Founded by Dripping Springs native Lisa Hargraves and her husband, Gary, the company is committed to delivering dependable, high-quality service, while giving back to the community they call home.

The Clean Home Crew has been honored as Best of Dripping Springs for Housekeeping in 2025 and 2026 and Best of Dripping Springs for Commercial Cleaning in 2026. As the only cleaning company that is a member of the Dripping Springs Chamber of Commerce, the team is proud to support local businesses and help strengthen the community where Lisa grew up, stated a news release.

The company offers residential and commercial cleaning, Airbnb and short-term rental turnovers, post-construction cleaning, move-in and move-out cleaning, deep cleaning, recurring cleaning, power washing, junk haul-offs and light handyman and maintenance services throughout Central Texas. Clients appreciate the same trusted cleaners, fully insured service, supplies included with eco-friendly options available, upfront pricing, easy online scheduling, and same-day or last-minute availability whenever possible, the release continued.

Learn more by visiting www.TheCleanHomeCrew.com or calling/texting 512-994-5631.

The city is required to set a maximum tax rate — which will be voted on at a later date — to be levied against properties within the city limits.

The tax rate is the sum of two components. The maintenance and operations (M&O) allows for taxing units to spend property tax revenues for any lawful purpose other than debt services and the debt service, or interest and sinking (I&S), is used to pay the principal of and interest on debts or other payments required by contract to secure the debts, according to deputy city administrator Shawn Cox.

“[The] proposed rate is basically what it means for our maintenance and operation, [which] is exactly that: what it takes to maintain and operate the city,” Cox explained. “The debt service, or interest and sinking, rate is what we can assess on the properties to specifically pay off the debt that we issued.”

For fiscal year (FY) 2027, the total indebtedness to be paid by property taxes is $1,044,492.28, which includes $487,922 for Series 2024 — expected to be paid off in FY 2030 — and $556,570.28 for Series 2025, Cox said.

FY 2026 was the first time that the city of Dripping Springs included I&S into its tax rate. The comparable history of previous tax rates include the following:

•  FY 2022: $0.1900

•   FY 2023: $0.1900

•   FY 2024: $0.1778

•   FY 2025: $0.1718

•   FY 2026: $0.2267 — including $0.1850 M&O and $0.0417 I&S

According to numbers provided by the tax assessor-collector’s office, the city’s M&O rate can be around $0.22 and, with the debt service on top of that, the city could issue a total rate of $0.2729.

“It is an increase from where we are now,” the deputy city administrator said.

Every cent accounts for approximately $226,480, Cox explained; therefore, setting the proposed rate at $0.2729 would increase the revenue that the city receives from $5,134,424 with the current rate to $6,181,988.

Cox recommended setting the proposed rate at the highest number possible. While it does not mean that council has to adopt the rate when that time comes, it just can’t elect to do higher than that: “Even if we wanted to, we'd have an election that we wouldn't want to deal with, but if we published for lower and wanted to adopt higher, we would have to go with the lower rate. So, the inclusion of the higher rate in the notifications is just not to limit council in what decisions they might like to make in the future based on discussions in budgeting,” he emphasized.

Based on the proposed overall tax rate for 2027, compared to 2026, it’s just over a 20% tax increase, but 90% of that 20% is M&O, explained council member Ana Grace Husted, leaving her to question why the city’s operations have increased that much.

While the city’s appraised value went up, the adjusted value based on calculations dropped, Cox clarified. He further explained that “this was the first time they had included our debt on it, as well, because last year, we didn’t have any property tax that was [going] toward debt.”

“Those contributing factors are what helped or what allowed that voter-approval rate. All of our rates came in at around $0.27, so that’s what drove those up was the changes in our assessed values and the tax rate that we were paying our debt off of,” he said.

Council ultimately approved setting the total proposed tax rate of $0.2729 per $100 valuation, which includes $0.2268 M&O and $0.0461 I&S. However, the tax rate will still need to be officially adopted by council.

A public hearing on the tax rate is currently scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1.

From the very beginning, the business has been built on relationships. Friends, family, loyal customers, local schools, businesses and organizations believed in it long before there was a storefront, according to a news release.

“Through word of mouth, repeat customers and incredible community support, we've been able to grow into a space where creativity and personalization come together,” stated Walker. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who has helped make this dream a reality.”

Drip Swag Shop offers a unique mix of boutique gifts, local spirit wear, custom apparel, embroidery, hats, bags and personalized products. Whether shopping for game day, looking for the perfect gift or creating something custom for the family, business or team, its goal is to provide high-quality products with exceptional customer service. More than anything, the shop is geared to be a place that reflects the spirit of Dripping Springs — a community that values supporting local businesses and celebrating one another.

“We are honored to be a part of the Dripping Springs Chamber of Commerce and appreciate the warm welcome from the chamber and the community during our ribbon cutting celebration. Thank you to everyone who has supported us throughout this journey,” Walker said. “We look forward to continuing to serve our neighbors, building lasting relationships and being a small part of what makes Dripping Springs such a special place to call home.”

Drip Swag Shop is located at 11601 US 290, Suite B106, Austin.

Series 2013

Series 2013 is more of a private placement debt that the city of Dripping Springs took out, utilizing Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) funds for the payoff of the Dripping Springs Ranch Park addition, explained deputy city administrator Shawn Cox.

The city is projecting Series 2013 to end fiscal year (FY) 2026 with $202,353 in revenue and $90,375 in expenditures and then, the proposed numbers for FY 2027 are $203,506 in revenue and $92,055 in expenditures.

The initial debt was for approximately $1 million and is anticipated to be paid off in September of FY 2028, Cox said.

Series 2015

The initial debt for Series 2015 — wastewater impact fees — was $7,410,000 and was paid off in June 2026: “I was very happy to pay that one off, as we were getting a third one coming up,” Cox said.

Series 2019

Series 2019 was a Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) grant for $23,500,000 — with a rate of 0.3516% — that the city is paying through impact fees.

The series is projected to end FY 2026 with $2,222,999 in revenues and $1,073,553 in expenditures. Proposed numbers for FY 2027 include $2,193,799 in revenues and $1,103,553, according to Cox’s presentation.

“It is callable in 2040, so we'll be going back through the arbitrage with that in the next few years to see if there's any savings we can have on that, but it is the first big one that we had from the water development board,” the deputy city administrator said.

Series 2022

The second large grant from TWDB was issued in 2022 for $19,895,000 and is expected to close out in September 2042. The grant’s rate is 1.8137426%.

According to the presentation, similar to 2019, the city is projected to end FY 2026 with $2,222,999 in revenues and $1,073,553 in expenditures. Proposed numbers for FY 2027 include $2,193,799 in revenues and $1,103,553.

Series 2024 and 2025

Debt service for series 2024 and 2025 are tax-funded, Cox explained.

So, for series 2024, that is for the purchase of the Pedernales Electric Cooperative building and the property located behind it. The issuance amount for the property acquisition was $2,500,000 at a 4.44% rate; the expected close out is September 2030.

“We debt-funded the back portion [and] we cash-funded the front so that we could utilize our ad valorem to pay that off,” Cox said.

Series 2025 is for the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone projects, such as the Stephenson Building and parking, Old Fitzhugh Road, maintenance facility, street improvements, etc. That is issued at $13,345,000 with a 1.8137426% rate and close out date of September 2043 and is callable in 2034.

Council will meet next at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18.

The pair are entrepreneurs and business owners in Austin, with Sarah working in events and hospitality and Dallas being a director of operations. After living in Dripping Springs for three years, they were looking for a chance to open their own company in the city when Oakwood Public Market, a venue they visited often, announced its closure at the beginning of July.

They reached out to the owners to bid on the project, won and received the keys last week, said Sarah.

“There’s a coffee shop in it that we would stop at in the morning, after we dropped the kids off at school. They had a market that we could get our essentials and buy milk and grab wine on our way home for the evening and then, there was a soda shop, [where] the kids could get ice cream and milkshakes. Then, obviously, a bar and restaurant where we frequented to let the kids run around and play and look out over the hill country,” said Dallas. “We were here all the time for multiple different reasons and that’s why it just spoke to us.”

The 10-year lease on the building will keep the structure, name and concept the same, but with added additions the new owners hope will serve as a one-stop shop for families.

Sarah explained that with Wildwood Elementary School that recently opened up in the Headwaters subdivision last year, a space for children to have fun at was needed. So, an arcade will be added to the building.

Returning to Oakwood will be a menu featuring American and Southern Tex-Mex dishes created by chef Charles Dowd, who previously ran kitchens at North Italia, Haymaker and Black Sheep Lodge, said Dallas.

“We [also] have plans in the coffee shop on Friday and Saturday night to stay open late and make it a little bit more moody and then, that offers our chef the opportunity to explore even further on what he can do with a supper club, while we make craft cocktails and do draft beer and just have a place that’s 21 and up out here because that’s kind of lacking,” he continued, adding that this can be a date night for couples in the area.

Sarah and Dallas shared that they hope families can visit together and find something for everyone — additional televisions and drinks for dad, nice wine and food for mom and an arcade for the kids.

Although the previous vendors will not be staying in Oakwood, there will be an opportunity to have feature shelves for local business owners to sell their products in the future.

