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©Barton Publication,s, Inc.
..... HaysFreePress.com Vol. 108 • No. 16
Buda, Kyle and Northeast Hays County • 75¢
PHOTO BY SEAN KIMMONS
As the Kyle Depot continues to deteriorate, an architecture firm has pulled out of the renovation project, citing lack of direction from the city.
Architect leaves train de
project amidst city feud
BY SEAN KIMMONS
sean@haysfreepress.com
ArUstin-based Antenora
chitects, which has
eaded renovation de-
signs for Kyle's historic train
depot for the past five years,
recently threw in the towel
amidst a feud between two
city groups.
The feud, between train
depot board members and
city officials, has sidelined
the project for years, draining
funds along the way.
"The main reason we
withdrew is that we felt we
didn't have the confidence of
the train depot board," said
Michael Antenora of Ante-
nora Architects.
Last week, the Kyle City
Council voted to scrap An-
tenora's third proposal and
directed city staff to search
for a new architect. The city
already paid at least $15,000
for Antenora's services in
the past year, and will likely
dish out similar funds to the
"The Kyle Train Depot is the gateway
to our community. It will continue to
serve as an entrance to our city, and
first impressions are very important."
-Kate Johnson, Kyle Train Depot Board Director
next consultant. The amount
doesn't include work before
2009, a figure that city of_
ficials could not round up by
deadline.
"My opinion is to start the
whole process over again,"
Interim City Manager ]ames
Earp told the council. "Ulti-
mately the council is going to
have to decide between pri-
marily a renovation project
and a historic preservation
project."
Mayor Lucy Johnson,
whose mother heads the
train depot board, agreed to
start over since the board was
concerned about the depot's
layout.
"The designs that we have
now are not in agreement
with the train depot board,"
she said.
Whatever happens, the city
must expedite the process so
it won't lose a $25,000 grant
it received from the Lower
Colorado River Authority to
go toward depot repairs.
In December, the council
approved a resolution to
spend no more than $250,000
to renovate the depot and fix
any city code violations. In
the plans, the depot would
serve as a visitor center and
office space for city employ-
ees.
However, the train depot
board didn't want city offices
to impede the till restora-
tion of the building, a more
expensive endeavor since
restoration falls under stricter
codes.
Kate Johnson, the board's
director, spoke to the coun-
cil last week in support of
preserving thte depot, the
only one left standing in Hays
County.
"The Kyle Train Depot is
the gateway to our communi-
ty," she said. "It will continue
to serve as an entrance to our
city, and first impressions are
very importaant."
See DB~3T IN DISR~AIR, pg. 4A
BY BRAD ROLLINS
brad@haysfreepress.com
Former Kyle City Manager
Tom Mattis is seeking to be-
come the top admin-
istrator just down the
interstate in the city
of San Marcus, where
the city manager was
fired last month.
Mattis, who is
credited with guid-
ing Kyle through
eight years of un-
precedented resi-
dential and com-
mercial growth but MAI"rl$
got crossways with a
new mayor and city council, re-
signed under pressure in April.
The San Marcos City Council
terminated former manager
Rick Menchaca's employment
in June.
"I am uniquely positioned
at this particular point in time
(maybe more so than any Other
candidate) to offer San Marcos
a rare package as its
new city manager -
combining a slrong
familiarity with the
city and solid prOfes-
sional background
with a fresh perspec-
tive new to the oper-
ation," Mattis wrote
San Marcos council
members in a: July
20 letter obtained by
the Hays Free Press.
He continued,
"My track record of success as
the city manager in Kyle over
See TOM MATrlS, pg. 4A
in sex
BY SEAN KIMMONS
sean@haysfreepress.com
A Kyle policeman lost his
badge after he failed to detain
alleged pedophile
Dustin McFall, who
drove away with a 14-
year-old runaway after
a February traffic stop.
Officer Karl Cranek,
who appealed his in-
definite suspension,
now finds his career
in the hands of a hear-
ing examiner, who
determine if his
termination was fair
during an upcomingMCFAL/
arbitration hearing in
mid-August.
Cranek responded to a bur-
g]ary/crLminal mischief call at
McFall's home on the 100 block
of Teasley Road. McFalrs wife,
who had kicked her husband out
of their home, called the police
when she said she discovered him
having improper sexual contact
with a boy inside the residence.
