Cedar Park gets bond rating upgrade

From Hill Country News, February 6, 2009...

Despite financial problems elsewhere in the state and nation, things are looking good for Cedar Park, especially after getting a utility bond rating upgrade. And, it wasn't just any upgrade, it was a three-notch upgrade.

The bond rating company Standard and Poor upgraded Cedar Park from an A rating to an AA rating, skipping A+ and AA-, something that usually doesn't happen.

“Getting a rating change of three notches is very rare,” said Melanie Carr, media relations manager for Cedar Park. “An AA bond rating is only given to cities that have a strong capacity to pay interest and repay principal.”

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New Cedar Park transit plan in need of funding

From statesman, February 2, 2009...

About a decade ago, Cedar Park residents decided to try to spur development with a portion of the city's sales tax that was going to public transportation, so they voted to sever ties with Capital Metro.

The move helped lead to new businesses, jobs, a population boom that doubled the city's size to more than 52,000 residents — and eventually a demand for, well, public transportation.

Now city officials are looking for ways to pay for a proposed transit system that would shuttle residents around town during peak hours and stop at one of Capital Metro's park-and-ride lots, where they could get transit service to Austin.

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CP digging deeper into BCRUA project

From Hill Country News, January 14, 2009...

On a night when many people were in front of their televisions watching the football national championship game to see whether Florida or Oklahoma would claim bragging rights, the Cedar Park City Council was all business. The city's first council meeting of the New Year was held on Jan. 8 with a sparse crowd, but business wasn't lacking.

In a meeting that lasted a little over an hour, the BCRUA regional water pipeline took up the biggest chunk of time as the council heard about the due diligence study being performed for the project.

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Cedar Park silences noisy train horns

From News 8 Austin, December 29, 2008...

The sound of an oncoming train is all too familiar for Cedar Park resident Lacey Melchor. Her yard backs up to the railroad crossing on New Hope Drive.

"If they have the horn on, it shakes the house," Melchor said.

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Cap Metro to activate quiet zones for Metrorail

From News 8 Austin, December 28, 2008...

Capital Metro will implement its Railroad Quiet Zone mandate in Cedar Park starting January 1.
The quiet zone designation means trains will not be required to sound horns as they approach certain crossings.

Those include:
- Block House drive
- New Hope Drive
- RM 1431
- Discovery Boulevard
- Park Street
- Brushy Creek Road.

Cap Metro said it's important for anyone who lives, works or travels near these crossings to stay aware of the change. Because of lighter, quieter, and faster Metrorail trains, it can be difficult to notice them.

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Lockheed names EEStor in “body armor” patent

From Eco Friendly Mag, December 29, 2008...

A new Lockheed Martin patent published last week by the World Intellectual Property Organization gives us a glimpse of the miltary contractor’s relationship with Cedar Park, Tex.-based EEStor. It could also explain why EEStor has been reluctant so far to reveal its progress.

Lockheed’s patent details plans for “body armor having an electrical energy storage unit formed as a layer that substantially conforms to an armor plate.” According to the document, the electrical energy storage layer has “a plurality of sections.” The idea being that if one section is damaged in combat the other sections would remain operable. Two or more sections can be electrically coupled, either in parallel or series. Electrical connectors would “provide access to electrical power stored in the electrical energy storage layer.”

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Metro Rail will sneak through Cedar Park

From Austin Business Journal, December 24, 2008...

Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that its new commuter train will quietly sweep past neighborhoods in Cedar Park.

Federally-approved quiet zones are now in place at six railroad crossings in the North Austin suburb. Federal law requires that trains sound their horns at all public crossings unless a quiet zone has been established.

The quiet zones are around crossings at the following roads: Block House Drive, New Hope Drive, RM 1431, Discovery Boulevard, Park Street and Brushy Creek Road.

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Austin Steam Train Association

From Impact News, December 19, 2008...

For the last 16 years, the Austin Steam Train Association has delivered thousands of authentic passenger rail experiences to serious train buffs and novices alike. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit was chartered in 1989, but really got rolling three years later, when the first passenger train since 1937 left Cedar Park for Burnet, said Holly Doggett, executive director for ASTA.

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Cedar Park, Leander continue makeover plans for US 183

From Impact News, December 19, 2008...

For many years, US 183 was the primary passageway through Cedar Park and Leander.


Businesses sprouted up along the highway to serve the growing communities and gave many visitors their first impressions of the cities. Now, a good deal of the region’s through traffic bypasses US 183 in favor of its younger, faster cousin, Toll 183A, which opened in March 2007.


Although the older highway has problems, both aesthetic and logistical, it nonetheless remains a vital artery for the two cities, which have plans in place to remake it into an accessible, functional thoroughfare for both vehicles and pedestrians.

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Cedar Park holding public hearings on annexation

From statesman, December1, 2008...

The City of Cedar Park held the first of two public hearings Tuesday on annexing the Ranch at Cypress Creek Municipal Utility District No. 1.

