The map below shows roughly where the park would be built. The area shaded in blue is about where it would go, near as I can tell from the newspaper sketch. It would take up 95 acres.

View Schlitterbahn in Cedar Park in a larger map

Cedar Park city officials announced the plans at the end of January. The City Council meeting for the project was only announced a day in advance, as if they were trying to keep it hushed. The Schlitterbahn water park could cost around $360 million to build, and it may bring as many as 1,000 jobs to the Cedar Park area — along with some major traffic headaches.

According to the proposed plans, the attraction would be completed and open for business sometime in 2012.

The question I have is this: How will they handle the traffic situation? Construction alone will create delays in one of the city’s busiest intersections. Anyone who commutes to work through that intersection knows how busy it has become in recent years. Unless the city of Cedar Park creates new off-ramps / on-ramps (specifically for park visitors), traffic could become a serious problem in that area. It could easily rival, or surpass, the construction mess in the Lakeline area from 2005 – 2008.

How Do You Feel About the Water Park?

I know how I feel about this: “Let me out of here now, before construction begins.” But I want to know how you feel about the Schlitterbahn project. Based on the comments I read on the Statesman website, there’s quite a bit of mixed reaction (as always). But there seem to be more people against the water park than for it. What do you think?

The construction time line (and even the approval) have not been finalized yet, but the technology center could be completed and occupied by late 2010. The center would be home to companies working on new technologies, products and medical research.

In October of this year, the Round Rock city council voted to support the resolution, and to request funding from the state. Companies that occupy the technology center would theoretically share their resources and expertise with local hospitals and schools.

City officials are continuing to evaluate the need for such a center, and also the funding options that are available. We will update this page as new developments emerge.

• The waterpark has been proposed, but it’s not a sure thing at this point.
• The developers are eyeballing a 14-acre plot of land where the 130 toll road meets Pecan Street. Putting the Pflugerville waterpark right off the 130 would obviously make it convenient for people driving in from the north and south.
• The park will be called the Blu Bambu Waterpark, and it could cost as much as $16 million to build. It is the brainchild of Jim Brisco (who built Splashway Waterpark in Sheridan, Texas) and Steve Hanvey.
• If the project gets final approval and moves forward in a timely manner, the new Pflugerville attraction could be open by summer of 2010.
• To put the Pflugerville waterpark into size perspective, it would be smaller than the Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, but larger than the Volente Beach park located in Austin. It would occupy approximately 14 acres, under the current proposal at least.

We will update this page with new information, as it becomes available. I’m sure you’ll see something on the news about it as well.

What Do You Think About the Waterpark Project?

We would like to get the opinions of Pflugerville residents. What do you think about this project proposal? Do you think Pflugerville will benefit from having its own waterpark, or do you think it’s a bad idea for some reason? You can share your thougts by leaving a comment below.

Foreclosed Homes in Williamson County
Click the link below to find properties for sale in the area:
Williamson County foreclosure data – click here

I probably don’t need to tell you that the rate of home foreclosures has risen steadily over the last couple of years. You hear about this kind of thing every time you turn on the news. Our housing crisis that came to a head in 2008, followed by our economic recession of 2009, have produced record-breaking numbers of foreclosed homes in the Round Rock area.

Use the link provided above to search for these properties. You’ll be able to filter your search by the stage of foreclosure (i.e., homes that are in pre-foreclosure, homes that are currently bank-owned, etc.). You’ll also have access to a wealth of information for each foreclosed property in the Round Rock area. It’s definitely the easiest way to search for foreclosures in Williamson County — better than making daily trips to the county courthouse!

Buying Foreclosed Properties in Round Rock

Buying a foreclosed home is different than purchasing a regular home, and in several ways. Here are some of the things you should know if you plan to enter this part of the real estate market.