There is currently not a set date for opening, Sarah said, but the coffee shop is aiming to begin services at the end of the month, with the other amenities coming in September.

“We live here in Headwaters, so we are part of the community and we really just want to make this a place where families can gather and … the community can make memories. The best part is we’re one of them, as well,” said Sarah. “We’re not these outsider people trying to run a business in a place that we don’t know and love and that’s why we want to take on this project because our roots are here and we’re not leaving anytime soon. So, we want to grow with the community.”

To learn more, visit www.exploreoakwood.com.

The team competed at the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) National Championship in July in Columbus, Ohio, taking part in 11 disciplines over six days, including pistol, revolver, rifle and pistol caliber carbine (PCC) events.

The team — which included the following students from DSISD — brought home 49 topthree finishes, highlighted by 13 individual national titles and four team national championships.

Dripping Springs Middle School

• Addison Gray

Sycamore Springs Middle School • Riley Cook

Dripping Springs High School • Westley Alison

• Shawn Aylstock

• Colin Beckley

• Andrew Cerna

• Thomas Cook

• Niklas Egli

• Brenden Filler

• Brayden Gray

• Quin Hollingshead

• Maddie Johanningsmeier

• Ashton Johnsey

• Trevor LeBas

• Collin McAfee

• Reid McAfee

• Paisley Rosas

• Xavier Sanchez

• Jacob Steffen

• Landon Treague

• Vaughn Vincent

Three finalists were selected in each of eight award categories, with winners to be announced during the celebration.

According to a news release, unlike many award programs, the WOW Celebration was created with one guiding belief: every woman is already worthy. While awards will recognize a few outstanding women, the heart of the event is celebrating the countless women who strengthen the community every day through their leadership, compassion, courage, generosity and service.

To ensure an impartial selection process, finalists were chosen by an independent committee of women from outside Texas. Each judge has navigated significant life transitions, discovered her own strength through personal growth and understands firsthand what it means to be a Woman of Worth, the release explained.

Their reactions to the nominations reflected both the quality of the nominees and the spirit of the Dripping Springs community.

"Scoring these nominations was one of the most difficult and most rewarding things I've had the opportunity to do."

"The stories of all these incredible women were absolutely wonderful to read. Everyone is an inspiration. I just want to wrap each and every one of them up in a hug and tell them how amazing they all are."

"There are a lot of amazing women in Dripping Springs."

"Wow, that was tough. Lots of wonderful, deserving women. It really sounds like a great place to live and work with all this entrepreneurial spirit and wonderful causes."

One judge perhaps summed it up best:

"The women of Dripping Springs are truly Women of Worth. They are also Women Quite Wonderful. From the many, many nominees to the women who nominated them, this endeavor shines a light so bright that it illuminates not only the present of Dripping Springs, but the history and future, as well. What tremendous role models. What tremendous champions. What tremendous movers and shakers and difference-makers."

The judges also expressed gratitude to every woman whose story was shared.

"Thank you to each and every nominee for all that you bring to your community and beyond through your action, compassion and grace. Thank you to every single nominator for shining the light on so many tremendous women in your community."

The WOW Celebration is more than an awards luncheon, the release stated. It is a community-wide celebration of the women who lead, serve, create, mentor, encourage and quietly make a difference every day. Set for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27, the WOW Celebration will take the stage at the Canyonwood Ridge event venue, honoring the women who lead, lift and shape this community in ways both visible and unseen. Guests will enjoy an afternoon of inspiration, connection, music and celebration before the winners are announced.

The community is invited to attend, cheer on the finalists and celebrate the women who make Dripping Springs such an extraordinary place to live, according to the release. Whether they are nominated or not, the entire event is centered upon the premise that all women are worthy and the awards are just one small part of the entire celebration, designed to celebrate all who attend.

"The judges didn't just choose 24 finalists. They discovered what many of us already know, that Dripping Springs is filled with extraordinary women who lift others, lead with heart and make this community stronger every single day. I hope everyone who attends leaves inspired, not just by the women on stage, but by the reminder that we all have the power to make a difference," said Lisa Sullivan, Women of Worth founder. “"My greatest hope is that every woman who walks through the doors, whether she's a finalist, a nominee or a guest, leaves believing one simple truth: I am a Woman of Worth."

Tickets are available at www.happinesselement.com/event-details/wow-tickets

For questions or more information, contact The Happiness Element, at Info@happinesselement.com.

2026 Women of Worth (WOW) Celebration Finalists

Community Impact Award

• Kerri Register

• Nel Rossouw – The Rescue House

• Chrystal Smith – Foster Village

Connector Award

• Lynn Bridge – Glenncliff Art Studio, Keller Williams Realtor, President of Dripping Area Democrats

• Susan Kimball – DS Chamber of Commerce

• Dana Mihaly – Marsh & Mihaly Marketing Group LLC

Girl Boss Energy Award

• Brianna Leake – Premiere Dance Center

• Kathy Rapp – Home by Red Door

• Meredith Kapchinski – Fortis Therapy Center

Heart of Dripping Springs Award

• Hope Boatright – Lupine Land Services, Pure Luck Farms

• Jennifer Neill – Hill Country Rescue & Recovery

• Liz Kryznefski – Springs Family YMCA

Leadership Legacy Award

• Catherine Flores – Wildwood Springs Elementary PTA

• Michelle Fischer – City of Dripping Springs

• Michelle Wendt – Indigo Healing Acupuncture & Massage

Rising Star Award

• Ana Husted – Associated Builders and Contractors of Texas

• Leslie Walter

• Valerie Hemming – Salt & Light

Trailblazer Award

• Marianne Simmons – Onion Creek Farm

• Michelle Lewis – Mallett and Michelle Podcast, Mallett Integrity Team

• Silvana Pimentel – AI Your Superpower

Adorable Badass Award

• Andria Brannon

• Anne Brown – Head to Toe Dance

• Lisa Hargraves – The Clean Home Crew & Project Connect

For descriptions of each category, go to www.happinesselement.com/about-wow-awards.

Co-founded by Johns Hopkins-trained plastic surgeon Dr. Anil Kashyap and his wife, COO Kristina Kashyap, Rêve was created to offer a concierge experience that prioritizes quality over quantity through longer consultations, surgeon-led follow-up care and a deliberately low-volume surgical schedule, according to a news release. The celebration recognizes the practice's commitment to bringing a new standard of aesthetic and reconstructive care to the Texas Hill Country, while welcoming the local community.

Rêve specializes in facial rejuvenation, breast surgery, body contouring and post-pregnancy procedures, in addition to a full range of non-surgical aesthetic treatments led by experienced nurse injector Ramzy Kirsch, BSN, RN. While Anil Kashyap oversees every consultation, surgery and follow-up appointment, Kristina Kashyap leads the patient experience, ensuring every touchpoint reflects the practice's concierge philosophy.

From private check-in and consultation spaces to optional black car transportation, in-home postoperative visits and customized recovery support, every detail is designed to provide discreet, highly personalized care.

The practice is located at 1055 Kibo Ridge, Suite 105, Dripping Springs. Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

To learn more or schedule a consultation, visit reveplasticsurgery.com, call (512) 649-9466 or follow @reveplasticsurgery on Instagram.

DSCL started in 1986 as the “brainchild” of local Charlotte Rhodes, who worked with the superintendent of the local school district at the time, according to Laird. She wanted to create a space where members of the community could come and check out books — something that did not exist in Dripping Springs.

The 501(c)(3) nonprofit library was then established and incorporated, run 100% by a group of volunteers within the walls of the former high school — now Dripping Springs Middle School. That group became the Friends of the Dripping Springs Community Library, which, through determination and hard work, raised enough funds to move the library into its current building off Sportsplex Drive, which sits on donated land from John Baird, in 1998.

After quickly realizing that more space was needed, construction of the children’s wing began in 2004, doubling the area to approximately 10,000 square feet.

Since that time, the library’s board went public in 2023 with a capital campaign to raise funds for the construction of a new building that would “better serve our community now and into the future,” said Laird.

“It’s a really big project and because of the way that we are funded, it's unique. We receive sales tax revenue. We are not part of the city, which is typical of a public library and so, it's going well,” Laird said. “We continue to make efforts towards construction and trying to solidify the financing. There's a lot of moving pieces and we are just committed to continue to work towards that, so we can expand our services and our reach into our community.”

DSCL has continued to evolve over the years. Laird recalled that in the first year that the library was open in 1986, there were 700 people who attended free programming and in 2025, that number had grown to 17,000.

Additionally, with the help of donations, Laird explained that they were able to purchase its Library on Wheels this year. Knowing that the library has a widespread area that it services, it can be difficult for members of the community to physically stop by the library to attend a program or check out books. So, the “bookmobile” helps bridge that gap.

According to the June 2026 impact report, 12 stops were made, 455 people engaged and 271 items were circulated through the Library on Wheels.

To celebrate its 40th anniversary, DSCL is hosting its first annual “A Book Affair” that will feature local food and drink vendors, as well as live music and interactive experiences. This will also act as an opportunity to raise funds to support the library.

The event will also honor the first class of “Storytellers,” which are a group of local residents and businesses who are passionate about the library and investing in the city’s future. They were specifically selected to help raise awareness and support for DSCL leading up to A Book Affair, according to Laird.

