Mayor Craig Morgan pens a monthly column for the Round Rock Leader. This is a repost of his most recent feature.

Feedback is an essential tool we use to improve ourselves. Whether it’s through a supervisor at the office, a coach on a sports team or customers of a business, we can grow in all walks of life by receiving evaluations of our work and taking appropriate action.

The same can be said for myself as mayor and my fellow Round Rock City Council members. We receive feedback through many channels — at public hearings, social media and even at the grocery store or church. These comments help us implement ideas that help us tailor city ordinances as well as the budget that we pass each year.

While it’s great to hear individual feedback, the council is charged with representing all 100,000-plus residents across our city and making the best decisions for our entire community as a whole. That’s why our biennial community survey is an essential tool for us to gauge the overall sentiment of Round Rock residents.

Since 1998, the city has conducted a survey of its citizens every other year to see how well we are meeting their needs and to help set priorities for the community. ETC Institute conducts the survey in the spring to a random sample of 400-plus households across the entire city. Having this statistically valid, big picture view of public perception helps round out the individual feedback that we receive on a day-to-day basis.

So how did we fare? ETC’s major findings showed 84 percent of all residents surveyed are satisfied with the overall quality of life in Round Rock, and 82 percent are satisfied with city services. This is outstanding when compared to our peers — an average of 66 percent of Texans statewide reported being satisfied with overall quality of life in their cities and less than half of Texans reported being satisfied with the overall quality of services provided by their municipal government.

I commend our employees’ efforts to maintain and improve our city, and their constant focus on customer service. For most, Round Rock is their home, too, and they have a vested interest in keeping it a great place to live.

Round Rock residents reported being most pleased with our public safety services, including fire and police, as well as parks and recreation. Approximately 90 percent of survey respondents said they had an overall feeling of being “safe” or “very safe” in Round Rock.

We had a feeling we would see negative feedback in one category, and you can probably guess what it was: traffic.

Approximately 76 percent of residents said they feel traffic is getting worse, compared to 56 percent of respondents in 2010. Residents were also asked to rate the traffic flow in different areas of the city. Forty-five percent of respondents rated traffic flow in and around neighborhoods as “excellent” or “good,” and only 14 percent of respondents rated traffic flow on state roads and highways as “excellent” or “good.”

However, the cleanliness and maintenance of both major city and neighborhood streets received a majority of positive responses in the survey, thanks to the hard work of our transportation department and increased funding to our budget in this area.

With multiple Texas Department of Transportation projects underway on Interstate 35, Round Rock has an intimate understanding that traffic oftentimes has to get worse before it gets better. We celebrated the early opening of the FM 3406 bridge over Interstate 35 in June and look forward to more milestones as these projects are completed.

More good news: We have already put a plan in motion to prepare for the future as we are taking care of the present. In order to meet our current and future transportation demands, city staff unveiled an updated transportation master plan in October. We know what needs to be done long-term to be able to one day serve the total buildout of our city at a population of 250,000. But it comes with a hefty price tag: $1.2 billion.

Capital road improvements are also a slow process at best. New roads, drainage and pedestrian facilities must be carefully designed to serve current and future needs. Land must be acquired to construct these improvements.

Contractors must be carefully selected based on the value to the taxpayer. Stakeholders are consulted when a potential conflict arises. All of this must be done while more than 100 new residents are moving to the Round Rock-Austin area on a daily basis.

The survey also showed that climbing property taxes continue to be a concern for our residents due to rising valuations and the ongoing battle regarding state and local funding of schools — a topic you can expect to hear more about in the coming months.

As one portion of your overall property tax bill, we work to keep the city’s property tax rate among the lowest in our area while also providing the services at the level our residents expect. We have additional resources in Round Rock to accomplish road projects thanks to the voter-approved dedication of a half-cent of our sales tax, and we work closely with our regional partners to secure outside funding to supplement our road projects.

We used the survey to begin gauging general public opinion on potentially using a bond election as an additional tool to get started on even more road projects in our community — a topic we considered at our council retreat in February. More than half of survey respondents who had an opinion on the topic said they would support a bond package to fund road projects.

The conversation doesn’t stop here. I encourage you to continue engaging with the city through public meetings, community events and on social media. We recently held our first Coffee with the Mayor, which was modeled after Round Rock Police Department’s popular Coffee with the Cop program, and are currently planning another one.

I invite you to join us to share your concerns and ideas with myself and other council members to help us keep our city a place you are proud to call home.