• Let’s start with the good news. You could save a lot of money by purchasing a foreclosed home in Round Rock, because these properties are often priced to sell quickly. They are typically priced below current market values.
• Because of this competitive pricing, the foreclosure market moves pretty quickly. This is why I recommend using the listing / tracking service at the top of this page — it will prevent you from wasting valuable time in your foreclosed home search. You need to stay on top of the market and move decisively.
• If you buy one of these properties from a bank (known as a bank-owned property), the process could be a slow one. Many home buyers complain about how long it takes to buy a Round Rock foreclosed home directly from a lender / bank. There are several reasons for this, ranging from property backlogs to state foreclosure laws.
• There are several ways to buy a foreclosed or pre-foreclosure home in the Round Rock area. If the homeowner has defaulted on the mortgage but has not been foreclosed upon yet, it’s considered a pre-foreclosure home. In this case, your offer might be presented to the homeowner and reviewed by his or her bank. If the property has been foreclosed on, you will present your offer directly to the bank. These homes can also be sold through a real estate auction. You need to learn about these different scenarios, and how they alter the offer / purchasing process.
• To learn more about buying a Round Rock foreclosed property, I would visit the learning center of one of the big foreclosure websites. Both RealtyTrac.com and RealtyStore.com offer a lot of great information, buyer’s guides, etc.

More information about homes for sale:
http://www.homebuyinginstitute.com/round-rock.php

I hope this information gets you pointed in the right direction, and I wish you well in your real estate pursuits. If you’re looking for a good place to continue your research, I recommend using the link provided at the top of this page (in the box with the arrow). It will give you access to foreclosure homes throughout Williamson County, including the Round Rock area. Good luck.

The new restrictions are said to be temporary, and they will likely be relaxed when new pumps are installed at Stillhouse Hollow Lake near Belton. These watering restrictions are intended to keep Lake Georgetown (our primary water source) at a sufficient level.

What does this mean for Round Rock residents? It means there are new rules that dictate when you can water your lawn, among other things. They city has made it clear that no warnings will be given out, and that residents who violate the watering schedule will be fined. Fines can be up to $2,000.

New Watering Schedule – As of August 26, 2009

Here is what Round Rock residents need to know about the water restrictions and watering schedules:

• Watering days for single-family residential customers are Thursday and Sunday for even-numbered addresses, and Wednesday and Saturday for odd-numbered addresses.
• You can do your outdoor watering on your scheduled day. This includes sprinkling your lawn, refilling a pool or fountains, and washing your vehicle.
• Outdoor watering (as defined above) must be done before 10 a.m. in the morning, or after 7 p.m. in the evening. This applies to hose-and-sprinkler methods. Outdoor watering between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. is prohibited.
• If you have a permanently installed sprinkler system, you may only use it between midnight and 10 a.m. on your scheduled watering day.
• Watering your lawn or plants with a hand-held hose is permitted anytime. Let me say that again, since some of my neighbors were confused by it. You can hold a hose in your hand to water your lawn anytime you want — the rules listed above apply to sprinkler and soaker hose watering.
• When you wash your car on scheduled watering days, the hose must not run continuously. You can use a trigger-style hose nozzle to easily meet this requirement.

This is just a snapshot of the new rules, the ones that apply to residents and homeowners. If you would like to see the full set of guidelines, of if you have any questions about the Round Rock water restrictions, please visit the website below.

City of Round Rock website:
http://www.roundrocktexas.gov

Please stop littering my neighborhood with the promotional flyers you’ve been sticking into door frames. You know who you are.

You see, Central Texas is a pretty windy place, especially in the summer. So when you put hundreds or thousands of flyers into the door jambs around my neighborhood, many of them end up blowing away. I have pulled your flyers out of my plant beds, out of my trees, and out of the pond behind my house (the egrets and herons don’t like you much either).

I know, I know. You’re trying to save yourself a few dimes on postage by using flyers instead of postcards. But how much do you pay the folks who deliver the flyers for you? How much do you spend on printing? Surely you could use postcards (the kind that go into people’s mailboxes) without spending much more than you are now.

