Langley has served the city of Kyle since 2023, focusing on strengthening organizational effectiveness and advancing strategic priorities through improved efficiency, modernized processes and better alignment of city services, stated a news release. 

His leadership advanced infrastructure initiatives, including the implementation of a $294 million road bond program, a $200 million wastewater treatment plant expansion and the strategic development of additional water resources, resulting in a 37% increase in the city’s water supply. 

He also enhanced public service delivery through innovation, including launching a customer service-focused 311 system to improve resident access and responsiveness, supporting a drone-as-first-responder program and leading a multi-agency partnership to establish a new regional animal adoption center in Kyle. 

Additionally, Langley strengthened economic development efforts across the city, continued the release, including the advancement of key projects, such as Kyle Park, a 101-acre mixed-use destination featuring retail, dining, housing and green space. 

“Kyle is a great community and I have been proud to call it my home for the past three years,” said Langley.  “I would like to thank [Kyle] City Council and our outstanding staff for their support in making all of our accomplishments possible." 

Council is expected to discuss next steps regarding interim leadership at an upcoming council meeting. In the meantime, the city’s executive leadership team remains in place and is committed to maintaining continuity of operations and delivering services to the community, the release concluded.

A resignation letter for Langley was not available as of press time.

Langley’s last day will be May 15. 

The committee consists of residents chosen by council members — Howard Connell, Melissa Spence, Julianne Orgish, Carly Barton, Jake Webb, Diane Hervol and Michael McDonald — with the goal of determining council compensation, such as monthly stipends, prior to Tuesday, June 16.

The meeting first began by appointing a chair and vice chair, to which Hervol and Webb were chosen 6-0.

Next, two additional meetings were scheduled at 6 p.m. Friday, April 17, and Monday, May 11. Because the time is earlier than a typical meeting, there will be an additional public comment period toward the end to allow residents time to attend, if they cannot make the initial start time.

Assistant director of Finance Joshua Chronley then hosted a presentation to share why the committee exists, what the ultimate goal is and how the approach will be conducted.

“This process is not something that happens frequently. In fact, it’s intentionally structured to occur only once every three years, which reinforces the importance of getting this right. The decisions and recommendations that come out of this committee will directly impact how future city council members are compensated and ultimately, how accessible public services are to members of our community,” said Chronley.

He stated that council tasked the committee with identifying whether changes to the current compensation are recommended. This does not mean they make changes directly, Chronley explained, but evaluate information and deliberate to bring a recommendation to council.

“Everything we do as a committee is governed by the city charter, specifically section 3.09. This section establishes both the authority and the limitations of this process. A few key points to highlight are first, no change to council compensation can occur without a recommendation from this committee,” said Chronley. “Second, compensation can only be reviewed once every three years. This creates a built-in expectation that any recommendation should be forward looking and durable, not just reactive to current conditions. Third, any changes must be adopted by ordinance and require two public hearings ... If that change is approved, it is incorporated into the subsequent fiscal year’s budget and takes effect at the start of the next fiscal year. Importantly, the city council cannot later amend the budget to adjust their own salaries.”

The last part of the presentation shared the roadmap for future discussion was divided into four steps:

• Charter and legal framework

• Review governing requirements, limitations, process and compliance

• Establish compensation guidelines

• Compensation and budget structure

• Review compensation mechanisms, policies and ordinances

• Review existing salary levels, compensation structure and line budgets

• Analyze and discuss comparable city compensation

• Evaluate current compensation, responsibilities, workloads and expectations

• Expense, reimbursement and allowable cost review

• Review current reimbursement policy and allowable expenses

• Discussion of stipend, travel, per diem, expense breakdown and structure

• Review and discussion of line item budgets and controls

• Recommendation development and final report

• Formulate committee recommendation to be presented to city council

• Review of timing and implementation requirements

“Regarding expenses, reimbursements and allowable cost, my understanding that I have lived by that the Compensation Committee deals with the salary. No ups, no downs and no sideways. So, when I see this expense reimbursement here … I take exception to the fact that expense reimbursement and allowable cost are commingled in with the salary,” said Connell. “Our charter’s a structure; it’s a framework and I think we all understand that the language and the words have meanings, it has specific meanings and this, to me, infringes on that.

City Attorney Aimee Alcorn-Reed stated that council requested citizen feedback regarding the reimbursement, so in addition to the task to recommend for the salary, the committee is also commenting on the reimbursement. Furthermore, residents can use public comment at these meetings to state their opinion on the topic.

In response to Hervol’s question what a stipend is being deemed as, Chronley stated that it is a prepayment for expenses, such as printing or materials.

He also clarified that council is asking the committee to look at everything — salary, stipend and reimbursement — but that the salary is the primary task, while answering how council should be addressing other spending items, including travel office related expenses.

Orgish expressed that the committee should define what the current $500 stipend is for, to which Hervol and Webb agreed.

Chronley had stated that peer cities will also be discussed during the meetings. McDonald emphasized that he wouldn’t want to include cities that are double or triple their size, such as Austin or San Antonio.

Travel, which is under the scope of the committee, according to Chronley, became the topic of discussion, with McDonald stating that there could be a limited amount and when the threshold is met, the opportunity to partake would end.

“We can adjust that how we see fit, but do remember that some council members may go to different conferences for different reasons,” said Hervol.

Connell stated that two concerns he has in relation to travel is that previous council members failed to approve a dollar amount and that the trips are allegedly for the residents and city, but that there were never reports shared of what occurred.

Additionally, he noted that council hasn’t received an increase in four years and that “we can all agree everything in our life has gone up at least 30%, so I think that’s where I’m going to start.”

To listen to the discussion, visit bit.ly/3NseQ4k.

“Tonight’s discussion is about providing long-term stability for an organization that has quietly and consistently shown up for our community,” began Mayor Yvonne Flores-Cale, who cosponsored the item with council members Courtney Goza and Melisa Medina. “What we’re asking for is to direct staff to evaluate options for the potential conveyance or sale of the property the VFW currently occupies, with appropriate safeguards in place, such as deed restrictions, revisions, revisionary clauses or buyback option, to ensure the property always remains dedicated for a public purpose.”

She continued by noting that the VFW “is not just a meeting hall,” as it operates as a community clothes closet, financial assistance, a food pantry and more. Additionally, the VFW provides support for other community members, including hosting Narcotics Anonymous meetings and blood drives, partnering with Red Cross to create the disaster team vehicle and providing scholarships for the local Boy Scouts, said Flores-Cale.

Medina echoed this sentiment, stating that the VFW is a reliable presence and benefits its residents in ways that the city may not have the opportunity to.

To accompany their reliability, they need stability, said Goza, noting that the VFW has already been displaced once. This means that the VFW is operating under uncertainty, affecting funding that they can apply for and limiting their investment into the facility.

Legally, Flores-Cale shared that chapters 253 and 272 of the Local Texas Government Code allow municipalities to convey property to nonprofits under certain conditions.

“I also want to address a concern I know that will come up: What about other nonprofits? That is a fair question, but not every situation is the same. This is a long-standing organization already operating on city property, already providing measurable public benefit and already functioning as a partner in areas, like emergency response,” said the mayor. “This is not opening a door without standards; it is recognizing a partner that has already proven its value.”

Council member Michael Tobias began the discussion by asking whether the VFW has collected any funding for the building, similar to what the Kyle Area Senior Zone did in the past.

“I understand the noble deed of what we’re trying to do here. I’m not debating that, but there’s going to be questions from our taxpayers that are going to be wondering,” explained Tobias. “I [have] the right to ask [whether] during that time of being here 20 years, was there ever, in their many, many meetings that they’ve had through the years, was anything every brought up to say, ’Hey, let’s start looking at maybe having our own building funding or purchasing a building here in Kyle?’ It’s just a question.”

VFW Quartermaster Steve Cook clarified that the nonprofit has received no funds from the city and all of its operations have been conducted through donations, which is what is used to fund the services for veterans, even most recently paying water bills for them. So, there has not been funding to put aside to repair the building. He also said that the VFW is “constantly told that we don’t own the property,” when they try to apply for grants.

What about partnerships with other municipalities, prompted Tobias, to which Cook responded that it had been brought up, but didn’t elaborate.

“The city grants you this free property … You’re going to need upgrades. You’re going to need improvements. You’re going to want to build out. So, what will be the plan then? Would you be coming back to the city, as well, or the county? Or would this be a self-funded kind of facility,” asked Tobias.

If the VFW owned the land, there would be more opportunities for revenue, said Cook. He also shared that the nonprofit hopes to add a cooling and warming center for the residents of Kyle, as well as build a space that could be rented out for birthday parties or other events.

After commenting that the building is inadequate for the VFW, council member Lauralee Harris stated that “to the best of my knowledge, city of Kyle has never deeded city property over to a nonprofit. This would set a precedent.”

Cook clarified that the building is fine for the nonprofit, as they have already worked to renovate the floor and they have plans for the property in the back, as previously mentioned.

Council member Claudia Zapata asked for the last three fiscal years of the nonprofit's finances and whether the property was exempt from taxes. This will depend on the tax exemptions that the VFW applies for, said city attorney Aimee Alcorn-Reed, who requested to see the information on the organization to ensure that they qualify for the aforementioned Texas law that would allow the city to convey the property.

“We have the backing [of the community, so] I’m not really concerned. I’ve seen the financials. We have close to $40,000 right now. That would start us on,” said Cook, adding that the Red Cross is ready to help the VFW.

“Formulate a plan, so that way the city can be able to have that and I think if you have it long term and you can see it, the people that want to support you in the long run can see what your overall mission and goals are. It’s going to benefit you in the future,” said Tobias.

Near the end of the conversation, Flores-Cale asked what the services the VFW provides are worth to council: “We’ve seen them. We know their background and we know what they’ve done. So, the idea that we have to conform to every nonprofit, I think is unfair because it should always be a case-by-case basis.”

The mayor then motioned to approve the item, adding that the VFW present its financial information and audits and for staff to bring back information on the laws regarding nonprofit land transfer. The item was seconded by Medina and passed 6-0. Council member Marc McKinney was not in attendance.

This is the third year in a row that the Kyle Police Department will be applying for the grant, said Chief Jeff Barnett.

“The purpose of the discussion is to provide some advanced knowledge of a future and potential agenda item that would be concerning the Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Authority Grant funding program,” explained Barnett. “In 1991, the state established some funding for local law enforcement agencies and state agencies to help reduce auto theft. That program, over the last 30 years or so, has expanded … to help deter auto theft and catalytic converter theft and other crimes throughout Texas.”

KPD has purchased automated license plate readers with past funds received. More recently, continued Barnett, they have added a drone for the Drone as a First Responder program.

