Regular Meeting Transcription

Type	Public Hearing (7:00 PM) + Regular Council Meeting (7:02 PM)
Location	Village of Briarcliff, Texas
Present	Mayor Allen Hostetler; Aldermen Charlesworth, Johnston, Aldrich, and Richmond
Absent	Alderman Elliott
Clerk	Amber Rowe
Source	IMG_4494.mov (~46 minutes)
Video by	Mark De Zeeuw
Official Minutes	Regular Meeting (PDF) · Public Hearing (PDF) · briarclifftx.com ↗

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🔑 Key Takeaways

1. FY 2025-2026 annual budget adopted (one month early as a precaution — fiscal year Oct 1, 2025 – Sep 30, 2026)
2. Property tax rate set at $0.0759/$100 valuation (M&O) — slightly above the no-new-revenue rate of $0.0703, but well below the voter-approval rate ($0.12)
3. ESD 8 / ESD 6 fire department merger is being explored by certain individuals — the village is strongly opposed and monitoring the situation
4. Front entrance traffic is a growing, urgent problem requiring a traffic specialist study
5. Newspaper of record resolution adopted designating both the Lake Travis View and Austin American-Statesman as qualified newspapers

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📋 Agenda Items & Discussion

1. Public Hearing — Budget & Tax Rate 🕐 [00:00–03:30]

• Property valuations: Travis County valuations dropped significantly — from ~$600M+ last year to ~$582M this year
• Village property values range from $65,000 to $2.3 million (including Cat Hollow — a street in the village)
• Tax rate discussion: Needed to raise the rate slightly to $0.0759 to maintain revenue, since valuations fell
• No-new-revenue rate: ~$0.0703
• Voter-approval rate: ~$0.12 (as a small taxing entity, exceeding this rate could trigger an automatic election or a petition-driven election depending on whether the rate also exceeds the de minimis rate — see Texas Tax Code § 26.075)
• The increase from ~$0.069 (last year) to $0.0759 generates roughly the same revenue as last year, accounting for the valuation drop
• General fund still technically runs a deficit, but water department/franchise fee transfers cover the gap
• The two main cost drivers for the deficit: law enforcement and road paving
• Citizen Q&A — Mark De Zeeuw 🕐 [00:20–00:42]:
  • Asked whether the property value range ($65K–$2.3M) includes Cat Hollow — Mayor confirmed yes
  • Noted that there are properties in Cat Hollow worth more than $2.3 million — Mayor agreed
  • Asked whether the Travis County valuation drop was county-wide — Mayor confirmed it affected all of Travis County
• Public hearing adjourned at approximately 7:02 PM

2. Citizen Communications 🕐 [03:30–09:00]

🚦 Stop Sign Visibility — North Dunkeld

• Resident voiced concern that the stop sign on North Dunkeld is hidden behind trees — concerned about accidents at that intersection
• 6 school buses pass through daily (3 morning, 3 afternoon) — box truck risk
• Photos provided showing how close you have to be before seeing the sign
• Resident gave ideas on how to correct the issue — council discussed moving the sign inward or placing it in the pavement (already done at 2 other village locations)
• Specifically dangerous when making the left turn coming toward the office — you don’t see the sign
• Action needed: Relocate or improve visibility of the stop sign

🛥️ Back Entrance Stop Sign — Paint Refresh

• Same resident believes the stop sign wording at the back entrance needs to be repainted
• Near-miss reported between an F-250 pulling a $200,000 boat
• Non-regular residents don’t yield because they don’t see it
• Recommendation: Repaint before Labor Day weekend (heavy traffic expected — “it was hopping last week”)

👮 Constable Visibility

• Other residents have been complaining about not seeing the Constables patrolling
• Council responded by saying they see them when they are here
• Resident asked if the village had sold the police car yet — Mayor responded that they have not
• Same resident had a question about the patrol vehicle line item on the budget ($15,000 for part-time deputy vehicle)
• Mayor and Council explained that the patrol vehicle and the Constables’ pay are separate line items

3. Approval of Minutes 🕐 [09:00–09:30]

• Alderman Richmond motion, Alderman Charlesworth second: Accept and waive reading of June 2025 Public Hearing minutes — All in favor, passed
• Alderman Aldrich motion, Alderman Johnston second: Accept and waive reading of June 2025 Regular Meeting minutes — All in favor, passed

