$81.6 million bond to include roads, city hall, parks and public safety projects

$81.6 million bond to include roads, city hall, parks and public safety projects

Written by Rachel Youens Friday, 07 September 2007

In August, the city approved a preliminary set of four bonds that includes a recreation center, parks and trails.

“The bond is going to have improved transportation and parks. Family Magazine voted Cedar Park one of the top 10 places in the country to live, and it’s these kinds of enhancements that make a community a good place to live,” said Don Moore, bond task force president.

The city’s last successful bond election was in 2001 for $60 million in improvements including the first phases of the city’s new police station and Brushy Creek Recreational Park. After several months of meetings and feedback from a community open house evaluating the city’s needs, the 22-member task force proposed a $79.9 million bond package, trying to keep the price tag under $80 million. After evaluating the task force’s report, the city council finalized that price tag to $81.6 million.

The task force originally pitched the bond to the city council in three parts: municipal, parks and roads. However, after attorney consultation, the council will release the bond in four parts: roads, city hall, parks and public safety. Moore said that of all the propositions, proposition two for the new city hall faces the biggest challenge with voters.

“I wish I could take all of the voters to see the city hall so that they know how crowded it is and how bad it is to have meetings and staff spread all over town. Several departments have even been moved out of city hall,” Moore said. “Without actually seeing it, it’s hard to understand the need for the bond [money].”

The current city hall covers only 21,600 sq. ft., while the new proposed city hall would more than triple the size at 65,000 sq. ft. The city hall was relocated in 1990 from Commercial Parkway to its current position at 600 N. Bell Avenue inside a former bank building. The new city hall would be located at the D.R Horton-developed Town Center and would anchor an area of housing, offices, retail and hotels.

Part of the task forces challenge was determining how much the public would tolerate in tax increases. While the money from a bond can only go toward the capital expenditures on a project, the task force took into account the impact each project would have on the citys annual budget in the coming years.

The council has estimated that the effect the bond sales would have on the pocketbook of taxpayers would be minimal as the city’s tax base rises. For 2009, the average homeowner would pay approximately $3 a month, or $36 a year, lowering to $35 for 2010 and 2011.

“We’ve had a 24.5 percent increase in the city’s tax base, so that pretty much guarantees taxpayers wouldn’t feel this bond package," Moore said. "It could be argued that if you don’t pass these bonds and build these things taxes would go down, but then we’d have traffic jams."

November 2007 bond package

• Public safety bond
  • This $7.8 million bond covers several projects, including the reconstruction of one fire station, the purchase of land for another and the construction of the final phase of the police station.
  • Proposition four allows money for the purchase of land for the fifth fire station, seen in the rendering above. This building will house the fire department’s administration.
• New city hall
  • Cost: $19,570,000
  • Originally grouped with other projects under the title of “facilities,” the city hall has been separated into its own proposition. Located at the proposed town center, the city hall would include council chambers. The city is looking at other Texas cities such as Sugarland, Frisco and Southlake for building design concepts.
• Public safety
  • Cost: $7,890,000
  • Built in 1972 for the city’s volunteer fire organization, Fire Station #1 does not meet the city’s current needs for a fully paid fire organization, according to the task force. The current station would be demolished for the construction of a new, fully-equipped station. This bond also includes the 12,000 sq. ft. of space for Phase II of the city’s police station. Phase I of the police station was built with the last bond. Phase II would include space for juvenile services, processing and holding and criminal investigations.
• Parks
  • Cost: $17,980,000
  • This bond allows the city to renovate, develop and buy land for park use. These projects could include Phase II of Brushy Creek Recreational Park. Phase I of the park began this summer emphasizing sports programming. Phase II is expected to include a playscape and additional baseball and football fields and possibly a dog park. The 18th-century King log cabin located in Twin Creek Park could see improvements to help bring it up to Texas’ historic structure guidelines. The recreation center, pictured above, also falls under this proposition. With a cost of approximately $7.2 million and covering nearly 50,000 sq. ft., it includes an elevated track, gym and community room.
• Roads
  • Cost: $36,200,000
  • This bond allows the city to improve, extend, expand, upgrade or develop roads, bridges and sidewalks. Some of the projects the bond task force identified include adding lanes to New Hope Road from FM 1431 to Lakeline Boulevard and buying land for future right of ways.