On the record is brought to you by Steve and Adele Dufilho San Antonio is a fast growing, fast moving city with something new happening every day.

That's why each week we go on the record with Randy Beamer and the newsmakers who are driving this change.

Then we gather at the reporters roundtable to talk about the latest news stories with the journalist behind those stories.

Join us now as we go on the record with Randy Beamer.

Hi, everybody, and thank you for joining us for On the Record this week.

I'm Randy Beamer.

We're going to be talking about some growth issues up in the Hill Country, specifically in the Burnie area, as well as water and power and what is needed for a big new facility planned near Austin.

But we're going to start with a look at what's going on at the Central Library downtown, an issue you may have read about a pilot program involving police that is coming to an end soon.

Joining us to talk about that is Cathy Donlan, who is the interim director of the library.

Thank you very much for coming in.

Thank you for having me.

Now, this, people may or may not have gotten the wrong impression about what's going on here, but.

Police, you had come in for a since I believe it's November through May as part of a pilot program because of a number of assaults last year.

Tell us about that.

Absolutely.

So, first, I'd like to share that the San Antonio Public Library is made up of 30 locations, and we serve a service population of 1.9 million people in the city of San Antonio, but also Bexar County.

So we have over 3 million visits a year.

most of those visits are without any incident whatsoever.

but a key part of our job as a public facing organization is to make sure that we're creating a safe and welcoming environment for everyone.

So what happened with the Central Library is, over the course of 2023, we did see an uptick in serious incidents of assault at the library.

18.

That's correct.

We had 18, during that year.

So while we have a very extensive security and safety program that starts with our critical staff team working with customers, we felt that we needed to try something new, a new proactive technique.

You have private security, but some of them had been attacked in this.

In this number.

That's correct.

And we've always had a partnership with the police department.

So just like the public, if there's something serious that happens in their lives, they call 911.

It's the same for us at the library.

So the pilot program involves police coming in.

Uniformed police?

How often?

That's right.

So we have a limited number of about up to ten hours a week of a police detail on site at the Central Library.

And we implemented this again as a pilot program.

The plan is for it to run six months, to see if that would help us with the timeliness of response to the the face of it, that seems like it would be not a problem.

But there's a group act for SE who is not happy with that because of concerns about how people would be treated, whether police would come in and, and, might discriminate against certain groups.

were you surprised by that?

we we realized that that could be a concern for that constituency.

And so one thing that we've worked really, really hard on during this pilot program is to make sure that we have transparency around it and an opportunity for all public members, including Act, for US members, to speak to our library board of trustees at their public meetings and to otherwise give us input about the pilot.

And when this comes to an end, what we'll have this pilot program comes to an end.

What will happen?

People might think, well, we're not going to have police there anymore.

That doesn't also seem unreasonable to have police come in now and then to a public facility.

It.

Right, so it won't end.

Police responding to central.

But what will happen is we'll conclude the pilot program, the six month program and then we'll enter into a period of assessment of the pilot program to see, if it was effective.

also taking into account the input we've had from the community.

So we're partnering with, University of Texas San Antonio School of Social Work to conduct that assessment with them.

People might also wonder, is a certain population of homeless population downtown in the in the years past, the old library now the international center down on the river not too far from the courthouse.

There was an issue with homeless people there.

Police would have to come in.

Is it because that is, a group, or have you identified what the issue is?

So, no, it it isn't due to a particular group of people.

one thing that's extremely important at the public library is that we're inclusive and welcoming to everyone.

we're one of the few last open facilities to anyone who wants to come and use use the library, use the programs and services.

So we see a wide variety of visitors to the Central Library.

I mentioned that we have 3 million visits a year, for the central library, about 300,000 visits a year.

And it is a wide variety, and the construction's about ending in that area.

Street construction has ended.

Yes.

as has our construction within the building.

We we've renovated the first floor and there's a brand new renovated children's, new working on the tech center room, which I can't wait.