According to the presentation, Kyle’s crime rate was at 10.04 per 1,000 residents in 2024, as compared to Texas’ 20.99 and the nation’s 27.95.

Barnett noted that a few years ago, council directed KPD to include the operations of a Real Time Crime Center (RTC), which became fully operational in the beginning of 2025. The facility has two RTC analysts that monitor incidents as they unfold and provide support to officers, while connecting information cross systems.

He then shared several examples where both RTC analysts and license plate readers were effective. One incident was two months ago, when a skid steer was stolen from the Home Depot parking lot. The technology of license plate readers was able to quickly determine what vehicle was involved and provide that information to officers, who recovered the vehicle.

“Other technology you’ll see [for RTC is] Axon. That’s a platform that lets us bring in all the cameras into one platform. It lets us coordinate our efforts into one system,” said Barnett, adding that the Drive Texas Traffic Cams from the Texas Department of Public Safety, Verkada and Genetec cameras, open-source intelligence and Flock Safety are also used.

The chief discussed concerns that have circulated regarding Flock, stating that it does not have facial recognition, access is restricted and allows for regular audits. Additionally, the data is deleted every last day of the month and it cannot be used for: traffic enforcement, reproductive rights enforcement, immigration enforcement, harassment or intimation, non-law enforcement use or any use based on race, religion, sex or other protected characteristics.

The presentation detailed searches that KPD has made in relation to Flock vehicle searches. The largest section is property offense, followed by warrants, traffic assaultive offense, welfare concern, suspicious activity and drug/narcotic offense.

Flock was used in 53 cases in January 2026, amounting to 20% of all cases, said Barnett.

Beginning the discussion was council member Lauralee Harris, who asked whether there was an agreement with Hill Country MHDD to access records for those with mental health disorders.

“We have partnerships. I don’t know that we have an agreement, but we are part of a B-tech group, which shares behavioral threat analysis across the community. We’re required to have that by law,” Barnett said. “I don’t know that we can access their database … but I know that we have resources, contacts, regular meetings, where we’re sharing concerns.”

In response to a resident’s concern about delayed report statistics online, Barnett stated that the crime statistics are updated on the 15th of each month.

Council member Claudia Zapata posed the question of whether the plates are actually useful. She stated that 93,536 unique plates were read by a license plate reader in February on a daily basis, which amounts to 2,618,708 individuals or license plates per month.

“The total hotlist alerts from February 2026 are 51 warrant alerts, 27 stolen plate alerts, 11 missing persons alerts, three Flock vehicle searches … The hit rate, in comparison, if you think about the fact that we are reading 2,618,608 unique vehicles in a single month, with the actual amount of hits that we’re getting is 0.0019, which is equal to 1.9 of 100,000 return. So, that means 99.998% of all searches of documentation of individuals in the captures of those license plate readers are useless,” said Zapata.

“Although maybe insignificant when you look at the number of license plate reads, I think [they] are still important to keep our community safe because I don’t think that those [crimes happen] one time … but we caught [them] and put charges on [them],” said Barnett. “We’re arresting people that have committed crimes and not messing with the day of the other 98-point-whatever percentage of people whose plates were read.”

Zapata was adamant that Flock does not increase safety, as the Hays County Sheriff’s Office and Hays County commissioners Michelle Cohen and Debbie Ingalsbe stated in a community forum last year.

“What I would rather see us investing in is actual crime prevention and not continuously investing in mass surveillance technology,” emphasized Zapata, adding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a concern. “There’s back doors to be able to receive and obtain the information that our cameras collect … It is up to us as individuals, who also care for the city and care for the people in it, that we really have to take a hard look at this [Master Services Agreement] before we decide to expand and really grow the number of Flock cameras that we have.”

Barnett shared that he received a letter at his request from Garrett Langley, president of Flock Safety, that ensures “they have no back door and no communication with immigration to allow them to obtain data in their system.”

Ultimately, Zapata stated that she would prefer to look into other opportunities, rather than partnering with Flock.

Council member Marc McKinney shared that he has been supportive of these programs from the beginning. He stated that he has shared the same concerns Zapata has, but after having discussions with the chief, feels comfortable moving forward.

“I think we have a duty to keep our people safe and I think that this program goes a long way to accomplish that,” said McKinney.

Agreeing with McKinney was Mayor Yvonne Flores-Cale: “If we can save one life or if we can solve a crime, that, to me, is important … We can find a happy medium, maybe it doesn’t have to be Flock, maybe it could be something else, but I think, in order to keep our city safe, some of these things have to be done.”

The item will come back for a vote at the April 21 meeting, said city manager Bryan Langley.

To listen to the discussion, visit bit.ly/3Pj8WmA.

In recognition of National Açaí Day, the business will offer $5 off all açaí bowls Monday, April 6.

The Crossroad Development, also known as the Philo Project by city staff, was initially annexed and zoned in 2002, but discussion surrounding the potential mixed-use zoning district occurred in January 2023.

Because of challenges “in getting the property to work within the zoning code itself,” the property owner began considering a planned unit development (PUD) instead, said Jason Lutz, assistant director of Planning & Zoning. The PUD was then submitted in August 2023, with a development agreement (DA) a year later in 2024.

The development is planned to have 177,000 square feet of commercial space and 536 multi-family units, along with a 0.22-acre donation of a right-of-way for a roundabout.

Capland Development, which is working on the Crossroad Development, previously created the Parkton Square residential community in Kyle.

Michael Lineham, president of LSI and Capland representative, explained that the development site is located off of Kyle Parkway and Dacy Lane, near Ascension Seton Hays hospital. A traffic study would be conducted at the time of the site plan, he said.

“You can see that on the north side of the property, along Kyle Parkway, we’re locating retail services immediately adjacent to the hospital to serve the patrons of that area and on high frequency traffic areas for that development to the west,” said Lineham. “We also have additional commercial development that also contemplates hotel sites. There has been interest in this property for hotel sites [to the west] and the city does benefit from hotel occupancy tax on that.”

Additionally, there will be an interior greenbelt for residents and connectivity throughout the site.

Lineham also noted that there are no requests for financial incentives and no significant variances to code.

Council member Lauralee Harris began the discussion by stating that the plans are significantly improved, compared to their previous plans.

She first asked the developers to consider a parking garage, rather than street parking, and water conservation, which council member Michael Tobias also supported.

Lineham stated that the economic feasibility would have to be considered for a parking garage and that they have constructed other projects that have rainwater recapture, purple pipe, grey water use and more.

“In the mixed-use area that we have, is there any way that we can consider having affordable workspaces built in? It’s something that I am really wanting for the city to start pushing because we do have a lot of development and a lot of businesses and, at the same time, we want to make sure that we’re prioritizing opportunities for local business owners to be able to expand into these newer, nicer areas,” said council member Claudia Zapata, to which Lineham replied that it is a possibility.

The representative also shared that the 13,000 square-foot area designated for office facilities could be transformed into retail space, if those plans do not work out.

One of the lots on the site, Lot F, could be a library, posed Tobias.

A little bit more hesitant on the project was Mayor Yvonne Flores-Cale, who wants more information, due to its proximity to Fuentes Elementary School.

“I’m not asking for schematics because I know that costs money and I’m not going to ask you guys to do that, but I need a better idea of, like, it says greenbelt, but what does that look like? What does that entail,” asked Flores-Cale. “We can’t control what you guys stick in there; we only do the zoning, but I would hope if we gave you this guidance and we approved this, that you guys would bring some things that are unique to Kyle, [such as a YMCA].”

Council member Courtney Goza added to this idea, suggesting a Mediterranean restaurant or a small Asian grocery store.

Following council direction, the item will come back to council in the future for a formal approval.

To listen to the discussion, visit bit.ly/40r4Z1l.

At a young age, Will was enthusiastic about art, particularly in creating it. So, when a family member handed him a stack of comics at 8 years old and told him to study the style, he did.

“It was Spider-man and then, it was ‘X-Men.’ Then, it was a book called ‘Legion of Super-heroes,’ [which] is a group of young superheroes from the future,” Will said, recalling what art specifically stuck out to him. “It was this cool team led by Superboy. So, as an 8-year-old, I saw a bunch of basically teenagers fighting crime and flying around and doing cool stuff and that’s what I gravitated towards … It just stuck with me for the rest of my life.”

From then on, he became infatuated with the medium. He explained that there’s no other entertainment opportunity that both provides new art and storylines weekly, which is what makes it special.

His collection continued to grow, even throughout his eight-year stint in the United States Army, when he noticed that comic-lovers online frequently wanted copies that he had. This became his first interaction with selling comics in 2001.

Despite his initial foray into the business, he ended up stepping away from reading comics for a long period of time, until the world shut down in 2020 from the COVID-19 pandemic.

While sitting at the house during lockdown, he decided to Google, “What are the top 10 comic books I should pick up and read?” Instead of lists of recommendations, there were only the top-selling comics. Will wanted to find the books that were going to be big, not that already were. So, he created the list himself.

For five years, Will has put out a Top 10 Final Order, where he curates a list of upcoming comic books by doing research on publishers' upcoming releases and suggests titles that fans should preorder, prior to them becoming popular. The fans that have listened to him, he said, often find themselves snagging a comic before its marketplace rate skyrockets.

“‘D’Orc’ number one came out two weeks ago. On the cover, it says $3.99, [but] online it was selling for $50. If they had looked at my list, they would have saw that it came out and they could have got it before it hit the shelf,” he said.

Since then, his lists have cultivated a following on Instagram and, now, he noted that people swear by his lists.

Comics, once again, became a part of Will’s life after creating his lists, but while visiting storefronts throughout Austin, he noticed the lack of availability within Hays County.

In November 2025, Will turned to his wife, Jessica Johnson, and suggested creating a comic book store to sell some of the books they had been putting up online.

Currently, there is only one other comic book store, located in San Marcos, and while he praised the company on its tenure and kindness, he “didn’t like driving 20 minutes” to get there and the same with stores in Austin. So, Will decided that he would be the one to mend the gap.

“It feels like it needed to be done [and] I felt like I was the man to do it,” he stated.

The whole process was a whirlwind, said Will, as he secured funding, found the location and held his grand opening less than five months after the initial idea.

Will emphasized that, when curating the building's interior, he built the comic book store that he would like to see when he walked in. This includes an entire wall dedicated to new releases, with each cover variant available. Older editions are housed on the opposite wall and in the center, there are collections of comics, whether that be entire storylines sold as volumes, trade paperbacks, hardcovers, compendiums — a high-volume collection of stories — or graphic novels.

