My Bio
I'm running for Lago Vista City Council because I believe our community deserves thoughtful, people first leadership. My focus is on the issues that directly impact our quality of life: strengthening infrastructure, securing a better mass transit agreement, ensuring short-term rentals are safe and compliant, and protecting our water resources and delivery systems.
I’m committed to sustainable growth that honors the character of Lago Vista. Our city planning must be strategic and community-minded, not just reactive. The recent flooding clearly showed that our drainage systems and emergency plans are outdated and in need of urgent attention. We can’t afford to wait years to address these challenges. I will actively pursue grant opportunities to fund important city projects without increasing the financial burden on taxpayers and without putting additional strain on our city staff. Each grant that we get I will ensure that we have a proper grant administrator and that all reporting and guidelines are adhered too so that we can continue to be eligible for future funding.
Mass land clearing by developers has left behind fire hazards, environmental degradation, and visual blight. We need better enforcement and real consequences for irresponsible development practices.Transparency is a priority for me: developers should engage with the public in open meetings on-site, not just in council chamber and residents deserve access to complete, accurate information, not just polished presentations, glossy brochures or incomplete agenda packets.I support landowner rights, but I also believe every resident deserves to be heard and respected in decisions about our city’s future.
I moved to Lago Vista in 2022 from Galveston to combine households with my wonderful fiancé, Matt Thomas. I’ve spent my life visiting the Hill Country and am grateful to now call it home and raise my family here. As a lifelong Texan, being close to the water has always been important to me, and I’ve found Lago Vista to be a truly welcoming and special place.
My background includes years of community service from working with the Hurricane Ike Recovery Committee, Galveston Downtown Partnership, the Galveston Trees Project, and the Galveston Chamber’s Lemonade Day Youth Campaigns. Locally, I’ve served as a Zone Lead for the NorthShore Clean-Up and am an active member of the Central Texas Water Coalition, Lago Vista PTO, Keep Lago Vista Beautiful, and Lago Vista’s Friends of the Library.I'm a nurse, a mother, a small business owner, and a short-term rental owner (in Galveston). These roles help me understand the perspectives of both residents and local businesses.
Lago Vista is a special place. With thoughtful leadership and community collaboration, we can keep it that way. I’m ready to listen, work hard, and make informed decisions that protect and enhance our future.Please don’t hesitate to reach out using the contact form below or text me directly. I’d love to hear your ideas and look forward to the opportunity to work together.
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https://www.venmo.com/u/Vote4AmandaChavarria
My Key Issues
Mass Transportation
We need a viable alternative that voters will actually be on board with when the next exit election becomes available in 2027. I propose fail-safe alternatives such as co-ops, ride-share partnerships and autonomous vehicles when we exit the agreement so that we can come back to the table with CAP METRO, CARTS or VIA TRANSPORTATION for a better deal and the upper hand. We have to get out from under CAP METRO's strong hold on our sales tax dollars. They do not service the entire city nor do they provide enough flexibility in the route pickup and drop off times to make it a viable method for most working individuals. While mass transit is a necessity for cities like Lago, we shouldn't settle for subpar service at premium price tag because our city hasn't done it's homework.
Infrastructure
I've never been a fan of the " Build it and they will come theory". I believe that any addition to a city needs to be thoughtfully weighed in terms of impact on current and proposed infrastructure, overall community benefit and answer this question "is this a mutually beneficial improvement to our city or is it prioritizing profits over people?" Currently our city is in dire need of a waste water and drinking water systems upgrade including transmission lines. While construction is several years out, our planning phases are underway and thoughtful consideration must be made towards permitting these massive developments if they are going to be tying into the cities systems. Unchecked, these numerous tie ins could potentially cause our system to fail much sooner than we can accommodate a fix for.
Flood and Fire Mitagation
The city needs an updated drainage study conducted. The recent flooding has once again proven that drainage in several neighborhoods has been poorly planned or failed to be executed appropriately. Every time a new structure or large development goes up the topography can change, thus creating a different set of conditions for water runoff. These changes need to be better anticipated and mitigated so that the neighboring properties are not forced into flood situations that they wouldn't have been in originally. Even changes in landscaping or placing retaining walls can have a significant impact on your neighbors yard. Lets be work together to reduce these risks. Downed trees and clearcutting of brush should be removed and code enforcement needs to stay on top of these very serious situations. Several developers have mulched trees into "tinder" and left it on site, which given the right conditions could easily ignite a fire that our city would be hard pressed to put out and or escape from.
Process Improvement and Lean Initiatives
Currently the city has several redundancies with regards to software licenses that provide the same service or aren't being utilized at all. We need more insight on what staff are actually utilizing, what needs modernization and what can be effectively eliminated. If old equipment is no longer needed, lets sell it so that the we can recoup some of those funds, sitting on unused or old equipment isn't the answer. The lack of proper documentation, absent information and numerous typographical and grammatical errors in the City Council Packets is a disservice to not only council but to the the citizens as well. It wastes precious time and if the information isn't accurate how can an informed decision be made. The City Manager is tasked with vetting the packet prior to the meeting we need to make sure that he is accountable and understands that complacency and displaced blame have no place on the dias.
Grant Writing And Coordination
I will work to identify and apply for grants that can help fund important city projects without placing additional burdens on taxpayers. Proper management of grant funds and reporting duties are paramount in order continue to qualify for grants so I will be asking for a grant coordinator position to be created if these tasks cannot be managed effectively by current personnel.
City Taxes
I'd love to get to lower than the 0.42 tax rate recommended by the City Manager but where he pulled that number from without looking out the current corrected budget, our current expenditures all while knowing that the cost of goods and services is on the rise is beyond my comprehension. It is my hope that we can find some additional savings by looking into where we have over budgeted in previous years and make better financial predictions using facts instead of feelings and eliminate the misc line items. All funds should have a specific use, if not then it shouldn't be budgeted for but rather "saved for" in a separate account or under anticipated maintenance expenses i.e. the emergency repair/replacement of Library A/C last year
To Donate
https://www.venmo.com/u/Vote4AmandaChavarria
Short-Term Rentals and Vacation Properties
-Annual Registration Requirements -Online Verification for citizens to determine if address is registered as an STR -Good Neighbor Agreements with non-renewal clause for continued violations (over 3 per year) -Ensuring that all STR's are paying the legally required Hotel Occupancy Taxes
Send Me a Message
Have questions or suggestions? I would love to hear from you!
Campaign Headquarters
7405 Turnback Ledge Trail, Lago Vista, TX 78645, USA