Council eyes ACC affiliation

Local campus could create new tax
By LPR Staff
Editor/POST-REGISTER

During a brief meeting of the Lockhart City Council on Tuesday, discussion was introduced about the possibility of joining an alliance with Austin Community College to build a satellite campus in the Lockhart area.

The proposal came from District Four Councilmember Richard Banks,

who expressed a strong desire to have such a campus in Lockhart.

“Can you imagine the vitality it would bring to our community, to the Square, to have students and teachers there?” he said. Banks has been vocally supportive of recruiting a junior college to the area.

City Manager Vance Rodgers and Mayor James “Jimmy” Bertram both suggested there was some interest in recruiting a junior college several years ago, but there were certain sticking points – among them, a taxing entity that ACC asks its host cities to develop for them.

Rodgers said the best course of action would be to determine whether ample support for a junior college exists within the community. He suggested that a grassroots effort comprised of citizens, rather than politicians, would be the most likely way to garner support and the attention of area institutes of higher learning.

In other business, the council considered making donations to several area non-profit organizations as a part of the 2009-2010 fiscal year budget.
Among those coming forward to ask for continued support was the apparently-beleaguered Caldwell County Medic Assist Team, which has come under new leadership only this week.

Although the council expressed concern about past leadership and financing of the organization, they in the end agreed to continue supporting CCMAT, provided financial records are provided for the city’s review.

In brief news:
The Council discussed the possibility of purchasing iVotronic electronic voting machines and possibly rescheduling municipal elections to coincide with general elections in November. However, they opted to table the discussion until the Attorney General gives an opinion on how moving election dates will impact seated elected officials.

They set public hearings regarding the 2009-2010 budget and tax rate. The hearings will be held during the council’s regularly-scheduled meetings on Sept. 1 and Sept. 15.

The Lockhart City Council regularly meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the Glosserman Meeting Room at Lockhart City Hall. The meetings are open to the public and are televised on Time Warner Cable Channel 10.