“Everyone has a unique story and a connection to the library, what it means to them and what it means to their family and so, I've really enjoyed getting to know the Storytellers and how libraries impact them personally and the value that they see that libraries offer to the community,” Laird said.

As the library is continuing to grow, Laird said that, along with its capital campaign for a new building, DSCL is wanting to try to be innovative and creative in breaking down barriers to people receiving its services and resources.

However, the support from the community every step of the way since 1986 is not lost on Laird and the library staff.

“I realize how the community has shown up in every single piece of history in this library. From starting as a nonprofit library that was completely staffed by volunteers to putting it to a vote in the community to become a special district library, so that we could have a dedicated revenue stream of sales tax income. That was also initiated and voted on and passed by the community,” she shared. “We see parts of this building where the community stepped up and helped to volunteer services just to build the building that we're in now. All the people that have supported the library and the mission with their donations, it shows that they truly care about what we're doing and they see the value.”

A Book Affair will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25, at Pecan Springs Ranch, located at 10601 B Derecho Drive, Austin. To get tickets and find more information, visit bit.ly/4fR7p1E.

DSCL is located at 501 Sportsplex Drive, Dripping Springs and is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Learn more about the library’s programs, history and more at www.dscl.org.

The project, which is between Cuncashca LLC and the city of Dripping Springs, consists of the installation of a 36-inch gravity main, along with a treated effluent irrigation line for the Driftwood Golf and Ranch Subdivision, according to utilities director Gary Lahrman.

Wastewater facilities agreement

The first item related to the South Collector Wastewater Project is for the amendment and reinstatement of the original wastewater facilities agreement from 2023, due to delays in starting construction.

During negotiations, landowner Cuncashca LLC requested revisions, including triggers for abandonment of the drip field exchange land, fencing requirements and extension of the temporary construction easement language, to be made to the original agreement.

The temporary construction easement will be updated, allowing for equipment storage, staging and construction areas during the installation process.

“We did set a term for drip field abandonment for Dec. 31, 2031. That would be where we exchange the land or we get rid of those front drip fields on the 40 acres and we take over. The agreement allows us to use those until 2031 and we will do a land exchange at that point and abandon the drip fields,” Lahrman explained. “It also includes a temporary construction easement to expire Aug. 31, 2027.”

Tree removal credit

While the original agreement in 2023 considered the preservation of certain trees in the easement area, the landowner authorized the removal as necessary for the city’s wastewater improvement project.

With this approval, the landowner negotiated for future development that the city has 550 caliper inches that were recorded in the easement to be credited.

“We've worked through this with the landowner and it would be to run concurrently with the wastewater facilities agreement and we would get started here pretty soon, but [the] purpose of the agreement to recognize protected standard trees removed by the city within the easement by establishing a limited baseline adjustment that may be used in future tree preservation calculations for the property,” the utilities director presented.

Council member Geoffrey Tahuahua stated that the particular trees on the property are part of the easement that will ultimately serve the wastewater treatment plant the city is working on, so “while regrettable, the removal of the trees is necessary in order for us to facilitate the moving of that wastewater.”’

The agreement is accounting for what is being done in the easement and giving the landowner credit for the trees removed that are to be preserved in accordance with the city of Dripping Springs’ ordinance, city administrator Michelle Fischer clarified.

“Cedars and hackberries don’t get counted, so if that landowner, Cuncashca, does develop in the future, he’s kind of got a credit to work with,” she said.

The wastewater facilities and tree removal credit agreements were unanimously approved by council.

Also for the South Collector Wastewater Project, council unanimously voted to award the bid to Santa Clara Construction, Ltd. in the amount of $4,714,829. This came after the city received 15 competitive bids, with amounts ranging from $4,078,028 to $10,950,181.15.

Dripping Springs City Council meets next Tuesday, Aug. 4.

DRIPPING SPRINGS — What started out as Lani Derrick learning how to create her own vanilla extract to bring more intentional products into her home turned into a Dripping Springs-based handcrafted gift company, named Life Anchored Home.

“My daughter and I were making cookies and we had kind of gone down this path of trying to be more thoughtful with food dyes. We realized that our vanilla baking extract had food coloring in it and we were like, ‘Why?’ So, I was like, 'How do I make this myself? I am going to learn,’” Derrick recalled, after creating the business three years ago.

It became a “snowball effect” from there, said Derrick, where she and her family started looking at implementing other more conscious products in her home. After seeing what they have been doing, clients began asking for gift baskets under Life Anchored Home’s private label line of home goods.

Derrick said that they originally wanted to share their love for cleaner products and it’s turned into something that other people enjoy, as well, knowing that it’s “good for you [and] good for the environment around you.”

“We create in-house. We do cold-processed soaps, baking extracts, room and linen sprays. We pour our own candles and we create simmer pots, which are like a stovetop potpourri, as well as a drink infusion kit. Those products, especially the ones that include any kind of a dried good, we literally are sourcing the fruit fresh. We're slicing it; we're dehydrating it. There's no preservatives or dyes in any of those, since it's an all natural product completely across the board,” she explained. “Our soaps are made with a blend of oils that are great for your skin. They have a rich lather. We try to incorporate some fun colors into them [that] are all skin safe. We use the same fragrance line with our soaps as we do with our room and linen sprays and with our candles, so they're safe for you to breathe.”

Everything is also assembled locally with a focus on helping businesses build meaningful relationships through thoughtful gifting, Derrick said. Life Anchored Home is also fulfilling a need to allow businesses to represent their best self, take the burden off and give their clients an experience without having to do all the fine details themselves.

Derrick’s favorite part is the community aspect: “It makes me happy when I see it out in our community and I know that others are enjoying it as much as I do. It's also something that I'm getting to let my family see in our community. We employ someone within the community; we're in retail space within the community and then, we're supporting our local, other businesses by providing those systems. We're really trying to share within the economy of Dripping Springs itself in multiple ways.”

Currently, Life Anchored Home products can be found on the shelves at Home Grown, located at 2001 U.S. 290, Dripping Springs, while also partnering with other local businesses and realtors to provide gifts for their clients.

While the company also works in-house, Derrick shared that the immediate goal is continued growth and recognition within the community, but with the potential of moving into its own retail space in the future.

To learn more and browse Life Anchored Home’s products, visit www.lifeanchoredhome.com.

Hotel Occupancy Tax

Since the budget was filed June 30, there were some amendments made to the HOT fund, including:

•   An amended $62,900 in FY 2027 grants — approved by the application review committee — as compared to the proposed $83,020, which is a change of $20,120.

•   A transfer of $255,000 to the general fund in FY 2025, related to the downtown restroom project, was anticipated to occur before the end of the fiscal year. As this did not happen, this was carried over to FY 2026.

•   A new line item, known as capital reserve, was reduced from $350,000 to $100,000, based on available funding. The reserve is intended for future capital projects supported by HOT funds.

In the proposed HOT budget, the revenues total $910,000 and expenditures at $1,199,428.

One of the main highlights is signage, with the city projecting to end FY 2026 at $121,200, according to the presentation given to council. Staff is also proposing $150,000 for FY 2027 for the second phase of a signage project that includes the remaining 10 wayfinding signs and one to two monument signs. The first phase, however, included 10 wayfinding signs in center city at $110,000 that was budgeted this year in the HOT fund.

The remaining monument sign is slated for phase three in 2028.

Other highlights include the following transfers and grants:

•   Transfer to debt service: $88,528

•   Transfer to DSVB: $425,000

•   Transfer to Event Center: $330,000

•   Capital reserve: $100,000

•   Friends of the Pound House grant: $16,525

•   Roller derby grant: $4,250

•   Vintage Market Days grant: $12,625

•   Outlast Austin grant: $22,500

•   Art league grant: $7,000

Dripping Springs Ranch Park

For the FY 2027 budget, the total revenues for the DSRP fund are $999,475 and expenditures are $920,481.

On the revenue side, highlights of the proposed budget include the following: $111,500 for facility rentals; $15,000 for equipment rental; $51,755 for sponsorships and donations; $140,000 for Coyote Camp; $10,000 for miscellaneous events; $140,000 for ice rink; and $330,000 for transfer from HOT.

DSRP is proposing a significant improvement project for another year, according to deputy city administrator Shawn Cox.

Currently, the main facility restrooms — with residential-style tank toilets not designed for high-volume public use — have been causing significant challenges. These include frequent plumbing failures during large events, continuous need for repairs, increased maintenance costs and more.

“I think, originally, we were looking at $90[,000]. We bumped it to $100[,000] down the road and now, we're proposing $200,000 for this. Essentially, what it's doing is replacing the toilets in those restrooms with commercial grade. So, it's kind of residential grade. [They] tend to clog a lot [and] tend not to hold up to the usage that we have when we have those large events,” Cox said. “We've looked at it every year during the budget process. There's always, unfortunately, been bigger projects that kind of needed to be completed first, but now, we're over the hill on that one and so, we're bringing this one to council.”

Because of this, staff is looking at having the restrooms remodeled for a proposed $200,000 to replace nine toilets in the men’s restroom, as well as 16 toilets in the women’s restroom, with a commercial-grade flush valve design, as well as standardizing the fixtures throughout the facility.

