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.

Continue reading →

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

Continue reading →

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

Continue reading →

By RICH KEITH, Four Points News

In a public meeting held Monday night at Grandview Hills Elementary, Leander ISD Superintendent Bret Champion showed how the district’s continued growth is fueled by today’s demographics. He also explained some of the challenges in keeping high standards of education while dealing with current budget realities.

Champion said the district has had to learn to do more with less. Out of 4,219 staff, 2,270 are teachers, but this is an increase of only 64 since the previous high point in 2010 — before the budget cuts required a reduction in staff levels. Meanwhile, the district has added about 4,000 new students.

Leander ISD Superintendent Bret Champion showed how the district’s continued growth is fueled by today’s demographics.
Photo by Scott Coleman

Continue reading →