The West Lake Hills City Council approved the sale of beer and wine at Walgreens on Bee Cave Road at its July 14 meeting.

The pharmacy, which is classified as a grocery store, has been selling beer and wine at that location for about six months and sought a special use permit from the city to allow for the sale of those beverages for off-premises consumption.

The operators of the store stated they were confused about procedure and had obtained their license from the Texas Alcoholic Beverages Commission before the sale of alcohol began, but did not obtain the needed city permits.

Councilman Spencer Stevens chastised the owners and said, “It seems like you were aware of what was needed.”

The council, which voted on the permit during the board of adjustment proceedings, issued the permit with a unanimous vote.

In other council action, council members unanimously approved a measure to sign a contract with Texas Disposal Systems to provide single-stream recycling to customers in West Lake Hills. A representative from the company said that the new, larger containers for recycling had arrived and were already in use. The new recycling program will allow more types of materials to be recycled and, as the single-stream name implies, residents no longer have to sort types of materials.

Linda Anthony was sworn in as the newest member of the Zoning and Planning Commission and outgoing member Barry Lewis was honored with an appreciation award from the city.

The council heard the recommendations of the wastewater commission with regards to plans for an expansion of wastewater service to Buckeye Trail and Hull Circle. Wastewater Commission Chairman Steve Hudson told the council that responses to surveys indicated there likely was not enough interest to proceed with the project on Buckeye Trail, and he said the commission recommended outreach efforts on Hull Circle to gather more responses.

The council will consider the matter at the first council meeting in August and decide whether or not to move forward with the project, which could cost the city $20,000-$30,000.

In addition to the survey, the city offered free septic system evaluations to residents on those streets. Only eight residents took advantage of the program, Hudson said.

The city needs to get enough residents to sign up to hook on to the system in order to make the expansion cost effective, city officials have said.

“We’re getting close, in my mind, to what we need to move forward on the engineering cost estimate,” said Mayor Dave Claunch, who has been an advocate of the project.

Photo by Esther Robards-Forbes

BELOW: West Lake Hills Mayor Dave Claunch swears in newly appointed ZAPCO member Linda Anthony.