“Every handle is different. Every bowl is different, so it’s just streamlining that [and] making sure that they are meant to handle the volume that we are seeing,” added DSRP manager Lily Sellers.

Council member Geoffrey Tahuahua mentioned that when he has attended events at the facility, he has found that the sink faucets are constantly left on. Due to this, he suggested that staff look at the cost for installing an automatic system: “My guess is that we probably lose quite a bit of water in some of those instances and so, that might be kind of a happy medium in terms of gaining some of that efficiency,” he said.

Dripping Springs Visitors Bureau

In his presentation on the DSVB fund, Cox noted that the following highlights make up the total revenue of $493,500:

•   Wedding Showcase fees: $9,000

•   Songwriters Festival fees: $500

•   Songwriters Festival merchandise: $5,000

•   Songwriters Festival sponsorship: $30,000

•   Stars of Dripping Springs sponsorship: $24,000

•   Transfer from HOT: $425,000

The expenditures total $548,811, with $121,500 of that being for advertising and marketing, which is a $10,000 increase from FY 2026, due to the state travel guides, according to Cox.

A total of $29,000 for improvements is also included as an expenditure highlight, with $26,000 annotated as stairs and walkway for the “springs that go down to the creek,” Cox explained, in which city staff is working with the property owner to help clean that area due to public interest.

“It's cool in the summertime, sometimes, and I know for the special events like Founders [Day] and everything, a lot of people were utilizing that walkway and hanging down there when it got a little hot,” he said. “It's been a project that they've looked at for a couple of years now, working with the property owner, just to get it cleaned up down there.”

Mayor Bill Foulds asked for clarification because he was told the $26,000 was for rebuilding the porch, or stairs, at the DSVB. However, Cox, along with DSVB manager Pam King, responded that this is a new line item for the stairs and walkway for the springs; the other project by the visitors bureau has already been budgeted for in the FY 2026 budget and will be done in August.

According to city administrator Michelle Fischer, staff sent the property owner an easement months ago to help the city in cleaning up that area. The easement, which has not been signed, would allow for public access as well, but “nothing could be done on that property with any city money without an easement that met the qualifications for us to spend those funds,” she said.

“My bigger issues is, it’s one thing if we're clearing a private easement for the purposes of just general public access, but stairs and walkway is an actual improvement that isn't transferable and I do think there are some local government code challenges with making improvements on private property,” said Tahuahua. “I know we're talking to him about a bunch of stuff, but I think we need some more clarification on this one. I like the idea. I just think there's maybe, we'll say, some legal hurdles before we can move full steam ahead on that.”

Understanding that there could be some legal hurdles, King emphasized that approximately 80% that walk into the DSVB office looking for visitor information and tourist spots want to see the springs that the town is named after, but the current access is not safe. Therefore, she wants it to be on the books that the project is a priority to have a tourism impact.

“I do have some legal concerns because it is technically still private property. If it was a property that was already owned by the city and we're talking about improving the access, that's a very different conversation. But especially if we're talking stairs and walkway, which isn't transferable. I mean, I guess we could technically repo the stairs if you were to sell it off to someone else, but again, logistically, they're just not,” Tahuahua said. “I feel like there's a step maybe before a different conversation we maybe need to have with them first and then, maybe this is step two of that conversation.”

Council member Ana Grace Husted agreed that the springs, as the city’s namesake, should be a tourist attraction, but she is hesitant on green lighting a large sum of money into something that is not guaranteed to be kept open to the public.

Farmers market

Finally, Cox went over the budget for the Dripping Springs Farmers Market, in which $93,896 makes up the revenue and $92,447 in expenditures. The latter has an increased line item of $2,000 compared to FY 2026 from the committee in anticipation of the move to the Stephenson Building, covering costs for signs, banners and other materials.

“They're looking at utilizing that parking lot area for the farmers market. I believe in addition or offsetting sometimes to DSRP, as well, depending on the weather and the temperature, but this additional funding is for signage, should they need to direct people to the Stephenson location of the farmers market,” the deputy city administrator explained.

Dripping Springs City Council is set to go over the debt service fund Tuesday, Aug. 4. To view the proposed budget and more, visit www.drippingspringstx.gov/city-treasurer/pages/budget-tax-rate.

Johnson first joined her beloved yarn community eight years ago, when she walked into The Sated Sheep on a whim and asked how to knit and crochet. From then on, she was a weekly customer to the classes available and, eventually, an employee.

Over the years, those visiting the store and the experiences knitting and crocheting were some of her favorite moments, especially teaching others, as her skills grew. This is why when former owner Allison Wilcox — who started the store in 2015 from a knitting passion — offered her the business amidst her budding retirement, the answer was easy for Johnson.

“I just hated to see it [go] because I was like, ‘If I don’t buy it and no one does, what will happen?’ And Allison said, ‘I guess I just close up.’ I’ve just seen how much that would affect a lot of the yarning community and I just couldn’t see that [happen],” she recalled

So, she purchased the company in August 2025 and moved it into its new location at 104 W. Mercer St., Suite D, in downtown Dripping Springs. It was here that she renovated the building to depict a home. Johnson stated that she hopes the big windows and cozy atmosphere is welcoming to visitors.

Those visiting the Sheep can find everything necessary to work on a project, including knitting needles and crochet hooks, stitch markers, buttons, scissors, darning needles and more, including a plethora of yarn.

With yarn originating from Vietnam to Whitefish, Mont., the options are endless, said Johnson. Specifically, she has made it a point to attend conventions, such as the Dallas Fiber Fest, and expand the United States-made yarn available in store by meeting the artists creating the hand-dyed material. These fibers are special, as no two are the same and Johnson has felt and verified the quality of the material herself, she said.

Taking on this new role has been a passion project for the fiber-artist, beginning with the renovations to the building and the recent expansion of its classroom area. Before, the area was going to be used for another business endeavor, but Johnson realized that her passion purely resided in the Sheep and opted to instead magnify the opportunities available to customers.

This area will be used in two different ways, she explained. The first will be for weekly ticketed classes, which range from level 0 to “1001,” said Johnson, where attendees can learn from the beginning on knitting and crocheting or bring in a project to receive help on. The classes are taught by the very woman who taught Johnson to crochet and knit years ago: Carrie Au. Au is incredibly talented and was part of the shop negation, said Johnson, laughing.

There will also be workshops focused on specific tips or needlework, such as Tunisian crochet — a type of crochet style that resembles knit — or the triangle loom.

“[People usually] think about the older population, but it’s not [just for them]. You can create anything with crochet. The blankets are beautiful, even some sweaters. There’s a new thing that’s coming in, where if you have a long sleeve shirt and if the sleeves aren’t very good, you can actually crochet new sleeves onto it. It’s a really popular thing right now, especially with hoodies. I was shocked when I saw them,” shared Johnson. “So, we may have a workshop in the near future, just to show that crochet is fun and young and hip.”

She is also considering a Ravelry 101 class, an online “Pinterest” of sorts for the yarning community, as many are unaware there are other benefits than simply finding patterns: “We do have a lot of workshops in mind for the future.”

Future plans for the shop also include expanding into needlepoint, embroidery and cross stitch.

Additionally, the area can be used as a calm gathering site, where community members can visit and lounge, while working on their respective hobbies. This is where the community thrives, shared Johnson. Visitors can drink beer, wine or tea and coffee and “come and relax and enjoy the space because basically, I created the space for the yarning community.”

These aspects of her shop are something that visitors can’t find at corporate stores, Johnson said.

“Shopping locally sustains the passion of the small business owner and part of that passion, in my opinion, that a business owner has is what they can bring to the community. For me, I get to watch everybody once they’re done with their project and they bring it in to show it off or [maybe] they’re wearing it. As a small business owner, [I know] I helped with that and I helped put that smile on their face,” she emphasized.

This ability to help customers is something that is important to Johnson, who noted that residents will often come in with a project and ask for free and quick help, where she can diagnose the problem, whether that be a dropped stitch or difficulty reading a pattern.

Although expanding services and adding her twist to the shop, Johnson emphasized keeping Wilcox’s legacy by partaking in an annual Sidewalk Sale, where customers can bring their own yarn stash and sell it. Then, they will receive store credit.

The store will also be part of the 19th annual Best Little Yarn Crawl throughout the IH-35 corridor. Here, visitors can browse vendors and learn a pattern crafted by the store with its featured yarn.

For more information on The Sated Sheep, visit www.thesatedsheep.com.

The amendment is designed to encourage water conservation by clarifying that certain standalone rainwater harvesting systems do not require a city plumbing permit solely because they collect rainwater from rooftops and store it for landscape irrigation. The change removes an unnecessary permitting requirement for qualifying systems, while maintaining important public health and safety protections, according to a news release.

"This amendment supports responsible water conservation, while ensuring that systems connected to drinking water or public water supplies continue to meet all applicable safety requirements," said Mayor Bill Foulds. "By clarifying the city's code, we hope to make rainwater harvesting more accessible for property owners who want to use harvested rainwater to irrigate their landscapes."

The amendment applies only to rainwater harvesting systems that:

• Are used solely for exterior landscape irrigation or other outdoor non-potable irrigation purposes.

