Tag Archives: sports complex

Eanes August 27th, 2014 School Board Meeting – Be there – Topics: Conisderation for sale of River Hills property tract + moving Sports MegaPlex forward




The Eanes school board has recently approved a new version of the plan for a sports complex on the district’s River Hills Rd. site, and the developers state that they will move forward with the permitting and approval process in the near future. This plan, as we understand it, will include 8 sports fields, all with bright field lighting. This plan has essentially all of the same issues as their original plan released almost 4 years ago and has done little to address community concerns about harsh lighting and noise, traffic and safety, environmental issues and the overall scale of the project within a residential neighborhood.


Additionally, EISD is contemplating selling the River Hills tract in the near future. Any sale would apparently take place with the 50-year lease to the sports leagues in place, without having resolved the neighborhoods concerns about the project.

We have continued to offer alternative solutions for over a year now that we believe are better for the school district, the sports leagues and the community. We have offered our support for a four-field plan on River Hills with other fields to be built on the Baldwin tract and other school sites. We have reaffirmed our offer of over $1,000,000 to help pay for building these fields.
This solution gets the leagues all the fields they are looking for while making improvements to EISD property that benefits the community, all at no cost to the district.


Please join us at the upcoming Wednesday, August 27th school board meeting. Things are happening now so your participation is important!

We will be there. Will you?

Date: Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Closed session: 6:30pm

Open Session: 7:30-10:00pm

Located: In the Board Room of the S. Don Rogers Administration Building at 601 Camp Craft Road (near Westlake High School).

Thank you.


Eye on Eanes; Need You at Next School Board Meeting *August 28th*

EYE ON EANES
CALL TO ACTION NOW! SAVE THE DATE FOR THE NEXT SCHOOL BOARD MEETING! — at — WEST RIDGE MS CAFETERIA 6:30PM
9201 Scenic Bluff Drive
Austin, TX 78733
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28th, 2013 Come en masse to Voice Your Opposition To the Proposed Mega-Sports Complex at River Hills and Its Many Environmentally Damaging, Water/ Light/and Sound Polluting, Traffic and Safety Endangering, and Highly Fiscally Irresponsible Complications

Come Charged with Your Facts and Your Concerns and Sign Up to Speak CALL TO ACTION NOW! The School Board’s vote to amend the lease with WHLL is on the table and if passed, would serve rapidly to expedite and facilitate the permitting process for the commercial development of the Mega Sportsplex. It is a CRITICAL TIME in the permitting process. The developers will be present to push their agenda forward. The time is NOW to come forward and be counted among those Austinites for environmentally and fiscally responsible development. It is your tax dollars they are planning to give away.

Your presence counts, and your voice matters!

Show up at next week’s school board meeting!

AND, EMAIL YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS TODAY – Click Here for Ready to send/prepared draft letter and board member email addresses.

UPDATE ON SCHOOL BOARD MEETING JUNE 26th 2013
Our deepest thanks and appreciation to all those who came out to support our efforts at the June 26th Eanes ISD regular board meeting. It was a long meeting that ended well after 10:00PM.

After closed session with legal counsel, the School Board postponed the vote to amend the lease tabling it for an unspecified future meeting.

In spite of the vote postponement, Citizens of Travis County, from both sides of Lake Austin, filled the seats at Bridgepoint ES cafeteria to hear what our Eanes ISD School Board had to say on the matter of Action Item D on the agenda, calling for consideration of lease and amendments with Western Hills Little League for Real Property on River Hills Road, and to voice their concerns for the proposed development of a Mega-Sportsplex on Eanes-owned property.

Concerned parties spoke at length on the issues of the extensive light pollution and the loss of our Dark Skies, noise pollution reverberating throughout the area and across the Lake to Emma Long Park and the surrounding residential neighborhoods, construction/chemical/fertilizer runoff and resultant pollution not only to wells but also to 2 WCID’s and Lake Austin, loss of endangered species habitat, unsafe road conditions, unsafe access, hazardous traffic conditions, and money mismanagement by the district in these trying fiscal times.

Requests were made by Eanes residents, prior to the meeting, for access to the backup documentation to this Action Item D. No documentation was provided.

UPDATE ON SCHOOL BOARD EXTRA SESSION AUGUST 13th 2013
The school board met in closed session to discuss Texas Government code551.072-Deliberation Regarding Purchase, Exchange, Lease, or Value of Real Property.

During the Open Forum, Concerned Citizens of Travis County spoke against the River Hills Mega-Sports Complex proposed development.

The first speaker urged the school board to take unprecedented steps to protect irreplaceable natural resources in the foothills of our Hill Country, to designate 50 acres of the River Hills property as an Eco-Preserve so that they may serve as an Outdoor Education Site, a.k.a. A Green School, and to be leaders in the fields of Ecology and Environmental Education so that children today can learn to be the Environmentally Responsible leaders of our future.

The second speaker outlined the fiscal deficits facing Eanes right now, encouraged more responsible fiscal behavior, and put forth an immediate offer to purchase the Eanes owned River Hills property with the intent for responsible development including but not limited to land earmarked for outdoor Eco-education.

The third speaker discussed Eanes failure to provide open records regarding Action Item D from the June 26th meeting to present day and the many legally questionable aspects of the lease with WHLL, including but not limited to the school board’s abdication of the power to enforce any of the lease items as well as the origin of the original RFP.

No vote to amend the lease was undertaken at this time. It is still pending, and the proponents of this development are sharing with their constituents that they believe the time is now for the vote. MARK THE DATE FOR THE NEXT SCHOOL BOARD MEETING!
AND, BE THERE! WEST RIDGE MS CAFETERIA 6:30PM
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28th 2013 MAKE YOUR PRESENCE COUNT AND YOUR VOICE HEARD!