In addition to comics, the store has posters and will begin to stock Funko Pops and Pokémon cards, but Will stressed that the priority will always be the books.

“I really did a lot of research into: who has what, where is there a need to be filled and where is there going to be a niche. We figured it out [and] we just need a store that’s mostly just comic books,” he said.

On Wednesday, March 11, co-owners Jessica and Will cut the ribbon, alongside members of the Kyle Area Chamber of Commerce, to celebrate the first day of Grand Central Comics.

The turnout was great, he explained, noting that Wednesdays are release days for comics, so those that knew, were waiting. Besides being grateful, he was surprised at how many comic book fans were in the area, waiting for a storefront location. The number one comment he got was that comic-lovers were ecstatic to know that there was now a location so close to home.

While touring the new building, Will noted that, yes, they will be stocking Marvel and D.C. comics, but there are also independent publications that have good stories to tell.

For example, the store carries “D’Orc,” which Will said is the number one seller in the industry right now.

“It’s actually a comedy action adventure book, but it’s got some violence to it. It’s got some dark humor, so he’s got levels to it. He’s a half dwarf, half orc — that’s the comedy slant,” explained Will. “People love the style. They love the humor.”

Clearly in his element, he continued on, recommending his favorite comic at the moment: “Absolute Batman.”

“He basically took the entire ‘Batman’ mythos and just completely rewrote it. So, everyone knows Batman. His parents, Bruce Wayne’s, parents got shot. He inherited billions of dollars. Not this guy. This guy is just a regular Joe, a construction worker who lives with his mom. He decides one day that he’s going to become Batman and the rest is history,” he gushed. “It’s just a whole different, crazy storyline. It’s insane and people love it.”

There’s many things to love about comics, but Will shared that his favorite part is that there is a story for everyone, even his church-going mom, he said, laughing.

Customers of the store can subscribe to comics, to ensure that they never miss an edition, or get a “pull list” — where the store pulls the comic off of the shelf and holds it — by contacting the store either via email or on social media. A pull list must be done weekly or whenever a customer wants it done, while subscriptions are done automatically, explained Will.

He also encouraged customers to share the comics they want to see by leaving comments on social media or emailing the store.

In the future, Will hopes to have events throughout the year for big releases and national days, such as Free Comic Book Day, which happens the first weekend of May.

“Kyle [now] has its own comic store, so come on through,” he said.

Grand Central Comics can be reached at grandcentralcomics@yahoo.com or on Instagram — where visitors can find Will's Final Order list — at @GrandCentralComics.

The storefront is located at 175 N. Old Stagecoach Road, Suite 300, in Kyle and is open from: noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday; and noon to 7 p.m. Saturday. For more information, visit Grand Central Comics on Facebook.

The project began two years ago with a site plan, said Le, when one of the owners called her and asked for help marketing and leasing it to the right audience, which, for her, was small business owners, due to her own experience.

“The most challenging thing for a small business, not the large, is to find a place that has reasonable rent or to find a place of their own,” she said. “You have cash flow on the business, but then, you don’t own the real estate. … When I started in other businesses that I have run before, I rented it and then, I put money into it. Then, when I moved out or I sold the business, there was nothing else. You don’t get to capture the appreciation over time.”

The first time that Le was able to purchase a space for herself, she was later able to sell it for double the amount she paid, which is something many are unable to experience, as creating wealth for those leasing the business isn’t the goal for large developers. Instead, she explained that they aim to have clients rent their facility, so they’re essentially paying the rent of the property for them, while they have cash flow coming in every month.

Often in these leases, the building owner will adjust the rent to the market rate, which the client has no control over, but if they were to own property themselves, their monthly charge would be fixed.

The park, located at 3300 Dacy Lane in Kyle, is comprised of 13 buildings with more than 130,000 square feet of flexible and commercial space. Phase 1 was completed in 2025, but Phase 2 finished construction in February 2026, with options for purchasing now available. Additionally, two more phases are set for construction in the third quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027.

The reason for the separation in phases, explained Le, was to adhere to business needs. For example, after constructing the first phase, which consisted of a 19-foot ceiling, owners were asking for more opportunities for storage. So, Phase 2 has heightened the facilities to 24 feet, along with wider and taller garage doors.

Le shared that the easiest way to be approved for the property is to have leasing history, as they “just want to make sure the businesses that are going in [the park] have the capability to sustain. So, what I mean by that is, if you already currently have a business [and] you have income coming in already, we qualify them by looking to see how much income is coming in and how much they can afford for the rent, as a percentage within your income on your business plan.”

Although the goal is to bring ownership to business owners, those that may not feel ready can still choose to participate in a leasing agreement until they want to proceed with purchasing a building.

Le shared that she has sat down with local municipal economic developers to begin creating more opportunities for small businesses and finding a space for them.

“[As a] small business owner, you don’t have the ability to play the bigger game, like the big developer or the bigger company does,” she stressed. “So, creating a vehicle to capture and keep the small businesses in our community, that’s what I’m passionate about and that’s what our team is passionate about.”

For more information on the Dacy Business Park, visit www.dacybusinesspark.com.

KYLE — Following a multi-agency investigation, the last of three Houston-area suspects connected to commercial burglaries, ranging from the Kyle area to Houston, was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service Lone Star Fugitive Task Force March 5. 

On Nov. 12, the suspects targeted multiple Poco Loco locations, stealing cash as they traveled from Kyle toward Houston. During the investigation, the Kyle Police Department, in conjunction with Hays County Sheriff’s Office detectives, identified the suspects. Working with regional partner agencies, investigators were able to link them to other burglary investigations.

As a result, KPD and HCSO charged Cedric Ryan Scales Jr., 19, Isaiah Jacob Jaramillo, 23, and Ca’Den Dejuan Johnson, 21, all of Houston, with burglary of a building and engaging in organized criminal activity.

Johnson was arrested Dec. 8, by the Angleton Police Department in connection with a separate robbery. Jaramillo was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service Lone Star Fugitive Task Force on Jan. 13 and Scales was arrested March 5, also by the task force.

All three arrests were connected to a separate stolen firearms investigation in Angleton, Texas.

Hays County Sheriff Anthony Hipolito said, “I’m grateful for my relationship with [KPD] Chief [Jeff] Barnett and the Kyle Police Department. I’m thoroughly impressed with the collaboration and dedication shown by investigators from both agencies.”

“These arrests are the result of strong collaboration between our department and partner law enforcement agencies,” said Barnett. “By working together, we were able to identify and apprehend these suspects and hold them accountable for crimes committed across the region.”

Current trustee Raul Vela Jr. will return to his Single Member District 1 seat for the 2026-29 term, as he is unopposed.

Conversely, trustees Johnny Flores and Vanessa Petrea, who sit in the Single Member District 2 and Trustee At-Large seat, respectively, will not be running for reelection.

Flores opted to run for the Hays County Commissioners Precinct 2 seat and secured his position for the November election, following his win in the March primary.

Petrea took to social media to announce her decision, stating that, “After much thought and reflection, I have decided that I will not be running for reelection to serve on the Hays CISD Board of Trustees … Hays CISD is a special place because of the people who show up every day for our students and I will always be proud to have played a small part in that work since joining the board in 2017. I look forward to continuing to support public education and our community in new ways.”

Instead, community members will see new faces, with Katy Armstrong, Jose Luis Perez, Alex Zavala and Ashlee Thurston campaigning for the seats.

Armstrong, running for the Single Member District 2 seat, previously participated in the May 2024 election, but lost to trustee Geoff Seibel.

“While this is a single-member position, I will still represent all students, families and staff across the district with integrity, honesty and passion,” said Armstrong.

She stated that she pledges to support district families, trim the budget and listen and learn.

Contending for the same seat is Perez, a father of four. According to his campaign page, he has lived in Kyle for the past 16 years.

The at-large position will be held by either Zavala or Thurston.

“My family has called this area home for more than five generations. My parents, aunts, uncles and siblings attended these schools and I did, too,” said Zavala. “Now, my kids are in Hays CISD — along with countless cousins and members of our extended family. I’m a local, family-run small business owner and I’ve spent years serving through [parent-teacher associations], district committees/councils and nonprofit work.”

Thurston’s candidate application detailed that she lives in Buda and has been in the county for seven years.

For more information on the upcoming election, visit www.hayscisd.net/o/hcisd/page/election2026.

“We were originally going to go into the back to discuss, but Bryan Langley and Aimee Alcorn-Reed would like us to discuss this out front,” said Mayor Yvonne Flores-Cale.

She then divulged that Langley’s contract states that council should review his performance annually, which is why it was brought forth.

“Upon reviewing it, I came up with several questions. I was confused with the amendment, which happened at the 11th hour at the end of July [when his contract was renewed in April] and very little people were here to speak on it and I don’t think it was properly noticed on the agenda,” said Flores-Cale, who explained that her questions will be geared toward the three council members that were serving at the time: council members Marc McKinney, Lauralee Harris and Michael Tobias.

A private attorney did consult with council prior to making the decision for the revisions in July, said Alcorn-Reed.

The first question was what the reasoning was for amending the salary, the percentage of 401(a) — which inconsistently stated both 4% and 6% — and adding 32 weeks of leave benefits, as well as unlimited accrued vacation leave.

The mayor questioned what occurred in between Langley’s renewal in the spring that caused needed amendments in July.

“State legislation,” replied McKinney. “They changed the requirements of what was allowed as far as severance, which would have been a severe detriment to both parties and it was our attempt to make it whole to what they were promised when they took on the position.”

“[House Bill 762] isn’t so much about money; it’s about termination and severance. For example, if something is triggered by your termination, that is now considered severance. So, trying to circumvent the situation is concerning to me. What they did was say, ‘[The state limits us to give you] 20 weeks of paid vacation [for severance] that you can keep [when it was originally 12 months] and [the city is now] going to give you 32. If you take 32 plus 20, how many weeks do you have? Fifty-two. And the [original] agreement was that you would have a year’s salary,” explained Flores-Cale. “So, 52 weeks to me is now the same as a year’s salary … At the end of the day, all this looks to me to be very much the same.”

Regarding the vacation time, McKinney posed the question of why lose it, if they earned it. Flores-Cale noted that it’s not just that they’d lose the days, it’s that staff can cash it out, “So, what’s the benefit to the taxpayer?”

He stated that the taxpayer has the staff whenever they need them, rather than potentially missing important sessions on vacation.

The cost to not renew Langley’s contract, with the unlimited vacation time, would be approximately $500,000, said McKinney, who determined the number based off of Langley’s salary and an estimate of hours accrued.

According to Alcorn-Reed, there is a specific revision of the contract that limits the amount that can be paid out, even upon termination, to 2,000 hours that includes banked leave and the maximum vacation accruement of 720 hours.