• Remain completely separate from potable water systems, public water supplies, indoor plumbing fixtures and building plumbing systems.

• Meet the requirements established in the city's adopted plumbing code.

The ordinance does not eliminate other permits or approvals that may be required for a project. Depending on the installation, property owners may still need permits related to structural work, electrical work, grading, drainage, floodplain regulations or other applicable local, state or utility requirements.

Commercial developments served by a public water supply must also continue to comply with applicable backflow protection requirements. In addition, all property owners remain responsible for meeting any requirements established by their public water supplier.

The amendment reflects the city's ongoing commitment to responsible stewardship of water resources while ensuring that public health, safety and infrastructure protections remain in place, said the release.

Property owners considering a rainwater harvesting system are encouraged to contact the city's Development Services Department with questions about project-specific requirements at 512-858-4725. For questions, contact communications@cityofdrippingsprings.com.

An educator with more than two decades of experience, Dr. Karen Kidd has served as DSISD’s assistant superintendent for Learning & Innovation for the past six years and now, she has been promoted to deputy superintendent. During her tenure, she has played a key role in building the academic systems needed to ensure high-quality outcomes for students as a fast-growth district, according to a DSISD news release. She has spent nearly 17 years as a campus and central office administrator, overseeing curriculum, accountability, assessment and professional learning.

As deputy superintendent, Kidd will continue to lead the district’s academic programs, including oversight of campus principals and a newly-created chief academic officer (CAO) position.

As a strategic cost-saving measure, the release stated, DSISD will repurpose the assistant superintendent for Learning & Innovation position vacated by Kidd into a CAO role, which will lead the district’s academic programs, curriculum and instructional strategy, assisting in DSISD’s mission to provide a personal and exceptional education to every student.

Maureen Jamail, who announced her retirement in May as Walnut Springs Elementary School’s principal, will serve as interim CAO as the district begins its search to fill the role.

Jamail has been with DSISD for 21 years, most recently serving four years as WSE principal. A strong academic leader, her successful career in public education includes valuable experience at the elementary and secondary levels, the release stated.

Kidd and Jamail will begin serving in their new roles immediately.

She will now represent the region as one of 20 nominees statewide for the Texas Superintendent of the Year award, presented by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB).

Selected for her visionary leadership, unwavering commitment to student success and ability to unite communities around a shared vision for public education, Morris-Kuentz has transformed Dripping Springs ISD into one of Texas' premier fast-growth school districts, stated a district news release. During her five-year tenure, she has strengthened academic performance, restored community trust and maintained exceptional fiscal stewardship while leading the district through unprecedented growth.

"Dr. Holly Morris-Kuentz exemplifies the kind of leadership that inspires confidence, drives meaningful change and keeps students at the center of every decision," said Dr. Rich Elsasser, executive director of ESC Region 13. "Her ability to build trust, develop future leaders and navigate the challenges of a rapidly growing district with vision and integrity has made a lasting impact on Dripping Springs ISD and serves as a model for school systems across Texas. We are honored to recognize her as the 2026 Regional Superintendent of the Year."

Since becoming superintendent in 2021, Morris-Kuentz has led the development and implementation of the district's Future Ready 2030 strategic plan, while strengthening leadership development opportunities for students and educators and expanding community engagement through initiatives, such as Taxpayer Tuesday and the Certified Realtor Program.

She has also implemented initiatives that have strengthened student achievement, including the addition of Career & Technical Education (CTE) offerings at middle school, middle school course alignment, Leader In Me alignment across all DSISD campuses and improvements in College, Career and Military Readiness (CCMR) and Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) scores.

Under her leadership, the district has maintained balanced budgets, earned perfect financial ratings and successfully passed its largest bond election with the highest voter approval rate in district history, while continuing to meet the needs of one of the state's fastest-growing student populations, the release continued.

Her leadership extends beyond DSISD through service with the Texas Association of School Administrators, the Fast Growth School Coalition and other statewide organizations dedicated to advancing public education. She is also a registered superintendent mentor and board governance trainer, helping cultivate the next generation of educational leaders.

As Region 13's nominee, Morris-Kuentz advances to the next round of consideration for the 2026 Texas Superintendent of the Year, which will be announced this fall during the TASA/TASB Convention.

Its new home is on the porch of Noble Tutoring and Prep’s offices at 800 US 290, Building C, Suite 300, in Dripping Springs. FODSCL thanked Noble Tutoring for its generosity in providing space for the bin and for its past sponsorship of its endeavors, stated a news release.

The big blue book bin had been housed at the Sententia Vera Cultural Hub at 4002 East US 290 since December 2020, when it was purchased with a donation of $2,000 from the Dripping Springs Freethinkers Association. FODSCL also acknowledged Teresa Carbajal Grado, founder of Sententia Vera and a former FODSCL board member, for hosting the bin the past five years.     

FODSCL is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing support to the community library through fundraising and volunteer participation. Contributions to the organization are used exclusively to enhance library services and programs.

The nonprofit welcomes donations of books of all genres that are sold at various fundraisers throughout the year, continued the release. Large donations of books may be arranged by emailing  info@fodscl.org, though monetary donations are accepted, as well.

Landscaping

According to the city of Dripping Springs Code of Ordinances, the landscaping fund — also referred to as the tree-in-lieu fund — can be used at city property and rights-of-way for improvements and to serve a public service. This includes introduced vegetation or improvements to a lot for forming and berming, irrigation systems, landscape subsurface draining systems, site furnishing, nonstructural retaining walls, etc.

Proposed revenue for the fund in the FY 2027 budget is at $422,913, compared to the $509,913 that the city is projected to end FY 2026 with.

The expenditures include improvements at Sports and Rec Park, Dripping Springs Ranch Park (DSRP), Founders Memorial Park, Charro Ranch Park, Veterans Memorial Park, historic districts, Stephenson Building and city hall, as well as professional services and tree maintenance.

The total proposed expenses come out to $252,000, with a balance forward of $170,913; the expenses for both the adopted and amended FY 2026 budgets were $62,000 and the projected is $87,000.

“The balance forward in the landscaping fund stays pretty steady until FY [20]27. We are using $200,000 of it towards the Stevenson project … Part of the Stevenson project was the rain garden and a lot of landscaping out by the parking lot. Landscaping funding is being utilized for that,” explained deputy city administrator Shawn Cox. “It was also being considered when we were taking on our debt issuance of other revenues that could help offset that project's value.”

Staff also added an additional $5,000 for Veterans Memorial Park in the expenditures to allow for any new plants or other improvements to make it a more “appealing” site, since it is a city property that is used for a lot of events, Cox said.

Sidewalk

Currently, the revenues and balance forward for the FY 2027 budget are both sitting at $829, which is the same as FY 2026. There are also no expenditures.

There are a number of requirements when building a subdivision or property in town. Part of that is putting in a sidewalk and the city has a fee-in-lieu that developers can pay into, which then helps fund sidewalk projects, according to Cox.

“[There is] not a lot in the fund. We don't anticipate a lot coming into the fund for FY [20]27. If a development comes in or if a commercial property or someone comes in [that] would require a sidewalk based on their site planning in our ordinances and they wanted to pay the fee-in-lieu, we might have a revenue coming in there, but right now, we don't anticipate any of that for FY [20]27,” Cox explained.

Parkland development

Cox explained that the parkland development fund consists of fees-in-lieu paid to the city during the platting process and they can be spent on maintenance, operations, acquisition and improvements to park facilities.

The revenue and expenditures for the parkland development fund are as follows:

•   Revenue:

- $116,610 for adopted and amended FY 2026

- $148,362, including $31,752 in parkland development fees, for projected FY 2026

- $83,362 for proposed FY 2027

•   Expenditures (includes transfer to Parks):

- $116,610 for adopted and amended FY 2026

- $65,000 for projected FY 2026

- $51,610 for proposed FY 2027

“What we did last year was we showed all of the money that was available in these funds going into the Parks department and then, the Parks board would look at their priority projects, bid those out and based on the funding availability, recommend those projects to council. So, that's what you see represented in [FY 20]26 adopted and amended; in projected, those are the actual projects that we've had come forward and so, that is what we intend to spend this year,” Cox presented.

Parkland dedication

The parkland dedication fund is used on improvements or acquisition in the city; it’s not used to maintain the park or go toward amenities.

Similar to that of the parkland development, this fund shows the same revenue amount for both the adopted and amended FY 2026 budget — as well as the projected — at $392,591 and $249,951, from fees, for FY 2027.

The expenses show $392,691 for adopted and amended FY 2026, $220,500 for projected and $172,191 for FY 2027.

Agriculture

The last fund that Cox presented was agriculture, which is limited to the funding of the acquisition, development, improvement and maintenance of community agriculture facilities. This is utilized at DSRP with the cattle, horses and any other number of agricultural programs that occur there.

According to budget documents, the total revenue and expenditures for projected FY 2026 — the only category listed for that fiscal year — are both listed at $156,800 and, for FY 2027, they are at $59,500.

