Liberty Hill ISD interim Superintendent Travis Motal is expected to move into the district’s permanent superintendent role in January. 

The LHISD board of trustees unanimously voted to name Motal as superintendent lone finalist at a Dec. 17 special meeting. The decision comes eight months after former Superintendent Steven Snell resigned to become the next Williamson County judge. 

What’s happening: Motal became interim superintendent of LHISD in April. Over the last six years, he has served as the district’s chief of schools, director of secondary education and principal of Liberty Hill Junior High. 

The board selected Motal as the lone finalist after conducting a statewide superintendent search process and receiving feedback from staff and community members.

Next steps: Following the board’s vote, Motal will be required to wait 21 days from Dec. 18 before signing his official superintendent contract under state law, said Rachel Acosta, LHISD director of communications and community engagement. The board is expected to vote on the final approval of Motal’s appointment as superintendent at its Jan. 20 meeting, Acosta said. 

The Rejuvenation Vibe Room, a Leander-based wellness business, relocated to a larger suite on Dec. 1 said co-creators David Aiello and Ellisa Mimlitsch. The couple opened The Rejuvenation Vibe Room in early 2025 as a separate extension of Mimlitsch’s primary business, Therapy by Ellisa.

What they offer: The Rejuvenation Vibe Room offers non-clinical services such as vibroacoustic sound therapy, halotherapy or salt therapy and Reiki energy healing. Aiello operates the sound and salt therapies, while Mimlitsch offers Reiki sessions. 

The business also sells a selection of merchandise and retail products such as Himalayan salt lamps, which allows customers to bring part of the treatments home, Mimlitsch said. 

Quote of note: “It's a space of full rejuvenation, and they can really restore their overall mental wellness by engaging in the sound therapy or just simply sitting in the salt room and putting their feet on a foot lamp, and we give them a warm blanket, and they can just kind of zen out,” Mimlitsch said.

• 1640 Highland Falls Drive, Ste. 502, Leander

The city of Cedar Park expects to complete the design and permitting process for a pedestrian bridge over South Bell Boulevard/US 183 by summer, with construction to be completed by the end of 2027. The bridge will connect Lakeline Park to the Twin Lakes Family YMCA campus.

What they're saying: “These improvements serve multiple community needs, offering residents more opportunities to enjoy nature, expanding alternative mobility options for getting around the city without a vehicle and strengthening access to Cedar Park’s and the region’s growing trail systems,” said Daniel Sousa, assistant director of communications and engagement for the city of Cedar Park. “Overall, the project supports recreation, mobility and connectivity, thereby enhancing the outdoor experience for both residents and visitors.”

Texans now have a new database to track the results of local bond propositions and tax rate elections, or TREs, in their communities and across the state.

The details: Texas’ Local Government Bond, Tax, and Project Transparency Database was unveiled after state lawmakers passed House Bill 103 this spring. The new law requires the comptroller to compile information about all bonds, tax rate elections and maintenance tax rate changes proposed by local governments in an election, including:

• Ballot language for all tax-related proposals
• How each tax measure would impact the local tax rate or debt service
• The difference between the adopted tax rate and voter-approval tax rate, if applicable
• The entity’s tax rate for the prior year and the tax rate following the election
• A list of projects funded by each tax measure
• The results of each election, including votes for and against a measure