We are working on the second floor.

That is our next bond project, and we're going to council soon with the construction contract.

Well, thank you very much for coming in.

Kathy Donlon, the interim director of the San Antonio Library.

Thanks.

Thank you.

The growth up in the Hill Country has been an issue for years, and it is only going to become a bigger and bigger issue as it seems to intensify.

Joining us to talk about that is the mayor of Bernie has been mayor for a year.

Frank Ritchie also happens to be the pastor of, Spring Creek United Methodist Church.

And you also run a Richie Automotive repair and alignment, so you're not very busy at all.

Thank you very much for, fitting us in.

Appreciate it.

Absolutely.

The issue of growth in Bernie has been something that's, getting a lot more and more attention in different headlines over the past few years.

And that's one of the reasons you got into, city government.

You weren't.

This wasn't part of your past?

No.

And you wanted to get into city government to, I guess your slogan was keep Bernie.

Bernie.

Tell us about that and how it's gone in this first year.

So thanks very I appreciate that.

yeah.

It's going really well.

You know growth is is a concern throughout the state of Texas, not just the city of Bernie.

Texas.

The state of Texas is growing at a rapid pace.

People are moving here.

Why?

Well, because it's Texas, and it's a great state to live in.

That's a fact.

but how how we grow is very important to me.

are we going to grow?

Absolutely.

But how do we grow in in the nature and the pace that we grow?

I think we have some in as a community.

And so that's my main focus.

Right.

So we passed the UDC.

We put in some development code.

Right.

And so we put in a lot of restrictive codes in there to help control development.

You know Bernie is not anti-growth but it's smart growth.

Right?

We have grown in the last ten years.

Our population has doubled.

we've grown way too fast, too quickly.

And so only from 10,000 to 21,000 people.

My real I think we're.

Oh, wait, now that's that's small because I think Bernie is bigger than that.

That's within the city limits.

Correct.

So knowing the whole community of Bernie that have a Bernie address is 60,000 plus that live in 80, and also living in Kendall County and just outside of in Bexar County, still have a Bernie address.

So that's what I talked about when I say keep Bernie.

Bernie.

Right, Bernie, for me, is not just the city, it is the community.

The people were where I raised two kids, and I have a fifth grader still in.

My granddaughter will be raised in, in Bernie.

And so what are some of the things that you passed to keep Bernie, Bernie or keep it smaller?

Is that what you want to do?

So, well, you're not gonna be able to keep it smaller.

Right.

We can't go back in time.

We can't turn back the clocks, and we can't tear houses down and go back to where, you know, population 10,000, you know.

But when I say keep Bernie, Bernie as meaning is that we can love our neighbor.

We can be cordial, we can be inviting.

We can be a community that loves and respect one another.

No matter how big we get, we can sit there and take care of our neighbor, take care of the least, and the loss in our community, you know?

And so for me, keeping Bernie, Bernie is all about the community vibe.

So working closely with Kendall County in the future, working closely with BSD, these are things that that I have on my focus of as mayor.

Right.

So we just held our first, community partners meeting where I brought the heads of, of of Kendall County together, along with Busd.

And we're bringing in the leaders of Fair Oaks Automotive into these meetings to talk about what is the future of this community look like going forward.

So over the next 6 to 8, ten months to a year, two years, what do we see?

Where do we need infrastructure?

Where do we need roadways?

Where do we need schools?

How do we how do we can control this development in this growth?

And how do we do it smartly?

What kind of tools do you have as the city in that extraterritorial jurisdiction that e t j and what you can or cannot do out there?

And do you look at annexation?

Is that realistic?

So no, we're not we're not looking at annexation.

Right.

And with state legislator changing as often as it does.

Right.

there's a bill that's coming forward that might just eliminate the entire idea of the FTA completely.

So we have to be, you know, aware of that.

So we're working we have an have a local agreement with, with Kendall County that's been in the back and forth.

We've been in discussions.