To see the full community survey results and analysis, visit roundrocktexas.gov.

Special thanks to Round Rock ISD extern Caitlin Osborne for contributing this blog post!

Whether the forecast calls for high temps or rainy days, we have you covered with the top ten (plus three!) things to do this summer in Round Rock.

1. Walk along Brushy Creek’s shaded path in Memorial Park and follow the trail to view our famous rock.
2. Join in on free, fun activities and reading challenges for all ages with Round Rock Public Library’s Summer Reading Program, or learn a new skill by attending a class or workshop.
3. Listen to live music on Round Rock’s first downtown rooftop lounge at Urban.
4. Watch nearly a half-million Mexican free-tailed bats take flight at dusk from the McNeil bridge along I-35. Free parking in the NAPA Auto Parts parking lot, 601 S. I-35.
5. Bring the kids to the Play for All Park to experience the newest features, including all-new playground equipment, a zip line and a “speedway” for bikes and scooters.
6. Encounter Shakespeare under the stars during the final week of Summer Theater in the Park.
7. Splash around in one of Rock’N River Water Park’s newest attractions. Twilight admission is half off from 5 to 7 p.m.
8. Take yourself out to the ballgame and watch Round Rock’s favorite home team, the Express. Don’t miss upcoming promotions such as Stranger Things Night, Friday Fireworks and Superhero Night.
9. Experience Latin vibes with free salsa classes at Rockey’s Piano Bar, every Sunday at 7:30 p.m. through July 30.
10. Adults age 50 and over can explore various locations within a three-hour radius by taking a day trip with the Allen R. Baca Center.
11. Get your om on in Downtown Round Rock with a free, beginner-friendly yoga class presented by The Yoga Room. Dates are Aug. 11 and Sept. 8.
12. While you’re on Main Street, cool off and splash around in the Prete Plaza Fountain.
13. Compete in a co-ed kickball league. Learn more about leagues for all ages at roundrockrecreation.com.

Mayor Craig Morgan pens a monthly column for the Round Rock Leader. This is a repost of his most recent feature.

What does the word “growth” bring to mind for you? If comments on the City of Round Rock’s social media pages and citizen surveys are any indication, your answer is probably traffic. 

You would be hard-pressed to find a city in our area that is not experiencing some level of growth. From July 2016 to July 2017, Austin-Round Rock was the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the state, adding 55,269 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  

If we choose to sit back and hope that inevitable expansion will not occur, we risk making the exact things we fear about growth a reality. Through wise planning, we can ensure our growth serves the public by improving quality of life, creating new jobs and maintaining our City’s financial health so we can afford to carry out our strategic plans. We also look for ways to mitigate the potential negative impacts, such as traffic, that new development can create. 

The question we find ourselves asking is this: How can we make growth less burdensome on residents? How do we ensure that development has the least amount of impact possible on our daily commutes and creates a true economic benefit to our residents? 

These questions came to mind as we considered the future of a 351-acre tract of land along U.S. 79 across from the Dell Diamond and Old Settlers Park – the future site of Kalahari Resorts and Convention Center, which breaks ground May 15. The developers plan to employ a minimum of 700 people and invest $550 million in the project, which includes a 975-room resort, 200,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor water park and a more than 150,000-square-foot convention center.

There were two possible development scenarios for this piece of land, with the first being single-family residential. If that entire tract of land was developed as housing, it could have resulted in the construction of up to 1,404 homes. That means 1,404 families with commutes between home and work in the morning and evening, adding to congestion on U.S. 79. 

Another option was to follow the pre-existing zoning of the land. This would allow for a 15-story hotel, 50,000 square feet of retail, 350,000 square feet of offices, a 47-acre business park development, 400 townhome units, 8 acres of retail development, in addition to light industrial development with buildings up to five stories tall. Although this was the better of the two scenarios, it still created additional traffic concerns around the 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. rush hours along U.S. 79. 

With these two options on the table, Kalahari’s interest in the land was a game changer. The traffic to this resort destination will not peak at a particular time of day, unlike mixed-use developments and residential neighborhoods that draw residents and employees to and from during rush hour. 

Additionally, we knew the project would bring significant convention and hotel space to our community and help diversify our economy, not to mention the potential of creating a new revenue stream to provide essential City services while demanding fewer of those services. 

