LAGO VISTA, Texas — The City of Lago Vista could cut ties with Austin's Capital Metro.
The transportation authority has one bus route that takes passengers from Lago Vista to the Lakeline MetroRail station. CapMetro also offers its on-demand pick-up service in Lago Vista.
Right now, one cent of the sales tax in Lago Vista goes to CapMetro.
In a work session Thursday night, Lago Vista's city council talked about whether to let voters decide on withdrawing from the transportation authority and decided to place the issue on the November ballot.
"I just feel like the longer we wait, the more we kick the can down the road, the more it's going to cost the citizens of Lago Vista to potentially get out," Council Member Chelaine Marion said.
City council members said during their meeting that they pay too much to CapMetro and don't get enough out of it.
Mayor Ed Tidwell said that although the council isn't satisfied with the current agreement with CapMetro, the decision of whether or not to cut ties with the transportation company is up to the voters.
"I just want to make sure the citizens out there understand this is still your choice. We're putting it on the ballot. Yes, you will see, you'll hear council express our opinions, whether you know how we feel or whether we're going to put it on the ballot. But it's still up to y'all to decide," Tidwell said.
If voters decide to cut ties with CapMetro, the City would have to pay an exit fee of about $6 million.
CapMetro provided the following statement on Monday, Aug. 8:
"CapMetro is aware of the Lago Vista City Council’s decision to call an election regarding the continuation as a small member city in our service area this November. As we await the outcome, we remain committed to serving the Lago Vista community and all of our small member cities. This fiscal year, CapMetro set aside more than $700,000 of our Capital Fund to invest in Lago Vista and an additional $9.3 million for investment projects in other small member cities, including Leander and Manor. While the agency hopes that voters will decide to continue our partnership, we also respect the electoral process. Ahead of November’s election, CapMetro staff will conduct extensive outreach to help inform city leaders and the community at-large about our partnership in Lago Vista, as well as collect feedback regarding opportunities for a continued partnership."
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