Snowflakes weren’t the only things eliciting smiles at the Feb. 23 Bee Cave Council meeting.

Despite losing one part-time position in August and having to close Mondays to adapt to the city’s budget crisis last year, the Bee Cave Public Library received the 2009 Achievement of Excellence Award from the Texas Municipal Library Directors Association.
Of the more than 500 public libraries in Texas, Bee Cave was one of 27 to receive the award.
Mayor Caroline Murphy presented Library Director Barbara Hathaway with a plaque at a recent City Council meeting in honor of the award.
Hathaway thanked the mayor, council and city administration for their support of the library, and she commended the library staff for their commitment to customer service.
“It was a difficult year with the budget cuts, but my staff did an amazing job,” she said. “We will never be the biggest library in the area, but we try to be the friendliest and most helpful. Our staff love what they do, and it shows in their attitudes toward our patrons.”
The TMLDA gives the award annually to libraries that demonstrate a commitment to excellence for their communities across a wide range of service and programs.
“This is a very high honor. There is a very rigorous” application process, Murphy said.
In order to qualify, the Bee Cave library submitted evidence of achievement in 10 categories of service, including a summer reading program for youth, teens or adults; cultural, topical and educational programming for adults and families; and literacy support for all ages.
Other criteria the association evaluated included services to underserved populations; collaboration with other libraries or organizations; professional staff training; collaborative efforts with local schools; volunteer and internship programs; web presence; and marketing.
City Administrator Frank Salvato said the achievement is impressive when taking last year’s challenges into account.
“Even as short-handed as they are they are still able to meet all the requirements to earn this award. A lot of that has to with all the special activities they have around the year. Those special events show their interest in keeping the community connected to reading,” Salvato said.
The library was founded in 2003 with a small collection of donated books, and opened in its current location in the Hill Country Galleria in late 2007.
Since that time, the collection has grown to more than 25,000 items. With more than 9,000 registered cardholders, the library circulates 162,000 items annually, and received more than 73,000 visits last year, according to library records.
City Council members also authorized the library to spend $5,600 from donations for shelving, books, book carts and other library items. Proceeds from the Rolling Sculpture Car Show last October constituted $4,310 of this amount, of which about $2,300 will be spent immediately with the remainder allocated for as-needed expenses later this year.
Council member Chad Bockius updated the council on the Bee Cave Arts Foundation’s plans for The Benches of Bee Cave, a plan to install 25-50 public benches at high foot traffic locations around the city, including Bee Cave Central Park and City Hall and possibly the Hill Country Galleria and Shops at the Galleria. Artists will submit their bench designs to a foundation for approval, and sponsorships will be available.
In other action, council members:
3 Approved the installation of a French drain at Bee Cave Central Park to reduce water that has pooled at the play field-active meadow because of heavy rains and an exposed natural spring; and
3 Accepted Bee Cave Police Department’s racial profiling report for traffic stops in 2009 that concluded the police force does not practice or condone bias based on profiling. Because the police department records all traffic stops, it is not required to present the annual report to its City Council, but Police Chief Rusty Pancoast said he wanted council members to have the data. Of the 7,911 stops officers made last year, 69 drivers were arrested, 3,892 were released without a citation, 2,221 were ticketed and 1,729 were issued written warnings.