Though, if Langley left voluntarily, he would only be entitled to the 720 hours.

Tobias became concerned and wanted to discuss “the elephant in the room” about whether half of the council was going to request termination for both Langley and Alcorn-Reed. Council member Melisa Medina clarified that they just wanted clarification, since the meeting in which the conversation occurred was not public.

“I just wanted to get an understanding … as far as the direction of this conversation itself and what’s the overall end goal that we’re trying to get when we’re talking about their two contracts. So, we can just come out and just be fair to them and respect both of them for what they stand for. Because, again, when we’re starting to talk about people’s contracts, people’s salaries on a personal level, you’re talking about their daily lives, their livelihood,” said Tobias.

“I used the exact same language that you guys used to give them a raise. So, if it wasn’t concerning then, then why does it concern you now,” rebutted the mayor. “I led with, ‘Why did you guys vote that way’ and the first thing that was said was, ‘The law.’ When previous Mayor [Travis] Mitchell came to take his vote, he said ‘He is going to make whole.’ That means circumventing the law.”

Council member Lauralee Harris noted that that was simply Flores-Cale’s interpretation and that that was not the intention, though council member Courtney Goza also agreed that it was going around the law.

Additionally, Langley confirmed that “the goal was to make sure I still had that 12-month severance provision in my contract.”

The conversation began to gain traction, as McKinney shared that he believed the current discussion didn’t need to be an agenda item and that the mayor could have asked her questions separately. Furthermore, he accused Flores-Cale of acting in retaliation for having an item against her put in executive session, adding that he is not the only one that thinks so, as others have been “blowing up his phone.”

She responded, “Well, they could have called me. They could have called us. We’re all available. Aren’t you the one that just said, ‘If you want to know, you can contact us?’”

Council member Claudia Zapata agreed with the sentiment that there are “shenanigans” going on that are creating a hostile work environment for staff and inappropriately using taxpayer dollars.

“This is ridiculous. This is not a circus. This is actual governance and I understand that you are upset that you do not have all the power that you would like to have, but we are a council of checks and balances. We are not a strong-mayor system,” Zapata stressed. “Just because you don’t like something also doesn’t make it illegal. There’s a lot of stuff that happens right now that I don’t like and it’s not necessarily illegal … There’s a huge difference in this and the accusations that are constantly being thrown around, like violations, code, ethics, whatever, all of that, all of that to me is absolutely disgusting that you would do that to another human being, especially someone whose entire career is in doing this. You can ruin someone’s career for their lifetime by throwing around the things that you’re throwing around.”

Zapata continued, stating that these are the opinions of someone who is not an accredited lawyer and that Flores-Cale is attempting to fulfill her campaign promise.

“I’m glad that this conversation was had out front because I don’t see our residents as children that we must protect. I believe that they deserve the full response and attention and answers and honesty that we are able to give them,” concluded Zapata.

To listen to the full discussion, visit bit.ly/40Lm0TZ.

Individuals with charges filed against them in the Kyle Municipal Court system can utilize the Warrant Amnesty Program every Wednesday in March between 1-4 p.m. at Kyle City Hall City Council Chambers, 100 W. Center St.   

The Walk-In Docket Schedule is as follows:

• Wednesday, March 11, from 1-4 p.m.

• Wednesday, March 18, from 1-4 pm.

• Wednesday, March 25, from 1-4 p.m.

Individuals who voluntarily appear during these times will not be arrested, stated a city of Kyle news release. No appointments are needed and Spanish-speaking interpreters will be available.

Individuals unable to pay their citations still have options and are encouraged to attend one of the walk-in docket schedule dates and speak to the judge about possible payment plans, requesting community service or applying jail time served. Speaking to a judge is required to participate in these options.

If an individual does not need to speak with the judge, they can go to the court window to pay their warrant in full from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The city of Kyle Municipal Court is responsible for the adjudication of Class C misdemeanor violations within the jurisdiction of the city limits in adherence with laws by the State of Texas and city ordinances.

The Warrant Amnesty Program applies only to charges filed in the Kyle Municipal Court.

For more information, call 512-262-3994 or visit www.CityofKyle.gov/Court.

The initial presentation was given to Kyle City Council at its Feb. 17 meeting, prior to a final vote, which will occur later in the spring.

“We’re excited to share with you the results of a years-long work with the community, with library staff [and] with the city staff to come up with a master plan,” said Maureen Arndt, principal for 720 Designs.

The process for the design had first begun with a kickoff meeting with library and city staff about the goals for the project. The result was a roadmap for the future of library services for Kyle that was community driven, data rich and innovative. City leadership also stated that the library is “critically undersized [and] that geography and equity of access are a major issue.”

After this, the current facility was evaluated, discovery tours were conducted at the Cedar Park and Round Rock public libraries and community members were asked to weigh in on what was important to them.

There was an in-person open house in May 2025, where 128 participants placed tickets in their top amenity wants and 628 participated online, including 20 Spanish-language responses. Of these responses, 74% were library users and 26% are nonusers, which provided insight to barriers to participation, said Arndt.

With these responses was feedback as to why an individual may not use the library. The biggest reason was that the children’s area is too small. The presentation stated that families instead often traveled to Buda or San Marcos to use their libraries for children’s areas.

“What do they want? A separate, more spacious children’s zone, interactive play, [science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics] elements, more program rooms and indoor and outdoor spaces,” said Arndt. “As children take over all the space in the existing library, quiet spaces and study spaces have become more important.”

Additional comments stated that there are frustrations with crowding, low collection depth, unclear communication and a need for more diverse programming. Other high priorities were early literacy learning, story/arts and crafts, teaching/learning kitchen, community gathering and a music garden.

While creating the plan, the library has already begun implementing changes, such as cultivating its physical collection to include more items community members want, expanding its digital collection and installing new computers.

The presentation shared several recommendations with different timelines:

12 months

• Prepare for new integrated library system implementation

• Explore book lockers and vending machines or a hub on the east side of Kyle

• Complete the concept design of the master plan

• Research funding sources

• Research potential sites for new buildings

1-3 years

• Select option for expanding library services

• Identify and finalize funding

• 12-16 months for the design process for a new building

• 12-20 months for bidding and construction

“[In] the very first option, we wanted to explore the potential for the existing site. So, we did a new layout. Understand that we can expand the existing building by a little over 16,000 [square] feet and still have enough parking to support a building of that size,” said Arndt, for approximately $21 million. “We would recommend, at the same time, doing about a 10,000 square foot storefront [on the east side], so there is a presence over there.”

Option two is to be a library system that has multiple branches throughout the city. Potential site locations included the new City Pointe Development off of FM 150, Kyle Vista Park, Lake Kyle Park and more. The estimated cost is $62.5 million.

Another option is build a new, centrally-located library, as well as a branch on the east side for a price range of $130 to $160 million, depending on the size of the facility.

Finally, the fourth option is the one that community members asked for, said Arndt and is one large full-service library for a projected population of 200,000. This would be approximately $110 to $130 million, with the final total, again, subject to square footage.

During discussion, council members Lauralee Harris and Michael Tobias shared their ideal locations, as Harris stated that the Word Place development offered to use their land for a branch and Tobias noting that he was always interested in bringing a location to Kyle Vista Park, due to its centrality on the east side.

“I just want to make sure that the methodology that we’re using to determine sites takes a variety of things into consideration. So, for example, I just want to ensure that we’re not unintentionally reinforcing geographic inequities and that future library access aligns with where families actually live today and where growth is projected,” said council member Claudia Zapata. “I know that we’re planning out for 200,000 [people], but, in the presentation, we weren’t given any maps showcasing where that projected growth is actually planned to happen. So, I would appreciate us getting that information.”

She also stated that creating libraries could affect land values — market drive displacement — therefore, she would like to have a map that shows the property value impact around each proposed location.

Continuing on the growth conversation was Mayor Yvonne Flores-Cale by asking whether the library could expand vertically, since there are limitations to expanding the footprint.

In response, Arndt stated that, yes, this is a possibility, but it would be a challenge to fit the minimum code ordinance parking.

Harris did comment on the kids area, stating that it needs to be structured in a way that doesn’t allow parents to bring children in as a daycare, but actual learning. This suggestion is because there was another library, she recalled, that librarians were not pleased with, since kids were running around and climbing on things.

Council member Courtney Goza asked where the funding for these would come from.

“[That’s] coming to a Saturday near you, or multiple Saturdays near you,” said city manager Bryan Langley, jokingly referring to upcoming budget meetings. “But, it’s not budgeted. This would be a new capital project and we would have to look at this in context of the overall capital plan to see what it’s all about.”

Langley stated that this item was simply a presentation and that the final Library Master Plan will come back for approval in March or April.

During the investigation, a white powdery substance was recovered from the victim’s room. Testing confirmed the substance was positive for fentanyl. Additionally, the medical examiner reported presumptive positive results for fentanyl in the victim’s system.

Investigators identified 27-year-old Aaron Jones of Austin as the supplier of the fentanyl and 23-year-old Julian Escamilla of Lockhart as the individual who delivered the narcotics that led to the victim’s death.

With the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and partnering agencies, both individuals have been taken into custody. Jones has been charged with murder, while Escamilla has been charged with murder and manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance.

“Fentanyl is a dangerous drug that continues to take lives far too soon,” said KPD Chief Jeff Barnett. “Our department is committed to investigating these cases and holding those responsible accountable. We will continue working to keep these drugs out of our community.”

“This case is a prime example of what can be accomplished when local and federal law enforcement work together,” said Brian Cole, assistant special agent in charge for the DEA Austin District Office. “Fentanyl remains the deadliest drug threat facing our country. Last year, more than 50,000 lives were lost nationwide to synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, and, in the Austin area alone, fentanyl seizures increased by 68%t.”

The DEA continues its national efforts through the Fentanyl Free America campaign, which provides education, prevention resources and enforcement tools to combat the distribution of fentanyl and raise awareness about its impact.

Anyone with information related to the distribution of fentanyl in the community is urged to contact KPD at 512-268-3232. Anonymous tips may be submitted through Hays County Crime Stoppers at 800-324-TIPS.

In her welcome remarks, Becca Hancock, president and CEO of the Kyle Area Chamber of Commerce, set the tone for the evening.

“On behalf of the Kyle Area Chamber of Commerce, it is my absolute pleasure to welcome you to tonight’s awards gala,” Hancock said. “We are so honored to have our business leaders, entrepreneurs, community partners, volunteers and friends gathered together in one room to celebrate what makes Kyle such a remarkable place to live, work and grow.”