The primary offender in my neighborhood is some guy named Robert Fischer. His flyer informs me that he practices “Real Estate With a Servent’s Heart” — spelling left intact. I have emailed Mr. Fischer more than once, asking that he stop putting his flyers on my door. He has yet to respond.

Attention agents: Here are some better ways to market your Round Rock real estate services, rather than blanketing the neighborhoods with your promotional litter.

• Why not build a good web presence, so people can find you online when they’re actually looking for a local real estate agent? When you shove your message into people’s faces (and doors), you are playing a numbers game wherein the odds are stacked against you. What a waste of paper.
• Why not send direct mail postcards to selective addresses in your area of operation? It’s still a waste of paper, but at least it goes into a mailbox and doesn’t blow around the neighborhood (see aforementioned effects of wind on paper).
• Why no conduct home-buying seminars for people in your target neighborhoods?
• Why not do such a tremendous job for your clients that you enjoy a steady stream of referral leads?

In short, Round Rock real estate agents, I am recommending that you use the best practices of marketing that have come from decades of research. It is less wasteful, it is more effective, and it saves everyone time and hassle. But perhaps this logic-based appeal is all in vain. After all, everyone knows you don’t have to be a genius to get a real estate license — or even a good speller.

This information was released earlier today, in a CNN Money ranking of the fastest growing cities in the country. New Orleans had the highest rate of population growth, and Round Rock was #2 on the list. Three other Texas cities appeared in the top ten as well — McKinney at #5, Killeen at #9, and Fort Worth at #10.

A Fast-Growing City With Good Reason

There’s plenty to like about Round Rock, Texas. I have lived here for over five years, and I could easily rattle off a dozen things that make it a great place to live. In fact, here it goes…

1. Affordable housing
2. Great schools
3. A short drive to Austin (Live Music Capital)
4. Plenty of places to hike, bike and jog
5. Williamson County Regional Park (I jog there almost every day)
6. Short, mild winters
7. Easy access to Texas Hill Country, just a short drive to the west
8. Excellent health care (we are the “medical corridor” of Central Texas)
9. Hardly any mosquitoes, thanks to the bat colony beneath the McNeil bridge
10. An increasing number of entertainment venues (live music, a new hockey rink nearby, etc.)
11. Reasonable traffic, for now at least
12. Very low crime rate

But now the entire project is up in the air, due to a lack of agreement between Round Rock ISD and city planners. The ISD board voted to put the project on hold for now, citing a lack of details on the rec center’s location, safety plans and operational guidelines.

The history of this Round Rock rec center projects dates back several years. Funding for the recreation center was approved under the 2001 bond election. It was then decided that the center should be built west of I-35, to give residents of west Round Rock access to the amenities without having to cross the interstate. The Clay Madsen Recreation Center, as you know, is located east of the I-35. In 2007, the city began issuing bonds to pay for the project. In 2008, the master plan was approved to build the rec center on the Round Rock High School campus.

The Legacy Field House is currently set to offer the following:

• An indoor turf field for , approximately 85′ x 180′ in size
• A cardiovascular and weigh-training area, approximately 8K sq. ft.
• An elevated walking track around the inside perimeter of the rec center
• A multi-purpose / aerobics room, approximately 2,800 sq. ft.
• Child care room with outdoor playground, locker rooms and more

If you have questions about the Round Rock rec center project, please contact the Parks and Recreation department at 512-218-5540.

Share Your Thoughts on the Recreation Center

If you would like to share your thoughts on this project with other readers, you can do so by using the comment feature below. Please note that we only publish intelligent comments — angry rants and profanity will be deleted.

The School District at a Glance

Let’s start with a basic overview of Round Rock ISD’s location, size and other statistics. This school district is located in the southern part of Williamson County and the northwest portion of Travis County. The district includes the city of Round Rock, as well as portions of Austin and Cedar Park. The ISD is spread out over 100 square miles, which includes a mix of suburban neighborhoods and farm / ranch land.