In the first 10 years, the development is expected to bring a net revenue of $4.7 million to the City’s budget per year. To put into perspective just how meaningful that is, consider this: to raise $5 million in property taxes from residents would require a 10 percent increase in the tax rate, meaning we are essentially able to maintain and improve our services at a discount to homeowners. Kalahari’s $350 million investment in the project will create significant property tax revenue to the City, Williamson County and Round Rock ISD. This is the largest impact a single project has ever had on the City’s property tax base. Thanks to the efforts of State Rep. Larry Gonzales, we are able to utilize a state law to keep State tax revenues, including the hotel occupancy tax, sales tax and mixed beverage tax revenues, generated by the resort in the community to help pay for the project’s public debt and revenue sharing. 

The great part about these agreements is that all incentive payments are being funded by the revenue brought in by the development. 

By planning ahead, the City Council is following in the steps of our predecessors who worked to make Round Rock as successful as it is today. The City has used incentives in the past to attract other highly desirable companies to Round Rock and has a proven track record of providing performance-based incentives to businesses that expand employment opportunities and the tax base. After seeing a surge in commercial and industrial activity in the 80s and early-90s, our City’s forefathers successfully recruited the headquarters of a little company you may have heard of – Dell – from Austin to Round Rock in 1994. That increase in the City’s tax base resulted in a series of public works projects and additional public amenities. 

In 2006, City Council saw the need to diversify our sales tax base and made an economic development agreement with Round Rock Premium Outlets. IKEA opened in 2007, becoming the largest single retail store in Central Texas. Emerson Process Management relocated its international headquarters and technology center to Round Rock in 2012 and Bass Pro Shops opened a 104,0000-square-foot store just north of the Outlets. The Round Rock Chamber is instrumental in retaining and recruiting several other businesses that are helping our community thrive. 

It’s easy to see Dell’s direct economic impact in the form of jobs and contribution to the City’s financial well-being after all these years – it’s why we enjoy one of the lowest property tax rates in the state of Texas. It’s also easy to become overly dependent on its success, which is why we continue to look for new opportunities to grow our economy along with the inevitable population growth. Economic development wins are an important part of Round Rock’s success story, and we are excited to see how these projects continue to benefit our community. 

Mayor Craig Morgan pens a monthly column for the Round Rock Leader. This is a repost of his most recent feature.

For a generation that has the entire world at our fingertips, we don’t always do a great job of connecting with those around us. Many of us can remember a time when our neighborhoods defined who we were — our friends, the schools we attended and our overall sense of safety and stability.

More recently, you’d be hard-pressed to find communities across the United States where residents even know their neighbors’ names.

At our 2012 City Council retreat, we found ourselves talking about some of the usual topics: water, transportation and economic development. But we constantly returned to the subject of our neighborhoods. As we continued to grow at an exponential rate, how could we ensure that we were not only maintaining — but also improving — Round Rock neighborhoods?

We committed to making neighborhood revitalization and protection a top priority in 2013 by hiring Community Development Administrator Joe Brehm. Known by many in our community as “the Neighborhood Guy,” Joe has implemented innovative ways to connect with neighborhood association leaders, church leaders and volunteer groups to help maintain property value, enhance curb appeal and maintain a sense of community in our neighborhoods.

Joe’s office, which also includes our Neighborhood Services Coordinator Katy Price, provides a one-stop shop for all residents to inquire about quality-of-life issues in their neighborhood while maintaining a 24-hour response rate to residents’ emails and calls. These two work daily to explain the “why” and “how” behind our decisions and work together to affect positive results for the community.

This simple mindset has established a foundation of reciprocity and openness with our residents in a time when government distrust is high. One neighborhood leader came to our most recent City Council meeting to thank our staff simply for being responsive and available to our residents, saying that “the ability to answer emails and phone calls has been lost in today’s society.”

Joe and Katy also coordinate essential program services like the neighborhood cleanup program, the Tool Lending Center, our curb painting kit, and, most recently, UniverCity — our citizen education and leadership program.

The Tool Lending Center is deployed to organized projects such as neighborhood cleanups, and was the first of its kind in Texas. Housed in a 22-foot by 8-foot trailer, the center includes shovels, wheelbarrows and minor home repair tools that residents can borrow at no cost. Home Depot donated $6,250 worth of tools toward the project.

Eight other cities — including four outside of Texas — have already reached out to us with interest to replicate the program. We are currently looking into ways that residents can check out the equipment outside of organized clean-ups in the future.

