Bastrop, Tx (Nov. 14,2008)–Two meetings of note for the week beginning Nov. 17:
1. Bastrop County commissioners will meet at 9 a.m. Monday with two items on the ageneda. They will canvass the results of the Nov. 4 general election. No surprises expected. Vote totals may change slightly, the result of late-arriving mail ballots and provisional ballots, that is, those cast by voters who said they were registered but whose registration could not be immediately verified by poll workers. The validity of those ballots has since been reviewed and final polling numbers may be adjusted accordingly, though no final election results (who won, who lost) seem likely to change.
Commissioners will also revisit whether to continue a ban on outdoor burning because of continuing dry conditions and the associated danger of difficult-to-control wildfires. There’s been little to no rainfall in the past week, so expect the ban to continue in effect for the next few weeks at least.
The meeting will convene on the second floor of the Courthouse Annex at 804 Pecan St. in Bastrop.
2. At 7 p.m. Monday the Bastrop Economic Development Corp. board will meet at 903 Main St. to hear a variety of reports and review some significant grant requests.
Those seeking $25,000 building renovation grants include the owners of properties at 913 Main (Prokop Bldg.), 920 Main St. (Bridges Bldg.) and the planned Hasler Bros. Steak House on Chestnut St., the eastern half of the building formerly known as the Gin-U-Wine Oyster Bar at 931 Main. The question is can BEDC afford to boost all these projects?
At the same meeting former Mayor and BEDC Chair Tom Scott will report on his efforts to attract new higher education opportunities to Bastrop, a topic close to his heart for many years. The BEDC board will also talk about whether to sell 5 acres in its industrial park to Bluebonnet Electric Co-op for an electric power substation and whether to cut a deal with Kazem Khonsari for a site in the same industrial park where the investor hopes to create a warehouse and site for cleaning Oriental rugs. Khonsari also is planning the restoration and redevelopment of two downtown buildings in Bastrop. How plans for these properties may be related to the rug storage/cleaning business is not entirely clear.
Stay tuned.