Currently, the ISD includes the following:

• 4 high schools
• 1 ninth-grade center
• 9 middle schools
• 30 elementary schools
• 5 alternative education centers
• Approximately 41,000 students *

* The number of students within the school district has increased by approximately 20% over the last five years. This is testament to the steady growth of the Round Rock population.

Already, you can see one of the primary benefits the Round Rock ISD offers — an abundance of schools. At the elementary level, you can be fairly certain that a school will be nearby regardless of where you live. This is a big draw for parents. There are also plenty of middle schools, relative to the number of students.

Over the years, new schools have been constructed as needed to keep pace with the growing Round Rock population. So overcrowding is not as much of a problem in Round Rock, as it is with many other school districts across the country. The current student-to-teacher ratio is about 16:1.

Round Rock ISD Achievements

The individual ratings within Round Rock ISD are all over the spectrum. All schools are rated at the “Acceptable” level or higher, some are rated as “Recognized,” and a handful of schools are rated as “Exemplary.” Visit the ISD website for individual ratings (RoundRockISD.org).

In 2009, several Round Rock schools appeared on Newsweek magazine’s list of top-ranked schools. The list included 1,500 top-ranked schools within the United States, and all four of Round Rock’s high schools made the cut. This puts them in the top 6% nationwide. Most notably, Westwood ranked at 89 out of all high schools in the United States. Here’s an explanation of how these rankings are established.

The yearly dropout rate within Round Rock ISD is only 0.1% — much lower than the national average. The vast majority of graduating seniors (more than 85%) take the SAT and ACT college entrance exams each year, and they score well above state and national averages.

Property Taxes in Round Rock

Round Rock School District is a quality system, to be sure. But you’ll pay a price for it. Property taxes in this city are higher than any other city I’ve lived in — by a good amount. Our home is currently valued at around $240,000, and we pay about $5,300 in property taxes each year. I tell this to my relatives who live elsewhere in the country (even in California), and they cringe.You can expect to pay 2% – 3% of your home’s appraised value, anywhere within the greater Austin area — and that includes Round Rock.

Get a Quote Today
Click the link below to find Austin plumbers:
Find Pre-Screened Top-Rated Roofing Contractors. Free Service!

It never fails. Every time we have a hail-producing storm in the Round Rock area, we get flooded with leaflets and postcards from roofing contractors. Have hail damage? Need shingles replaced? Get a free quote. That sort of thing.

But did you know that many of roofers are not from Round Rock, Texas? In fact, some are not even from the state of Texas. You see, there’s a certain element within the roofing industry known as “storm chasers.” These are roofers who literally follow storms in order to get business, sometimes even crossing state lines.

That’s why most of them have magnetic signs on their trucks — they can swap out the sign to match the city or state they are in. After our last big storm, I saw a truck with a magnetic sign that said “Austin’s Roofing Experts,” even though the truck had Louisiana plates. So the next time one of these people knock on your door and claim to be a Round Rock roofing expert, you should say: “Where is your office located?”

How to Find a Round Rock Roofing Company

Of all the home-related services, roofing in particular is known for having a lot of sharks. That’s one of the many reasons I recommend using Service Magic to find Round Rock roofers (see the link provided above). When you use their online directory of roofing contractors, you benefit from the pre-screening process they have in place.

In order to be listed in the Service Magic directory, a Round Rock roofer must be licensed and insured in the state of their listing. So when you search for contractors in the Round Rock area, you’ll know they are licensed by the state of Texas.

You can also view customer ratings and comments, which is a huge help when choosing a roofer in your area. A lot of these companies will have customer testimonials on their own websites, but that doesn’t tell you very much. After all, they could have easily wrote those “customer” testimonials themselves. But when you see customer reviews and ratings on a third-party website, you know they are the real deal. Now that’s a smart way to find your next Round Rock roofing pro!