And so, we just had our first meeting with the county commissioners and several of the council members appointed two, council members to meet with two of the county commissioners so we can draft a document that works both for the city of Bernie and for the residents that are in the in the TJ.

And so, part of that is working with the UDC.

And what I love about the UDC is it's a living document, right?

So there are some things in there that make it really restrictive on our, our, our county neighbors, because it's restrictive for development to control development and to help maximize the load of what's coming in to Bernie.

And so, being able to adjust and make changes in that document will help make a better housing, a local agreement, because that's one of the things that people wonder, you know, is it the size of the lots?

Is it the numbers of people, the density?

What is it?

So so the UDC is basically a book of all the codes that we've always, ever had.

We just kind of put it into one document under the UDC.

and so it helps with stormwater runoff, water conservation, you know, water preservation, you know, not lot density, size or anything like that, but making sure that their traffic studies are done and make sure that this makes sense, you know, does it make sense to put a a drive through on a very busy road?

You know, probably not.

Right.

You know, so making sure that that we have certain codes and certain policies in place to help make sure that our infrastructure can handle the load of the growth, how tough is it?

I know that it's been in the headlines in the last year to work with the surrounding areas and the developers who are outside the city as you get, more growth in terms of some of the roadways, highway 46, that kind of problem area right now, right.

Busier and busier and busier.

Right.

So the problem you have there is you have multiple entities that all have to come into play and work together.

So if you're talking Saint Highway 46, you know, Interstate I-10, right?

Then you have to be talking with text, all right.

And you have to be working with Kendall County.

And then you have to be working with the city of Burnie.

and so when trying to bring all those entities together and all having the same idea and the same plan and moving forward, that's tough to do.

Right.

And so but that's part of what my goal as mayor is, I believe, as a public servant, as a community leader, is to bring our is to have collaboration.

I mean, the city is very intentional about how we we do things in the city.

And so one of our focus moving forward is one of my focus is moving forward, is working really closely with task in the Kendall County, working with tech.

Start moving forward to making sure that things that we do are smart and they make plans and making sure that we're all on the same page.

What about the businesses?

Because most mayors are concerned with I want to bring in new business.

I want to bring in the right kind of business.

You know, there's open space, you know it's going to be developed.

It could be developers that build lots on that.

It could be businesses.

How do you balance that and do you want more businesses there, or is it going to be a bedroom suburb.

So again, that's a good question.

And I mean it's a balancing act exactly what it is.

Right?

You want to have some economic growth and some economy developed to help sustain your city, but you don't want to go to a point where you become a large suburb of a city where you don't recognize that community feel or the bedroom community that you're asking for.

So trying to find that balance.

And so downtown Burney is very picturesque, so to speak.

It's welcoming.

It's inviting, it's quaint.

Yes.

Good word.

and it's a hometown feel.

Right.

And as you get outside of that downtown aspect, you know, the city of Burnie is only 12mi², right?

And so it's not a very large city, so to speak, but at the same time.

So most of that development, growth, that growth is going to be coming on the outskirts of town, anything in the county.

And that's why it's very important.

I think that we work closely with the county, that we work closely with the school district and we work closely with Tex Dot.

And so, again, that was one of the reasons we started having this, this collaboration, I call it a commute.

Community partners were, formed, so to speak, people we can come together and do that.

What's the toughest thing so far?

And what is, what are you working on right now?

What's your goal?

Your priority.

So our priority right now is always going to be water conservation efforts.

You know, and managing managing the infrastructure.

And so we just passed that $50 million bond where we're doing some new roadways east to west off of Outer Street, changing some roads, doing some sidewalks, making more learning, more walkability, or walkable.

Excuse me.

And so, infrastructure is also a key.

And so we got to make sure that we have infrastructure to handle the traffic and the population growth that we have.

And so passing that bond, $13 million, the bond is a large community park and all accessibility, all abilities play park with some, community fields.

And so, all that stuff that we do is all we send out the city surveys every two years, and this is what the city said.

