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The potential of conserving a portion of El Rancho Cima, a former boy scout ranch, for public use was discussed by Hays County this week.
On Tuesday morning the Hays County Commissioners Court heard more information about the ranch, located on Farm-to-Market Road 32 on the outskirts of Wimberley.
The 2,382-acre ranch was owned by the boy scouts for over 60 years but was sold about six months ago by a group that has divided the property into 250-500-acre tracts, according to Pct. 3. Commissioner Lon Shell.
“The main tract that we're going to talk about today has the river through that tract, it’s almost a mile of Blanco River frontage, two sides of the river, not much on the north side, most of it’s on the south side,” Shell said. “It’s 533 acres, it has some of the boy scout infrastructure, there are some buildings.”
Shell said he has been working with the Nature Conservancy for potential partnership opportunities.
“We thought that of all the properties in Hays County this would be one that was worth some effort to see if there was some way for it to be conserved,” Shell said.
The tract would be used in the summer season for river recreation during the months of May-September. However, staff said the main function of the area would be for habitat preservation, which means trails in the area would be closed during the Golden-cheeked Warbler’s mating season during March-August.
Pct. 1 Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe said she believes the ranch is a great opportunity for the county to preserve land that it has worked on in the past, and expressed concern with the $10 per visitor charge staff mentioned as a potential cost for entrance to the park area.
“I think that it’s important for us to look into and work with some partners to see if we can acquire this, but I also believe that it’s important and I certainly fully support having a very low or no charge to our county residents,” Ingalsbe said. “Because in the end it’s really our residents, our citizens, that ultimately pay for this and so I do agree that we need to look closely at that.”
County Judge Ruben Becerra agreed that a $10 entrance fee could be high for many families in Hays County. Though he expressed support for the idea, Becerra also said the county should avoid making the project seem less than transparent.
“I don't want anything we do for this amazing project to look bad, to look wrong and so I just want to go above and beyond to make sure we do everything right and we don’t self-sabotage, that’s my biggest hope,” Becerra said.
In other business, commissioners voted to accept a $62,304 grant from the Office of the Governor Criminal Justice Division for a Hays County Mental Health Crisis Intervention project.
According to Hays County Grant Writer Efren Chavez, the grant program will provide funding for a certified mental health professional position for the Sheriff’s Office that would assess and treat those in the field who are in immediate crisis and will be a collaborative effort with the Scheib Center (Hill Country MHDD).
“This position will be based under the Sheriff's Office and will help assist mental health officers with assessing individuals on the spot,” Chavez said.
The court also voted to adopt a proclamation recognizing the 90th birthday of the Moon-McGehee Chapters of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. Likewise, the court voted to adopt a proclamation declaring Oct. 19 as White Cane Day.
