Commissioners look for ways to share costs of growth
As growth continues in Hays County at a rapid rate, officials are dramatically aware of the costs increasing that are related to the need for roadway and other infrastructure changes and improvements.
During the regular meeting of the Hays County Commissioners Court on Tuesday, the court considered a resolution calling for Hays County to “take advantage” of a local government code created by the Texas Legislature in 2019. That legislation allows counties to seek an apportionment of county infrastructure costs from those coming here for development projects that may require upgrades in roads or other county needs directly related to these new structures.
According to information presented during the meeting, the statute “allows the counties to cost share with developers,” what previously might be born on the shoulders of the county and taxpayers alone.
This resolution, according to the court, has the potential to get the county moving in a direction that is similar as to how Travis County implemented aspects of the statute to keep costs down associated with new development. The resolution further stated, “utilizing the statute could benefit Hays County and its citizens by allowing developers to share in costs” that in the past were county responsibilities.
Commissioner Walt Smith spoke following the reading of the resolution and said that currently, when a developer comes in and impacts a roadway, for example, that the county “has no ability to require those individuals who have that project,” to make the improvements on their own dollar. He added that if developers are in the city limits, the city “could definitely charge them for that.”
They said, in light of the tremendous growth taking place in the county, moving from the resolution to the drafting of an ordinance that provides the county authority in this matter, is the next step, to protect taxpayer resources.
Travis County, the only county in the state with a structure in place for this, uses traffic impact analysis as part of its methodology for determining when and if to request cost sharing from developers, beginning with the 1,000 car trips a day threshold to consider that infrastructure is affected, officials said. For the county, a future ordinance might require developers to be ready to pay 20% of the cost of changes and improvements connected to their projects.
Becerra asked for clarification, noting that the county has worked with developers of an area subdivision, for example, and has a fee structure with them that is based on a per lot fee that can be applied to the establishment of new traffic signals.
Issues including flooding, the flood plain and septic systems could be impacted where they affect roadways in the county.
Smith said the resolution at least allows the county the opportunity to assess what costs look like and how development may impact an area, saying “growth should pay for growth.”
The court agreed to consider further action on this issue for a later time. In
other action, the court moved to acknowledge the presence of a potentially major health risk affecting all of Texas. In the last few years, the only disease getting the public’s attention in Hays County was COVID-19, but another disease, tuberculosis, impacts area residents as well.
During the regular meeting Tuesday, the commissioners and Judge Ruben Becerra unanimously approved proclaiming March 24 in the county as World TB Day.
According to information presented in the county proclamation, one quarter of the world’s population is affected by tuberculosis. Until 2021, TB was the leading cause of death from an infectious disease in the United States, and is now only second to COVID. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describe TB on its website as a “bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but TB bacteria can attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain.” The CDC cautions that just because someone is infected does not mean they will become ill. For this reason, the CDC acknowledges that “two TB-related conditions exist: latent TB infection (LTBI) and TB disease.” For those not properly treated for the disease, TB can be fatal. Hays County, just as other counties across the Southern U.S. are witnessing increasing concerns and higher rates for cases.
The proclamation notes that the U.S. has seen a rise in TB cases as of 2021, and in Texas, based on the most recent data, there is a reported increase of 9.4% from 2020, with 44 cases in Travis County and 12 in Williamson County. Texas is second only to California in the number of reported cases.
What is of greater concern is that the disease is becoming more multidrug resistant and remains highly contagious. Before modern drugs went after TB, there were sanitariums and treatment centers across the country.
These factors are a reason that the Hays County Local Health Department is calling on the county and others to be aware of the threat of the disease risk here and throughout the state. Amy Wolf, the communicable disease coordinator for the county, was present during the reading of the proclamation.
She presented the most recent data available for Hays County. For 2022, there were 30 latent TB cases and 10 immigration cases were sent to the county by the CDC. In addition, there were 34 referrals sent to her office. She said seven individuals refused treatment. Overall, Wolf said, the case load was low in the county.
That is why it is important to treat as many latent cases. Unfortunately, she said, there is a huge delay in identifying TB as a case. She said it is entirely possible that someone who is infected could be walking in the community and potentially spreading this disease.
For 2023, she cited that 11 latent cases were treated and 10 were ruled out. “We are busy,” she explained, as the numbers for the county continue to grow.
“We appreciate the support, not only from the county, from the state, and from the federal government, who allows us to give the medications for free,” Wolf said.