While approaching the home,
Cranek pulled over McFall's vehi-
cle but failed to question the 33-
year-old and the boy on reports
of child sexual abuse and allowed
both to depart together, a depart-
ment memorandum stated.
While on the scene, the dis-
patcher told Cranek that Mc-
Fall's wife had caught him inside
"having sex with some boy who
is under eighteen," the police
memo said.
Cranek asked the dispatcher,
"Ok, what does she want us to
do? To just make sure it was him
in the house? He'S leaving any-
way." The dispatcher then ad-
vised Cranek that McFall and the
boywerein a sexual relationship.
Cranek responded,
"Ok, well I can't prove
any of that" and the
call was disconnect-
ed, the memo stat~d.
After releasing
the two individuals,
Cranek contacted
McFall's wife and the
boy's parents. The
boy was later report-
ed as a runaway in
Bastrop County, the
memo stated.
McFall vanished
with the boy and was later de-
tained by the Hidalgo County
Sheriff's Office upon re-entering
the U.S. from Mexico. On April
6, McFall was booked into the
Hays County Jail on two felony
counts ofindecencywith a child
by sexual contact, according to
police records.
An arrest affidavit says that Mc-
Fall met the teenage boy on Craig-
slist, where the victim told McFall
that he was 15 years old. The boy
told police that he performed oral
sex on McFall two separate times
at the suspect's home.
McFall's arraignment was
waived this month, with his pre-
trial motions slated to begin Aug.
3 at the 22nd District Court in San
Marcos.
The internal investigation de-
termined Cranek's actions to be
"gross misconduct."
Subscriber address
will
COURTESY PHOTO
Twenty-year Buda Library
Director Marjorie Martinez
passed away earlier this
week at the age of 61.
BY JEN BIUNDO
jen@haysfreepress.com
Marjorie Martinez, the soft-
spoken but quietly determined
director of the Buda Public
Library, passed away on Sat-
urday, July 24, at the age of 61,
following a long illness. She
leaves behind a lasting legacy
of literacy and lifelong learn-
ing.
"She was a very quiet yet
effective leader in the commu-
nity," said Buda City Secretary
Toni Milam. "She was abso-
lutely devoted, not only to the
library itself, but to the thou-
sands that visited the library."
Susie Bishop, a long time
city and libratry employee, said
Martinez was passionate about
supporting lit(eracy.
"She would[ go out of her way
to find anythiaag that anybody
needed," Bishop said.
Born in Ohfio to Alphie and
Mae Catherinte Miller, Martinez
met her husband Enrique in
Mexico, where they lived for
several years.
Martinez came to work at the
Buda Public Library in 1989,
when the library occupied a
tiny portable lbuilding on the
greenbelt. She helped coor-
dinate the construction and
move to the ntewly constructed
Basil Anthony, Moreau Library
in 1993, and over the years
worked to briJng the library into
the 21st century of technology.
"She started this library from
the ground up," said librarian
Melinda Hodges.
In 1997, Martinez earned
her master's of library and
information science from the
University of Texas at Austin.
She retired this April and
was honored by the mayor and
council with a proclamation
recognizing her two decades of
service and dedication to the
city.
"She really cared about
people learning, and she really
enjoyed being a librarian," said
co-worker Lupe Herrera.
Audrey Elder, a long time li-
brary volunteer who served on
the Library Board of Trustees,
said Martinez had a soft-
spoken quality that belied her
determined nature. Elder said
her friend battled through her
long illness with quiet courage,
and she showed that determi-
nation until the end.
"On Friday, she told her hus-
band, 'One more day,'" Elder
said. "She wanted to see her
grandbabies one more time."
Visitation was held Tues-
day at HarreU Funeral Home,
with a funeral mass and burial
Wednesday morning. The li-
brary closed Wednesday morn-
ing so staff members could
attend the services.
Martinez is survived by her
husband, three married sons
and seven grandchildren.
XTREME GOES GREEN
Local storage manufacturer foouses
on alternative energy.
- Page 1D
Opinions ..................... 3A
Sports ..................... 1.-2B
Education ............... 3-4B
Community Columns ....... 1-2C
Bulletin Boards ............ 4C
Church Page ............... 3C
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