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Cedar Park council beams after rec center topping out

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Spirits were high at the Cedar Park City Council meeting on Thursday. The council had just returned from the topping out ceremony at what will be the recreation center.

Council members were given the chance to sign a beam of the structure and everyone was given a tour of the 47,000-square-foot facility which will have gymnasiums, an indoor track, meeting rooms and a cardio room with glass windows overlooking the landscape.

Getting down to business after the ceremony, very little action was taken, but the meeting was informative nonetheless. The council heard a first reading on an ordinance to amend current building regulations and codes. If approved at the next meeting, the 2008 National Electrical Code will take effect on Jan. 1, 2009.

Mark Lewis, Cedar Park building inspections director, said the long period of time between council adoption and the date the new code goes into effect will give construction managers time to prepare. “This lead time provides that opportunity,” he said.

Lewis said it is important for the city to update the code so that it stays current with construction technology systems and current practices.

The code is being implemented throughout the state. Austin, Pflugerville and Round Rock have already adopted the code; Georgetown and Leander have yet to implement it.

Juvenile cases

The municipal court is looking to get a juvenile case manager as soon as April 2009. Cedar Park has approximately 1,000 juvenile cases every year with a compliance rate of 38 percent. A juvenile case manager will hopefully bring that rate up.

If the council approves the program, it will work to promote accountability and responsibility for juveniles who commit criminal acts. The juvenile case manager's job would be to monitor compliance with court requirements, she said.

Briefly...

Cedar Park Finance Director Joyce Herring said the city's preliminary expenditures for Hurricane Ike total $44,782. She said the majority of the expenditures came from police and fire department personnel costs. ... Appointments were made to the 4B Board and Historic Preservation Commission. With these appointments and reappointments of the current members, both boards are now full. ... An ordinance was adopted to rezone 17 acres on the west side of Vista Ridge Boulevard and Colonial Parkway from general retail to multi-family. The ordinance passed 5-1 with Matt Powell casting the dissenting vote. The future land use plan for the rezoned land was also adopted 5-1 with Cobby Caputo voting against it. ... The council adopted policies and guidelines for multi-family and higher density areas.

E-mail jenn@hillcountrynews.com

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