Georgetown might pull out of Lone Star Rail District (updated 6/26/2013)

[TexasTowelie]

Last edited Wed Jun 26, 2013, 02:15 AM - Edit history (1)

GEORGETOWN —

A majority of Georgetown City Council members are balking at the cost of remaining in a transportation collaborative that would build a commuter rail system from Bexar to Williamson County.

If it backs out, Georgetown would not be a stop on the line being planned by the Lone Star Rail District, which aims to link the city to Austin and San Antonio within the next six to 10 years.

More at http://www.statesman.com/news/news/georgetown-might-pull-out-of-lone-star-rail-distri/nYQ4h/#
(subscription required)

[font color=green]I also read in the Williamson County Sun that the annual commitment to remain in the project is $50,000 per year. However, if Georgetown pulls out of the project, then it may cost millions of dollars in order to join the rail system at a later date. (link no longer available)

I am in favor of the rail project going to Georgetown. While there are public transportation options available on weekdays at the Greyhound terminal in Austin four times a day in the morning and early evening, there is no service available on weekends other than via taxi and at a significant cost ($30 taxi fare to Round Rock if the rail line is extended there). The population in Georgetown is over 50,000, many of those people are residents at the Sun City development for people over 55. The projected enrollment at Southwestern University is expected to reach an all-time record of greater than 1,500 students with more than 500 first-year students who could also benefit since some of them may not have transportation.[/font]

[font color=navy]Update:

GEORGETOWN —

The Georgetown City Council voted late Tuesday to withdraw from a transportation collaborative proposing to build a commuter rail line from San Antonio to Georgetown.

Georgetown City Council Member Rachael Jonrowe cast the lone vote against withdrawing, saying that more than 900 people had signed an online petition supporting the rail line.

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/georgetown-residents-speak-in-favor-of-rail/nYWMK/

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[Downwinder]

1. Bring the Interurban back.

[WolverineDG]

2. here's what's going to happen

they're going to back out cuz only liberals & Democrats believe in public transportation. The idiots who elected them will cheer.

Flash forward to a year or 2 after the railway comes online & business in Georgetown is drying up while it's booming every place that has a station. The very same ones who cheered when they backed out will be the first ones in line whining.

[TexasTowelie]

3. In addition the city council is meeting

during the summer while the student population is extremely low so very few people are attending the meetings to show their support.

It's similar to the actions to disenfranchise students from voting in towns like Prairie View.

[TexasTowelie]

4. The council voted to leave the disrict

See OP for update. I'm disappointed since I would have loved rail service from Austin to Georgetown.

[MagickMuffin]

5. It's unfortunate that a few people make the final decisions that effect

the larger community it is suppose to represent.

Sidenote: I was just in Georgetown this past weekend.

Our group made arrangements with SWU to stargaze at their observatory. Professor Mark Bottorff asked the The Williamson County Astronomy Club to come out and set up their telescopes for us to provide extra viewing. We already had a member in our group who brought his telescope. But with the additional telescopes we were able to view even more of the Cosmos.

Mark even opened up the observatory for us. It was a remarkable event as this was the first time I had view the Cosmos through a telescope.

I hope to get another opportunity to get down there more often.

[TexasTowelie]

6. They open up the observatory one a month to the public from what I understand.

I don't know Professor Bottorff since he joined the faculty after I graduated. Astronomy was always an interest of mine, but with my nearsightedness I thought it would cause problems and I also that the job market is limited.

I have a friend that graduated from Southwestern in 2002 who is working on his PhD in astrophysics at UT. He had his first publication in Nature magazine about three years ago.

I hope that you had a chance to walk around campus a bit--I consider it to be one of the more beautiful campuses in Texas with the limestone buildings and the bush for every student landscaping.

I agree that the community was short-sighted withdrawing from the railroad project, unfortunately the Tea Party still rules there and the aversion to taxes is why they can't have good things. Of course they waited for the student population to leave town because they didn't want "an Occupy type protest" to occur there like what was occurring a short distance down the road at the Capitol.

Hopefully, I'll get a chance to go back on campus during the fall since we are reactivating our football team. I'm running out of time for wearing my "Undefeated Since 1950" T-shirt!

[MagickMuffin]

7. I learned a lot the short amount of time I was at SWU

and it was already getting dark. Perhaps the next time I'm down that way I'll have more time to sightsee.

I've always had an affinity for Astronomy as well but never had the opportunity to attend college. I also lacked the confidence required for higher education. Ah well, I have sense matured!

Our workshop had an astrophysics from NASA speak. I'm in the process of arranging for him to speak in the D/FW area.

Little by little we will change our counties blue and hence the rest of the state. I have been a precinct chair since 08 in Fort Worth. We just have to work extremely hard to make it happen. That is how we got Wendy back in 08 and again last year. She has very strong support with GOTV efforts, and she has honored her campaign speeches to a T … for Texas!

When I make it back down your way perhaps we can meetup

[TexasTowelie]

8. More details from the Williamson County Sun:

At the end of one of the longest policy debates in Georgetown city council history, elected leaders voted 6 – 1 to end the city's membership in the Lone Star Rail District, indefinitely postponing future passenger train service for the city.

It was a defeat for supporters of the regional rail partnership that is looking to connect Georgetown to Austin and San Antonio via a commuter rail line. The decidedly pro-rail audience filled to capacity the Georgetown council chambers, where residents lined the back wall and spilled into the lobby, where other supporters watched on closed-circuit TV for more than four hours as tensions and emotions swelled in the neighboring room.

Rachael Jonrowe was the sole vote to stay connected to the district, for which the city council pays $50,000 a year. Tommy Gonzalez, Jerry Hammerlun, Steve Fought, John Hesser, Troy Hellmann and Patty Eason voted to leave the rail district behind. Ms. Eason, a vocal supporter of the rail plans and the city's representative on the Lone Star Rail District board, said she voted to leave because, by doing so, she will be allowed to raise the issue again at a future meeting.

Five of the 44 residents who spoke at the meeting said they would support plans to leave the district, which they said was a waste of money. An online petition urging continued membership in the district had 1,006 signatures as of Wednesday morning. Georgetown's Lone Star Rail membership expires in September.

Source: http://wilcosun.com/

So the city council decided to ignore the will of the people again. Doesn't that remind you of the Texas Legislature?
At least Ms. Eason had a reason for casting her vote the way that she did. Hopefully they can bring this up for another vote in the future, particularly when the students are back in town. The cost of $50,000 per year seems minimal considering the amount of economic benefit that could occur and that amount would be mitigated by increased revenue from property taxes and sales taxes.