“[A] little bit came in at the end of last year we weren't anticipating when we were doing the budget process, so that'll go out to DSRP this year and any revenues, again, we're anticipating collecting next year will also go towards the DSRP. There are enough, like I said, agricultural costs going out there that just about everything we receive we can send to DSRP,” Cox said. “Again, there are guidelines we look at in the ordinance to make sure it's being utilized correctly, but we haven't seen a deficiency in funding yet to go out there.”

Council will meet next Tuesday, July 21, for a special workshop to go over the Founders Day and Historic Preservation Commission budgets.

The event has been in operation since 2023, when the city initially partnered with Ice Rink Events to have a seasonal 60-foot-by-120-foot ice rink at Dripping Springs Ranch Park (DSRP), as previously reported by the News-Dispatch. A proposed agreement with the same company was presented at the June 16, 2026, city council meeting, but after members on the dais asked for comparable price points across the region, it was brought forward again July 7.

As some council members requested looking at the potential of increasing the price of entry, the assistant director also did a comparison breakdown, using attendance numbers that she had available from 2025, in order to look at the cost recovery.

Currently, the ticket prices are $15 per single skate, $100 for a “punch pass” that pays for 10 skates and $10 for a group discount, which can be used for birthday parties, etc. Still, Western Wonderland admission is among the lowest in the regional market, according to Nelson. The following are the price points and other offerings by neighboring temporary rinks:

•   Marble Falls: $15 per skater; $60 per a family of four — advance discount available

•   Fredericksburg: $15 per skater; $60 per a family of four — all day pass

•   Bee Cave: $16 per skater; $64 per a family of four — with skate rental and 50-minute session

•   Long Center: $22 per skater; $88 per a family of four — one-hour session and skate rental

•   Four Seasons: $40 per skater; $160 per a family of four — premium holiday experience

“We include the skate rental right now … Some of the little kids skate longer than an hour, but once we clear the ice for the Zamboni, it's kind of a natural moment that people leave. We, usually, every hour to an hour-and-a-half, run that Zamboni,” Nelson said.

The “unique offerings” that Western Wonderland has include a sponsor and influencer night,  character breakfast, micro events, community performance stage and holiday light trail, Nelson said.

The total income from 2025 ticket sales was $147,442, with unrecovered costs at $58,651 and cost recovery at 71%.

The breakdown is as follows:

•   An increase of $1 would match Bee Cave’s position in the market, with a total income of $167,351, unrecovered costs of $38,742 and cost recovery of 81%

•   An increase of $2 would put Dripping Springs slightly above Bee Cave, with a total income of $175,729, unrecovered costs of $30,364 and cost recovery of 85%

•   An increase of $3 would put Dripping Springs mid-market, with a total income of $184,107, unrecovered costs of $21,986 and cost recovery of 89%

•   An increase of $4 brings Dripping Springs to upper-middle market, with a total income of $192,485, unrecovered costs of $13,608 and cost recovery of 93%

•   An increase of $5 brings Dripping Springs to still be below Long Center, with a total income of $200,863, unrecovered costs of $5,230 and cost recovery of 97%

Nelson’s recommendation would be to do a hybrid of the workup to keep the single tickets at $15, but raise the punch pass to $120 and the group discount to $12. This would make the total income $153,364.36, unrecovered costs $52,729.05 and total cost recovery 74.41%.

“At $120, two of those skates are still free, so it's still a great deal. The only other rink that offers something like the punch pass is Fredericksburg and their 10 punch pass — they have a different name for it — is $135, as just a comparison on what I was looking at,” she said. “There is still a lot of room to move, like the punch pass … and the bulk, like birthday, pricing.”

There is also a component of the agreement that includes an optional attraction for 10 ice bumper cars, available at a cost of $1,400 per operating day, plus an estimated $3,800 freight charge. If they are used, one-third of the rink would be used for the ice bumper cars, while the other two-thirds would still be open for skating.

“Once they've delivered those ice bumper cars, they stay with us for the entire season, so when we choose to activate them. It's $1,400, so we don't have to run it when we know it's the slow days. We can run it on our peak days; we can run it that week leading into the holiday season when kids are out of school. We would be really strategic when we were going to activate the bumper cars,” Nelson explained.

According to her cost estimate, if they were running every day for the entirety of the contract, or season, it would be $59,800, whereas, if it was the weekend, plus peak days, it would cost the city $31,800.

“I would encourage having some type of a pass, where if they wanted to ice skate and [use a] bumper car, there was a little bit of savings with that,” Nelson said.

She added that Marble Falls — which also offers bumper cars — prices it at $12-$15 for seven minutes. So, she calculated that, if DSRP did 10 sessions for 10-15 minutes per day at a $15 price point, or $25 for a pass that included skating, with only eight cars running, the daily income would be $1,920. This number multiplied by 20 days is $38,400.

Council member Ana Grace Husted thanked Nelson for bringing forward the information that was requested last time and stated that she loves these kinds of events that invite tourists to also enjoy what else Dripping Springs has to offer. However, she emphasized her concern with how much money the city is retaining.

Husted recalled in the previous presentation that the majority of people who attend the event are from the Austin area and so, she feels like if they were to decide to increase the ticket prices, some people would still opt to go to Bee Cave. But Western Wonderland does offer the food trucks, influencer night, character breakfast, micro events and more that others do not, so the price jump could be worth it.

“I personally would like us to get it to the 97% [cost recovery], but I would default to staff's opinion on how we would get there, whether that's maybe doing individual ticket prices up to $20, but we keep the discount for a family of four for the punch passes because that's affordable and that's important,” Husted said. “Maybe we up it a little bit for the bumper cars; that's just my point of view. I really want to cover that gap. I want to be able to recover as much money as possible, keep the event going and keep it worth it.”

Nelson clarified that ticket prices do not have to be set at this time and the city could first see what kinds of sponsorships come in before making that decision.

Council member Taline Manassian questioned whether Nelson is asking for approval of the agreement with the ability to do the bumper cars and try them this year or not.

While there are some members of the community who would like to see them and she believes they could be another unique offering, Nelson said that it’s up to council’s discretion and that what she is bringing forward is a baseline of having the temporary ice rink with the option of bumper cars.

The company would also work with the city to implement the bumper cars, if they are not initially included in the contract, Nelson said.

Ultimately, council unanimously voted to approve the agreement for the temporary ice rink, with a plan to circle back to deciding on the ticket prices and bumper cars in September.

To listen to the discussion, visit bit.ly/44tyOjR.

Brelsford was inspired to participate in the challenge after walking alongside his wife, who died from a 78-day battle with a group of stage four cancers of unknown origin in 2019. Because his wife was an active person, especially through swimming, he knew that he wanted to do something to honor her memory after moving to Dripping Springs from Seattle, Wash. six years ago.

The virtual challenge works through an honor system, where the participant signs up to swim at least five miles through the specific month and raise money to help people fighting cancer. The American Cancer Society has a goal for each person to raise $250, but Brelsford surpassed that at $900 last year and $600 this year.

Through his 32-year experience in the technology field, Brelsford shared that he is also motivated by the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to do research. So, he plans to write to the American Cancer Society, hoping it will consider using the funds he raised from the challenge and allocate them toward AI cancer research.

“That felt good. Being in technology [back] in Seattle, our culture is a little bit competitive; it’s kind of like Silicon Valley. It's a bunch of go-getters and so, that has always been my goal to surpass the baseline,” he said. “A couple things came up this year. I didn't hit eight miles, but I was happy to exceed the five-mile limit.”

Brelsford, 64, is not new to swimming, as he hits the pool at the Springs Family YMCA approximately four to five days a week because he has found it to be a better way to stay active.

“Swimming is very kind when your body gets older. It's very linear; it's very smooth and you don't get injured. What I see with people my age, in fact, at the YMCA, is people who play anything from pickleball to racquetball to tennis, that's a really start stop motion and that can hurt your body versus swimming,” he said.

The Dripping Springs resident said that he plans to continue doing the challenge, in additions to other ways he gives back.

One of which, he shared, is that when he goes to technology conferences, he has found that a lot of vendors or sponsors give out socks — one of the most needed items for civilians — and so, he will grab a few pairs to bring home. Instead of keeping them for himself, Brelsford will donate them to civilians, specifically in Kerrville, because he has family ties there and he also used to attend a summer camp that was down the street from Camp Mystic — which was severely impacted by the Fourth of July floods in 2025.

To learn more about the American Cancer Society and its various challenges, visit www.cancer.org.

The market, which was established as a welcoming space for neighbors and visitors alike, where guests are encouraged to linger, relax and enjoy the various experiences the market has to offer, as previously reported by the News-Dispatch. Additionally, it was slated to host several businesses within the facility after its Nov. 20, 2025, opening.

Months later, on June 26, Oakwood took to social media to announce its closure, effective Friday, July 3.

“Since launching late last year, the business has endured numerous challenges, both internal and environmental. We’ve worked tirelessly to keep moving forward amid staffing constraints, leadership turnover, rising costs, tough market dynamics, economic pressures and other significant headwinds,” read the statement. “You may have noticed some of these struggles in the form of new faces, different service models, shifting menus, etc. All of these changes represented our best attempts to adapt and prevail, but unfortunately they were not sufficient. As it exists today, Oakwood is not sustainable.”

Following the news, the owners stated that they will focus on reimagine Oakwood’s future.