The city came back and said, we want this road fixed.

We want a community park.

And so we're the city is very intentional.

Listening to the community of of Burney when it says, this is what we need, this is what we want.

And so we're we're implementing that that bond, which is huge.

Well, it's you're under a huge microscope out there just because of the growth all over the Hill country, you know, appreciate you coming in talking about one of your jobs.

Frank Ritchie, the mayor of Burnie, also runs an automotive, repair shop and alignment shop as well.

And the spring Creek United Methodist Church.

Thank you very much.

Appreciate it.

Thanks for having me, Randy.

Appreciate it.

On our reporters roundtable this week, Chris Tomlinson is a columnist for Hearst, both the San Antonio Express-News and the Houston Chronicle, as well as syndicated around the country and around the state in different places, New York Times, as well as Beaumont and Laredo and Laredo all over.

Thank you very much for coming in.

Wanted to talk about a couple of your stories recently.

first of all, column on the Samsung chip plant and the power and water that it's going to need.

And what that brings up your take on this.

Sure.

I mean, the the Samsung has announced a $40 billion microchip plant in, Taylor, Texas, outside of Austin.

it's going to manufacture some of the most advanced chips in the world at what they call two nanometer.

And this is, largely funded through the Chips act, which is the bipartisan bill passed by President Biden.

And, the Republicans in Congress.

And it's an exciting moment, except that it's going to require 200MW of energy, to operate.

It's going to require 4 to 6, million gallons of water every day to manufacture those plants.

And in a state like Texas, it's a little short on electricity.

And water right now.

it's going to force us to set some priorities.

And in the Hill country, or we're just talking about the growth and burning across the area.

Now, you've written a lot about growth and about the need for power and water.

And how are we may or may not be wasting, some of those resources.

What is your take on this particular plan?

I mean, it's hard to argue against this kind of business coming into Texas.

and what it could mean for the economy as well as what it could mean for the United States computer industry.

would you rather the focus be on the whole of the needs of water and power and what we're doing with it?

We need a we need a statewide approach.

Right.

Because if all of the data centers, whether it's artificial intelligence or crypto mining, if they're all built, the ones that are being planned, we're looking at, you know, a two thirds increase in the demand for electricity by 2030.

And we can't build enough power plants quick enough to meet that demand.

If crypto miners alone, the people who make Bitcoin and Ethereum, if they own, if only they build the plants they have in mind, their power demand will be equivalent to the city of Houston.

So, we're going to be in a bind.

And frankly, I would rather, the state prioritize things like, world changing microchips at the Samsung plant rather than crypto bro's, mining Bitcoin out in, Rockport.

But what's your sense of what's going to happen?

And their appetite for priorities right now we're just kicking that can down the road.

It's all about kicking the can down the road right now.

No one wants to make these tough decisions.

I think there's a certain amount of wishful thinking that not everything that is on the books will actually get built, and that's possible.

however, that's not a, hope it's not a strategy, and it's not a way to, ensure that every day Texans like you and I have electricity at our house, and, and we're not operating under water restriction.

Wishful thinking that the, crypto business won't be as big as some of the crypto backers think it is.

Exactly.

And or maybe, Microsoft and Amazon won't build as many, chip as many datacenters as water planned.

however, you know, that hurts the Texas economy.

And we're limiting the number of new jobs, the amount of economic growth we can get if we don't make some strategic decisions.

And right now, the Public Utility Commission and the legislature are not making those decisions.

How do you get them excited about that or not excited?

But to do that, you know, aware, does it take a groundswell of public opinion of support of a problem with one particular area, a power outage in the middle of winter or summer, or let's talk about a, an electricity emergency?

in the last five days, you know, twice in the last five days, Ercot, on the Ercot grid, there has been a, shortage of electricity, sending the wholesale prices up to $5,000, a megawatt hour from an average of about 50. this has happened because we don't have enough generation available online at the moment.

