Category Archives: Volente

River Place Limited District caps its property tax rate at $0.15 per $100 valuation

Board members from the River Place Limited District and the River Place Homeowners Association met for a joint meeting April 4 to discuss the upcoming election that will include ratifying the Limited District as well as its property tax rate. (from left) Tim Mattox, Ivar Rachkind, Scott Crosby, Pat Reilly, Lee Wretlind, Claudia Tobias and Art Jistal. Leslee Bassman

Voters set to approve district, tax rate May 5

By LESLEE BASSMAN, Four Points News

Although the Strategic Partnership Agreement, or SPA, between the city of Austin and the River Place Municipal Utility District provided for a maximum $0.50 per $100 valuation ad valorem tax, the subdivision’s River Place Limited District officers voted unanimously April 4 to instead cap that property tax at $0.15 per $100 of assessed valuation. The MUD was converted into a Limited District when the community was fully annexed by Austin on Dec. 15. Continue reading →

Citizens for a Safe 620 forms after two fatalities

Traffic on RM 620 between RM 2222 and Steiner Ranch is generally bumper to bumper weeknights during peak drive times. This photo was taken at 6:15 p.m. on April 4. Leslee Bassman

By LESLEE BASSMAN, Four Points News

Although Morgan Briscoe said she has always been concerned about the severity and frequency of accidents in Steiner Ranch since moving to the area seven years ago, it was the deadly collisions along RM 620 on Feb. 17 and Feb. 23 that sparked her to form an online advocacy group for a safer roadway.

“I was trying to make it clear that I don’t want this to be another place where we are complaining about things because there are plenty of sites (where) a lot of that is going on,” she said. “I was looking for people who had an interest in talking and doing things and being a part of the solution.”

Briscoe formed Citizens for a Safe 620 and has already held two meetings with the organization’s core group, including Steiner Ranch residents Anne Crowley, Martha Molinari and Linda Vezina.

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First on scene helped man who was struck by vehicle

Jason Flores Garces, middle, and some of his Affordable Tree Trimming crew were the first on the scene to help the man who was hit by a driver on RM 620 near Mansfield Dam on April 11.

By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

A man in his 30s was struck by a vehicle on RM 620, just south of Mansfield Dam, on April 11 around 9 p.m. His body was discovered first by a Steiner Ranch resident.

Jason Flores Garces and his Affordable Tree Trimming crew had just finished their last job for the day, a case of oak wilt in Lakeway.

“We were taking (the tree) down and had two trucks and a trailer,” Garces said. Three brothers, some cousins and a brother-in-law all work together at Affordable Tree Trimming.

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Local family helps rescue dog and her 9 pups

Cookie, a rescued pregnant dog, delivered nine puppies on Feb. 12 thanks to a local Steiner Ranch family.

By MADISON PHARIS, Four Points News

Thanks to the suggestion of her husband to download the Nextdoor app, local resident Melinda Pyle was on a journey to rescue a trio of dogs only two days later.

It was on Jan. 26 that Pyle met up with Alex Landry to take in the three rescue dogs rescued to their new foster home. The dogs had been abandoned in April 2017 in a commercial lot that had sold recently, leading to their discovery.

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