A question for All candidates.

I envision a Lago Vista where many of the projects and community efforts already underway have reached full potential. Tessera is nearing completion, with its promised private amenities delivered, proper PID disclosures in place, and residents having received appropriate resolutions from the developer for past issues. Our airport has a newly resurfaced runway and continues to serve as a thriving community asset. The golf course is profitable, its fairways and greens are thriving thanks to a reliable irrigation system, and its profits are being reinvested into continued improvements for the golfing community. The wedding venue; Laiken on Lake Travis, has helped bring tourism to our community, benefiting restaurants, grocery stores, and short term rental owners. The hotel on Boggy Ford is progressing toward construction. Keep Lago Vista Beautiful (KLVB) continues enhancing our parks with art and landscaping. The Lions Club has grown to 300 members, contributing more volunteer hours and charitable donations than ever before... and somehow, their hot dogs have gotten even better! Our library continues to inspire young minds and provide an outlet for those that love to read and learn. Code Compliance is producing measurable results. Abandoned buildings and properties presenting health and safety hazards are being addressed, with the Building and Standards Commission empowered to fulfill its responsibilities. And most importantly, our utility infrastructure is on a sustainable path, our finances are responsibly managed, and we have stable leadership at City Hall. My vision isn't built around City Council taking credit for anything. It's about creating an environment where local businesses, volunteers, community organizations, residents, and city leadership can all succeed. So many people and organizations are already doing great things for Lago Vista. In five years, I hope we can look back and see what we accomplished by working together for the common good of our community.

Written by the candidate

In five years, I want Lago Vista to remain a beautiful community where people can afford to live, families feel confident putting down roots, and local businesses can succeed. I want us to preserve the beauty, charm, and sense of community that brought people here while making everyday life better. I want taxpayers to know essential services come first. That means dependable water and wastewater service, safer and well maintained roads, reliable drainage, strong public safety, and emergency plans residents understand. The City’s infrastructure plans should be kept current and turned into a clear schedule for regular maintenance, needed improvements, and responsible funding, with priorities residents can follow. Major spending decisions should consider both the initial cost and what something will cost to operate and maintain over time. Residents should be able to see where their money goes, what it accomplishes, what projects are coming, and why one project takes priority over another. Growth should fit our infrastructure capacity and be consistent with our zoning, long range plans, and neighborhood character. Any proposed changes should be considered carefully and transparently. New development should respect neighboring property owners and contribute its fair share toward the demands it creates. Traffic, drainage, and the effect on surrounding neighborhoods should be taken seriously. When appropriate, neighborhood meetings should be encouraged so residents have a meaningful opportunity to raise concerns while changes can still be made. I also want us to invest in more reasons to spend our time and money here, including restaurants, shops, professional services, and places where families and friends can gather. I want children of every age to have safe, welcoming places where they can spend time with friends, participate in activities, and feel connected to their community. We should support existing businesses, welcome businesses that meet community needs, and take good care of our parks, recreational spaces, and library. At City Hall, I want stable, professional leadership and a culture of public service with accountability. Residents should receive timely responses, clear explanations, and complete information before major decisions are made. Staff should have the tools, support, and clear expectations needed to provide dependable service. Over those five years, residents should be able to track our progress, including which projects were completed, what they cost, what remains unfinished, and when completion is expected. That would give everyone a practical way to judge the City’s performance. My vision is a Lago Vista with reliable services, sound finances, thriving local businesses, and neighborhoods whose character and quality of life have been respected. It is a community that has planned carefully for its future, protected its natural beauty and charm, and taken good care of the people who call it home.

Five years from now, I think Lago Vista will still be in the middle of one of the biggest transitions in our history. The realistic side of me knows much of that work will be water and wastewater. We have aging infrastructure and significant projects ahead of us. Our master plans give us a roadmap, but simply taking every project on that list and figuring out how to send the bill to our residents isn't a financial plan. We have to determine what we truly need, when we need it, what newer technologies may change those needs, and then aggressively pursue grants, lowinterest financing and other opportunities to make those projects affordable. My hope is that five years from now we can look back and say we did that well, that our water and wastewater systems are well on their way to exceptional working order, we're using newer technologies where they make sense, and we have a credible longterm funding plan that our residents can actually afford. But that's only the foundation. What I'm really excited about is what life in Lago Vista could look like on top of it. I can imagine opening our City's financial and community dashboard and seeing, in plain language, how Lago Vista is doing, our finances, infrastructure projects and community priorities, and residents being able to offer ideas and participate along the way. I can imagine our residents and community organizations having come together to bring the potential of our new Economic Development Corporation to life. Through partnerships, private investment and thoughtful public investment, maybe our quaint, very local Dawn Drive has become an even stronger hometown destination and a vibrant, walkable Bronco Lane is ready to break ground. Those are visions today, not promises, but they're examples of what becomes possible when we plan together and use the tools we now have. The energy and spark coming from the members of our EDC, along with community members, have amazing projects in the works already. Now we just need to give those projects a chance. Our city will be amazed. And through all of that, I still want Lago Vista to feel like Lago Vista. I see our library bustling with children and families, softball tournaments happening at an expanded Sunset Park, and neighbors still knowing, and helping, their neighbors. I see our arts community thriving, with groups like the Hill Country Singers, Lago Vista Players and our local artists becoming an even bigger part of our community identity and something visitors come here to experience. I see our Fourth of July celebration and the Regatta better than ever, bringing residents and visitors together and supporting our local businesses at the same time. Those things matter. A city's success isn't measured only by its balance sheet, miles of pipe or number of building permits. It's also measured by whether people enjoy living there, whether families want to stay, whether local businesses can thrive, and whether we've held onto the sense of community that made people choose Lago Vista in the first place. Technology will change. Transportation will change. Lago Vista will change with it. My vision isn't to stop that change. It's to look far enough ahead that we can shape what comes next, protecting what we love about Lago Vista while building a city that works even better for the people who call it home.

Between Johnstown and point venture. Jk, hopefully we have some actual workflows in place so that staff isn’t burdened with winging it at every reactive panicked response. I know I’ll do my part to help find some of these operating procedures for development services and general city communication between departments. If we can get our standard operations streamlined, we can begin focusing on the creative solutions we will need to rise above our infrastructure issues. I look forward to proactive practices rather than reductive reactions.

Written by the candidate