The Greater Round Rock Community Foundation, as the presenting sponsor of the Williamson County 175^th Birthday Celebration, along with Williamson County and the Williamson Museum are hosting contests for students to help celebrate Williamson County’s 175^th birthday.

The contests are open to all students attending a public, private or home school in Williamson County.  

Students in 11^th and 12^th grades can enter an essay contest regarding what they hope Williamson County will be like and look like in the next 175 years. Essays should be between 700 to 900 words. The deadline for students is Feb. 15. One winner will be selected from each county precinct and receive a $1,500 scholarship. One grand prize winner will receive a $2,500. Details are available here.  

Students from 3^rd grade to 10^th grade can enter an art contest to design an 8.5” X 11” poster for Williamson County to represent the county as it celebrates its 175^th birthday.

Williamson County does not have a storm debris collection program. Williamson County is not a refuse provider, unlike cities who do provide these services, often thru contract negotiated with a 3^rd party. The majority of the county budget goes toward public safety and the judicial system at 72%. Cities provide a number of additional services that counties do not provide, including utilities, water and refuse services.

If you are inside city limits, please check to see if your city is supplying debris removal. You can check if you are inside city limits on the county map here www.wilco.org/GIS. 

Waste Management is offering a special price for brush and limbs at the Williamson County Landfill, 600 Landfill Road in Hutto. The reduced fee is $10 per covered pickup truckload of limbs and brush now through Feb. 19. This payment scale is for non-commercial vehicles and excludes trailers. PICKUP TRUCKS ONLY. The county is waving its 6.5% tipping fee, too, so $10 per pickup truck load and no sales tax is the price you pay. The normal charge for clean brush/wood is $8.64 per cubic yard. Trash/debris is $46.90 per ton.  You must wear a safety vest (usually orange or yellow) and a hard hat.

Those who are physically or financially limited can check with Austin Disaster Relief Network to apply for assistance. Austin Disaster Relief Network

If you live in the unincorporated area and it is not against your deed restrictions, you may burn brush as there is not a burn ban. Also, check with your Emergency Service District (ESD) to see if you need a permit. Please call and report your control burn to Williamson County Communications at (512) 864-8282.  Williamson County Communications should be able to inform you of any burning restrictions that Williamson County Communications has been made aware of and that may exist.  

The Williamson County Landfill, operated by Waste Management and located at 600 Landfill road in Hutto, is offering a reduced fee of $10 per truckload of limbs and clean brush now through Feb. 19. The county is waiving its 6.5% fee for these pickup truckloads.

This March, Williamson County with celebrate its 175^th birthday in historic fashion with events to honor the founding of the county on March 13, 1848. The public is invited to join the party during the Williamson County 175^th Birthday Celebration presented by the Greater Round Rock Community Foundation on March 10 and 11 at the historic county courthouse, 710 S. Main Street in Georgetown. Future events will be announced on the website at www.wilco175.org. Volunteers can sign up to assist the celebration here. 

The destruction to our trees is unprecedented, and no area in Williamson County was spared.This is a very difficult time for our residents.

The county has been working overtime to clear streets in the unincorporated parts of Wilco by doing the only thing they legally do - moving the limbs and debris to the sides of the roads. Unfortunately, the county cannot do anything to improve your property, and that includes limb and debris removal.

If your tree limbs or trees fell into the roadway and were chopped up by the County’s Road and Bridge Crews, they will be stacking the wood back in your yard. THE TREE DEBRIS IS YOUR PROPERTY AND YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO REMOVE; TAKE IT TO THE COUNTY LANDFILL IF YOU LIVE OUTSIDE OF A CITY’S LIMITS. I encourage you to band with your neighbors and hire a hauler to remove the debris if you are not a city resident.

Your first call should be to your home insurance provider.

However, because a local disaster declaration was put out last week, you, as a homeowner and/or business owner, can also report damage to your home or business (not landscape) via the Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool, or iSTAT. Explanation of the iSTAT process can be found HERE. The link to the actual survey is HERE. To be clear, this is a process to assist with damages to your house, not your fence or yard, including the trees.

A disaster declaration could also allow for people with home damage to get some financial assistance, such as low interest loans, for people who are uninsured or underinsured. In order to be eligible, the county must meet a minimum threshold for damage and the state must have a disaster declaration and must meet a minimum threshold for damage.That minimum threshold is being determined as quickly as possible.

To be clear, FEMA is not on the way.  County residents are on their own for the cleanup from the ice no matter what you hear from neighbors or read on social media.