News for Feb 2023
Hey N69,
Here’s your news for February, beginning with a few reminders:
1. Your last chance to get rid of tree debris from the ice storm is January 27, so you must have all of your debris on the CURB, not your driveway or yard—the contractors won’t touch it if it’s there. Also, ensure that your debris is not on or near a utility box that you may have in your front yard. The truck will have a big claw to pick up the debris, and you don’t want it to accidentally damage those boxes!
2. We still need some volunteers to be block captains in a couple of areas, and we still need an Emergency Management rep. Both of these jobs take very little of your time, and there is training to help you along the way. I can show people interested in the block captain job what they need, and you’ll have to attend occasional N69 leadership meetings quarterly. The EMC job is mostly just attending the monthly meetings so you can pass on any EMC-related info to our neighborhood—that’s it! Please let me know if you’re even slightly interested.
OK, here’s the news from the NRO meeting, which was mostly transportation-related:
1. The Water Matters committee is having a town hall on March 3 to discuss flood preparations that some neighborhoods need since they have creeks running through them. We don’t, but you’re welcome to attend. More details in the Communicator.
2. The CA has a Small Properties & Grounds committee that has a group considering small projects (valued at over $5,000) that clubs or neighborhoods would like to build in Sun City. For example, a lot of you have asked if anyone is going to fix up that big open area at the end of Yorktown, where the Yaupon trailhead is. If N69 came up with a plan to beautify that area, AND was willing to contribute at least a small percentage of the cost, the committee would review it and possibly give us a grant to complete that project—no guarantees, of course! May 19th is the deadline for proposals for projects in 2024—there were no funds for 2023.
3. Monday, Feb 20, you can apply online at the NRO website if you want to be on one of the CA’s advisory committees. There are several that have openings for next year.
4. County Commissioner Covey presented several transportation updates:
a. There will be a “burn box” at the intersection of Ronald Reagan and 195 for commercial tree disposal companies to dump and burn their debris so it doesn’t go in the landfill.
b. DB Wood Rd now has two left-turn lanes onto Wolf Ranch Parkway/Rt 29.
c. Rt 245 will be widened and include a middle turn lane, but before that happens, they will shut down the portion from Ronald Reagan to Rocky Hollow Creek Rd so they can build a bridge over Cowan Creek (right at that sharp turn in the road). That means that, starting March 1st, we won’t be able to turn left onto 245 to get to the pickleball courts or Williams Dr—you’ll have to take Pedernales to Rocky Hollow Creek Rd to get to both places. That should be true for at least 6 months!
d. You all know how tricky it can be to get to Ronald Reagan from 195—you have to sit in the middle and take your chances! Well, they’re going to build an off-ramp at that point, so that you can easily get off and go under 195 to Ronald Reagan. That won’t help you get onto 195 from Ronald Reagan, but there’s already a merge lane there to help you.
e. Speaking of Ronald Reagan, eventually it will have frontage roads on both sides, be widened (but won’t take any of Sun City’s property), have overpasses over all the major intersections (instead of the current stop signs), and on/off ramps all the way from I-35 to Leander Rd. If you have any questions about these things, you can contact her at [email protected].
5. A couple of Georgetown folks then briefed on transportation items for the city itself:
a. They are updating the sidewalk/bike/transit plans for all the new development; the plans hadn’t been updated since 2014. All of these plans are available for you to review online; start with bonds.georgetown.org.
b. Water and waste-water plans have a higher priority, so they get the funds first.
c. The “diverging diamond” will be finished sometime this year.
d. Remember that GoGeo is the public shuttle service for residents 65+ but only takes you throughout Georgetown, not to Round Rock. It costs $2 per ride and you can make a reservation at gouge.georgetown.org.
6. Jenny Phillips from the CA reminded about the New Resident Orientation tomorrow at the Ballroom: 0845 for the club fair, and 0915 for the orientation.
a. Also, the Nonprofit Fair is this Friday at the ballroom, 9-12pm.
b. If you’d like to attend a CA Board meeting, the next one is Feb 23 at 1pm.
7. Aly from Georgetown told us that bulk pickups are done on your regular trash days, as long as you have already made a reservation online.
Also, there’s a Water Conservation Expo at the Georgetown Library, 10am-2pm on Feb 25, with lots of experts to talk to and answer your questions.
FYI, the city had only budgeted $300K for any major storm damage for all of 2023…they’ve already spent way more than that this month, so the extra funds will come from other departments.
That’s it!
Deb