SEPTEMBER 21, 2022 COUNTY PUSHES BACK HEARING DATES FOR INTERSECTION PROJECT
3-0 WIN FOR LADY TIGER VOLLEYBALL PAGE 11
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HaysNewsDispatch.com
Vol. 42 • No. 53
Serving Hays County, TX
Dripping Springs lifts development moratorium BY MEGAN WEHRING DRIPPING SPRINGS — The temporary development moratorium related to wastewater availability in Dripping Springs expired on Sunday, Sept. 18. A temporary moratorium on development was enacted on Nov. 18, 2021 and was extended in February 2022 to May 21, 2022. In May, the moratorium as it related to land use was lifted but the Dripping Springs City Council extended it as it related to the provision of wastewater through Sept. 18, 2022. Now, that part of the temporary moratorium has been lifted as well. Despite lifting the moratorium regarding wastewater, it doesn’t mean the challenge in
providing wastewater is solved, according to a press release. The city is near capacity with providing wastewater to new residents and businesses and is still in litigation regarding the expansion of the South Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant. Until the lawsuit is settled, applicants will continue to face challenges to their proposed projects that depend on wastewater service. “We still have the same challenges we had before
the moratorium,” said Ginger Faught, deputy city administrator. “But until we have an end date in sight with the litigation, it doesn’t make sense to continue to extend the moratorium indefinitely. Once the litigation has an end date, we could still enact another moratorium in regard to the provision of wastewater while we work out the best solutions based on how the lawsuit is settled. Until then, the city is working diligently on preparing to be able to promptly bring wastewater infrastructure online once the litigation is over.” While the moratorium is lifted, the city will continue to work on solutions that work for both the city and the property owners seeking to build in Dripping Springs. The moratorium gave the city time to develop
guidelines and steps to follow with applicants who are seeking to build in the growing area. “The council continues to recognize the impact of rapid growth on providing for responsible development in relation to providing adequate wastewater infrastructure for the city but believes that can be done without the formal Temporary Moratorium in place,” according to a city press release. “The city’s responsibility is to protect how our community grows. We enacted the Temporary Moratorium to ensure future development was done in a sustainable manner and beneficial to the city,” said Mayor Bill Foulds. “The moratorium allowed us to pause and make sure we planned for addressing the growth
now and in the future and we will continue to do so now that it’s been lifted. Our goal with this and everything we do is to protect the treasured quality of life we have all come to know and love in Dripping Springs.” During the moratorium, city leaders met with developers and builders who had questions or concerns and approved waivers and exceptions primarily for ongoing projects. The city also started the process of revisiting the Comprehensive Plan and studying land use and development in the city limits and Extraterritorial Jurisdiction and hired a professional land planning firm to provide comprehensive plan and development code services. “The 2045
Comprehensive Plan for Dripping Springs is about 40% through its development,” said Planning Director Howard Koontz. “We’ve conducted one online survey and are in the final stage of a second one. Along with those surveys, we held in-person stakeholder meetings in July and just held our first public meeting earlier this week. We will hold two to three more public meetings over the next few months.” More information on the comprehensive plan and the link to the current survey, can be found on the city’s comprehensive plan website reimaginedrippingsprings. com. For information on the lifting of the moratorium, please call the city at 512-858-4725.
DSHS seniors named National Merit Semifinalists BY MEGAN WEHRING
NMSQT is the qualifying test designated for entry to a particular year's DRIPPING SPRINGS competition. – Eight Dripping Springs For example, the 2021 High School (DSHS) seniors PSAT/NMSQT is the were named National Merit qualifying test for entry Semifinalists in the 68th to the competition for annual program. scholarships to be awarded The National Merit in 2023, according to the Scholarship Program is an corporation. The 2022 PSAT/ academic competition for NMSQT is the qualifying test recognition and scholarships for entry to the competition that began in 1955 – and for scholarships to be approximately 1.5 million awarded in 2024. high school students enter Registration for the test the program each year. is by high school rather High school students who than individual student. meet published program Interested students should entry and participation see their counselor at the requirements, which can be beginning of the school year found on the National Merit to make arrangements to Scholarship Corporation take the PSAT/NMSQT at the website, enter the National school in the fall. Merit Scholarship Program Semifinalists, who by taking the Preliminary represent less than 1% of U.S. SAT/National Merit high school seniors, were the Scholarship Qualifying highest-scoring students on Test (PSAT/NMSQT) at the the 2021 PSAT/NMSQT. specified time in the high DSHS students earning school program, usually as the prestigious recognition juniors. Each year's PSAT/ are Teresa Brod, Evelyn Chis, Michael Goertz, Bailey Inglish, Maxwell Ingram, Shaun Kurian, Nicholas
Misko and Kinsey Silcox. The eight Semifinalists surpassed the previous DSHS record of five that was set in 2016. From over 16,000 semifinalists, more than 15,000 students are expected to advance to the Finalist level, which will be announced in February 2023. To become a finalist, the semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the student’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. A semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.
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DSHS student newspaper earns awards STAFF REPORT
Teagan Krewson earned first-place honors for the February 2022 issue. DRIPPING SPRINGS Earning third-place – Young journalists were accolades were Krewson recently recognized for for Cover Design, Jakob their hard work. Becker for his Sports Dripping Springs Column and Tia Davison High School’s student newspaper, the Paw Print, for her News Page Spread Design. earned several awards Rounding out the at the Interscholastic League Press Conference awards were Sierra Trbovich and Gabby (ILPC) for the 2021-2022 Plasencia, each earning school year. an honorable mention for Ariela Barron, their Feature Page Spread Brooklyn Hagblom and Design.
DRIPPING SPRINGS CELEBRATES HOMECOMING
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Layout of the Paw Print awards
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The News-Dispatch Barton Publications, Inc. The News-Dispatch (USPS 011-401) published weekly by Barton Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 339, Buda, TX 78610. Periodicals postage paid at Buda, TX 78610 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Barton Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 339, Buda, TX 78610. ISSN#1087-9323
Tia Davison, Co-Editorin-Chief of the Paw Print