Hancock emphasized that while the evening is centered on recognition, it is equally about gratitude.

“We are here to celebrate businesses large and small, the innovators, the risk-takers, the job creators and the steady hands who show up every day committed to serving our community,” she said. “From startups chasing big dreams to established companies shaping our local economy, each of you plays a vital role in the success and spirit of Kyle.”

She also highlighted the critical role of volunteers in strengthening the chamber and the broader community.

“Our volunteers are the heartbeat of this chamber,” Hancock noted. “You give your time, your ideas and your energy not for recognition, but because you believe in building something bigger than yourselves. Tonight, we have the privilege of saying thank you.”

The gala recognized outstanding individuals and organizations for their contributions to the Kyle community. This year’s honorees included:

• Ambassador of the Year – Jessie Clayton

• Emerging Business of the Year – Primrose School of Kyle

• Business of the Year (under 50 employees) – UFCU - Kyle Branch

• Business of the Year (more than 50 employees) – City Limits Subaru

• Trailblazer of the Year – David Johnson

• Nonprofit of the Year – Hays CISD Education Foundation

• Spirit of Kyle Award – Tony Arredondo

• Citizen of the Year – Betty Conley

Hancock closed by underscoring the power of collaboration within the business community: “The strength of our chamber — and our city — comes from collaboration,” she said. “When businesses support one another, when leaders step forward and when neighbors invest in their community, incredible things happen. That spirit is what we celebrate this evening.”

The “Starlight & Spurs” Awards Gala continues to serve as a signature event highlighting excellence, dedication and the bright future ahead for Kyle.

The subcommittee was initially discussed at a special meeting held Feb. 5, but was formally brought back for a vote.

The idea is that three separate committees — finance, development and infrastructure and agenda setting —  would each consist of three council members and meet semi-regularly to have in-depth discussions on items that would appear at later council meetings. Council itself would choose who sits on which subcommittee.

The presentation noted that the structure would be advisory in nature to make recommendations to the rest of council and would be supported by staff with meetings held in accordance with the Open Meetings Act:

Finance subcommittee:

• Focused on understanding and reviewing fiscal items and policies

• Examines financial issues in detail

• Increases meeting efficiency by resolving detailed financial questions in advance

• Held as needed

Infrastructure and development subcommittee:

• Focused analysis of growth and infrastructure to improve long term planning

• Enhances coordination with staff communication and timing

• Reduces risk and cost escalation, while increasing council efficiency

• Held as needed

Agenda subcommittee:

• Helps sequence and prioritize current and future council business

• Ensures meetings are structured efficiently

• Helps balance meeting workload aligning council priorities with timing.

• Creates predictability and transparency, with item timelines and sequencing

• Meets regularly to review upcoming agendas

• Mayor has to sit on this, since she makes the agenda with the city manager

According to city manager Bryan Langley and assistant city manager Jesse Elizondo, the proposition stems from the elongated council discussions that have occurred, which often go to midnight and force items to be pushed to later dates. Langley also stated that there are several items on the executive agenda that need direction, but are being delayed, due to lengthy discussion.

Elizondo further explained that “while staff would still give a presentation [at the regular council meeting] and answer any questions, those council members [on the subcommittee] would also have a deeper dive and more of a subject matter expert knowledge. In that, the rest of the council can be confident that their colleagues have looked into this and have asked lots of questions, especially if all three are recommending it.”

If adopted, council would need to amend the Rules of Council.

City attorney Aimee Alcorn-Reed stated that these meetings do not break quorum because they are done in an open meeting setting.

Despite this, residents expressed concern at the proposal during public comment.

“In my opinion, this proposed plan appears to be a strategic maneuver to undermine citizens' participation and consolidate power in the hands of our city manager. It seems the plan structure would necessitate a significant time commitment from citizens, like myself, [and] potentially dominating my weekly schedule [by] attending multiple council committee meetings,” said Kyle resident Howard Connell.

Beginning discussion was council member Melisa Medina, who questioned how this will save time. She acknowledged that those on the subcommittee would have questions answered, but the other four wouldn’t, so the item could still turn into an hour-long discussion. In response, Elizondo stated that the intention is that the council members can guide the others and answer their questions.

“For me, being on council for six years now, I’m just curious to know, at this specific moment in time, why it’s being considered. Is it because we have a new council, a new dais [that needs] to get caught up on projects,” asked council member Michael Tobias.

The assistant city manager noted that its part of growth, as the items brought forward get more complex, they need more time and it’s becoming harder to do everything needed in regular meetings: “This meeting is a perfect example. I don’t think we’ve hit actual council action yet. We’ve hit some work sessions; we’ve hit consent, but this might be the first action item that we’ve pulled up and it’s 10:30 p.m.”

Council member Claudia Zapata was in immense favor of the idea, citing transparency as the reason to move forward with the subcommittees.

She explained that, currently, there are a lot of conversations that happen off of the dais and these extra meetings would force council “whether they like it or not to have these conversations in front of the public, with posted meeting agendas … I just want to be very clear that this gives our residents more opportunities to engage.”

Expressing the same sentiment were council members Lauralee Harris and Marc McKinney.

McKinney emphasized that council is failing its residents by not getting through agendas and that either these subcommittees get approved or they will need to begin meeting weekly to get through the necessary items.

Resident feedback was important to council member Courtney Goza, who shared that she has seen comments that state this will bring less transparency, as there will be less discussion on the dais, therefore, depriving residents of information.

Continuing with concerns was Mayor Yvonne Flores-Cale.

First, she noted that council previously voted 7-0 to have a presentation come back for a finance/audit committee, so she’s not sure why a council-led option is being presented.

Second, she was apprehensive about the time commitment.

“This is huge. I’ve already committed probably 40-50 hours a week to the city, to the residents, to each other and so, what you guys are asking me to do is to commit additional time and this is going to be staff time, as well,” said Flores-Cale.

Tobias agreed, especially with budget season coming up and adding even more meetings to the calendar.

Additionally, she noted that she previously asked for a detailed presentation regarding financials and council voted against it. So, it begs the question of what changed — why did council not want the “nitty gritty, granular” information, but now, they want subcommittees to dig deeper, Flores-Cale said.

The mayor stated that instead, council should interact with residents more, as answering their questions often leads to further knowledge for herself.

“Transparency comes at a cost,” said Zapata, adding that other cities do this, as well, such as San Marcos and Round Rock. “Transparency and our want for it is going to cost us time and if that seems to be the goal of this council, is to prioritize that, this is a mechanism to do that.”

As a compromise, the mayor asked to bring back the subcommittee idea after budget season, but agreed to schedule the proposed work sessions, without amending the Rules of Council.

The work sessions, according to agenda documents, would “provide dedicated time for in-depth discussion of complex and emerging topics, as well as allowing the council to identify priorities, advance initiatives and provide clearer strategic direction.” These meetings would include informational presentations that, a lot of times, do not require votes, but do take up a significant amount of time.

The proposed dates are as follows, but could change, said Elizondo: March 19, April 16, May 14, June 25 and July 16.

Flores-Cale made a motion to create regularly-scheduled work sessions throughout budget season, without amending the Rules of Council. The item was seconded by Medina and passed 7-0.

“I hope everybody feels heard because I know we can get into our own feelings and our own ideas, but I do think this is a good medium for now,” concluded the mayor.

To listen to the discussion, visit bit.ly/3ORZm9K.

Kyle City Council will meet next March 3.

At approximately 4 p.m., a deputy with the HCSO Criminal Interdiction Unit conducted a traffic stop in the area of exit 215 of northbound IH-35 in Kyle, said a news release. The deputy’s investigation uncovered indicators of criminal activity and an HCSO dual purpose canine was deployed. Following an alert to the presence of narcotics by the canine, a search of the vehicle was conducted.

The vehicle search resulted in the discovery of 25 kilograms of suspected cocaine concealed within the vehicle. The vehicle’s driver, an adult out of Starr County, Texas, was arrested and charged with manufacture/delivery of controlled substance (penalty group 1), a first-degree felony. The seized cocaine has an estimated wholesale value of $325,000. The incident remains under investigation and no additional details can be released at this time.

The Criminal Interdiction Unit is a specialized unit within the HCSO that focuses on intercepting criminals in transit, primarily on the major thoroughfares within Hays County, such as IH-35, SH-21 and US 290. The unit is a uniformed initiative that promotes public safety through traffic enforcement and utilizes these encounters to detect criminal activity.

HCSO is committed to reducing the impact of illicit narcotics in the community. Community members are encouraged to report narcotic activity by calling 512-393-7896. Those wishing to remain anonymous can also contact Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-324-8477 from anywhere in the U.S. or submitting information online via www.P3tips.com.

Bell spoke at the event, detailing what an honor it was to be the city’s first commissioned art piece. “I believe that public art should be for everyone — and that art in general should be for everyone — and I designed this piece so that it could be interactive with people at all ages and abilities,” said Bell.

Steve Cook, quartermaster of the VFW, shared that the opportunity stemmed from the nonprofit's community closet, which began three years ago and offers clothing and other items to those in need. He explained that each year, he would send out a survey regarding the closet and ask what the biggest need is. The response was always that those in need can’t be served, whether due to lack of vehicle transport or fear of asking.

So, when the American Red Cross reached out and asked if they would be interested in a disaster team vehicle, the VFW immediately said yes.

The van, which was donated to the VFW, will be equipped with food through partnerships with restaurants, clothing from community donations and other basic necessities to respond to families in need when disasters strike, said Andrea Acosta, external government operations coordinator for Red Cross.

“It’s pretty awesome. The whole outside will be wrapped and then, the inside will all be redone to fit what we’re doing — the clothes, the food, we’ll have a little generator,” said Cook.

Those that will be operating the vehicle are certified and trained by Red Cross, said Cook, as members of the VFW have already been responding to various disasters, such as the flooding that occurred in Kerville last July.

Despite many members being veterans, Cook emphasized that anyone can take the courses, get certified and be part of the response teams.

“Everything we do here, you don’t have to be a veteran,” he explained. “[About] 50% of the people that make this program are not veterans. If the community wants to get involved or if they want to ride out with us on this providing food, it’s absolutely open to everybody. Everything we do at this post is open to the community.”

Although the courses are online through Red Cross, Cook shared that because they will be receiving the vehicle soon, he aims to have in-house classes at the facility.

When the van is not responding to disasters, Cook hopes to use it for community outreach, such as parking in neighborhoods and setting up a day for residents to receive soup or clothing.

“Our veterans are doing such a great job and I think the reason why they play such a vital role in this program is because they’re experienced in the military. So, they develop a skill set and so, it makes them just that much easier to pull into the program,” said Acosta.

