have been badly damaged. All the bathrooms have been demolished,” she says. Despite these losses, the park reopened quickly with temporary facilities. “Right now, we still have porta potties and some picnic tables that have been donated to us. We’ve had thousands of people using the park.” Beyond physical infrastructure, the city established an emotional and spiritual care working group led by Pastor David Payne of First United Methodist Church. Bock emphasizes the broader philosophy guiding recovery. “We must heal ourselves first and we’re very resilient here in Texas, obviously, specifically speaking to the Texas Hill Country,” he says. “We do understand that we need to heal ourselves along with our river and our community.” ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND WORKFORCE PARTNERSHIPS Major development projects continue advancing despite the flood’s disruption. Hornes announces a significant proposal headed to the next council meeting. “On the agenda is a tax increment reinvestment zone, our third, and this is a golf course development that we’ve been discussing for three years,” he says. “That community, which only consists of about 800 acres, is expected to have a 1.2 billion valuation when it’s fully built out, which is approximately 40 percent of our current property value.” The project signifies substantial revenue potential across multiple streams. “It’s going to bring in property tax, it’s going to bring sales tax, it’s going to bring hotel occupancy tax,” Hornes adds. “The development team have said for the last 90 days, we’re here for Kerrville, we’re Team Kerrville, which feels great.” Melissa Allen, Director of the Center for Talent and Workforce Development (CTWD) at Schreiner University, describes the partnership approach to workforce needs.“We met yesterday and had an hourlong conversation about just how we can provide 96 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 11
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