News

The Wimberley Civic Club donated a total of $50,000 to 31 area nonprofits last week and is in the process of donating $30,000 more to area seniors in the form of scholarships for continuing education.

“Our organization’s mission is to foster relationships and meet charitable needs in our community,” Wimberley Civic Club President Nancy Williams said. “We have been doing this since 1981 when we began raising money to give back to the community.”

The donations went to local nonprofits for specific needs. The Fig Tree, for example, will use the funds to help provide nutrition support for children in need in the community while the Hill Country Herb Society will use the funds to support a sensory herb garden at EmilyAnn.

Wimberley Independent School District is currently undergoing strategic planning for both academics and facilities. The discussion has brought up the long-time question about the impact of transfer students on the district.

When looking at the potential need of future school facilities, some have wondered if transfer students are driving the bus of growth. While most all of the growth in enrollment that the district has seen over the last decade has been from transfer students, Superintendent Dwain York said that has not caused the district to increase facilities. The facilities were needed anyways.

The average market value for homes in Wimberley increased 7.55 percent in the most recent valuations released by the Hays Central Appraisal District. 

The market value for homes increased from $235,082 in 2016 within the Wimberley Independent School District jurisdiction to $252,842.

“The district’s goal is to reflect market values as indicated by market sales in the Wimberley market,” David Valle, Chief Appraiser for the Hays Central Appraisal District, said. “Wimberley still has a rural ‘feel’ which can be appealing to some buyers who may be coming from urban areas.”

Appraisals went up throughout Hays County. Wimberley has the second highest average appraisal behind Dripping Springs, which the average market value home is appraised at $375,339

Steve Thurber and Allison Davis have taken seats on the Wimberley City Council along with John White, who was unopposed, and re-elected to Place 5.

There were 998 ballots cast representing 46.33 percent of eligible voters.  

For Place 1, Steve Thurber took in 590 of the 994 total votes representing 59.36 percent. Sally Trapp received 404 votes.

“It feels great,” Thurber said after the election results were announced. “It was a tremendous team effort. We had a grass roots effort, if you will, and we got the message that we wanted to get out. And that message was basically a referendum on Aqua Texas, but we also want to have fiscal responsibility, transparency and getting respectability back to city government at city hall. We need to make government work again.”

Ace Hardware has seen a lot of change in Wimberley, but that is true for anything that has been around for 45 years. 

John Kingrey first opened up what would eventually become Wimberley Ace on May 14, 1972 and it officially became Ace Hardware in 1977. 

Since then, Ace has seen Wimberley through the thick and thin, and Wimberley has seen Ace go through its own perils. 

On February 22, 2013, the 60-year-old building burned to the ground.

“It was eye opening,” Christy Degenhart, who owns the store with her husband Tad, said. “We truly saw how much this town loves the store and our employees.”

It wasn’t too much of a surprise, as the community had long held the local hardware store in high regard. That is what happens when a business focuses on supporting local non-profits and youth groups as strongly as Wimberley Ace does.

Steve Thurber and Allison Davis have taken seats on the Wimberley City Council in a sweep.

Around 1,000 people voted in the election representing around 45 percent of eligible voters.  

For Place 1, Steve Thurber took in 590 of the 994 total votes representing 59.3 percent. Sally Trapp received 404 votes.

For Place 3, Allison Davis received 609 votes representing 61.2 percent of the 995 votes. Larry Catt received 386 votes.

John White, who ran unopposed for place 5, was also re-elected to his seat.

For a full story see the Thursday, May 11 copy of the Wimberley View.

Voting tallies as of Saturday, May 6 are unofficial until the election has been canvassed. The council is expected to accept the official results of the election on Friday, May 12.

The bids for the Central Wimberley Wastewater Treatment Plant and Collection system have come in higher than anticipated.

“It is not an automatic default to Aqua Texas,” Wimberley Mayor Mac McCullough said. “There is a host of options we have to explore. We are nowhere near out of options… I’m optimistic we can get this going. I would urge the public to be patient. I feel like we are definitely going to get this solved. We’ve just got to regroup and make it work and that is what we are going to do.”

The proposed plant was broken down into two separate projects with each having alternate options for potential features like purple pipe.

The new floodplain maps presented by the Federal Emergency Management Agency are daunting for many of the homes along the Blanco River and Cypress Creek. 

That may not be surprising after the Memorial Weekend Flood of 2015, but nevertheless, it has the potential to impact dozens if not more than a hundred property owners in the Wimberley Valley. 

The currently base flood elevation has been in affect for many years. From the top of Wimberley Valley to bottom, the elevations have increased from as low as a foot to more than 11 feet. This means that many homes in the valley that weren’t in the floodplain previously now are.

Allison Davis is running for Place 3 on the Wimberley City Council against Larry Catt. She has lived in Wimberley for about two years. Davis is a therapist and licensed professional counselor. She has a Masters of Science in Counseling and Development and a Master of Arts in Women’s Study. She is working on her PhD focusing on trauma in girls who are incarcerated in Texas. Davis began her practice in Wimberley and San Marcos in 2015 after working for the Hays Caldwell Women’s Center. She volunteers for multiple wellness initiatives in the area.

What is your opinion on the sewer system options?

Larry Catt is running for Place 3 on the Wimberley City Council against Allison Davis. He has lived in Wimberley for around 40 years. Catt is a general contractor and insurance adjuster, and he has previously been on the Board of Directors of the Hill Country Recreation Association, the Wimberley Soccer Association and been the president of the Wimberley High School Athletic Booster Club as well as coaching 20 youth sports teams in the area. He was also the area chairman for Ducks Unlimited. 

What is your opinion on the sewer system options?