In April 2014, the Tool Lending Center made its first deployment at a downtown Round Rock neighborhood clean-up. Since then, the trailer and neighborhood clean-up program have become an integral part of city services by providing an additional means to help residents outside of weekly trash pick-up and routine home maintenance. The program has checked out 3,067 tools and engaged volunteers in our community 4,135 times since its inception.

Over time, we have found that some of our city population most in need did not have the means or the tools to upkeep their properties. Due to age, recent illness or surgery, some don’t have the resources that would empower them to take an active role in our community. This is where our local volunteers come into play.

The city combined forces with the Austin Bridge Builders Alliance to create Love the Rock in 2014. This fantastic nonprofit helped us coordinate a single day of service in Round Rock with 40 churches and 1,200 volunteers, 300 of whom focused solely on neighborhood cleanups. The program was a hit, and the 300 who participated with the cleanup reported the highest level of satisfaction in the work they performed in our community.

In 2016, all 1,200 volunteers participated in a neighborhood cleanup in 20 different neighborhoods. Together, they touched and improved more than 200 homes — many of which had active code enforcement tickets open at the time of the event. These amazing volunteers removed 555 tons of bulk trash and 98 tons of brush in just one day.

This program is doing more than just enhancing curb appeal and creating compliance with codes — it is strengthening the fabric of our neighborhoods. Since the creation of our Neighborhood Services program, six neighborhoods have voted to form their own associations.

This program does not include handouts from the city. Rather, it empowers residents and volunteers to connect and take active leadership in building up their own neighborhoods.

To our volunteers from the many churches and organizations across our area, I want to thank you for lifting us up and helping us to take direct action in addressing the concerns of our city. Your efforts truly make our community a more united and better place to live.

You would be hard-pressed to find another program that has such a huge return on the funding it receives. Some of the returns can be measured in tons or volunteer hours — others are in the smiles or the tears of those who regain their dignity and are empowered by this program.

We are building communities here in Round Rock, and I can’t wait to see how this program continues to grow and transform our city.

Mayor Craig Morgan pens a monthly column for the Round Rock Leader. This is a repost of his most recent feature.

It’s no secret why Round Rock continues to gain national attention and accolades, with an increasing number of residents moving here to enjoy our beautiful parks, community events, recreational activities, economic opportunities, safe neighborhoods and local retail. Despite our fast growth, we’ve been able to maintain a family-friendly community that is distinctive by design.

As much as I and the rest of City Council would like to take credit for these great successes, many are the result of seeds that were planted in the past. As we harvest the fruits of our predecessor’s labors, we must continue the process that will set up Round Rock’s future generations and leadership for even more success.

In February, City Council held our annual two-day retreat, which allows us time to update and reprioritize our Strategic Plan, the foundation for all long-term City initiatives. We gathered at the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex, a 60-acre, $27-million facility that was added to Old Settlers Park just this past year. Looking out at the well-kept fields and facilities, I couldn’t help but think about the seeds that were planted almost 15 years ago to make this project, and others like it, a reality in our community.

In 2004, the City of Round Rock launched the Sports Capital of Texas tourism program that has since led us to host an array of youth, amateur and recreational sporting events and build tournament-class facilities. Not only did the Council at the time understand the economic potential of this endeavor, but following Councils carried the torch to ensure its ongoing success. Just this past January, we recognized former Mayor Alan McGraw’s political courage and vision by dedicating the Round Rock Sports Center Complex in his honor.

Even today, our designation as the Sports Capital of Texas remains one of our top strategic goals. Our long-term goals haven’t changed much over the past few years, but we do revisit and reprioritize them as needed to meet the changing demands we face. Our strategic goals for the next five years remain the same from last year: Financially Sound City Providing High Value Services; City Infrastructure: Today and for Tomorrow; Great Community to Live; “The Sports Capital of Texas” for Tourism and Residents; Authentic Downtown – Exciting Community Destination; and Sustainable Neighborhoods – Old and New.

Maintaining the financial soundness of our City as well as providing infrastructure that serves the needs of our community now and in coming years remained the highest priorities. We’ve heard our residents loud and clear that we have room for improvement in the City’s road

network. In our most recent citizen survey, 77 percent of residents felt traffic flow in the City was worse compared to two years before. Although we have very little control over improvements to state roads and highways, we can do everything in our power to ensure that residents experience a safe and efficient network of City streets and have transportation options beyond personal vehicles.

Priorities that increased in importance this year were those that strive to make our city a “Great Community to Live” and maintaining an “Authentic Downtown.” We have seen so much change and success in Downtown Round Rock and want to see sustainable, responsible growth in the heart of our community.

