Page 4 - BSB_9_22

Did You Know?BTy Connie McFall Clarkhe city of Bulverde is on Cibolo Creek nineteen miles west of New Braunfels in southwesternComal County. Cibolo Creek, which forms the Comal County/Bexar County line, runs just south of Bulverde. It was settled in 1850 as a stopping point for travelers and called Pieper Settlement, after Anton Pieper. For many years the closest post office was at Smithson Valley, and mail was delivered once a week to the house of Carl Koch in Bulverde. A local post office that operated from 1879 to 1919 was named for Luciano Bulverda, an early area landowner. Since 1959 Bulverde has been served by a community post office that opened in Charles L. Wood’s store.The town had a population of nearly 100 until the 1960s, when it fell to twenty- five. The Herrera, Ufnau, Honey Creek, Mustang Hill, and Green Hill schools were consolidated with the Bulverde school district, which had an enrollment of fifty- two in 1947. Estimated population in theMayor’s CornerN Of Spring Branch By Mayor James MayerRed, White & True Mysteries Transplanted Texan’s Name Not BeSynonymous With His Many CareersGBy Paul Niemannail lived a pretty interesting life. He was born on a farm in New York in 1801, the oldest of seven kids.His name is synonymous with an invention that your mom may have given you when you were growing up. If that clue doesn’t give it away, then read on. But first, let’s take a look at some of Gail’s other accomplishments and some of the familiar people he met.Gail had only 18 months of formal schooling, yet he taught for two years while still a teenager. It just so happens that he had more education than most other people at the time.Gail was 28 when he moved to Texas to follow his brother, who was one of the state’s original settlers. He would later start his own newspaper in 1835, a year before Mexican troops captured the Alamo.But Gail’s name is not synonymous with newspaper publishing.He also worked as a surveyor, even helping lay out the site for the city of Houston.But Gail’s name is not synonymous with surveying.Speaking of Houston, Gail worked in politics under Sam Houston. Yes, that Sam Houston, for whom the city is named.But Gail’s name is not synonymous with politics.He got involved in mapmaking and would eventually produce the firstwww.highlightspubs.com2020 census was 5,692.Bulverde is called “The Front Porchof the Texas Hill Country”. Bulverde’s first people were Native Americans. A type of arrowhead known as the Bulverde Point is named after the style of arrowhead made by Native Americans who lived in the area during the period 2,500 to 600 B.C. After 1850 Bulverde was mainly settled by German immigrants similar to nearby New Braunfels. In the period between 1996 and 1999 five separate municipalities were incorporated and combined in the Bulverde area to form the current City of Bulverde. This process required 22 separate elections. In May 2015, the people of Bulverde voted to adopt a home rule charter to have more control over development.The Spotlight Theater & Arts Group ETC (S.T.A.G.E.) is a community theater in Bulverde that performs at the Krause House Theater. The group formed in 1979 to promote the arts and moved into its current home in 1985. S.T.A.G.E. producesBulverde Post Office building taken from bulverdetx.gov websitefour shows per season and hosts Eli Lilly foundation acting classes for adults and children as well the ENCORE PLAYERS, an outreach program to the Bulverde Senior Citizen’s Center for Readers Theater.Bulverde is served by the Comal Independent School District. Throughout the 1980s and as of 2021, the children of Bulverde fed into Smithson Valley High School. Most residents are in the Spring Branch Middle School zone, while some are in the Smithson Valley middle zoneSmithson Valley High School.A private school, Living Rock Academy(LRA), opened its doors in August 2015. There is also Bracken Christian School founded in 1983.Connie McFall Clarkwill be spotlighting historical and interest- ing facts about the area. www.conniecanwrite.como doubt you are hearing a lot about the proposed subdivision and the associated WastewaterTreatment Facility. Like most of you, the prospect of seeing more rooftops going up in Spring Branch greatly concerns me, especially amid a record-breaking drought. Here are some things that I want you to know.The proposed development is outside of our City Limits and, as such, gives us limited options. The TCEQ permit request was on the agenda for our March Meeting and included a presentation by CLWSC. This meeting, like most of our meetings was not well attended. While there is little that the City of Spring Branch can do to change the outcome, we are negotiating with the builder to comply with our Dark Sky Ordinance and subdivision regulations as well as to agree to a tree preservation and replacement plan.If you feel the city should have greater influence in future developments, I encourage you to attend City Commission meetings and express your support for Zoning and Planning within our subdivision regulations. Past efforts to do this have not met with public support.The decision to approve the discharge permit rests solely with TCEQ. The Public Hearing held on August 11 provided information about how to make your concerns a part of public record and what else you can do. Additional questions should be directed to the TCEQ and SJW (CLWSC).4The TCEQ was created by the Texas Legislature. To impact the organization at that level, you may consider contacting your state legislators.Property values and taxes have also been a hot topic. There are three parts to the property tax process in Texas. It begins with the Appraisal District which is tasked with determining property values within their County (followed by a protest period). Second, per Texas Legislative order, the County Tax Assessor’s office takes the appraisal values and prepares Truth in Taxation worksheets identifying various tax rates municipalities and school districts may consider and distributes these to those entities. The final step is when those Cities and school districts consider and adopt a tax rate. The County and its municipalities are due to consider and approve tax rates by mid-September. Dates for public meetings as well as proposed tax rates can be found on https://comal.countytaxrates.com/taxtopographical map of Texas.But Gail’s name is not synonymous withmapmaking. It is synonymous with his invention.What, then, did Gail invent?He invented a new machine which could travel on water and on land.But Gail’s name is not synonymous with machines that could travel on water and on land. In fact, this machine was one of several inventions that Gail created. He also invented the meat biscuit.But Gail’s name is not synonymous with the meat biscuit, as the meat biscuit was a failure because people didn’t like the taste of it. It did prepare him for his next invention, though.This one had to do with milk. He set out to invent a way to make milk taste fresh longer. His inspiration came from seeing immigrants in very bad condition on his way back from an overseas trip.There’s also a town in west Texas namedTexan - continued on page 11 September 2022Please be safe!Spring Branch Mayor James MayerContact info: info@cityofspringbranch.org