Possible truck stop receives negative feedback

By Kyle Mooty

LPR Editor

A yet-to-be named although soon-to-be developed travel center/truck stop received some negative feedback from members of the community at last week’s meeting of the Lockhart City Council.

While the City of Lockhart has not approved the possible travel plaza, it is likely to be part of the land use application, which City Planner David Fowler said the Maple Park Planned development District is proposed to be revised.

Fowler added, “The branding of the travel plaza has not been provided in the application materials. Prior to any approval, the Planned Development District revision will be notified through mail to property owners within 200 feet of the site and by signs placed on the site and an ad placed in the newspaper stating the dates of the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council hearing.”

Fowler said at this time no hearing dates had been set and a timeline for construction is not clear.

A couple of women addressing the City Council voiced concerns of safety regarding the possible planned Maple Street truck stop on SH 130, particular with its proximity to Lockhart Junior High School and Maple Park Senior Village.

“I am asking to stop the Maple Street Truck Stop that might break ground next month,” said Angie Mesa. “This project was approved in 2009, but a lot has changed in 15 years. It is no longer appropriate for that location.”

While Lockhart Junior High opened in 2000, Maple Park Senior Village did not open until 2021.

“Here are three reasons why the City Council should recall and table the approval for this project,” Mesa said. “The first, school safety and traffic hazards. The truck stop will be a place for trucks to idle their engines, sleep overnight, and shower in the mornings. This facility will bring a constant flow of heavy traffic to the roads around our middle school. Just last month, a heavy truck in Hays County hit a school bus, killing two people. The driver admitted to getting a little sleepy and taking cocaine that same morning. State Highway 130 is a bypass for I-35 which runs up from Mexico and is one of our country’s biggest corridors for commerce as well as drug and human trafficking. Is it worth the risk to build the Maple Street truck stop by our middle school?

“The second reason is decreased property values and quality of life in our neighborhood. We don’t have to look further than I-35 for a warning about the path we are starting down with this truck stop. Let’s protect the quiet quality of this community. Many neighbors would not have moved here if they had known a truck stop was approved in 2009. It will bring constant air pollution, noise pollution, and heavy traffic. If we open the door to this kind of development next to our middle school and senior village, there will surely be more to follow.

“The third reason is there are many better places for this project. There are 30 miles of empty space between here and Seguin where this truck stop could be built. We respect the truckers and recognize their essential contribution to our economy. We know there will be truck stops on this highway, but right between the middle school and senior village? That seems unreasonable.”

Alondra Amaya, another resident of Lockhart and one who lives about a mile from the possible truck stop, shared what she termed as a “terrible experience my family lived in January 2022.”

“My husband was involved in an accident outside of the Mustang Ridge truck stop,” Amaya said. “He ended underneath an 18-wheeler that was parked overnight by the side of the road in a no-parking at anytime zone. The 18-wheeler was parked along with six or seven others. He was pinned in his car and emergency responders had to assist getting him out. It’s a miracle he’s alive. 

“When I saw the sign going up a few weeks ago it brought back that memory and the nightmare that we lived in 2022.”

In other business:

Patsy Jevas, who had addressed the City Council last month, was back again in front of them providing an update regarding more livestock being shot on her property off Silent Valley Road, where she said she and her husband have lived since 1980.

“This is an update on local delinquents shooting and killing our animals,” Jevas said. “We live only one mile from the (Caldwell) County Courthouse. Some have died. Some have survived. During just the past week, we have had three animals shot – a horse, a dog, and a goat. The goat is gonna die. The dog’s gonna be OK. The horse has pneumonia as its lung was punctured.”

Jevas added that her and her husband are offering a $2,000 reward leading to the arrest and conviction of shooters guilty of animal cruelty on our property.

“This community is gonna help us solve this case,” Jevas said. “I was in the office supply getting these fliers made. I left and came back to pick up my fliers. A total stranger had paid for my 500 fliers because this community wants these people found and I believe that’s how they’re going to be found… with the community helping us.”

Mayor White read two proclamations declaring April as Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Month. On hand were representatives from Roxanne’s House, CASA and Hays-Caldwell Women’s Shelter. It was noted that 6.3 million Texans have received some type of sexual assault in their lifetime.