“We’ve enjoyed many happy moments with you these past many months and remain hopeful about what’s to come,” concluded the team.

Included in the general fund are the budgets for the following departments: Administration, Communications, Human Resources, Legal, City Secretary, Maintenance, Project Management, Building, Planning, Finance, Emergency Management, Information Technology (IT) and Parks.

In his presentation to council, Deputy City Administrator Shawn Cox explained the total revenue, expenditures and balance forward for the FY 2026 adopted, amended and projected — what is anticipated for the close of the fiscal year — budgets, as well as the proposed FY 2027 budget. They are as follows:

• FY 2026 adopted: $17,817,128 in revenue, $16,616,528 in expenditures and $1,200,600 balance forward

• FY 2026 amended: $18,859,935 in revenue, $17,385,014 in expenditures and $1,474,921 balance forward

• FY 2026 projected: $19,817,831 in revenue, $18,116,432 in expenditures and $1,701,398 balance forward

• FY 2027 proposed: $16,633,220 in revenue, $16,127,876 in expenditures and $505,344 balance forward

“Our fund balance has gone up. In [FY 2027], we are using some of it as well, but, again, you can see we are paying very close attention to the revenues coming in and making sure we are not spending more than we have in the budget,” Cox said.

In the budget, the consolidated general fund is broken up into city — administration and routine operations of the city — Parks and Founders Day. In the proposed FY 2027 budget, city makes up the largest part of the revenues at $16,090,407 and then, Parks is at $327,003 and Founders is at $215,810.

“We split it out and call it the consolidated general fund just so we can see how those groups within the general fund are doing in budgeting amongst themselves,” the deputy city administrator said.

On the expenditures side, the consolidated general fund has the city at $15,112,656, Parks at $723,362 and Founders at $213,258. According to Cox, it is “pretty consistent” with what was originally adopted in FY 2026 at $16,616,528 and what is proposed for FY 2027 at $16,049,276.

The expenditures are then broken down even further in the proposed budget, according to highlights presented by Cox:

City

•   Office IT equipment and support: $132,200

•   Software: $327,266

•   Transportation improvement projects: $515,825

•   Street improvements: $664,000

•   Office maintenance and repairs: $129,400

•   Fleet maintenance: $174,700

•   Liability insurance: $36,000

•   Property insurance: $121,426

•   Worker’s compensation: $89,766

•   Financial services: $62,850

•   Training: $150,464

•   Transfer to Tax Increment Investment Zone: $1,024,101

•   Transfer to Utilities: $2,000,000

Parks

•   Park consultants (feasibility studies, grant writing and consulting): $45,000

•   All parks improvements (balance of remaining parkland funding): $223,801

Founders Day

•   Portable restrooms: $19,674 — increase from $12,198 in FY 2026, which was covered by the Lions Club, due to moving the carnival to the school site and needing additional restroom facilities

•   Tents, tables and chairs: $30,500 — an increase from last year because previously, the costs were charged against the sponsorships line item and the city has added more shaded locations for the event

Moving into supplemental items that departments requested, Cox first explained the Stephenson Building project, which is the preservation and renovation of the building at 101 Old Fitzhugh Road to serve as a community meeting, programs and performance space, with some civic offices. He stated that the Stephenson Building is being folded into the budget as a division of Parks in order to track its revenues and expenditures against itself.

The proposed total Stephenson Building revenue is $75,500, including transfers in from the landscaping fund — with the possibility of more from the general and hotel occupancy tax (HOT) funds — sponsorships and donations, contract instructor and recreation programs and rental income.

Equipment rental at $2,000, building supplies at $27,325, building maintenance at $9,500, contractual services at $24,800, promotions at $8,500, utilities at $23,080 and landscaping at $15,000 make up the operation expenditures, which come out to a total of $110,205, with a balance of $34,705.

Mayor Bill Foulds said that he knows the city needs to take care of the building maintenance, however, “when we are putting in like $3,000 for [heating, ventilation and air conditioning in the budget] this year. We’ve got new air conditioning; they’ve got warranty covered. I would like to make sure that money doesn’t get spent somewhere else and we start accruing funds to replace these air conditioners, so we are not sitting like [Dripping Springs Ranch Park (DSRP)] in five years needing to put $30,000 in for development services,” Foulds emphasized. “This money needs to be kept in a fund to be used for replacement when it’s not used, not an automatic transfer somewhere else.”

Council member Geoffrey Tahuahua said that he would like to see an itemized version of some of the items, such as recreation programs, because the proposed expenditure of $15,000 “seems like a lot” for what is listed, which includes crats, carts, mats, etc.

The Stephenson Building numbers are not captured in the budget document that the council had at the table or what he previously presented earlier in the meeting, Cox clarified.

Council member Taline Manassian asked if the supplemental list for the Stephenson Building is being given to council, even though it’s not in the budget, so that council is ready for this step in the coming year.

The deputy city administrator responded that he wanted to see what staff is proposing for the division or department, but did not want to presumptively put it in the budget without bringing it to council first.

“What we're showing, I think the total impact to the general fund is around $35,000, based on projected revenues and projected expenditures,” Cox said. “So, that would be the impact if we put it into the general fund, but again, I wanted to have the discussion with council before being presumptuous and throwing it in there.”

This could, however, come back to council as a budget amendment in the future, once the building opens and the operations are solidified, Tahuahua said. He also stated that he is concerned that “this is proving to be the money pit that I thought it would potentially be” and council and staff may be acting too quickly on it.

Other supplemental requests outside of the Stephenson Building include a total of $1,411,500 for Parks for DSRP wayfinding signage and storage building, recreation center feasibility study, aquatic feasibility, Phase 1 Rathgeber Natural Resource Park improvements, picnic tables at the baseball and softball field and scoreboards for the adult softball fields.

Parks & Community Services Director Andrew Binz explained that if council wants to do a recreation center feasibility study, it would include an aquatics component; however, solely an aquatics feasibility study is also an option or council can opt to readdress it next year.

“When talking with the consultants, they suggested that if we're interested in pursuing the recreation center idea, let's do a recreation center feasibility study that would include an aquatics component and that may replace our current facility,” Binz said. “They said if you're not up for a recreation center and doing that feasibility study, then they would recommend doing an aquatic center feasibility study just to address our current facility.”

Tahuahua said that even if a feasibility study is done and a need for a recreation center is found, his concern is finding the budget for it: “We are essentially trying to to find and source a million dollars over the next five years to cover the wastewater stuff and, while I think we have found ways to ratchet things down, could we afford a feasibility study? Probably. But then we're going to probably shelve it, the actual project itself, for five years, at which point we're going to need to do another feasibility study to see how [things have] changed. Do we now need a bigger recreation center? It would be potentially premature to move forward with these knowing that we couldn't, within a reasonable amount of time, actually act on any kind of improvement because I think when you do these studies, the thought is that you're moving forward in a three- to five-year timeline and if it's going to sit on the shelf for five years, I don't think it necessarily helps anyone in terms of actually trying to plan long-term.”

Council member Travis Crow agreed, stating that $200,000 for a study is a lot and, while the city could benefit from a feasibility study, he feels more comfortable waiting.

Legal artificial intelligence support at $50,000 for the city attorney, as well as a trailer kit at $184,000, crowd control interlocking barrier at $15,000 and portable message signs at $15,000 for Emergency Management were also supplemental requests. Additionally, the Maintenance Department’s requests for positions, etc. total to $595,090.

Council will meet next Tuesday, July 14, to discuss the DSRP, Dripping Springs Visitors Bureau, HOT, farmers market and Transportation budgets.

To listen to the full budget workshop and find meeting agendas, visit www.drippingsprings-tx.municodemeetings.com.

In the aftermath of the tragic loss of their son, Micah Narté, due a snowboarding accident, Washington natives Ted Rockwell and Tina Rockwell were compelled to find what was next for their family. Connections with friends and their own research of the Texas Hill Country landed them in Dripping Springs in 2023.

They had a desire to create a business that would bring a legacy honoring what they had lost by celebrating all that has been found. It has also opened up a space for healing in the family, with everyone being able to showcase their own skill sets, such as Ted and Tina’s college-aged daughter, who works on the finance piece.

In doing so, they took what they knew best from their time in the Pacific Northwest: coffee. ROCTÉ Coffee Company — a combination of the two family names, Rockwell and Narté — was started in September 2025, but has been operational since February 2026.

While ROCTÉ does not currently have a storefront, it focuses on bringing back the classic “milkman” model to its Dripping Springs neighbors, but with coffee.

“We’d always utilized a local milk man delivery service, so [we are] just taking that premise and idea and putting it into coffee,” said Eli Narté, Micah's brother, who moved to Dripping Springs last year and founded the idea of the coffee delivery service. “They would put a little metal kind of insulated cooler on your porch and on milk delivery days, they would drop it in the cooler, so instead of having a metal cooler, we got some insulated tote bags, and we are going to be basically redoing the milkman service, but calling it the ROCTÉ Coffeeman.”

There are a lot of coffee-related businesses in the Austin area, Ted explained, so they knew that they wanted to do something that was different, including bringing beans to their customers in their freshest state, while still maintaining a comparable cost.