She also emphasized the importance of the disaster team vehicle because it can provide motivation to those who might feel lost: “Maybe there’s a veteran out there that maybe he has a void or she has a void [and] maybe they see that this program is being supported and sponsored by local vet[erans] and that's their calling they needed to get them out of that mindset.”

In the future, Cook shared that the VFW is continuing to look for opportunities to aid their community, such as getting certified as a warming shelter and starting a fireside chat.

The unveiling of the disaster team vehicle will be at 9 a.m. Friday, March 6, at the Kyle VFW, 107 Veterans Drive.

Kyle Park will feature approximately 450,000–500,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, a strong lineup of nationally recognized tenants and a vibrant lifestyle district designed to serve residents and visitors alike.

“Today marks more than just the start of construction,” said Rosie Truelove, executive director of strategic development for the city of Kyle. “It represents our shared commitment to thoughtful growth, economic opportunity and creating places that serve our residents and strengthen our community for the long term.”

City manager Bryan Langley emphasized the project’s regional and fiscal impact: “This is the largest private investment in Kyle’s history,” Langley said. “At build-out, Kyle Park is expected to generate approximately $2.5 million annually in sales tax revenue and about $1 million in property tax revenue for the city. Over time, this development will keep retail dollars local, create jobs and establish Kyle as a regional destination.”

Mayor Yvonne Flores-Cale reflected on the project’s roots and its future significance.

“This development brings approximately 450,000 square feet of commercial space to Kyle, including retailers, restaurants and services our residents have been asking for,” Flores-Cale said. “For years, Kyle residents had to leave the city for everyday shopping and dining. Kyle Park changes that. It gives people more reasons to stay local and invest in their own community.”

Announced retailers and tenants include: Dick’s Sporting Goods, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, Barnes & Noble, Burlington, Boot Barn, Miniso, America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses, and others. Dining options will include Raising Cane’s, Gringo’s Mexican Kitchen, Chili’s, Dave’s Hot Chicken, Wine & Taco, Scooter’s Coffee and more. Fitness, wellness and service providers, such as EOS Fitness, Pacific Dental and Mister Car Wash are also planned.

In addition to retail and dining, Kyle Park will feature 426 multifamily residential units, green space, playgrounds and a walkable lifestyle district connected to Kyle’s trail and mobility network. A key infrastructure component includes the extension of Kohlers Crossing, improving east-west connectivity and linking to regional transportation improvements, including the future IH-35 underpass.

Development partners Steve Alvis and Andrew Alvis of NewQuest praised the city’s leadership and collaborative spirit.

“When growth comes to your door, you can either manage it or let it run you over,” said Steve. “Kyle’s leadership team chose to manage it thoughtfully and that’s why this project is here today.”

“This has been six years in the making,” added Andrew. “We’re excited to bring a lifestyle destination to Kyle, a place where families can spend the day, enjoy green space, shop, eat and truly connect with the community.”

City council member Marc McKinney noted the importance of honoring the site’s history, while building for the future.

“The Caraway family has been part of Kyle for generations and their legacy lives on in this land,” McKinney said. “Kyle Park reflects both our past and our future — balanced growth, quality development and opportunity for all parts of our city.”

Kyle Park is positioned to serve both residents and regional travelers along the IH-35 corridor, further establishing Kyle as a growing hub for commerce, lifestyle and community connection in Central Texas.

For more information, visit www.newquest.com/property/kyle-park/.

Following a successful year of community impact — including awarding $8,000 in scholarships to Lehman High School seniors last May — the club is launching this inaugural event to ensure continued support for the Kyle community, according to a news release.

The event will be held at Sage Hall at Texas Old Town, located at 1205 Roland Lane in Kyle. Doors open at 6 p.m. for a "speakeasy" style evening of entertainment.

Tickets are $60 per person and include dinner, casino chips and one drink ticket.

"We are thrilled to bring the community together for an evening of fun that directly impacts our neighbors," said Vianna Garza, secretary of the Kyle Lions Club. "100% of the proceeds stay right here in Central Texas to help us feed, lead and serve those in need."

The Kyle Lions Club invites all community members and local businesses to participate in this landmark event, said the news release. Sponsorship opportunities are still available and donations are welcomed.

For more information or to purchase tickets, interested parties can visit the Kyle Lions Club Facebook page or https://givebutter.com/c/DB0pLH.

“Gregg-Clarke Park is one of our most beloved parks and [is] highly utilized in the city of Kyle,” began Parks and Recreation director David Lopez. “It acts as a community hub; it’s a park for families. However, it is rapidly declining, due to lack of complementary design. Some poorly designed assets and assets at or beyond their useful life. Waterleaf Park also has much potential for additional trail access for recreational activities, outdoor education and conservation, but needs proper planning to ensure the optimal investment for optimized programming that services the community.”

According to project manager Bryan Janhsen of Freese and Nichols, Waterleaf Park had not had any substantive improvements since its opening in 2005. Though, since then, there was the upgraded playground installed in October 2025 and a parking lot planned for the near future.

This, along with the new all-wheels skatepark for Gregg-Clarke Park, is being considered when creating the concepts.

“The goal for this effort is to create a unifying aesthetic throughout both of these parks. We want them to be functional. We want them to maximize the programming at these parks and do it in a safe and accessible way,” explained Janhsen.

David Buchanan, landscape architect of Freese and Nichols, began the concepts by discussing site evaluation at Waterleaf. The park has been divided into four zones, he said — open nature area, forested area, open transition space and a future implementation of the Vybe Trail.

“Waterleaf is a bit unique and there’s a lot of underlying tones between both concepts,” said Buchanan.

The concepts are as follows:

Concept A: Nature and recreation

• Vybe Trail

• Internal park trails

• Soft surface/ natural trail

• Boardwalk

• Naturalized drainage channel

• Re-oriented baseball fields

• Parking

• Existing structures

• Existing playground

• Flex lawn space

Concept B: Nature and mountain bike

• Vybe Trail

• Beginner bike trail

• Intermediate bike trail

• Internal park trails

• Boardwalk

• Naturalized drainage channel

• Re-oriented baseball fields

• Parking

• Existing structure

• Existing playground

• Jump track

• Children’s pump track

• Main pump track

• Flex lawn space

• Soft surface/natural trail

“The big change [in Concept B] is there on that southeast corner, where we translate some of the open space to more of a mountain bike themed location,” said Buchanan. “You’ll see at these public engagement meetings, the want for a new programmatic item that may not exist too heavily within the city of Kyle be incorporated here at Waterleaf.”

Janhsen noted that, in December, two open houses were held, with more than 100 participants. Attendees were then asked their preferences of amenities and for any comments or concerns.

The overwhelming preference at these engagement sessions was Concept B, said Buchanan. Additionally, the top five amenities from residents were: an adult pump track, mountain biking, children’s pump track, jump track and a nature trail.

Council member Michael Tobias questioned whether the bikers and walkers would be on the same trails, similar to Town Lake in Austin. Lopez confirmed this and explained that they will need to have a trail system that is durable for mountain bikes, while also having signage for traffic rules.

Mayor Yvonne Flores-Cale requested that staff bring back specific acreage that will be used for each amenity, to give council a better understanding of the equity.

Additionally, she asked that more engagement be held to reach at least 500 responses, as the 100 people that attended only represent a small portion of the community.

Despite the low number, council member Claudia Zapata urged to not discredit those that did show up, as an amenity, such as a pump track that’s large enough to fit wheel chairs would be a great amenity to have.

Later, the mayor shared concerns regarding the amount of concrete in the concept.

“I think it’s going to be important for everybody on this dais to understand that we have a creek that runs through here and that’s Plum Creek,” said Flores-Cale. “We have to be really strategic as to not put too much impervious coverage over there because that’s also where our wastewater outlet is. So, we want to protect that at all costs.”

Moving onto the other park, Buchanan said that while Waterleaf was more condensed, Gregg-Clark Park had more opportunity.

“Hopefully throughout this conceptual study, we’ll begin to address [the disjointedness across the east and west] and really create a bit of cohesion. So, in addition to the existing conditions, we also want to talk briefly about opportunities for future [program] expansion … You’ll see that incorporated and rolled into both alternatives,” the landscape architect said.

The concepts for Gregg-Clarke Park are as follows:

Concept A: General lawn

• Park drive

• Internal park trails

• Little league fields

• Flex lawn space

• Naturalized drainage channel

• Basketball courts

• Tennis/pickleball courts

• Ash Pavilion

• Playground

• Central lawn

• Aquatic center

• Skate park

• Monument signage

• Parking

• Potential facilities expansion

Concept B: The meander

• Park drive

• Internal park trails

• Little league fields

• County property

• Naturalized drainage channel

• Basketball courts

• Tennis/pickleball courts

• Ash Pavilion

• Playground

• Central lawn

• Aquatic center

• Skate park

• Monument signage

• Parking

• Boardwalk

• Potential facilities expansion

“We feel like having a central lawn [will] help celebrate the site and bring those active community events to Gregg-Clarke. So, a lot of Concept A revolves around that,” said Buchanan, adding that it also focuses on sports. “What we wanted Concept B to do is really hone in and focus on the idea of re-envisioning what this creek could become and make it an important key component of the proposed improvements.”

After, council member Marc McKinney brought up the elimination of two baseball fields, which only adds to the lack of sports amenities within the city, Lopez explained that it was never safe to have those four fields against each other as they were. This is the reason for the change.

Tobias noted that, for Concept A, there needs to be trees to counter the high temperatures in the summer. There will instead be formal shading with pavilions, explained Buchanan.

Because the park was donated to the city from the Gregg family, Flores-Cale suggested adding monument signage.

Acknowledging the fact that the city has a national champion roller hockey team, council member Lauralee Harris wanted more enhancements for Ash Pavilion, including adding seating, for the draw that the facility brings.

She also advocated for a dog park, since the west side doesn’t have one, and for bringing a restaurant or sandwich shop instead of additional parking on Veterans Drive in Concept A. Rather than a permanent tenant, Lopez suggested a food truck park in the area.

Community members preferred Concept B and selected the aquatic center — by expanding the pool — internal park trails, central lawn, naturalized drainage channel and the playground as favorite amenities.

Regarding feedback, Tobias suggested doing a presentation to the Kyle Area Youth Advisory Council to get its input. Lopez noted that this was a reasonable ask and that they will work on this.

Zapata brought up that there needs to be work done on the site access for the neighborhoods across the street, as there are poor sidewalks, lighting and crosswalks. This will be addressed in an upcoming updated Trails Master Plan, said Lopez, as it will address the opportunity for connectivity in the area.

