A local chapter of Texas Society Daughters of the American Revolution celebrated its 100th anniversary Dec. 14.

About the organization: The DAR is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of American history, promotion of patriotism and public education, with more than 3,000 chapters across the world, according to its website.

The Daniel Coleman chapter, named after an express courier in the American Revolutionary War, meets regularly in Georgetown. It was the first DAR chapter in Williamson County, according to county documents.

Something to note: To mark the 250th anniversary of American independence in 2026, the Daniel Coleman chapter sponsored the American Revolution Experience Traveling Exhibit, which will be hosted at the Williamson Museum until Dec. 20. It will then be spilt between the Georgetown and Round Rock public libraries from Dec. 21-Jan. 2.

Pablo Serna became Williamson County’s new architect, overseeing the planning, design and construction of county facilities, Oct. 24. Serna sat down with Community Impact to discuss his previous experience and new role.

Why were you drawn to Williamson County?
When Williamson County came up, I saw that as a good transition over to [the] more local. What was attractive to me about that position is they were working on some really large projects.

What's the role of the county architect?
A liaison between the professional teams that are hired. ... Usually it's a hybrid architect-engineering company that we hire to do a lot of these large projects.

How can county facilities both preserve history and serve modern needs?
The way I see that [is] we, even at the county level, are stewards of this history. But a lot of times ... it’s understanding that these buildings have a life beyond their original purpose and intended use.

Unlock MLS market research advisor Vaike O’Grady shared an end-of-year update on the Austin-Round Rock- Metropolitan Statistical Area's housing market, including where the MSA is seeing employment growth and projected housing trends. 

Major takeaways: According to Unlock MLS' year-to-date data on single-family homes:

• Homes spent 73 days on the market on average, nine days longer than 2024 YTD
• Total sales were down 5% from 2024 with 26,455 homes sold
• Median sale prices were down 1% from 2024 at $438,532

• Between 30,000-32,000 closed sales
• Between 10,000-12,000 active listings
• Upward of 5 months of inventory 
• Median sales prices of $410,000-$425,000

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