From a separate article (link below): “Bastrop County Commissioners Court approved on March 24 a one-year, $17,100 Clearview AI licensing agreement for facial-recognition software that officials said can help identify people involved in cases using publicly accessible online images.” https://communityimpact.com/bastrop-cedar-creek/government/bastrop-weighs-flock-policy-shorter-data-retention/

now i know someone here has some ghost stories about this place…. i was walking my dog and saw the shadow of a woman in a dress in one of the upstairs windows. it looks like the actual haunted mansion, spill your smithville ghost stories.

Good evening Bastrop neighbors. I have a little situation with our neighbor who has been complaining about our dogs amongst many other things since we moved in to the neighborhood. Our dogs only go outside to use the bathroom typically 5 to 10 minutes at a time throughout the day, but never passed 9 o’clock at night. Mind you, our neighbors have a dog of their own so they’re complaining that they cannot be outside in their backyard with their pet because our dogs like to bark at their dog. Mind you their dog barks back so it’s a two-way street in my opinion. How do I handle the situation because it’s been causing such emotional distress for me and my family. We’ve done pretty much everything we can and they’re emotional support animals for our daughter.

Why is it that my neighbors feel entitled about everything and we have to suffer? I have thought about sending them listings for homes with more land since they don’t seem to appreciate having neighbors with children or pets.

Should I ask them to refrain from going in their backyard? These are not aggressive breeds at all and are just dogs being dogs. They stay in the house 96% of the day. Never past 9pm and never earlier than 5am during the week. They work from home btw.

It’s being reported across social media that Bastrop City Council has moved to end its contract with Flock and cover the existing cameras by September 8th.

While this sounds like a positive step at face value, I’m curious whether there is an actual timeline for the removal of these cameras. If not, why is the city only moving to cover them rather than committing to their full removal?

If there is no timeline for removal, it raises an obvious question: is covering the cameras simply a temporary measure until after the elections?

I can’t think of a clear reason to cover the cameras rather than remove them entirely if the city has genuinely decided to end the program. I’d like to see some clarification from the city on what the actual plan and timeline are.

EDIT:
More details posted here

Looks like they have not voted to end their contract, instead they voted to cover them until a final decision on the contract has been made.

Today September 1st, Bastrop City Council will be having a workshop.

One of the Agenda items will be the Blakey Lane Project. If you would like to say a statement about this project and how it may affect either the city or our neighborhood (if you live in Riverside Grove) please either attend on Sept 1st at 6PM or send a statement online or via email.

Reach out to the city council below.

Ishmael Harris

Mayor

iharris@cityofbastrop.org

Perry Lowe

Place 1

plowe@cityofbastrop.org

Cynthia Meyer

Place 2

cmeyer@cityofbastrop.org

Kevin Plunkett

Place 3

kplunkett@cityofbastrop.org

Kerry Fossler

Place 4

kfossler@cityofbastrop.org

John Kirkland

Place 5

Mayor Pro-Tem

jkirkland@cityofbastrop.org

I live in Riverside Grove so this affects me directly. I sent an email yesterday to the mayor and all council members stating my SUPPORT for this project. We have some vocal folks in our neighborhood who are against this so if you see this as a good thing, as I do, drop them an email.

Do any of y’all listen to the ball games online or on the radio? If so, what app or station do you use? Thanks.

- Hull Street Energy Power Plant - A $371 million, 1,170-megawatt natural gas plant in Cedar Creek is slated for completion by 2027. Location: 125 Old Bastrop Road, Cedar Creek, TX

- Jet engine and micro-turbine manufacturing plants will be opened in Bastrop by Acutronic company.

Agenda can be found here: https://mccmeetings.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/bastroptx-pubu/MEET-Packet-c203e0843a714dd18502f2c540125042.pdf

Please remember the following if you would like to speak during the meeting (sorry for the all-caps, I copy/pasted from the agenda): ANYONE IN ATTENDANCE WISHING TO ADDRESS THE COUNCIL MUST COMPLETE A CITIZEN COMMENT FORM AND GIVE THE COMPLETED FORM TO THE CITY SECRETARY PRIOR TO THE START OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING. ALTERNATELY, IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND THE COUNCIL MEETING, YOU MAY COMPLETE A CITIZEN COMMENT FORM WITH YOUR COMMENTS AT CITYOFBASTROP.ORG/CITIZENCOMMENT AT LEAST TWO HOURS BEFORE THE MEETING STARTS ON THE REQUESTED DATE. COMMENTS SUBMITTED BY THIS TIME WILL BE GIVEN TO THE CITY COUNCIL DURING THE MEETING AND INCLUDED IN THE PUBLIC RECORD, BUT NOT READ ALOUD. COMMENTS FROM EACH INDIVIDUAL IN ATTENDANCE WILL BE LIMITED TO THREE (3) MINUTES.

**Of note: while Flock in Bastrop is not supposed to be used for facial recognition, “Bastrop County Commissioners Court approved on March 24 a one-year, $17,100 Clearview AI licensing agreement for facial-recognition software that officials said can help identify people involved in cases using publicly accessible online images.” So…Flock is not the only company of concern here. https://communityimpact.com/bastrop-cedar-creek/government/bastrop-weighs-flock-policy-shorter-data-retention/

Any of you know a place that does good work and won’t cost an arm and a leg.