Mayor Gina Fulkerson presents the state of the city of Wimberley at Wimberley Valley Chamber luncheon

WIMBERLEY — During a State of the City address, Wimberley Mayor Gina Fulkerson highlighted accomplishments made in the last year.

The mayor spoke on a variety of subjects at the luncheon hosted by the Wimberley Valley Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, July 19. She called attention to the Transportation Master Plan, highlighting the work done on roads like Blue Heron Run and Spoke Hollow Road.

“I want to thank our Transportation Advisory Board (TAB). They help us figure out what we can do every year to make our roads better,” Fulkerson said. “It's not something we can do all at once. We've been able to work within our means and pace it out, that's been a big help.”

Fulkerson said in the coming year, the TAB is looking at future improvements to the downtown square to help with traffic flow and safety.

“They will be going through formal training to break down roads into categories that include factors like: How bad is it? Is it unsafe? How many people cross that every day? What can we do now to address it financially within our means? So, all those factors are weighed,” Fulkerson said.

She said the TAB is also looking at making transportation improvements to the downtown square.

“When you go to the downtown square — and it's super busy — fire trucks or emergency vehicles cannot easily get in and out of the square,” Fulkerson said. “So, this has become a priority, as well as ADA modifications to make things more accessible. We're also looking at doing a project that would do repaving, drainage and striping.”

Regarding public works projects, the mayor said the new portion of the wastewater system is complete and modifications to an older lift station are done, too.

Fulkerson spoke of a sidewalk plan from RR12 in the Square (at the Cedar Chest) to Highway 3237.

“Everyone knows we need it,” Fulkerson said. “You see people walking around cars and down into ditches to avoid traffic. This would allow sidewalks and remote parking to be more feasible. It will allow greater safety and greater aid to the businesses that are not right in the square and to spread out some of our foot traffic.”

Fulkerson said the city has sought funding for the project and has moved onto phase two, but won’t know if it’ll get funding until October.

The mayor thanked Hays County Commissioner Lon Shell, as well as TxDOT, for their help with completing intersection improvements at Winter’s Mill Parkway and Hwy. 3237, and at Winter’s Mill Parkway and RR 12.

“We really want the trucks and other traffic — if you don't need to be in the Square — to be encouraged to use Winter’s Mill,” she said. “This was a great example of working together.”

Fulkerson said other county/TxDOT projects in progress include:

Intersection of 3237 and RR12 – adding turn lanes

• Construction begins this month.

• Estimated time to construct 142 working days.

Old Kyle Road Trails Project - currently in design

• Estimated design completion in spring of 2024.

Sidewalk Grant - funding approved for 2325 from high school to H-E-B

• Design is currently underway with completion expected in late 2023.

• Construction is expected to begin in late 2024.

Fulkerson said preserving the city’s historic character is a high priority and that the city hired Post Oak Preservation Solutions to help.

“We’ve been working with Post Oak Solutions to create an historical district in our downtown,” Fulkerson said. “It’s not an easy process and councils have really worked in the past to get that done.”

She said it was vital to preserve the city’s character and not forget its history.

“It’s important to not be a town where you have strip malls and everything looks like the next new thing,” Fulkerson said. “We have already paid the National Register of Historic Districts, that’s an honorary designation, which allows businesses within that district to seek tax credit. That's a great benefit that’s already there.”

She said the next process — that the city is in the middle of — is to carve out and designate a local historic district and to have very reasonable, workable guidelines that preserve the character and the city’s history.

As for the city’s financial status, the mayor said the city has more than $1 million in the general fund, which is $250,000 more than the city’s goal of $750,000.

Additionally, the city’s wastewater operating fund is at a surplus, $26,400.

Additional funds include: the Hotel Occupancy Tax Fund, $707,443; Blue Hole Operating Fund, $1.4 million; and American Rescue Plan Act, $426,666. The sales tax income is up — 5.36%.

The mayor also spoke of the Comprehensive Plan and that the city was eligible for a General Land Office grant to the tune of $300,000.

“This is money we don't have to spend out of our regular budget,” Fulkerson said to applause. “So that really helps our bottom line.”

The mayor spoke highly of the Parks and Recreation department.

“I'm very proud of our city as a whole, because working together is how we get things done,” Fulkerson said. “Thank you for making this all feel like a little bit of heaven.”