Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s plan to safely and strategically reopen the Texas economy in phases, which is detailed in the Texans Helping Texans: The Governor's Report to Open Texas, reached Phase III Wednesday, June 3, 2020. Under this phase, all Texas businesses can operate at a 50% capacity, with some limitations. That includes restaurants, bars, sporting events, water parks, zoos and aquariums, salons offering services of any kind, among other establishments. The most recent changes were made effective immediately. A list of those can be found here.

The Williamson County Commissioners Court approved an additional $10 million of CARES Act funds, federally issued money for the COVID-19 response, to be allocated to the Wilco Forward Small Business Grant Program. The additional funds are needed to continue providing financial assistance to Williamson County small businesses impacted by COVID-19. In less than a month, the Williamson County Auditor’s office, responsible for reviewing the applications for the grant program, has approved 2,328 applications of the 3,280 that have been submitted up until Tuesday, June 2. Of the $25 million designated to fund the program, nearly $24 million in grants have been approved for business owners. Click here to apply before June 30, 2020.  

 More park-goers are finding time to be outdoors with their loved ones. With National Trails Day happening on Saturday, June 6, the Williamson County Parks and Recreation staff is prepared to welcome even larger crowds; however, to prevent any COVID-19 exposure, residents wanting to visit our facilities are urged to follow the safety guidelines that have been implemented. Those include keeping a 6-foot distance between your group and other park visitors, avoiding visiting the parks if you are feeling ill, using safety precautions such as warning others if you are passing on a bike, and wearing a face-covering, if able. For more details on County park facilities, please visit https://www.wilco.org/parks.

The Williamson County Commissioners Court will begin to hold in-person meetings starting Tuesday, June 2, at the Williamson County Historic Courthouse, 710 S. Main Street, Georgetown. The move comes after months of holding virtual meetings online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the Historic Courthouse will remain closed to the public until further notice, residents will be allowed to access the building when a Commissioners Court meeting is being held. Access is available through the south doors off 8th Street. On the days that Commissioners Court meetings are held, the Courthouse will be open one hour prior to the posted start time of the meeting to one hour after the posted start time. Typically, this will be from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Entry to the courthouse will be subject to a temperature check. Residents interested in taking part should be advised that there will be limited seating for the public in the courtroom with overflow seating available in the District Courtroom. The meeting will be streamed live online at https://www.wilco.org/livemeetings.　

The Williamson County Wilco Forward grant program, which was started to provide financial assistance to local businesses impacted by COVID-19, has issued more than $15 million in grants as of May 21. A total of 1287 checks have been mailed to business owners who needed support to get back on their feet.