Lakeway City Council mulls parks bond, nixes deer killing program
The Lakeway City Council on Dec. 18 continued its discussion of the Parks Department's nearly $29 million strategic plan, which residents will get to vote on next year.
The Parks Department is reevaluating priorities for the upcoming bond, following a Dec. 7 town hall and a week-long virtual town hall, which garnered over 250 responses from residents. The responses showed Butler Rough Hollow Park as the top project priority, with Lakeway City Park second, the Lakeway Swim Center third, and Live Oak Tennis and Pickleball Courts as last on the priority list.
The tennis and pickleball courts received the most negative reaction from citizens, who cited fear of increased traffic and demand for parking, which could negatively impact residents living nearby. In the past, officials said, the council has received ample traffic and parking complaints as a result of the city’s popular pickleball courts.
Lakeway’s mountain-biking community asked that the city include a bike track in the middle of the new Rough Hollow Park, which would add an additional $40,000 to the bond package.
Some citizens asked that the city nix the lazy river and surf-simulation technology from the proposed updates to the swim center, which would decrease the bond amount by approximately $1 million. Fixed-income residents expressed bond-fatigue. City Manager Joseph Molis said the average monthly cost to residents if the bond package is approved would be about $13. The bond would pay for eight parks and recreation projects.
In February, the council will decide whether the park's bond will go on the ballot in May or November. Also to be decided is if the bond will consist of one large package or be broken up based on its various projects.
In other action at the meeting, the council voted unanimously to eliminate the possibility of a return of its trapping, transporting and processing program for deer that has been in place since 2003 but had been suspended in 2018.
Mayor Pro Tem Louis Mastrangelo proposed the revision to the animal ordinance, citing a strong aversion to the city's previous culling activities that involved killing the deer.
“We did (population) surveys starting in 2018 and we’ve been doing them ever since and the fact of the matter is … the deer have been declining," Mastrangelo said.
Molis said Lakeway’s deer population has decreased in recent years due to drought.
Mastrangelo said he wanted to eliminate the possibility of the culling taking place ever again. “It is still on the books as an option, and I want to take it off,” he said. However, the city’s wildlife committee suggested that the Lakeway retain its prohibition on feeding deer.
The council also voted to approve a 7 a.m. start time, as opposed to the previous 8 a.m. start time, for neighborhood construction, including drilling and demolition. It postponed voting on an amendment to the noise-ordinance, which would allow golf courses to operate power tools at 6:30 a.m. — an amendment that prompted strong opinions from council members, some who felt the city should not cater to the courses.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Lakeway City Council mulls parks bond, nixes deer killing program
