If amendment is approved, measure could help lure more eateries to city
HUTTO — Leaders want to make it easier for new restaurants to serve alcohol, but voters ultimately will have to approve changing city rules during an election in spring.
That was the word during the Aug. 20 City Council session in which members on the dais also discussed ongoing negotiations with Williamson County Emergency Services District No. 3. They also approved wholesale water rates.
In the matter of alcohol sales, Hutto officials said properties not annexed into the city as of 2006 are only able to serve beer and wine.
They are hoping a city ordinance can be updated by voters during an election in May, but even if the amendment passes, it will only affect properties annexed before Nov. 1 of this year.
“The only people right now who can sell a margarita in the city limits of Hutto are those who were in the city as of 2006,” said Mayor Mike Snyder.
The mayor noted there is a fast-track annexation process so properties can be within the city before the deadline that could be set by the next election.
The issue arose at the Thursday council session as Snyder addressed the developers of 3349 Business Holdings, a proposed commercial development on the Southeast Loop between FM 3349 and FM 404.
“
What you’re in is, for lack of a better term, a moist area.”
— Mayor Mike Snyder The developers were requesting wastewater service from the city. Snyder noted the proposal called for an onsite restaurant and informed the developers about the current liquor restrictions.
“What you’re in is, for lack of a better term, a moist area. You can sell beer and wine but you can’t sell margaritas or any hard liquor that goes into a drink,” Snyder said.
The developers are hoping to be annexed by Hutto and want to create a 100-acre retail complex that will serve the fastgrowing corridor between Hutto and Taylor.
More than 4,000 homes are being built in that area.
Snyder said the regulation has made it difficult for some developers to attract high-end restaurants in fast-growing areas brought into the city limits. He listed Buffalo Wild Wings and Longhorn Steakhouse as examples.
Longhorn had been announced as a tenant in the same retail plaza as Sprouts Farmers market near U.S. 79 and Texas 130. The restaurant chain includes cocktails in its menu, but under the current regulations the Hutto location would not be allowed to sell cocktails, according to Snyder.
Hutto petitions for tax vote The ongoing saga between Williamson County Emergency Services District No. 3 and Hutto city leadership continued with the city now asking the county to approve an election to settle the contested sales-tax split.
The city wants to build its own fire station near the Hutto Megasite.
Two weeks ago, Hutto sent ESD No. 3 several options regarding how the city would like to move forward in their contentious relationship.
The main point of disagreement regards how the city and ESD will split the sales taxes from developments that become annexed into the city, or became annexed after 2016.
The current agreement gives the city a 60% share of the allotted sales and use taxes for undeveloped properties over 5 acres in size annexed into the city after 2016, according to Snyder.
The city is asking for an 80% share regardless of property size or whether it has been developed.
The ESD had not yet responded, so at the Aug. 20 meeting City Council voted to ask the Williamson County Commissioners Court to call for a public vote.
The council also agreed that recordings and transcripts of all ESD sub-committee meetings should be made available to the public when receiving a publicinformation request.
ESDs were created in the 1990s as special-purpose taxing districts to pay for fire protection, emergency medical services and other first-responder services in rural areas that could not afford a city fire department or lacked a large population.
They have their own budget and taxing powers.
Hutto sets wholesale wastewater rates
Hutto officials at the meeting approved new wastewater rates after a study presented by Willdan Financial Services.
Hutto provides wholesale wastewater services to Taylor and Round Rock, but until recently had not completed an evaluation to determine the true cost of the services when volume and infrastructure use are considered.
The costs are proportional to the volume of waste processed and the infrastructure used to transport wastewater from Taylor and Round Rock to Hutto, officials said.
Under the new agreement, Taylor’s monthly infrastructure allocation would be about $1.56 million per year, or $129,946 per month. There would also be a charge for the volume of wastewater treated.
Round Rock’s annual infrastructure cost would be $40,821.
Round Rock uses significantly less of the Hutto wastewater infrastructure than Taylor does.
Jason Gray with Willdan Financial Services said the company used a standard methodology to determine the rates. Hutto did not have wholesale rates established in the past.
City Manager James Earp said the charges are a true reflection of what Hutto is spending to perform the service.
“This is what it costs. We’re not overcharging, we’re not upcharging, it’s literally the cost apportioned to your share of the infrastructure that you’re specifically using,” Earp said.
The cities could decide not to accept the new wholesale contracts and find another solution. Earp said since the prices reflect actual costs, there is not really room for negotiation.
Hutto has been providing some wastewater services for Taylor since 2023 through an interlocal agreement that included Taylor allocating some of its share of county American Rescue Plan Act funds toward Hutto’s wastewater infrastructure.
A Taylor official presented his city’s perspective on the issue.
“The city of Hutto was requesting $10 Million in ARPA funding from the county allocation,” said Daniel Seguin, Taylor’s executive director of community services. “They would receive the $10 million on the condition that they provide $5 million of those funds to expand their plant and provide capacity to the city of Taylor for developments in RCR rail park (near Samsung Austin Semiconductor) and future developments south of the rail park.”
Seguin added, “Hutto agreed to provide up to 2,000 LUEs (living unit equivalents) to city of Taylor developments and fund the infrastructure to get to the city limits.”