4. Village Financial Report

• June and July 2025 financial report read by City Secretary Amber Rowe

5. Adoption of FY 2025-2026 Annual Budget 🕐 [09:30–11:00]

• Budget adopted one month early as a precautionary measure (“in case something falls apart in September”)
• Fiscal year: October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2026 (Ordinance No. 2025-08-27-08)
• No unexpected expenses or revenue — routine budget
• Alderman Charlesworth motion, Alderman Johnston second — All in favor, passed

6. Adoption of Annual Property Tax Rate 🕐 [11:00–14:00]

• Tax rate set at $0.0759 per $100 valuation (M&O — Maintenance and Operations)
• Increase from last year’s $0.069 needed to offset lower property valuations
• As a small taxing entity, the village could go up to ~$0.12 without forcing an election
• General fund deficit covered by water department/franchise fee transfers
• Road paving scheduled for fall — a key driver of spending
• Alderman Richmond motion, Alderman Charlesworth second — All in favor, passed (per official minutes)

7. Newspaper of Record Resolution 🕐 [14:00–18:00]

• Problem: The Lake Travis View (current qualified newspaper) only publishes once per week — if the exact publication date is missed, there’s no recourse until next week
• The American-Statesman publishes daily but is significantly more expensive (~2x the cost)
• This year, timing rules changed mid-cycle, nearly causing a missed notice deadline
• Solution: Resolution to designate both the Lake Travis View and Austin American-Statesman as the Village’s qualified newspapers of general circulation
  • Checked that having two qualified newspapers is allowed
  • Will primarily use the Lake Travis View (cheaper) but have the Statesman as backup
• Council commentary: “What’s a newspaper?” — general sentiment that online/website posting would be more effective, but legal requirements mandate newspaper publication
• Alderman Charlesworth motion, Alderman Johnston second — All in favor, passed

8. ESD 8 / ESD 6 Fire Department Merger 🕐 [18:00–28:00]

⚠️ Major Concern

• ESD 8 (Briarcliff’s fire department district, along with ESD 16) is exploring a possible merger with ESD 6 (formerly Lake Travis Fire Department)
• Mayor Hostetler is strongly opposed — sees absolutely no advantage for Briarcliff
• ESD 6 is larger — “they would take over, and our guys would just fall by the wayside”
• Controversy: The process has caused significant turmoil:
  • Several fire department members have been fired simply for talking to people on the opposing side
  • A small group with alleged personal interests are pushing the merger
  • They are reportedly trying to find a way to bypass a required public vote
  • One person with influence appears to have a personal interest in making it happen
• Citizens of Briarcliff would normally have to vote on such a merger — efforts to circumvent this are the key concern
• A woman named Hillary is also strongly opposed and working against the merger / planning to start a petition
• ESD 8 meeting schedules keep changing — posted only on the fire station front door (Station 801, on Briarcliff property), not in newspapers, and only required to stay posted 3 days
• Board contacts have promised to notify the village of upcoming meeting dates
• Actions:
  • Mayor will email council members when ESD 8 meetings are scheduled
  • Council members urged to attend ESD 8 meetings
  • Plans to start a community petition against the merger
• Confirmed still ongoing per September 10, 2025 minutes: “ESD8 and ESD6 possible merger still being discussed”

9. Front Entrance Traffic Issues 🕐 [28:00–35:00]

🚗 Urgent & Growing Problem

• Alderman Charlesworth discussed concerns with the front entrance and how much more traffic will be coming through as development continues
• Complicating factor: Mayor Hostetler explained the intersection involves three jurisdictions:
  • A city road
  • A county road
  • A state road
• New housing developments (not yet built) will dramatically increase traffic — currently only seeing construction truck traffic
• School construction (if it happens) would make it even worse — the school district kept land for this purpose but never built
• Action requested: Hire a traffic specialist to study the problem and suggest solutions
• Main idea discussed: making the front entrance a roundabout
• Alderman Aldrich and Alderman Charlesworth are both willing to start making calls and researching state and county roads
• Previous Travis County traffic study only addressed the Bee Creek area — added turn lanes on Thurmond Bend and Bee Creek Road, but did not study the front entrance
• County reportedly won’t widen Bee Creek because property owners opposed it
• Consensus: Need expert analysis before making any decisions — “we’re not smart enough to decide which option is better”

