About Kendall County, TX

June 2, 16, 30 - Abenkonzerte - Bring your lawn chairs and coolers and listen to oompah beat on the Main Plaza in downtown Boerne 7:30 p.m.

June 6 - 2nd Annual Adventure Fest 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Joshua Springs Park and Preserve. Dozens of outdoor adventurous activities such as horseback riding, kayaking, canoeing, mountain biking, archery, fishing tournament, bungee trampoline, rockwall, live music, birds of prey demonstrations, live snakes, lizards and unusual critters, food & drink booths and much more!

June 6, 13, 20, 27 - Honey Creek State National Area Guided Tour

June 6 - Triple H 10th Annual Mounted Scavenger Hunt 791 Backhaus Rd., Pipe Creek - Triple H Equitherapy Center in Pipe Creek offers a fun day of searching for treasures along miles of trails, a buffet lunch, entertainment by the Peruvian Paso Drill Team and therapy horses ridden by our very own drill team. Call 830-510-9515 for details.

Juen 13, 27 - Cibolo Songs & Stories, Concert under the stars at the Cibolo Nature Center featuring Nobuko. Call 830-249-4616 for more information.

June 13, 20 - Wings Over Boerne - Birds of Prey Demonstrations by Master Falconer John Karger & Last Chance Forever Bird of Prey Conservancy at the Boerne Visitors Center.

June 13-14, Downtown Plaza - Boerne Market Days

June 13 - 2nd Saturday Art & Wine - Birds of Prey Demonstrations by Master Falconer John Karger & Last Chance Forever Bird of Prey Conservancy at the Boerne Visitors Center.

June 19-21 - Berges Fest Celebration and Parade - Annual celebration of German heritage featuring a parade, live entertainment, lawnmower races, Weenie dog races, watermelon eating contest, carnival, mud volleyball, canoe races, lots of food & drinks!

June 26 - Summer Scene - Movie in the Park - The Neverending Story, This Free Movie in the Park starts at dark. Come earlier at 7:30 p.m. for the Moon Bounce and Storytelling at 8 p.m., The Plaza Downtown Boerne.

Report on LCRA Meeting in Comfort - 5/12/09

May 14th, 2009 categories: Comfort Community News, Views & Faces

I attended the LCRA Informational Meeting in Comfort Tuesday evening regarding the proposed transmission lines carrying competitive renewable energy (e.g., wind generated energy) through the Gillespie/Kerr/Kendall area. I wanted to better understand where the transmission lines might run in and around Comfort. Here’s my take on it!

Apparently, there are two scenarios that will affect this area: The Twin Buttes to McCamey D to Westwind to Kendall Transmission Line Project (bringing wind generated electricity from the San Angelo area into the Comfort station) and the Westwind/Kendall to Gillespie to Newton Transmission Line Project (taking the electricity back out of Comfort Station toward the North and East, ultimately to Kempner). The LCRA displayed maps showing several proposed routes for both projects. Aerial photos revealed exactly whose land would be affected. Here’s a few of my observations as they relate to the Comfort area:

• All of the routes for both projects affected only areas on the North/East side of I-10 of Comfort.
• One potential route would run parallel to I-10.
• Both projects included proposed routes that could impact The Reserve and Falling Water (they would run to the West of those areas).
• Another proposed route would affect properties up FM 473 from Comfort.
• Another proposal provides for lines running parallel to the transmission lines which currently are being erected North of Comfort. Those lines (erected by a private company, not LCRA) run on the East side of Hwy 87 and cross at the base of Stieler Hill.

Obviously, no one wants big transmission lines on or near their land. Ultimately, LCRA will make a proposal which will go before the Public Utility Commission who will make the ultimate decision. The purpose of the meetings is to show the different options and get public comment.

If you would like to see copies of the maps and fill out a Questionaire in order to give your input, I would encourage you to go to the Kerrville meeting tonight, Thursday evening, between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. at Tally Elementary. Or, you can contact me. I have copies of the maps (not the aerial photos though) and have some extra Questionaires. But don’t delay because they are due in by the end of the month!