Finally, council discussed enlisting the Arts and Cultural Board to create signage advertising the park at Veterans Drive, since many are unaware of its location at that intersection.

The presentation timeline detailed that the final concepts, with feedback, will be shown to the Parks and Recreation Board Feb. 23 and will return to council March 17.

To listen to the discussion, visit bit.ly/4qGEWi8.

Prior to discussing the policy, council approved the first of two readings of an ordinance to eliminate council credit cards and move to a reimbursement-only policy. The presentation specified that this is an interim solution until a compensation committee is established to determine long-term compensation structure.

The creation of the committee, which last convened in 2022, was approved 7-0 by council. In order for the committee to have ample time to discuss changes prior to the start of budget meetings, council will appoint its nominees at the Feb. 17 meeting.

Beginning the presentation regarding the proposed policy to require staff to post credit card expenses and supporting documentation was assistant director of Finance Joshua Chronley.

“I’m going to walk you through a presentation that does just that, but I also felt it was important to provide some background on the staff purchase card program because I think there was some understandable confusion between how staff operate their card program versus the way that council had operated their card program,” said Chronley.

A purchase card is a restricted procurement tool governed by policy and law, he continued. It is not a line of credit, rather it is paid off each month, with each charge directly reflected in the city’s financial statements. These have a single swipe maximum of $3,000 — with monthly limits based on department need —  and are used for low dollar, high volume operational needs and reduced administrative workload, which is why they’re used across the state of Texas.

Those eligible to have a card are issued one only with department directors and Finance approval. Additionally, there is a training requirement and a cardholder agreement.

According to the presentation, external and independent oversight is also conducted.

Chronley explained that of the 93 active cards, two are program related — Uber 3.14 and financial services to pay city utilities — and account for 52% of spending. In total, $2,742,885 was spent in fiscal year 2025, which was from October 2024 to September 2025.

“When we look at what was spent on utility bills and the Uber program, that’s about $1.4 million. The remaining amount is $1.3 million,” he explained. “We can break that down further … That $1.3 million happened over about 5,170 transactions, which means that the average monthly transaction was about $254.”

Currently, documentation requirements include: an itemized receipt; business purpose; proper account coding; and missing receipt forms, if needed. Repeated violations will result in suspension, said Chronley.

The new policy requested by council could be one of four options. The first of which is full posting with receipts and redactions.

“One important consideration is going to be, again, the costs potentially associated with this posting requirement. In order to comply with state law, we will have to do some redactions. We have to make sure, if the intent is to have the actual statements from Wells Fargo, we’re going to have to redact all the card numbers. If you guys want all the receipts, we’re also going to have to redact the card number from all the receipts and then, just also make sure that we are not releasing any individual personal information for staff. We think that’s about between 70 and 95 hours a month,” said Chronley. “That cost range, and it just again depends on who is assigned to the task, is between $2,000 and $4,700 a month, for an annual cost of $25,000 and $55,000.”

Alternatives to this include:

Department-level summary reporting

• An annual cost of $2,500-$5,000

• Lower cost and minimal privacy risk

Transaction-level reporting without receipts

• Increased visibility into individual transactions

• An annual cost of $6,250-$13,750

• Moderate workload and reaction considerations

Utilize the monthly financial reports

• Leverages reports already reviewed by council

• Provides comprehensive view of all spending types, not just purchase cards

• No incremental cost and low operational risk

“I do have a couple of concerns. Although the presentation was very informative, the agenda item is regarding posting credit card expenses online and I didn’t see very much on that,” said Mayor Yvonne Flores-Cale. “We just consumed a lot of information and a lot of it kind of pointed towards, ‘Hey, this may not be a good idea.’ For me, it was kind of skewed.”

Chronley noted that staff was not asked to make a recommendation regarding posting, so he provided information that could clear up miscommunication and provided potential numbers.

“I just want to be very, very clear that this policy is simply about posting receipts and that’s it. There’s no additional context that will be provided as to why that was done,” said council member Claudia Zapata. “I just think this would be a terrible use of staff time. I did ask, in preparation for this meeting, what would potentially, if we spent this much time — approximately 70 to 95 hours a month — on something else that was actually geared towards transparency, accountability [and] auditing, then what could we do? Staff pointed to the fact that we could use this time to further improve, build on our dashboards, improve our transparency portal. Those are things that will actually provide the public context needed to understand our finances.”

Supporting Zapata’s sentiment was council member Lauralee Harris, who added that this policy would invite challenge and extra staff time.

Council member Courtney Goza shared that there were items in the council policy that were consistently missed each month, so she “doesn’t have a whole lot of faith that there aren’t errors that are going through on the staff side, as well. So, that was one of the things [of] why people were like, ‘Well, I want to see these. I want to see what’s going on.’”

Zapata rebutted, stating that conflating the council policy and staff policy is doing a disservice to the strict policies in place for staff. For example, she noted that staff has a $3,000 limit per transaction in accordance with state law, while council set its own limitations.

After reaching out to the audit company, Flores-Cale shared that she was told that there would be upcoming suggestions for changes to policies, but it has yet to be determined what specifically.

“I also understand that we have residents that have asked for these open records and I, myself, being one of them at one time being charged a significant amount of money for information that we should already be enabled to get,” said the mayor. “Is it time consuming? Sure. Can it be kind of annoying? Absolutely. But at the end of the day, we sit here to serve them.”

The motion to approve the item as presented, with full posting of receipts and redactions online, was approved 4-3, with council members Marc McKinney, Harris and Zapata dissenting.

Chronley did note that the receipts will always be two months behind because there needs to be time to redact after a month is finished.

To listen to the discussion, visit bit.ly/4bCepOv. Kyle City Council will meet next Tuesday, Feb. 17.

"Dear Hays CISD Family,

Yesterday, a 12-year-old boy showed up at Lehman High School in tears – afraid and lost. He left Simon Middle School without permission during a student protest earlier that day and walked five-and-a-half miles until he found another school campus. He didn’t know how he was going to get home. The outstanding staff at Lehman, of course, comforted him and helped him reunite with his parents. The incident wasn’t on social media or the news, and it didn’t compete for attention. It was just a simple, quiet illustration – one of many – that highlighted some of the lesser-known effects of the campus walkouts. We are doing our best to keep kids in class, but when hundreds of students simultaneously head to the doors, we don’t have enough staff at each campus to stop them, nor are we allowed to physically restrain them. This is why I am again asking all parents to help us to keep kids safe by encouraging them to stay in class.

You may likely have already heard this from your child, but in addition to me reaching out to you, we have added a pop-up message on all school district student devices that reminds them they do not have permission to skip school.

Our district is not an abstract entity. It is a collective of people – employees, parents, students, community members, and taxpayers. There are tens of thousands of us and probably as many opinions. I’ve heard many of those perspectives in recent days. We have had people upset that the district didn’t take a stand one way or the other – again because we can’t. Others have infused meaning where there is none – interpreting what we say and do as reason to believe we have indeed chosen a side.

Recent national events are upsetting in so many ways. I understand that. We’re not just talking about federal policy. Real lives are affected and there is real fear. It’s absolutely polarizing. What we are trying to do in our school district is to escape the either/or choice presented by these national issues, over which we have no control. There is a third option for us, and that is standing for education and student safety.

Yesterday, I spoke with you about the consequences for students who walk out of class. Today, I want to tell you about the consequences for our school district. The Texas Education Agency released guidance for school districts late Tuesday regarding student walkouts. There are three key parts: (1) districts could lose funding which is based on daily student attendance, (2) teachers who facilitate protests could be investigated by the state and face sanctions against their professional teaching licenses, and (3) school districts could be assigned state monitors, conservators, or a board of managers to replace the locally elected school board.

I care about funding, but not funding instead of students. That is also not an either/or choice. I care about funding because I care about kids. The money pays for student opportunities, supplies, and salaries to keep the best teachers and staff in the state working in our district. I don’t want your local tax dollars to remain in the hands of the state. I want as much of that money as we can get back in our community and invested in our children. Additionally, no one wants to see young teachers lose their careers or local voice replaced by the state. Yes, the state does have the power to replace your locally elected school board members with people appointed by the state government.

This is why we continue to implore parents to speak with children about doing what they need to do, but in the right way. If you want to be angry – be angry, but be angry at the right people. If you want your children to protest, you must sign them out of school and leave school property. Students must understand that the ramifications of their actions using schools as their platforms probably won’t mean much to the federal government, but they will mean a great deal to our local community, which includes themselves.

Please continue to have conversations about the best way to express the rights afforded in our Constitution. Exercising rights also means considering responsibility. The two go hand-in-hand. While the cause of the student protestors may well be just – it’s not for me to say in my official capacity, I can say with certainty, if they keep doing it from school, they are doing it on the wrong stage.

Sincerely,

Eric"

This comes after city staff offered less than one third of the property’s value in September 2025, alleged Christopher Dacy, one of three directors of The Joe Dacy Charitable Trust, which owns the land in question off of Windy Hill Road.

“We started meeting with the city probably over three years ago,” recalled Dacy. “[In] every single meeting, we express[ed] our support for the project. We know Kyle’s a rapidly growing city and that Windy Hill Road’s become a major artery in the city and it needs to be enlarged and straightened for a number of reasons … So, after I don’t know how many meetings, but, finally, toward the end of September, they sent us the offers and [we] immediately recognized they were super low.”

The amount offered was $664,866, according to an email thread from the city. Dacy stated that he knew that this assessment was low, due to the fact that he had been discussing numbers with developers, who gave estimates for the value of the land.

So, he and the other directors hired their own appraiser to determine what they believe would be the best price point. The appraisal from Valbridge Property Advisors resulted in a total amount of $2,453,000 — more than a $1.3 million difference.

In researching the history of the property prior to the start of his ownership interest in 2022, Dacy discovered that the county had previously purchased part of the land: “Hays County purchased almost half an acre in the same Parcel 2, adjacent to the land Kyle wants, nearly 17 years ago. Hays County valued it at $13.28 per square foot and, now, Kyle has offered $3.75 per square foot.”

He felt that the county’s number was closer to what his appraisal assessed the property for than the city's.

The director shared that he and his team hoped that the city would negotiate, but that never came. The city received Dacy’s counteroffer in December, as the appraisal took two months, and rejected it.

“The day after we submitted our appraisals and counteroffer, the city’s attorney emailed our attorney, threatening the use of eminent domain and stating that the city needs ‘immediate possession’ of all parcels and that there isn’t enough time between now and the end of the year to reach a mutual agreement,” recalled Dacy, noting that the email didn’t explicitly state that they would be pursuing condemnation.