Some might say we’re lucky to be the sort of community we are today. I would argue we’ve made our own luck over many years of long-term planning and vision casting, and must continue to do so in the coming years and decades to maintain and grow our hard-earned reputation for success.

You don’t have to be old to stand tall for your community! Gracie Garbade, a student at Patsy Sommer Elementary, does just that and she’s only a little more than half way through third grade.

In fact, Gracie started helping others and serving the community when she was just 5 years old. She wanted to help feed the homeless, especially homeless children.

After talking with her family, they came up with the idea of a food drive.

“I was driving with my mom and I saw homeless people and I felt bad for them,” Gracie said. “The plan was we would set up multiple different booths in our neighborhood, and we would ask family and friends, and make lots of posters.”

Her first year, she collected 100 pounds of food by setting up simple donation stands in her neighborhood and asking those she knew for help. Fast-forward to 2017 and her efforts multiplied, touching the lives of many more as she was able to collect over 1,100 pounds of food by leading the charge to create a school-wide donation drive.

She talked to classrooms and even spoke on the school announcements to get the word out.

“My goal is for everyone in the world to have enough food to eat,” she said.

According to others, Gracie has a heart of gold and is always helping others, one year even going so far as writing a letter to Santa asking him to bring gifts for all the kids in need.

Seeing this story and understanding the incredible importance of people helping people, City Council, at its Feb. 22, 2018 meeting, took time to consider a special presentation in recognition of Gracie’s service to Round Rock. Mayor Craig Morgan also had a special one-on-one meeting with the young leader and her mother.

Thank you, Gracie. Our community, state, nation, and world need more people like you.

Mayor Morgan on the City Council dais with Gracie and her brother.

Mayor Craig Morgan pens a monthly column for the Round Rock Leader. This is a repost of his most recent feature.

Local government touches our lives every day, often in ways that we take for granted.

First responders and building inspectors keep us and our families safe. Engineers design essential infrastructure, including the roads we travel and the pipes that bring water to our homes.

Planners help envision and shape city growth while maintaining the uniqueness of Round Rock. Parks and Recreation provides ways for us to connect with each other and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Employees across several departments maintain our existing infrastructure to keep our investments in working condition. Our city managers work with stakeholders from across our City to make the goals we set on City Council a reality. In addition to these necessary services, the City of Round Rock persistently works to meet changing citizen demands, advances in technology, and new federal and state mandates.

Our residents have a unique opportunity to learn more about how their local government works in UniverCity, the City of Round Rock’s citizen education class. Initially implemented by Community Engagement Administrator Joseph Brehm, UniverCity allows participants to experience firsthand the work it takes to run a city department. City staff hosts presentations to discuss operations, budget and challenges, and leads the class on tours of City of Round Rock facilities such as the Police Department, fire stations, park facilities and our sign shop. City Council members also attend portions of the class for question-and-answer sessions with participants.

Our first class graduated in December and was comprised of several community leaders from diverse backgrounds and interests. UniverCity received excellent feedback, and graduates said they felt much more knowledgeable about City services. Due to the popularity of the program, staff plans to conduct the classes twice per year, with one in the spring and one in the fall. At this time, applications are based on referrals from community leaders and those who have been through the program.

Most importantly, UniverCity provides useful experience for anyone who has considered serving on a City of Round Rock commission or taking another leadership role in our community. In an era of low voter turnout, we are constantly looking at ways to better engage citizens so that our City can continue to count on having informed and engaged leaders to continue Round Rock’s successes in the future.

Even after serving on City Council for almost seven years, I can tell you that there is always something new to learn about the way our City government functions and plans for the future. It is my hope that our graduates leave feeling as inspired as I do every day by all that our public servants do to make our community a great place to live.

To inquire about the nomination process for upcoming classes or other questions about UniverCity, please email Neighborhood Services Coordinator Katy Price at kprice@roundrocktexas.gov.

That Takes the Cake Sugar Art Show & Cake Competition is one of the largest cake shows in the U.S., and much to our sugary satisfaction, it’s back in Round Rock again in 2018.

The show is set to take place at the Round Rock Sports Center Feb. 23-25. It will feature competitions with more than 300 works of sugar art, informal demonstrations, full in-person classes taught by sugar artists from around the country, speciality vendors and more.

• Activities schedule
• Competition Information

More information on the event can be found online at: https://www.thattakesthecake.org