COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER JUNE 2009 Photos courtesy of the Westlake Picayune
Join the Fourth Annual 4th of July Parade! Our fourth annual Fourth of July your own parade foat. Decorate the after the parade from Texas Honey Parade is just around the corner, so bicycles and strollers. Or just throw on Ham Company and ice cream from you’d better get started on your outft your most patriotic outft and join us Amy’s Ice Cream. Special thanks to and decorations! We’ll be meeting in the for a leisurely stroll. both companies and parking lot of Treaty Oak Bank at the Everyone is welcome, to our other great corner of Westlake Drive and Bee Cave including pets on sponsors, Treaty Oak Road at 8:45 on July 4. Starting at 9am, leashes, horses, Bank and Randall’s, we’ll begin our march down Westlake camels, elephants – for their continued Drive to Rocky River Road, then right whatever you care to support of this great onto Reveille Road and back to the bank bring! (No lions or community event. So where the festivities will continue. tigers or bears, please.) load up the family and join us for the Show of your classic car or build Tere will be free breakfast tacos best 4th of July parade in central Texas!
WEST LAKE HILLS COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER Meet Your New City Council Members On May 27, 2009, we thanked my respect for our Code of Ordinances and continuing the city’s fscally- outgoing Council Members Jane Noble, and the Master Plan for the city. I am conservative policies. Earl Broussard and Amy Simmons frmly committed to preserving the Stan Graham is a retired for their service to their community rural quality and nature of our city.” airline pilot who holds a degree in and welcomed in three new Council Spencer Stevens has worked as a architecture and has served on the Members: Davin Fillpot, Spencer CPA with a Big Four accounting frm City’s Transportation Commission Stevens and Stan Graham. and is now a Corporate & Securities for the past year. He has lived in West Lake Hills for fourteen years and built his current home in 2000. He earned degrees in International Relations and Architecture from the University of Kansas. He spent twenty-six years as a pilot with American Airlines and twenty years (active and reserve) with the U.S. Navy as a Naval Ofcer/ Aviator. Stan says that the City’s Master Plan describes the ideals and directions he would like to use in enhancing our city’s sense of community and environment. One area of interest New Council Members Stan Graham, Spencer Stevens and Davin Fillpot. for Stan is residential construction, especially with respect to fnding Davin Fillpot is a registered Attorney at Strasburger & Price, LLP. ways to keep individual homes architect at PageSoutherlandPage He received an undergraduate degree from dominating the landscape and and has served on the City’s Zoning from the University of Texas and a law detracting from the natural setting in and Planning Commission (ZAPCO) degree from the University of Houston. which they are located. for three years and Building Design He was born in Houston and has lived Committee (BDC) for 2 years. He in California and Connecticut. His Reduce, Reuse and graduated with a B.Arch. from Texas wife of thirteen years, Kathryn, is an Tech University in 1997. He and his alumnus of Westlake High School. Recycle wife, Camie, lived in Boston for two Tey have two children: Allyson, four, Te City’s curbside recycling years and then returned to Austin and Colton, eight months. service accepts plastics marked in 1999. Tey purchased a lot on Spencer’s hobbies include golf, #1 through #5 and #7 including Redbud Trail in 2003 and oversaw softball, and camping. When asked any drink bottles, milk jugs and the construction of their home. Teir about community issues that are laundry detergent containers. daughter, Mia, is almost four years old. important to him, he mentioned You can recycle aluminum, tin Davin says, “My experiences on maintaining the rural and peaceful and steel cans, and both clear and ZAPCO and BDC provided me with experience within West Lake Hills, colored, unbroken glass. All dry the opportunity to work with the ensuring responsible growth along paper products except cardboard extremely knowledgeable, wonderful Bee Cave Road, managing trafc fow can be recycled, including ofce and committed people on those through the city that is consistent with papers, magazines, newspapers – committees, and really helped shape and not at odds with residents, even junk mail! WEST LAKE HILLS COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER
Hippies Among Us! You’ve probably heard of the Cedar said Harker. “And one of the greatest projects around central Texas. “It was Choppers – the legendary “early” people I have ever known.” more of a redneck Texan collective inhabitants of West Lake Hills that An eclectic group of tradesmen and and less of a California commune. It made a living in the frst half of the last artists formed a vibrant community defnitely had a unique, local culture.” century by cutting down cedar trees cooperative adjacent to the Earth Eddie Wilson, founder of the for fuel and building materials for the House, living in unusual homes Armadillo World Headquarters, would rapidly growing city of Austin just over fashioned after the Mongolian yurt – a occasionally drop by with famous the river. circular edifce that looks like a cross musicians and performers including But you may not have heard about between a fying Frank Zappa, Van the Hippies of West Lake Hills who saucer and a geodesic Morrison and Bonnie lived amongst the cedars and oaks dome. Over the next Raitt. along Eanes Creek where St. John decade, they would Te main yurt Neumann Catholic Church now sits. come and go, some burned down in the In the early 1970’s, a visionary group of living onsite to late 1970’s but the architects began work on an unusual work on the Earth collective lived on. building concept: a polyurethane foam House, others just A few years later, the The interior of a bedroom yurt. and rebar-reinforced concrete building looking for a place to Gaddis family sold known as the Earth House that served live alongside nature in what became the land to a developer who bulldozed as a workshop to explore the creative known as “Yurt City,” a collection of the Earth house, but not before moving potential of new building materials and three bedroom yurts, a bathroom yurt several of the iconic yurts to other techniques. and a kitchen/common space yurt. locations. Tey donated three of the Local architect Tom Hatch and Te inhabitants of Yurt City formed yurts to the Creative Rapid Learning Charles Harker, designer of the famous a loose cooperative, sharing the Center and relocated the other one to a Bloomhouse just north of West Lake costs and duties of running a small lot Gaddis owns along the Pedernales Hills, were two of the founders of the community. Architect and West Lake River. Today, the yurt ofers shelter for project that was built on land owned by Hills Wastewater Commissioner, Paul his family and friends during campouts local resident, Betty Gaddis. “She was Gaddis and his wife Elizabeth Yndo by the river. the heart and soul behind the project,” lived in one of the three bedroom yurts For more information about Yurt for several years City and Earth House, visit Charles while Gaddis and his Harker’s website at: http://web.mac. brother worked on com/charker/TAO_Design_Group various construction Photos courtesy of Charles Harker
A worker stands on the roof of the Earth House (above). The view from inside of the Earth House (left).
The central yurt that contained the kitchen and living areas for the community. WEST LAKE HILLS COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER
West Lake Hills Welcome Packet City management is soliciting ideas for an upcoming “Welcome to West Lake Hills” packet that will be distributed to all residents in the coming months and future residents Welcome Our New as they move in to our city. It will WWW.WESTLAKEHILLS.ORG City Inspector include a wide range of information, THE CITY OF WEST LAKE HILLS 911 WESTLAKE DRIVE including an overview of important Jim Stearman, our City WEST LAKE HILLS, TX 78746 City ordinances that are sometimes Inspector retired from service innocently overlooked by new residents P: 512 3273628 on June 5, 2009 after serving including the restrictions on cutting F: 512 3271863 in that role for almost twelve down trees and installing fences. If City Administrator: Robert Wood, x 325 you have suggestions on what should years. We’re excited to introduce [email protected] be included in this packet, please let his replacement, Bob Rogers Mayor: us know. If you’re a copywriter or a Dave Claunch, x 323 who began his service earlier graphic designer looking for a volunteer [email protected] opportunity to serve your community, this month. Bob has worked in Mayor Pro Tem, Place 2: then we would really like to hear from Andrew Schwartz, x 361 [email protected] municipal code enforcement for you. Give us a call! more than fourteen years in the Place 1: Spencer Stevens, x 353 cities of West University Place, [email protected] Lago Vista, Bastrop and San Place 3: Stan Graham, x 367 Marcos. He holds certifcations [email protected]
from the State of Texas in Place 4: Free Garbage Service?! Cindy Probst, x 352 code enforcement, plumbing, West Lake Hills is one of the few [email protected] electric, accessibility and food cities in central Texas that ofers free Place 5: garbage and recycling collection for its Davin Fillpot, x 363 plain management and from [email protected] residents. Te City pays Texas Disposal the International Code Council Systems for this service out of our Wastewater Project Coordinator: Robbie Davis, x 330 in the areas of plan review, general tax revenues. Te residential [email protected]
building, energy and mechanical twice-weekly collection service costs Police Chief: inspection. Please join us in approximately $260 per year, which is Cliff Spratlan less than what many residents pay in (512) 327-1195 welcoming Bob to the team! [email protected] City property tax. What a bargain!
911 Westlake Drive West Lake Hills, Texas 78746