Commissioners recognize Hill Country night sky

Tuesday's Hays County Commissioners Court meeting began with a proclamation that declared the month of October as Hill Country Night Sky Month in Hays County. 

Along with reminding residents of the importance of preserving the region’s night skies, the proclamation brings awareness to light pollution in the Texas Hill Country sky and encourages residents to use outdoor lighting only when necessary. 

“This summer, half a mile off the center of Wimberley,  we can see the Milky Way and it's really a rare gift,” said Greg Webb of the Wimberley Sky Committee. “With the growth we know we’re not going to be able to keep but we’re going to try as long as we can and we couldn’t do it without the support of the elected officials.” 

A proclamation was also declared to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day as a day to honor this enduring community of citizens in Hays County. 

A letter was read on behalf of the Indigenous Cultures Institute after the proclamation,  “On Indigenous Peoples Day and every day, count on the Indigenous community to do our part so that Hays County survives and thrives as a growing hub of innovation, prosperity and service for all citizens.” 

The final proclamation recognized October 2021 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Hays County. 

“Obviously it's one of those issues that it’s very difficult to talk about but very much needed in this community,'' said Melissa Rodriguez, Executive Director of the Hays Caldwell Women’s Center. 

Rodriguez gave updates regarding the transitional housing program through the women’s center. 

“We’re months away from opening, completion of construction hopefully will be by the end of this year, and by spring we’ll be operational,” Rodriguez said. 

During the meeting, the commissioners had a discussion surrounding the funding for the centralized regional animal shelter in Hays County. 

“I’m sincerely most interested in keeping this moving,” Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra said. 

The court ultimately agreed to move forward by requesting a request for quote (RFQ) as well as eventually reaching out to other areas in Hays County,  including Wimberley, Dripping Springs, Buda and Kyle to discuss their participation in the process. 

The conversation regarding redistricting continued as Hays County General Council Mark Kennedy gave updates from the first Redistricting Advisory Commission (RAC) meeting. 

“We do have another work session coming up tomorrow evening where we are working on establishing a web portal on the county’s website for a number of things and I wanted to be sure that the court was informed of the content of that, of that subpage,” Kennedy said. 

The subpage will allow those interested to livestream RAC work sessions and submit public comments via email. Since there is no definite timeline, work sessions will continue until there are more developed map proposals and will later be presented during community meetings. 

As the meeting continued, the court approved the acceptance of a $2,915 grant award from the Office of the Attorney General to the Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Division for the investigations of Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program. 

The commissioners also went on to approve the submission of a grant application and execution of resolution to the Texas Indigent Defense Commission (TIDC) to assist with the costs of the Fair Defense Act and improve the indigent defense system. 

Authorization to execute a $2 million Letter of Agreement between Hays County and CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital was approved by the court. Funding from the agreement will go towards payments to CHRISTUS to provide indigent health care through the 1115 waiver and the Indigent Program at the Live Oak Community Clinic.