“Postal costs are quite high. We didn't really realize that they cost as much as $5 or $6 to mail a bag, so we talked about it as a group,” Ted said. “I said, ‘Well, what are some ways that we could offer the quality of product that we want at a price that is going to be attractive relative to what most people purchase when they buy beans to roast or to brew at home?’ We knew that grocery store beans had a much longer warehousing period and could also sit on shelves for weeks, so we knew we had a quality advantage, but we wanted to try and bring the price to parity or close to parity.”

ROCTÉ works with two third-party organizations, Rising Tide and Genuine Origin, to help with the roasting and procuring of 100% Arabica specially-grade coffee beans from high-altitude regions in South America and the South Pacific.

“We have a medium light roast from Tanzania and we have a dark roast, as well, from Sumatra, so we tend to want to stay in that medium range because we think it's the right combination of complexity and flavor, but we recognize that not everybody shares our taste,” Ted explained. “We want to be able to offer them something that aligns to the natural preferences that they have.”

Being rooted in the Dripping Springs community is important to the Rockwell and Narté family, especially as the coffee company does not currently have a brick-and-mortar storefront. So, they take 10% of the profits and distribute them equally to three local organizations — PAWS of Central Texas, Dollars for Scholars and Central Texas Food Bank — that are committed to causes close to their hearts.

Additionally, last week, the company donated 50 pounds of its coffee to local businesses, first responders and civic leaders, giving back to “some of the local heroes in what they're doing and helping them stay caffeinated,” Eli said.

Moving to Dripping Springs, Tina explained that they discovered the highly-anticipated Founders Day Festival, where they had a booth near the main stage this year. For her, a large part of her identity is being a mother and incorporating herself in the community; after meeting with the Dripping Springs Art League, they collaborated to do an art contest for their Founders Blend, where they would pick one of 21 submissions to showcase their logo on the packaging for one year.

The winner was Kyndall Womack, the daughter of the head softball coach at Dripping Springs High School. As the submissions were anonymous for the contest, finding out the name and identity behind the winner was special, Tina explained, because the school colors from their hometown are the same as that of Dripping Springs HS, helping her feel like this is their new home.

“Our son Micah, who passed, was a left-handed pitcher and first baseman. The first picture, when I Googled [Womack's] name, she's wearing our old school colors and she's a left-handed pitcher and first baseman,” she said. “It just felt really good, like we are where we should be.”

Looking to the future, the family wants to have a physical location in Dripping Springs for ROCTÉ, where there is space to do roasting in-house, while also feeling like they are “an authentic and beloved part of the community,” Ted said, adding that they want to do appearances at farmers markets and pop-ups..

The coffee delivery service has been officially launched, with the company actively promoting it in the mail and across social media, Eli said. Currently, they are exclusively keeping the routes to the 78620 and 78737 zip codes and the first delivery will be July 6. Fresh bags of coffee will be delivered to neighbors’ doors before 9 a.m. on the first and third Monday of every month.

A Texas native, Michael Follis recently returned to the state after spending two years in Chicago, where he worked as a music educator, professional singer, church musician and senior associate conductor of the Chicago chapter of the Grammy Award-winning National Children's Chorus.

Follis began his career in public education in 2020 after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin. He served for two years as assistant director of Choral Activities at East View High School in Georgetown, helping lead a choral program of more than 150 students across four ensembles.

Prior to relocating to Chicago, Follis spent more than three years as director of music at Shepherd of the Hills Christian Church in Austin and served as assistant conductor of Chorus Austin, the city's symphonic choral ensemble.

Follis earned a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from UT Austin, where he performed with the University of Texas Chamber Singers and served as a section leader in Texas Choirs. He also made history as the first undergraduate appointed director of the Longhorn Singers, the university's official show choir, in the ensemble's 60-year history. Follis later earned a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from UT Austin.

Elliott brings 21 years of experience in Texas public school theatre programs. Most recently, he served for five years as the Theatre Curator for Fredericksburg ISD, where he managed the district auditorium and served as house manager and lighting and sound designer for district events.

Prior to Fredericksburg, Elliott served as theatre director at middle schools in both Boerne ISD and Round Rock ISD. During his tenure in Round Rock, he led the theatre program to six first-place finishes in One-Act Play, while also growing the program by more than 250 students. He began his career in neighboring Hays CISD.

Outside of the classroom, Elliott owns a bespoke costume company and leads workshops on costuming and pattern making at the annual Texas Educational Theatre Association Conference.

Elliott holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Education from Texas State University.

Dripping Springs ISD trustee Rob McClelland, pictured right, is sworn in to serve another three-year term on the board. Both his and Cousins' terms will expire in May 2029.

The city has partnered with Ice Rink Events for Western Wonderland since the event’s inaugural year in 2023 in order to provide the seasonal 60-foot-by-120-foot ice rink at Dripping Springs Ranch Park (DSRP). A proposed agreement with the same company was brought before city council at its most recent meeting that would allow for operation Nov. 27, 2026, through Jan. 5, 2027.

According to agenda documents, under the agreement, Ice Rink Events would provide the rink system,refrigeration equipment, dasher boards, ice maintenance equipment, rental skates, skate aids, installation and removal labor, project management and ongoing professional support throughout the operating season.

While the total cost for the equipment rental and professional services is $179,955, Ice Rink Events has offered a discounted contract price of $171,385, saving the city $8,570. This includes a 50% non-refundable retainer due upon contract execution, with 25% due Sept. 1 and the remaining 25% due Dec. 20.

Emily Nelson, assistant director of Parks & Community Services, presented to council that city staff has seen rising attendance at Western Wonderland year after year, drawing visitors from across Central Texas, not just those who reside in Dripping Springs.

“There were over 22,000 visitor trips. We saw almost a 30% growth over the previous season in our stats,” she said.

Along with providing a family-focused holiday experience, Western Wonderland brings increased visitation to DSRP and support for the local economic activity, Nelson explained, as travellers will stop at restaurants, gas stations, etc.

There has been significant financial improvement over the past three seasons, according to Nelson’s presentation:

•   2023: Revenue at $153,058.48, expenses at $297,594.47 and cost recovery at 51.4%

•   2024: Revenue at $157,201.74, expenses $256,213.82 and cost recovery at 61.4%

•   2025: Revenue at $147,442.36, expenses at $206,093.43 and cost recovery at 71.5%

“It definitely was unique on those revenues for 2025. Our families really figured out that punch pass and we felt it. A punch pass is where a family can buy a ticket and it gets 10 skates and it was $100,” Nelson said. “I was really happy that those families found that affordable way to have those activities, but we felt it in the revenue side because they figured out how to not pay the $15 a ticket and to do the punch pass, so [a] double-edged sword there. But we were able to really hone down our expenses significantly.”

Nelson also considered what it would look like if there was a slight price increase to skate, but it still keeps Dripping Springs “in the pocket” of other rinks in the area, as Bee Cave sits at $20 per skate and Marble Falls is at $18. Basing it off the 2025 numbers, if there is the same attendance and a single ticket was $15, she proposed jumping that to $16. Then, on the punch pass, it would be 10 skates for $120, instead of $100, and group parties would be $12 a head versus $10.

“The total increase by doing that, those slight adjustments bring us just a little over $11,000 and then, when you add that plus the rink discount, that brings us to a total recovery of 81.2% next year if we had exact same attendance,” she noted. “The one caveat I would say is, if we've got amazing sponsorships, I would love to hold the prices where they're at, but if we saw that those sponsorships just weren't responding and we weren't getting sponsor dollars, then we know that we could do a slight increase to see another improvement on the total recovery.”

The assistant director is looking into contacting an outside individual for more sponsorship opportunities, as it can be a hard call for the small pool of local businesses, who are faced with the challenge of choosing between competing events, sports, etc.

“Across the board, for a lot of our city events, I think we felt that sponsor dollar lessen no matter how many requests [went] out. So, this person, and I'd have to call and see if she's taking on new cities or not, but she brings in a fresh pool of people that she usually feeds into sponsorships in the [Dallas-Fort Worth] area, so it would be larger companies; it would be outside of Dripping Springs,” Nelson explained. “She does local, too, like she will approach and try to drum up business within here, too, but she does have a different pool of people that she draws from.”

Council member Sherrie Parks agreed that she wants to give local businesses the first opportunity, but knows that there are many competing interests for sponsorship dollars, so looking for an outside perspective is a good idea. She added that it can take five years to solidify an event to where it breaks even and Western Wonderland is still within that window.

“It's been successful in the other markets that she has taken over and I've watched it, so I would be excited to see with her looking in this direction what she could create,” Nelson said, adding that this contact can look at sponsorships for a variety of different city events, not just Western Wonderland.

Council member Geoffrey Tahuahua stated that while he has questioned how much money the city was and is going to lose overall, he commended city staff for their ability in being able to cut down expenses.

He, along with council member Travis Crow, suggested looking at different price points, as well.

“I wouldn't mind seeing $1 increments … I know it's more work for you, but $17, if it still saves the public a dollar. A dollar is a dollar right now, but if it's not too much work, maybe look at $17 or $18 and see what the difference is,” Crow said.

Council did not take a vote on the proposed agreement, but it will be brought back again at a future meeting.