Two weeks later, city staff brought an agenda item to proceed with eminent domain at the Jan. 6, 2026, Kyle City Council meeting. Mayor Yvonne Flores-Cale questioned the item, sharing that she reached out to the nonprofit, which thought that negotiations were underway. Because of this, she, and council member Courtney Goza, voted against the condemnation, as she believed that there should have been proper notice and more information provided to council.

The city filed for eminent domain in the Hays County Clerk’s office Jan. 9.

Then, Dacy revealed that they were asked to sign a Possession and Use Agreement for $15,000 that would allow Kyle to begin the road construction project prior to reaching a price, which he declined.

“We’ve been having meetings with them for three years about this. It’s a very small .6 mile stretch of road. There’s literally no urgency to start [as soon as possible] when they’ve just been discussing it for many years. It’s in our opinion [that] it’s not reasonable to send us an offer and allow us only a month or two to respond and then, immediately start eminent domain proceedings after the ball has been in the city’s court for three-plus years on a small road construction project,” emphasized Dacy. “They’re trying to strong arm us … Here we are in the final stages, after they finally presented us an offer, and all of a sudden, they’re trying to act with expediency that they’ve never acted with before.”

The litigation process, he continued, is only going to lengthen the timeline and costs residents money.

The condemnation process requires three court-appointed disinterested freeholders within the city, which will hear arguments from both sides before deciding on a value. If not, there is an appeals process prior to it starting again, he said, adding that the city could have avoided this by simply negotiating.

Furthermore, the nonprofit’s upcoming project will be delayed, shared Dacy. The Joe Dacy Charitable Trust began in 2022 after the passing of Douglas and Donald Dacy, who owned the property. Their only wish was to put all of their assets into a foundation — named after their father, Joe — to aid underprivileged children and one year ago, Dacy and his partners found the perfect opportunity through a summer camp.

“We came across a nonprofit [that puts] on an overnight summer camp for low income children that’s completely free to the campers and their families and this group has been looking to expand. They receive hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of applicants every year that they just don’t have capacity for and have to turn away,” noted Dacy. “It was a perfect scenario, where we’ve got this land that my great uncles want to be a blessing to children [and] this camp is looking for land to do just that. So, we’re partnering with them and have committed a lot of money to making that happen, [but] that’s in limbo, while this road construction/eminent domain proceeding goes on.”

The preliminary plan was to construct a camp property filled with cabins, a pool, rope courses, sand volleyball courts, basketball courts, a soccer field, a medical hub, dining room and more. However, the new litigation is forcing money that would have been spent on this project to go toward legal fees, resulting in pausing the project.

Hays County children that qualify for free or reduced lunch at school would be able to attend the summer camp for free, he said.

“I’m sure there’s a lot of families and children in Hays County that can’t afford to send their kids to an ordinary summer camp and would love to have their kids experience this camp,” said Dacy. “A lot of these campers come from broken homes and it’s just a learning and growing experience to get out of the home and meet new friends.”

Now, this opportunity has been taken away from residents for the time being.

In response to request for comment, the city did not state why it’s now imperative that it move forward with condemnation. It did, however, note the following on eminent domain proceedings:

“When the city and a property owner are unable to reach a negotiated agreement, a public convenience and necessity (PCN) authorizes the city to initiate eminent domain proceedings if necessary. A PCN does not mean negotiations end; in fact, the majority of property acquisitions are resolved through negotiated agreements prior to any hearing. The city’s goal is always to work in good faith with property owners to provide fair compensation, while being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars and delivering critical infrastructure improvements in a timely manner,” said Rachel Sonnier, city of Kyle assistant director of communications.

Dacy emphasized that he understands that the road is needed, but that all the nonprofit wants is the fair market value for the property: “Our intention is not to drag this out. We’re not trying to get more from the city than what the land’s worth. We just want to negotiate a fair price and move on.”

KYLE — The streets of Kyle and Buda were filled with backpacks, homemade signs, sounds of chants and determination, as more than 500 Hays CISD students participated in a staged walkout Monday, Feb. 2, in protest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

This comes after the conversation around ICE has begun gaining traction, following the alleged illegal detainment and mistreatment of both immigrants and United States citizens. As a result, thousands statewide — including students in Round Rock ISD, Edgewood ISD, New Braunfels ISD and more — and across the nation have participated in protests. Additionally, the deaths of Keith Porter Jr., Renée Good and Alex Pretti have sparked uproar, the latter of which was recently honored with a candlelight vigil by Kyle residents in Mary Kyle Hartson City Square Park Friday, Jan. 30.

These actions by ICE hit close to home for Hays County residents, as agents were spotted throughout the county in January, resulting in a detained individual being transported to the hospital Jan. 15, according to the Kyle Police Department.

The walkout was planned for several days prior to execution, with participants from Barton Middle School, Live Oak Academy, Hays High School, Lehman High School and Johnson High School students walking out of class at predetermined times throughout the afternoon.

Students of all high schools walked a combined total of more than 10 miles down the streets of Kyle and Buda to make their voices heard, escorted by law enforcement that regularly stopped traffic to ensure student safety.

“I’m doing this because nobody deserves to be afraid of their parents not being able to come home or getting home and their parents not being there. Nobody deserves to be taken unfairly,” said one student.

“I’m joining the protest because I’m a first generation Mexican-American and my parents fought to come to this country. They were both born in Mexico and they came to this country to give me a better life and my sisters a better life. This is why I’m speaking up for them, giving them the voice that they cannot give themselves,” explained another.

During the protests, the district sent out a statement, noting that skipping classes and leaving without permission is against the rules in Hays CISD. Furthermore, it shared that there are policies in place for campuses that can be used for non-school activities, many of which were violated. Students that chose to participate, the statement continued, received unexcused absences and face other potential disciplinary action.

The future consequences were unimportant to the protestors, with one emphasizing that the awareness and the ability to stand up for those who can’t speak for themselves takes priority: “It doesn’t matter in the big scheme of things; it’s a small thing to show solidarity.”

“If we don’t do anything, then what’s the point? We can't just stay silent forever,” another protester emphasized.

As students made their way to Kyle City Hall, they were joined by community members, parents and elected officials who showed up to support, such as Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra, Hays County commissioner Michelle Cohen and Kyle City Council member Claudia Zapata.

At city hall, KPD observed a minor in possession of alcohol, resulting in the arrest of two minors. One of which was charged with assault on a public servant, resisting arrest, interfering with public duties, consumption and possession of alcohol by a minor, while the second was charged with resisting arrest and interfering with public duties. The agency did note that the arrests were not related to the walkout.

Later, a male adult became involved in a physical altercation involving multiple JHS students at the intersection of FM 967 and FM 1626, according to the Buda Police Department.

Officers were dispatched to the scene, where they observed that an adult male in a vehicle and a female juvenile were in a verbal argument, which escalated into a physical altercation.

Buda Mayor Lee Urbanovsky stated that BPD identified the male and has collected a statement. It is now working with Hays CISD to collect witness statements and video evidence from students in attendance.

“This is an emotionally-charged and sensitive issue involving minors that has deeply impacted and rightfully concerned our community. I am urging the community to exercise patience and allow the Buda Police Department to complete their investigation,” said Urbanovsky.

According to a news release statement from Becerra Tuesday, Feb. 3, the altercation is now under investigation by the Hays County Criminal District Attorney’s Office.

“Hays County must remain a community defined by safety, accountability and respect for constitutional order and I remain committed to opposing any conduct that seeks to silence others through intimidation or violence,” said the county judge.

After press time Tuesday, Feb. 3, BPD announced the arrest of 45-year-old Chad Michael Watts, of Kyle, in relation to the physical assault on JHS students. The police department shared that further investigation determined Watts to be the primary aggressive, leading to two charges of assault causing bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor.

In response to the walkouts, Gov. Greg Abbott shared a video of the Kyle arrests condemning the actions of students.

“It’s about time students like this were arrested. Harming someone is a crime — even for students. Disruptive walkouts allowed by the schools lead to just this kind of chaos. Schools and staff who allow this behavior should be treated as co-conspirators and should not be immune for criminal behavior," said Abbott. “We are also looking into stripping the funding of schools that abandon their duty to teach our kids the curriculum required by law.”

House Rep. Erin Zwiener rebutted that Abbott is "conveniently ignoring the most troubling incident that happened in Hays,” by focusing on the arrests, rather than the fight between the adult and juvenile.

“Instead of calling for justice against the grown man that assaulted a girl, Governor Abbott is celebrating the arrest of students and calling for the criminal investigation of schools and teachers. He is also threatening the funding of our school districts and spreading the lie that schools are inciting our kids to protest. This follows Governor Abbott ordering an investigation into Austin ISD after similar student-led protests,” said Zwiener.

The House representative is referring to Abbott’s earlier criticism Friday, Jan. 30, following students protesting at the state's capital, when he directed Mike Morath, commissioner of the Texas Education Agency (TEA), to investigate further into the situation.

As a result, TEA announced consequences for students, teachers and school districts in a news release Tuesday, Feb. 3, which stated:

• Students must be marked absent and schools risk losing daily attendance funding if they allow or encourage students to walk out of class
• Teachers that facilitate walkouts will be subject to investigation and sanction, including licensure revocation
• School systems that facilitate walkouts will be subject to investigation and sanction, including either the appointment of a monitor, conservator or board of managers

Simon Middle School students were conducting the sixth protest of the week Tuesday, Feb. 3.

“These are children. They don’t have many formal avenues to influence policy or power, yet they still showed up: thoughtful, organized and clear about the world they want to live in. We owe it to them to listen. Their voices matter and their perspective is often far less hardened than our own,” emphasized council member Zapata.

Hays CISD Superintendent Eric Wright released a statement imploring students to discontinue future protest plans, as there have allegedly been several more in the works.

He acknowledged their right to participate, but stressed that they will not be free from consequences; therefore, he is enacting the following: parents can sign their child out of school to participate, if they desire; students who have not been signed out will continue to receive absences; and disciplinary actions will be stacked, resulting in multiple, separate violations.

The superintendent also addressed a photo of a staff member circulating online displaying protest signs, revealing that he has been placed on administrative leave and “will not be returning to work in Hays CISD,” as “the school district belongs to everyone and we do not, as an entity or as employees, use taxpayer time and resources to engage in political activity.”

“We cannot control the rhetoric from people and politicians on both sides of the aisle and at all levels of government who are engaging in commentary and opinion. However, we, as a community, can control our actions – what we do next regarding these student walkouts,” said Wright. “We pride ourselves on navigating treacherous waters with grace and humility – and smart responses to challenges. While immigration policy is not in our control, it is in our power to resist division and strife. Let’s show everyone, by working together, that we can rise to this occasion and direct our energy appropriately.”