10. Security Report 🕐 [35:00–38:00]

• Constable Johnson reported construction crews speeding on the Cat Hollow side, but otherwise nothing else to report
• Nighttime complaints about residents walking dogs without lights — Constable explains there’s no crime occurring
• Also getting calls about Uber/rideshare drivers — not suspicious activity
• Constable noted he’s been in the neighborhood for 19 years and knows who the regulars are
• Action: POA/BPOA to include reminder in newsletter about wearing visible clothing/lights when walking at night
• Residents encouraged to call 911 for genuine emergencies

11. City Administrator Report 🕐 [38:00–45:00]

✅ Completed:

• Easement with the BPOA for new water line has been signed and sent to Travis County for recording
• Working on bid documents for the water line

💧 Water System:

• After flood and lifting of water restrictions, monitoring water levels
• Tank levels fluctuate — need to track and graph usage patterns
• Had restrictions for a couple of years; situation is improving

🏫 School District:

• The school has put its plans on hold for now, due to their budget
• New superintendent reviewing projects — doesn’t look like anything happening in the near future

🏗️ Development Updates:

• If developers decide to build, they’ll need to buy into the village water infrastructure
• Fire suppression: developers could either connect to village water or install their own tanks/suppression system — village water connection would actually be cheaper for them
• Infrastructure connection would tap into the existing 12-inch main at the intersection (~200 feet of pipe)
• Developers have expressed interest — working on a service agreement
• Other property owners past Willis also interested — working on a purchase agreement

📡 Spectrum Cable Issue:

• A cable line on Shotts Drive (between Newport and Vive) is drooping/sagging lower daily
• Yellow flags placed on it as a warning
• Spectrum service truck spotted nearby but wasn’t addressing the specific line
• Action: City Administrator to call Spectrum (they respond quickly to city calls) — needs the street addresses of the two houses it fronts

⛳ Willie’s Golf Course Inquiry:

• Resident concerned about recent surveying at Willie’s Golf Course — worried it might be sold for housing development
• Answer: Deed restrictions require it to remain a golf course — cannot be converted to housing
• Surveying is routine (checking for property line encroachments) — not related to any sale
• Golf course valued at ~$3 million (Willie Nelson’s former property 🎸)
• Some residents have portions of their fences on golf course property

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Meeting adjourned at 7:43 PM

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✅ Action Items

#	Item	Owner
1	Relocate/improve North Dunkeld stop sign visibility	Staff
2	Repaint back entrance stop sign (before Labor Day)	Staff
3	Find & hire traffic specialist for front entrance study	Aldermen Aldrich & Charlesworth
4	Monitor ESD 8/ESD 6 merger; attend meetings; start petition	Council + Mayor
5	Call Spectrum about sagging cable on Shotts Drive	City Administrator
6	Send BPOA newsletter about nighttime walking visibility	Staff/BPOA
7	Follow up on old police car disposition (needs stripping/repainting before auction)	City Administrator
8	Road paving scheduled for fall	City Administrator

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📊 Key Numbers

• Property tax rate adopted: $0.0759 / $100 valuation (M&O)
• No-new-revenue rate: ~$0.0703
• Voter-approval rate: ~$0.12 (small taxing entity)
• Last year’s rate: $0.069
• Property valuation (this year): ~$582 million
• Property value range: $65,000 – $2.3 million (including Cat Hollow street)
• Part-time deputy vehicle budget: $15,000/year
• School buses through North Dunkeld: 6/day (3 AM, 3 PM)
• Golf course value: ~$3 million
• Fiscal year: October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2026

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👥 People Referenced

Name	Role	Source
Allen Hostetler	Mayor	Budget ordinance signature
Alderman Charlesworth	Alderman (traffic lead)	Minutes
Alderman Johnston	Alderman	Minutes
Alderman Aldrich	Alderman (traffic lead)	Minutes
Alderman Richmond	Alderman	Minutes
Alderman Elliott	Alderman (absent)	Minutes
Amber Rowe	Village Clerk / City Secretary	Minutes
Constable Johnson	Security / Law Enforcement	Minutes
Mark De Zeeuw	Resident, videographer	Transcript (public hearing Q&A)
Hillary	Community member opposing ESD merger	Transcript

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Notes generated via automated transcription (Whisper small model) of IMG_4494.mov, cross-referenced against official Village of Briarcliff meeting minutes and ordinance documents. ⚠️ Some proper nouns and cross-talk segments may still contain transcription errors. Items verified against official documents are marked where applicable.