOT met with representatives from Texas Rep.Todd Workman’s office, Travis County Precinct 2 Commissioner Bruce Todd’s office, and the Steiner Ranch Neighborhood Association’s founders including president Brian Thompto.

The meeting was a followup between officials and neighborhoods toward finding solutions to the ever-growing traffic volume and congestion experienced daily in Four Points and along the entire RM-620 corridor from TX 71 to Lakeline Mall.

A potential bypass is being discussed to help alleviate RM 620/RM 2222 intersection traffic. The path identified follows the power line corridor beginning at a point just south of BBQ Outfitters on RM 620 and would connect to RM-2222, emerging near the area around Cooke’s Automotive.
Photo by Rich Keith

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