San Marcos OKs $1.68M land buy near airport to boost development
San Marcos City Council approved a contract with the Department of Labor to purchase approximately 170 acres of land at 2800 Airport Hwy. 21 and 1285 William Pettus Road, next to the San Marcos Regional Airport, for $1.68 million at a meeting Aug. 5. Funding was identified in 2023 from the 10-year Capital Improvements Plan in anticipation of this offer.
In a nutshell: The long-term goal is to support larger aircraft, attract new businesses and preserve the airport buffer zone, according to city documents.
What’s next: City officials submitted the contract to the DOL and paid a 10% deposit of $163,300 in early August. The remaining $1.52 million will be due within 30 days of the federal government accepting the offer. From receipt of the application, the DOL has 180 days to decide, according to Baker.
Kyle voters to decide mayor, city council seats in Nov. 4 election
Kyle voters have a chance to decide the city's next mayor and three city council seats in the November elections.
The details: In July, Kyle Mayor Travis Mitchell announced he will resign in November—one year before his term ends. The following candidates are running to replace him and finish his term:
Robert Rizo, current Place 2 council member
Gabriel Duran
Council Place 1 is currently held by Bear Heiser, who also serves as mayor pro tem. He will run against the following challengers for Place 1:
Courtney Goza
Ellen Ermis
Kyle LeVell
Council Place 2 is also on the ballot as Rizo is running for mayor. Place 2 candidates include:
Melisa Medina
Paul Hill
Council Place 3 is currently held by Miguel Zuniga, who will run against Claudia Zapata.
Inaugural State of Healthcare Workforce Forum highlights local concerns around shortage, talent pools
Higher education costs, a booming population and aging workforce are all challenges identified by health care executives at the state and local level in a first-time health care forum held at Austin PBS in August.
The setup: Hosted by Workforce Solutions Capital Area, Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area and the Central Texas Healthcare Partnership, with support from the St. David's Foundation, the State of Healthcare Workforce Forum brought experts from the state and regional level to discuss challenges impacting the health care industry and its workforce Aug. 26.