We have an enormous amount of natural gas plants that are that are shut down, by incident.

And they weren't planned.

It's unplanned outages.

we're not sure exactly why they were offline, but if the public doesn't know that we have an electricity shortage in April when, when when we should have plenty of power, then, they need to know.

And they need to let their lawmakers know that.

And their representatives know that this is unacceptable.

Real.

They know in terms of the prices when they get the bills, what kind of spike?

That kind of spike translates into a bill.

They won't see it for a year.

I mean, that's the thing about the wholesale market is that these sudden spikes in electricity demand, are don't show up immediately in your bill.

And maybe they should, there are people who argue that, our monthly bills should reflect the ever changing cost of electricity.

So we better understand, when we're having these problems.

But I think, if we're having problems now, we're going to have a tough summer and we'll have several electricity emergency alerts.

Ercot will ask us to turn up their conditioning and turn off the pool pumps.

and that will be a chance for the public to realize how serious the problem is.

But even with all that you say, that's not going to work.

That's not going to cut it for all they're planning.

Well, it's you know, Governor Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Patrick have both been very responsive in terms of public demand that they fix the grid.

I disagree with their approach to fixing the grid, but I think our politicians are well aware that if we continue to have, these emergencies on the grid, that pressure will grow for them to ultimately have to make the tough choices.

What about the choices between, wind and solar and, say, natural gas?

Because the legislature hasn't maybe wanted to expand the grid as much in terms of infrastructure getting power from one end of the state to the other, and has been maybe more supportive of natural gas than wind and solar, especially in recent years.

Well, I think this is why, you know, the Republican politicians are not talking about the the shortages we've had over the last week because it was natural gas that caused the shortages, and it was batteries that save today, save the day.

We set records for battery energy use, two gigawatts worth of battery power is what kept the lights on Friday night last week.

it says, and we're adding more battery power.

So, I think one of the reasons why we don't have more politicians talking about this is because renewables are the solution.

Batteries are the solution.

Natural gas continues to fail is another idea that's been floated, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and, getting rid of a property tax.

your reaction to that idea?

You know, it wasn't long ago that, that Governor Patrick, was saying that we couldn't possibly get away from a property tax.

And now he's assigned the Senate Finance Committee to come up with a plan.

this indicates to me, two things.

One, and he's under pressure from the right.

you know, getting rid of property taxes has long been a, talking point for, ultra conservatives.

and the libertarians in Texas.

but also, this ties into school vouchers, right?

Because most of the property taxes where you pay are for public schools.

and I think he is floating a well established theory that if we can go to a defined system where we give every parent a voucher for schools, we can do away with public schools and let them be privatized, but also doing away with the property tax.

There's really no alternative that's been thought out yet in terms of sales taxes would have to increase by X amount and hurt the city to do this part of the population.

So the Texas, Taxpayers and Research Association determined that to do away with property taxes in 2018, the sales tax would have to go up to 25%, which was mean we would pay a quarter on every dollar that we spend.

now, this last session, we had $30 billion in, excess cash, thanks to mostly the oil and gas industry.

And it's been a huge boom.

And we used $18 billion of that money to pay down property taxes.

and sure, if the Texans if the oil and gas industry continued to throw off that much money, conceivably we could reduce property taxes further.

But as we found out in 2011, when oil and gas crashes, so does, Texas.

So this Texas parts of Texas.

Well, thank you very much, Chris Tomlinson.

Always, interesting stuff.

And I know you have some more this Sunday.

Yes.

I mean, I've interviewed, CEO Rudy Garza, and we're going to be carrying, what his approach is to solving these great problems.

All right.

Well, thanks very much.

You can check out Chris Thompson's work in the San Antonio Express-News.

Thanks.

And thank you for joining us for this edition of On the Record.

You can see the show again or previous shows, as well as download the podcast.

Just go to KLRN.org, I'm Randy Beamer, and we'll see you next time.

On the record is brought to you by Steve and Adele Dufilh