HIPPO BITES Little bits of big news
EDIE ZUVANICH Special to the Press
Council softens gaming policy
HUTTO — The City Council has amended a recent ordinance for casino-style game rooms that initially meant teens could not enter or work at the establishments, including one bar and grill that supports a veterans’ group.
During the Oct. 17 session, the council reworked the ordinance
so establishments with fewer than seven sweepstakes machines do not trigger an under-18 non-employment rule.
Critics of the original ordinance said Snuffy’s, 204 U.S. 79, had to let go of teen food-handlers and waitstaff under the municipal law as originally worded, which forbid anyone 17 and younger from entering a business possessing casino- style “sweepstake” machines. Ed Wrinkle, post commander for the Richard A. Oman American Legion Post 302, recently told the council an unintended consequence of the original ordinance had hurt his organization.
“Our primary donor, Snuffy’s, was recently cited as having a game room by the city of Hutto and forced to pay fees. Even though it is very obvious that they are a restaurantbar establishment and not a casino, this additional label has affected their business tremendously and has affected their donations to us,” Wrinkle said.
Hutto has three facilities that are licensed to operate gaming or “sweepstake” machines.
According to the city, Lucky Hippo at 6081 FM 1660 is a game room with 48 machines. Wonder Win at 567 Chris Kelley Blvd., No. 204 is a game room with 46 machines. Snuffy’s has six machines.
However, any establishment operating sweepstakes games still pays an annual license fee to the city of $2,400, an annual city occupation tax of $15 per machine and a state occupation tax of $60 per machine.
The council declined to lower the fees for businesses such as Snuffy’s that do not generate their main income from gaming.
“We don’t need to make it easier to put game machines everywhere,” Councilman Randal Clark said. “I don’t want there to be a proliferation of them everywhere.”
Prairie Wind update
The council approved a financing agreement with GRBK Edgewood LLC for the Prairie Winds Public Improvement District. The city had OK’d the development agreement for the 263-acre residential neighborhood in July 2023, and the financial terms of that agreement were presented at the council meeting Oct. 17.
Jim Sabonis with Hilltop Securities gave a summary stating that when completed, the value of the 1,093 single- family homes would total over $452 million. The subdivision will be built in two phases, with the average value of the first phase of homes at $402,857. Since the land was annexed into the city, the property values will be added to the city’s tax rolls.
Sabonis also said the PID would issue about $47 million in bonds for infrastructure, and homebuyers would be charged an additional assessment tax rate of around 84 cents per $100 valuation for 35 years to pay back the bonds.
Councilman Randal Clark was concerned the PID property tax, when added to the city, county and Emergency Services District No. 3 tax rates, would make the annual property taxes unreasonably high.
“For the average citizen that buys in this area, what’s that going to put their overall tax rate at? I think it’s going to put it greater than $3 per $100 valuation. I just think that’s unsustainable for anyone,” Clark said.
Sabonis answered it was a policy decision, and buyers would be notified of the additional taxes before they purchased their homes.
In addition to supporting Hutto’s tax revenue, Prairie Winds will pay an estimated community benefit fee of $4,338,000 and dedicate 28 acres to parks and open space. The developer has agreed to enlarge the wastewater infrastructure to an amount double the needs of the subdivision and provide added capacity for the surrounding area and to dedicate right of way on several roads to improve connection and safe transportation.
“Before PIDs came around, all the taxpayers had to help pay for this. The widening of the main roads and public infrastructure, we were all paying,” said Mayor Mike Snyder. “Now if you want to bring in a thousand homes, that’s fine, but you have to figure out how to pay for all the upsizing, all the road widening, because nobody in this city wants to pay for it.”
