New Braunfels City Council is expected to call a charter amendment election in 2027. But first, they need a charter review commission.

Applications for the charter review commission will open on the city's website Aug. 28, city officials said in an email to Community Impact.

What to expect: Applications will include the following:

• Applicant details (including name, address and contact information)

• Resume (optional)

• Cover letter (optional)

• Education

• Response to questions posed by council

Once an individual completes their application, the city's secretary's office will validate it to confirm eligibility. After that, the application will be sent to its respective City Council member for review. The mayor will review all submitted applications, according to a presentation at an Aug. 19 special meeting.

Council members will select individuals from the eligible applicants within their district. The mayor will select after council members—this will ensure that there is no duplicate for the at-large seat, the presentation states.

From Australian-themed sports bars coming soon to a miniature golf course relocating, here are 18 business updates in New Braunfels.

Now open

Salon NB
Local trio Amanda Morgan, Rylie La Porte and Dana Derryberry opened a new hair salon that offers services for men and women.

• 382 S. I-35 S. frontage road, Ste. B, New Braunfels

The Art Collective
The art gallery is owned by Michelle Watts and Jessica Taylor Fleigle. The Art Collective showcases Watts' textile and fiber artwork, as well as other artists' work in photography, mixed media, sculpture, wearable art and jewelry.

• 309 W. San Antonio St., New Braunfels

Coming soon

Ollie’s Market
The café and market—owned by San Marcos locals Natalie and Eli Zablosky—will be opening its second area location in the Mayfair development. Ollie’s Market will sell pastries and bread, baked in-house daily and also offer a fresh deli grab-and-go section with made-to-order salads and smash burgers. The Mayfair location will also have espresso and matcha beverages and feature beer, wine and mixed drinks.

• 5708 Guthrie Trail, New Braunfels

Since late May, all autonomous vehicle companies have been required to receive authorization from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to operate on Texas roads. During an Aug. 25 hearing, state senators heard the first testimony on autonomous vehicle safety since the new regulations took effect.

The overview: To date, the DMV has received 42 complaints about driverless vehicles, officials said.

No complaints have led the agency to suspend or revoke an autonomous vehicle operator's authorization. That occurs "when the operation has resulted in or is likely to result in serious bodily injury," according to Corrie Thompson, who leads the DMV’s enforcement division.

Zooming in: Lawmakers said they wanted to ensure driverless vehicles were not rolling out too quickly, adding that they they hoped the vehicles would help address Texas' high rate of fatal crashes.

Lt. William White, who leads the Austin Police Department’s highway enforcement division, said first responders have seen consistent issues with AVs, including when a Waymo blocked an ambulance for about 28 seconds following the deadly March 1 Sixth Street shooting.

Texas voters will choose from Republican Bo French, Libertarian Arthur DiBianca and Democrat Jon Rosenthal in this November's Texas Railroad Commission race.

The details: The winner of the race will be sworn in to replace incumbent Commissioner Jim Wright in January.

French beat Wright in a May Republican primary runoff, advancing to the general election. Rosenthal ran uncontested in the March Democratic primary, while DiBianca was selected as the Texas Libertarian Party's candidate during an April nominating convention.

Did you know? The three-member railroad commission does not have any jurisdiction over the state's railroads—that authority was transferred to the Texas Department of Transportation and the federal government by 2005, according to the commission's website. Instead, the agency regulates Texas' oil and gas industries.

Looking ahead: Early voting in dozens of local and state races runs from Oct. 19-30, and Election Day is Nov. 3.