There will be another public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 11 at the Cedar Park Public Library, 550 Discovery Blvd.

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Highway 183-A toll road using only electronics

From News 8 Austin, December 1, 2008...

Cash is a thing of the past if you're driving along the U.S. Highway 183-A toll road near Cedar Park.

As of Monday, drivers using the road will either need to use a TX-Tag, receive a bill in the mail.

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New information in Cedar Park bio hazard medical waste case

From KEYE, October 14, 2008...

Cedar Park police have made major progress in the case of hazardous medical waste dumped in a parking lot.

Two weeks ago a load of needles were found, left in a dumpster, in the middle of the Cedar Park Super Target shopping center near Highway 183 and RM 1431.

“We have determined that the medical waste came from more than one location. We have found a connection between those two locations and we have identified a primary suspect,” Roy Hart, an investigator with the Williamson County Environmental Crimes Unit, says.

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Who dumped medical waste, needles in Austin-area dumpster?

From KEYE, October 1, 2008...

Someone dumped mounds of used needles and medical waste in a dumpster in the middle of a Cedar Park shopping center.

Williamson County investigators say someone tossed biohazard waste into the dumpster and detectives have a lead. They say they found the name of someone they believe is a patient and they tell us that person died more than a year ago.

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Officials say syringes in Cedar Park were "personal medical waste"

From statesman, October 1, 2008...

Syringes and medical supplies that were dumped illegally in a dumpster Monday night were someone’s personal waste, Cedar Park officials said Wednesday.

The syringes, empty medicine bottles and other supplies were found around 9 p.m. Monday by a construction worker who was installing fire alarms in the shopping center on Whitestone Boulevard.

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Syringes found in Cedar Park being tested

From statesman, September 30, 2008...

Officials from the Cedar Park Police Department, Williamson County Health District and the Williamson County Environmental Enforcement Services are testing syringes found inside a trash container near a shopping center, said Jeff Hayes, a spokesman with the police department.

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Medical waste dumped in Cedar Park

From KXAN, October 1, 2008...

Hundreds of needles, syringes and medical waste were found in a construction dumpster in Cedar Park.

An office with the Cedar Park Police Department said the waste was found by a construction worker in a strip mall. "Our greatest concern is someone accidentally injuring themselves on the waste," said Capt. Jeff Hayes with the Cedar Park Police Department.

According to investigators with Williamson County Environmental Services, it looked like the waste belonged to a hospice patient and had been discarded in the dumpster.

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Williamson County Among Best Places for a Long Life

From CNN Money, September 09, 2008...

Residents of these 25 counties enjoy some of the highest life expectancies in the U.S. Williamson County is ranked 25th nationwide.

This fast-growing Austin metro area county ("Wilco" to the locals) is home to the city of Round Rock, which calls itself "The Sports Capital of Texas." And in Texas, that's really saying something. They're not talking about the major leagues, though: The boast refers to amateur and recreational sports for all ages.

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Here is the complete list...

Towns mentioned include: Brushy Creek, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Leander, & Round Rock. Click on one to see how it stacks up in Money's list of Best Places to Live - The Best Small Cities.

Texas 29 expansion to pass south of Liberty Hill

From statesman, September 4, 2008...

The route for a planned expansion of Texas 29 in the northwestern part of Williamson County will pass south of Liberty Hill, several commissioners announced Wednesday.

Expansion of the five-lane highway is part of a long-range countywide transportation plan designed to meet the needs of the rapidly growing county. The county plans to make Texas 29, which now goes through Liberty Hill, the main east-west corridor for an area where county leaders say the next wave of growth will happen. The county estimates that in the next 25 years, 60 to 65 percent of its growth will be west of Interstate 35.

The route follows the existing Texas 29 route except for the bypass around Liberty Hill and the 3,900 residents in and around the city.

Dozens of possible routes north and south of the city were considered, but Long and Commissioner Valerie Covey on Wednesday said the southern route was chosen because there are fewer residents and businesses in the area.

"With Cedar Park and Round Rock almost built out, that will push that growth north into places like Leander and Liberty Hill," said Michael Weaver of Prime Strategies Inc., which manages the county's road bond program.

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Preserving Texas wildlife

from Community Impact Newspaper

Williamson County officials are trying to balance the county's inevitable growth and protect several endangered species found west of IH 35.

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Statesman creating community newspapers in Cedar Park, Leander

From statesman, (via Cedar Park Life) August 27, 2008...

The Austin Community Newspaper group, which is owned by the Austin American-Statesman, announced Tuesday that it will launch two new weekly publications to serve readers in Cedar Park and Leander beginning
Sept. 4.

The Cedar Park Citizen and the Leander Ledger will provide residents with community-specific information involving sports, schools and local government, Statesman Associate Publisher Michael Vivio said.

"Cedar Park and Leander are two fast-growing suburbs that deserve to be served by their own community newspaper," he said.

Cedar Park is the 11th fastest growing suburb in the United States, according to Forbes magazine. Leander is the fourth fastest growing city in the state.

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