Here is a recap of what was featured in the Wednesday, Sept. 11, e-edition of the Taylor Press. The e-edition is emailed to subscribers and available at www.taylorpress. net.
VEHICLE HITS, KILLS PEDESTRIAN
A 66-year-old man crossing North Main Street in the early morning hours died Monday after being struck by a vehicle, police said.
No charges have been filed pending an investigation into the incident, the second traffic-related fatality so far this year, investigators said.
Gary Dale Krause was pronounced dead at the scene in the 3700 block of North Main, according to a news release from the Taylor Police Department.
Police were called to the scene at 6:11 a.m. after Krause was hit by a black 2014 Dodge driven by a 19-year-old Houston resident, the release noted.
According to investigators, the vehicle was headed south on the roadway when it struck Krause, who was crossing the lanes.
After news of the incident became public, several residents took to social media to say a protected crosswalk needs to be installed on that stretch of road.
“BIGGEST, LITTLEST ARCADE IN TEXAS” PRESSES START ON BIGGER SPACE
Old Taylor High’s cafeteria is now home to Press Start Arcade, decked out in dark flooring and walls as spacethemed neon and black lights shine the way through the maze of arcade games.
New walls were built to separate the kitchen from the main area, creating a break and storage room, and around the former snack bar to establish a new space for the arcade’s sister business, Mother’s Basement Games.
Having burst out of the seams of its former classroom space, the larger room allowed O’Quinn to acquire more games and introduce other entertainment spaces. The arcade reopened in its new location in mid-August, as some of the new games have already found their place in the arcade.
Press Start is waiting on 13 more, in addition to some coin-operated kiddie rides.
In a few weeks, the arcade will begin its crowdfunding campaign for its entertainment room, which would incorporate fellow Old Taylor High businesses such as Xiomaris Pinatas, Brown Sugar Cheesecake Bar, The Loose Screw and 1922 Libations & Bites.
Customers can rent out the room for birthday parties — for those big and small — or for group activities like Dungeons & Dragons campaigns.
But O’Quinn’s dream doesn’t stop at the cafeteria. He hopes to begin franchising to create something akin to Main Event or Dave & Buster’s, starting with the lot on Main Street where Walmart once lived.
For now, O’Quinn plans on building up the geeky and gaming community in Taylor and bringing attention to the old high school by holding a “nerd market,” which he hopes to expand into a convention similar to Comic Con. O’Quinn aims to hold the first market in November.
CONDOS COMING TO SECOND STREET
A new retail and residence neighborhood is rising from an underused area along one of the city’s main corridors. A development called The Ferguson will soon be under construction at 1300 W. Second St.
The community is located five minutes from Samsung Austin Semiconductor’s new facility and two minutes from Main Street.
Its location on Second Street puts the development within easy access to U.S. 79. The concept fits in with Taylor’s comprehensive plan which prioritizes infill housing over development in the extraterritorial jurisdiction.
Since Second Street is a business corridor, The Ferguson will have five four-story buildings along the street offering ground-floor retail with residences above them, intended for live/work lifestyles.
Units range from 575 to 1,534 square feet and start in the mid $200,000s, according to the developer.
While groundbreaking is not expected until late spring 2025, the sales company is already taking reservations for the 89 planned units.
TAX TUG-OF-WAR CONTINUES THURSDAY
HUTTO — With the deadline for declaring a tax rate in sight, Hutto’s City Council seems no closer to finding a solution. Three members are standing resolute against anything higher than the no-new-revenue rate. The other four members have said they are willing to cut the budget, but the cuts everyone agrees on so far do not bring the budget low enough to support an NNR rate.
Hutto’s 2023 tax rate was 42.2114 cents per $100 of assessed taxable property value. An NNR rate would be 39.9553.
The rate proposed by the city, and the rate on which the fiscal year 2025 budget is based, is 45.9347 cents — the highest rate the city can set without voter approval.
Because of the addition of new properties to the tax rolls, the NNR rate would generate about $2.14 million more in taxes for the city than last year. According to Council Member Randal Clark, that additional revenue doesn’t keep up with rising costs the city faces.
The no-new-revenue rate would lower the yearly tax bills of residents with homestead exemptions by $3.48 on average. Residents without homestead exemptions would see a drop of $79.64 on average.
The voter-approved rate would increase the yearly tax bill for residents with homestead exemptions by $191.35 on average and $123.62 for those without homestead exemptions.
Mayor Mike Snyder said he intends to bring a proposal with $4 million in cuts to the Sept.
12 council meeting, with the intention council can begin adding a few items back in rather than sit through another meeting debating which items to remove. He said his proposal would not cut employee pay and benefits or existing infrastructure.
City Council will continue its budget discussions at 7 p.m. on Sept.
12. The approved tax rate must be submitted to the county by Sept.
15. The city has until Sept. 30 to adopt a final budget.
