Our team is a non-profit organization with a mission to 'To promote the fun of cycling (mountain, road, and cyclocross) in the Central Texas area through racing, touring, fun/benefit riding, weekly rides, training, and commuting.' We have a membership of over 100 riders who range from nearly professional-level bicycle racers to cycling enthusiasts, with all manner of riders in between. Our organization is based out of Austin, although we do have members throughout Texas. We have been hosting the Walburg Classic Bicycle race as a fundraising event for our organization for several years now.

It’s known locally for its small town hospitality, hamburgers and German heritage, but some Walburg residents are saying it might be time to officially share that identity with the rest of state by officially declaring itself as a city.

More than 70 residents gathered Wednesday, November 17 to talk about the future of this high plains community minutes away from sprawling new subdivisions, power shopping centers and a maze of invisible territorial boundaries that could seal the fate for the town of nearly 450 residents.

“There was a group of people that got together, and just began talking about the future of Walburg,” said Weldon Mersiovsky, the undeclared, unofficial mayor of Walburg. “Many of us were worried that we would be taken over by Georgetown so they could increase their city’s tax base, plus we needed to have some serious dialogue about what we wanted our town to be.”

The City of Walburg?

Keep it country, or gear up for growth?

That was the official question placed before many residents present during the community’s first official town hall meeting.

Huddled in rickety metal folding chairs, sipping thick black coffee to keep cool in the dimly lit Walburg Community Center, some residents — worried about the lack of zoning in the county and developers — said it might be time for the town to incorporate.

“I’m not saying that’s a solution,” Mr. Mersiovsky told the group of attentive residents. “It’s just an idea, that’s all.”

The Texas Office of Rural Community Affairs requires unincorporated cities to determine the boundaries and population of their community first before creating a map highlighting the town’s boundaries. Once the map is completed, residents must circulate a petition that needs the signatures of 50 residents within the proposed new town’s boundaries. The completed petition and map must then be handed to the county judge, where a town election will be called to allow residents to decide whether to incorporate or not.

“We’ll probably incur some debt from the elections,” Mr. Mersiovsky said. “That would mean we would need to raise some tax money to run the city and pay the debt down.”

Mr. Mersiovsky said if the town votes to incorporate, then another election would be called to elect a mayor and city council to govern the city.

Resident Gary Kurio said whether people like it or not, Walburg is going to grow.

“We can’t stop it,” Mr. Kurio said. “Look at Georgetown.”

He might be right.

For the past 20 years, Williamson County’s growth patterns have surged to the north and west, bringing with it more than 144,000 residents in the past nine years, according to U.S. Census data. Georgetown — whose city limits is south of the small farming community of Walburg — has nearly doubled its population since 2000, growing from 28,000 residents to nearly 52,000 in 2009.

“Growth is coming whether we like it or not,” Mr. Kurio. “It’s in our future.”

Others, worried about taxes and city restrictions, weren’t so sure incorporation is a good idea.

“We generally want less government, not more government,” said Walburg resident Robert Klingler. “The whole incorporation route seems to be an unnecessary burden at this point in time. We want to keep things in Walburg free, unencumbered and old-timey as long as no real threat develops. It would be sad to bear the burden of another layer of government because Walburg was prematurely incorporated as a result of paranoia toward threats that were largely only imagined.”

WilCo land grab

Its contents might be splashed in shades of pink, green, yellow and orange, but this is no Picasso painting; it’s the municipal map of Williamson County.

As area cities prepare for rapid growth, cartographers are ballooning the boundaries where cities can grow by extending their extraterritorial jurisdiction.

The extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ, allows cities to claim external territory outside its city limits, and must be agreed either with the legal authority in the external territory, or with a legal authority which covers both areas.

In Texas, cities can extend their ETJ’s up to five miles from the existing city limits based on certain population thresholds.

Weir, Georgetown and Jarrell, based on current population trends, could each extend their ETJ into Walburg.

“When that happens we become restricted as to what we can do,” Mr. Mersiovsky said. “It really changes everything.”

Georgetown City Manager Paul Brandenburg said the city has no plans to include Walburg in its ETJ. Jarrell and Weir have also not announced plans to swallow Walburg into their ETJs.

Well aware of the changes creeping through the countryside, residents said having informative meetings to talk about the future is a great first step.

The area of Walburg south of CR 317 is in Williamson County Emergency Service District #6 (ESD#6). The area north of CR 317 is in ESD #5. The EDS's are funded through a 10 cents/hundred tax that appears on you county tax bill. ESD #6 Chief, Bill Frymire, also made a presentation and reported that monies, equipment, and manpower are available for a new fire station at Walburg. The only element missing is the 1-2 acres of land on which a fire station could be built.

The general consensus of the meeting’s attendees was that at the present time there is no imposing threat of a larger entity enveloping the Walburg area. So, incorporating is not seen as a necessity. However, several expressed appreciation for the assembly and felt that there is a need to continue to meet for purposes of staying informed and being able to assemble should the community need to act swiftly.

Two committees were formed: one to determine the next meeting and the second to investigate the location of the fire station at Walburg. An additional outcome of the meeting is the launching of Walburg’s website, a tool to keep the community informed.

Williamson County Sun reporter, Jamaal O’Neal, was present and his article on the meeting appears on Page 4A in The Sunday Sun, Nov. 22, 2009.

We want to extend our thanks to you and others for your efforts in bringing about this useful meeting. In light of these efforts, it might be only proper to share one household’s reaction.

First, your summary of “how things work” regarding incorporation of a town was very useful and well done --excellent. We thought participation was good and insightful.

The “take” on the situation from our corner was this:

No immediate threat exists to Walburg regarding being taken into a neighboring ETJ or otherwise.
We should be vigilant and ready to spring into unified action if a threat evolves.
Regular periodic meetings will enable this readiness.
As for the views now held here after the meeting, we generally want less government, not more government. The whole incorporation route seems to be an unnecessary burden at this point in time –a can of worms really. We want to keep things in Walburg free, unencumbered and old-timey as long as no real threat develops.

It would be sad to bear the burden of another layer of government because Walburg was prematurely incorporated as a result of paranoia toward threats that were largely only imagined.

Ironically, Walburg’s most present and real danger might be incorporation itself.

Robert & Linda Klingler
1075 CR-317

Thanks for your time and service. Sorry I could not make the meeting.

The Klingler's email represents my feelings and was well said. The two outcomes from the meetings that you listed also made sense to me.

Since I do not reside in the Walburg area, I would not have a vote; however, I do feel that incorporation at this time will ironically speed up the inevitable processes of change.

Thank you for expressing so eloquently your thoughts and concerns regarding incorporation. Your words reflect exactly what our household also considers to be the approach for future meetings (i.e. diligence toward real versus imaged threat; less government, not more).

Ray & Glenda Overfelt

Thanks very much for putting together the meeting the other night, I know that it took a lot of time and effort on your part as well as others and I appreciate it. My wife and I have only lived in this area for about 4 years now but we really feel like we are at home here and love pretty much everything about the area, the people and the feeling of freedom that the Walburg area affords us. A big part of the reason that we chose this area is the fact that it is an unincorporated area that is primarily large tracts of land that was not part of some “Master Planned Community”. We are absolutely opposed to incorporation particularly when as you pointed out and was confirmed by the city manager from Georgetown that there is no threat currently of us being annexed by anyone. We do think it is a good idea to be on the lookout for any potential threats to our freedom so that we can organize quickly if needed. Once again thanks for your time and effort and we will be attending any future meetings that we can.

Respectfully,
Perry & Martha Ratcliff

1109 CR 317