Letters – Council misses mark on extended hours

To the Editor:
As a citizen of Caldwell County and a business owner in Lockhart, I would like to say thank you to our Mayor Ray Sanders, Mayor Pro Tem Paul Gomez and Council Woman Angie Gonzales-Sanchez for their desire to see Lockhart grow and bring new revenue to our small town that has been left behind.

While Bastrop, Kyle, San Marcos and even Luling continue to grow

and bring more revenue to their communities, Lockhart is being stifled by several council members who seem more concerned with putting words in peoples’ mouths instead of actually listening to what is being said.

After spending over a month collecting signatures from people who wanted the extended bar hours and publicly stating that we (the Hayters, owners of Cedar Hall) were in favor of the extended hours at a recent council meeting, one of the members stated that he talked with me and my husband and that we didn’t want the extended hours.

THAT IS A LIE.

We are in favor of the extended hours for Lockhart, and believe we have gone out of our way to show that. It is sad that due to Mother Nature and the recent bad weather, I was unable to be there for this last meeting to actually look these members in the eyes when they told these stories. It is even sadder that Lockhart’s future is the hands of people like that.

I cannot tell you how surprised I was to talk with these members, out in public, at social events and then watch them turn on me in a meeting.

The harm with not extending the hours is greater than we are being lead to believe. Lockhart would lose the extra revenue from sales at our local businesses (restaurants, motels, stores). The additional pay that employees would loose. The sales tax that our government is making us pay would be lost.

Not being politically savvy is my own fault, and putting my belief in public officials is also my own misconception. The days of a man’s word has been lost on several of these members.
God Bless America and Lockhart!
Paulette Hayter
Cedar Hall Bar & Grill
Lockhart