See also this Fredericksburg Standard article reporting on the Harper and Fredericksburg meetings.

We’re staying informed to better serve you!

With Texas Hills Come Valleys, Rivers (& Flooding): How to Handle Flood Plain Issues

Beautiful Creek View in the Hill Country (available with Cabin www.hillcountryvacationrental.com)

The Texas Hill Country is full of beautiful hills, valleys, rivers, and creeks (like the one pictured to the left).

You’d think that every one moving to the Hill Country would want something like that. Beautiful, Live water! Ahhhhh…. You can almost feel your blood pressure falling, can’t you?

Well … Maybe. Maybe not! For some it might actually increase their blood pressure. So .. it just depends!

As with many things in life, with every plus, there is a minus and with live water comes the possibility of flooding. You just have to weigh the good with the bad and determine if it is right for you!

I had someone call me not too long and say that they wanted a live water property that was not in the flood plain. Kindof a problem, you think?

In some places, especially here in Comfort, a very large portion of the community is in the flood plain. The river and creek that caused the original settlers to settle there also caused those settlers much difficulty through the years. In fact, Comfort’s “main” street (e.g., the place where the majority of the town’s businesses are located) is now “High Street” because businesses relocated to “higher” ground after numerous floods.

So .. for many properties in the Hill Country, including properties in Kerrville, Bandera, Center Point, Fredericksburg, etc., you will have to weigh flood insurance into the overall budget.

When faced with flood plain issues, one term can be especially confusing.

100-Year Flood - The term 100-year flood is misleading. It is not the flood that will occur once every 100 years. Rather, it is the flood that has a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. Thus, the 100-year flood could occur more than once in a relatively short period of time. The 100-year flood is also known as the base flood or 1 percent annual flood.

So, how do you know whether the property you are looking at is in the floodplain? You will want to locate the the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for your area. Here is a portion of Comfort, Texas (Panel 90 in Kendall County):

Flood Insurance Map for Comfort, Texas

What you will notice is that there are different zones shown as wells as various numbers. For areas in the Hill Country, you will be concerned with Zones A & B. Zone B is considered to be in the “flood fringe area” (e.g., the risk of flooding is less than 1%; however, still a possibility). Many mortgage companies still require coverage for properties in Zone B.

Zone A is definitely in the high risk portion of the flood plain. Often, Zone A will be broken down into subareas ranging from Zone A-1 to Zone A-30. If your property is in a Zone A area, you will definitely need flood insurance and the Flood Insurance Rate Map will tell your insurance agent how to price your premium. Flood insurance premiums are federally regulated. Often, individuals and lenders will ask for a Flood Insurance Certificate in order to better define the risk of flooding and can help save in premiums.

A Flood Insurance Certificate is prepared by a surveyor who certifies the Base Flood Elevation (BFE) that the property is in, the Lowest Floor Elevation(LFE), and the Lowest Adjacent Grade (LAG).

Base Flood Elevation (BFE) – The Base Flood Elevation is the height of the base flood, usually in feet, in relation to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929, the North American Vertical Datum of 1988, or other datum referenced in the Flood Insurance Study report, or average depth of the base flood, usually in feet, above the ground surface.

The other two terms, LFE and LAG give perspective as to where the house is relative to the BFE. If it is above the BFE, insurance rates could be less than standard FIRM rates. If the house is at or below the BFE, the insurance rates likely will remain at the FIRM rates.

Whether your house was built (or substantially improved) prior to the community’s first Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) or not will factor into how much you pay in flood insurance premiums. Ask your insurance agent.

For other terms related to flood plain, go to:

nfipmapterminology

Or if you would like information on a specific area or property, we’d love to help you. You can draw on our expertise of Hill Country real estate and the dynamics related to it.

We’d love to be your Hill Country Home & Ranch Team! 830-995-2511.