Bastrop, Texas Events, News & Stories

Bastrop, Tx–After some sharp discussion Jan. 27, the Bastrop City Council agreed to tackle how the new Bastrop City Hall on Chestnut Street will finally look at a meeting Feb. 2. In effect the council, led by Council Member Julie Hart, rejected a prior suggestion to name a citizen panel to review and recommend design ideas for the new municipal building.

Hart, who previously urged a citizen panel, argued Tuesday that the council should take direct responsibility for the looks of the new city hall and the civic/convention center which will be erected facing each other on Chestnut Street. Public input will be welcome during the upcoming planning sessions, said Hart and other council members.

Architect Mervin Fatter will be on hand when the council convenes at 6:45 p.m. Monday, said Bastrop City Manager Mike Talbot.

Fatter faced criticism earlier this month when he presented preliminary site and building design concepts for the new city hall/civic center complex just east of the Union Pacific Railroad line on
Chestnut Street. Council members said the buildings should be more reflective of Bastrop’s historic 19th century building traditions.Some called the suggested building design “stark.”

Talbot suggested in an interview today with Bastrop Community Access Television that one concern may be the cost involved with making the buildings more attractive.

Current plans call for soliciting bids and beginning construction of the new city buildings by this summer. Work should begin this year.

Bastrop,Tx–Worried by threatened water shortages in 2008, the Bastrop City Council gave clear instructions this week–for the second time–to staff and professional consultants to get a new water well in production in time for the upcoming summer season when water demand typically soars.

Earlier tests have identified a likely well site in Bob Bryant Park on the west bank of the Colorado River near the Riverside Grove subdivision. No detailed construction cost has been determined, but engineering costs proposed by K. Fries & Associates were approved at $279,000. When completed, the well will be the city’s first on the west bank of the river.

All the city’s present water wells are near the river on the east bank in shallow alluvial sand and gravel deposits less than 100 feet deep. The new well on the west bank will be in the same shallow formation.

Development of the new well will also require construction of additional treatment and storage facilities, as well as connections to Bastrop’s current water distribution system.

Pressure on the city’s water production capacity was tested in the dry summer of 2008, when the first stage of water conservation measures were announced. Council members insisted Tuesday that additional production capacity is urgent in the approach to another summer season, which may also be dry. Rainfall during 2008 was far below average, and forecasters are predicting a continuation of current drought conditions.

By most measure, Bastrop County is currently the most drought-stricken in Texas, local officials report.