Council plans for election

Council plans for election

Written by Christi Covington Thursday, 07 February 2008

$16 million would build new city hall planned for FM 685

As early as Feb. 12, the Pflugerville City Council expects to declare a May bond election, which will include proposals for a recreation center, a library expansion and a city hall.

“When I moved to Pflugerville the population sign said 400,” said Bob Spoonemore, who chaired the Capital Improvement Bond Committee that first formed the proposals. “Now they say we have 40,000 people. When you have more people, you have a need for more services. That is just a function of growth.”

Together, the projects would bring more than 100,000 sq. ft. of public facilities and cost around $34 million.

 

Plans are subject to change, but the council is anticipated to propose that the recreation center will go on Pfennig Lane south of Park Crest Middle School, and the Pflugerville Community Library will triple in size at its existing location on Pecan Street.

Mayor Jeff Coleman also plans to announce a proposed site for city hall on FM 685, just north of Pflugerville Parkway.

“We have the capability to build not just a building,” Coleman said. “ But we can build an idea. Pflugerville can be proud and people will take notice.”

On the ballot, each proposition will be listed separately, so if one does not pass, the voters can still approve the other two. The propositions must receive a simple majority to pass.

Game Plan

A former superintendent of Pflugerville Independent School District, Spoonemore describes the bond project as a quality of life issue. He admits that the bond will bring an increase to homeowners’ property tax rate, which ranks as one of the highest in Central Texas.

“Yes, it will take a very small tax increase,” he said. “But as we are getting more retail and industrial outlets, hopefully that will pay for much of it, so it will only cost people for a few years.”

Spoonemore was already serving on the finance and budget committee and library board when he became chair of the bond committee. The other 12 members were either from similar committees or appointed by council members.

Forming in January 2007 and continuing through August, the bond committee created the frame for the three propositions. They chose the proposals that will be on the ballot based on council interest. Some committee members wanted to include road projects, but Spoonemore said they were told transportation needs could be funded through other means.

He said it was also suggested that they not get involved in choosing a location for city hall – which he is glad was not required of him because that is a difficult topic.

“They need city hall the most,” he said. “The shame is that it is most controversial.”

City hall

Downtown business owners want city hall to stay in the historic center of the community. They appeared at several council meetings last fall when they learned the council might move the site closer to Toll 130, which has been described as the new front door to Pflugerville.

The ballot language will probably not name a specific site, according to council member Bruce Wood. He said downtown cannot provide adequate space.

“Downtown does not have a large enough footprint for where Pflugerville wants to go,” he said. “Downtown will find its own nice niche, but it is not going to be a major retail center. It is not going to be the heart of Pflugerville. It’s just not.”

Coleman said the council has worked a deal with the Barth Timmerman family to donate enough land just south of the future Stone Hill Town Center and north of the Wal-Mart Supercenter to build a city hall. The 45,000 sq. ft. building would sit above 19 acres of parkland overlooking a five-acre pond that will have fountains and other water features. On the opposite side, the city might build an amphitheater.

The soonest the council anticipates any projects being completed is in 2010. In exchange for the land, the city will build road access to the hall, which creates the transportation infrastructure Timmerman needs for development for the rest of his property.

Library

The city hall has received the most attention, but Spoonemore considers the other propositions almost as important. Pflugerville’s current library opened in 1999 with 12,500 sq. ft. Spoonemore, who just left the library board, said usage is growing 15 percent a year.

The city already purchased land on the west side of the library to prepare for the growth. The proposed expansion would add around 30,000 sq. ft.

“It does not take very long then until you run out of space,” he said. “We have maxed out the shelf space, maxed out all the popular Internet space. There is community-wide use of the library for meetings so we need more meeting space.”

He said the staff also has no storage and limited work room.

Although the committee originally planned to include $1 million for an animal shelter, the council opted not to include it in the final ballot language.

Wood said he thought it was more money than they necessary for the shelter. He also thought it might cause the library proposal to be rejected by voters.

“If we need to improve care for the dogs, we should just put the money towards it. I don’t think it is necessary to have a bond election,” he said.

Recreation center

Instead of spending bond money on the animal shelter, the council put more towards the recreation center — almost four million more. That does not include land purchase because the city already owns property on Pfennig Lane, which is the tentative choice for a center.

An indoor pool is one of the anticipated major expenses. With the addition of a second warmed rehabilitative pool, the total recreation center project was estimated to cost $15.7 million at a Nov. 13 council meeting. So instead of the $12 million first recommended to the council, the members increased the provision to $16 million.

At that same meeting, council member Wayne Cooper asked how the needs for the recreation center were assessed. Glenn Holzer, who is the director of the Parks and Recreation Department, said direction came from the citizen-based parks and recreation commission. His staff also documented what services are used most at the existing center on Immanuel Road, which was built with bond money eight year ago. That project cost $1.5 million.

“[The center] has been at capacity pretty much since we opened it,” he said. “It has served us very well, but it’s simply not big enough.”

He said indication from the council suggested the center will have two gyms, two basketball courts, the pools and a weight room. In overall space, it will be similar to the Clay Madsen Recreation Center on Gattis School Road.

If the city council declares the bond election, then voting will take place May 10 with the city elections.

For quality of life

Working from January through August 2007, the Capital Improvements Bond Committee created a $31 million proposal for the Pflugerville City Council to consider for the May election. The council is expected to approve revised language Feb. 12. Residents will vote for each proposition separately.

Additional taxes - The property taxes for a home valued at $150,000 would increase by $4.50 a month in 2009 and $5 a month in 2010. After that, the amount would drop in consecutive years.
Note: This amount is according to the bond committee’s original $31 million proposal in August. The monthly tax increase for the new amount, $34 million, has not been calculated because the rate by which it will be issued is not yet determined.

Proposition 1 • Recreation Center

• $12 million
• Proposed location: Pfennig Lane (land already purchased)
• Includes: Swimming pool, lobby, multi-purpose rooms, a weight room, childcare room, gymnasium, senior citizen facilities
• Updates:* After council discussion in November, the proposed amount is anticipated to increase to $16 million

Proposition 2 (part I) • Library

• $7 million
• Proposed location: Pecan Street at Tenth Street (existing library site)
• Includes: More than tripling the size of the existing library with several large public-meeting rooms
• Updates:* The ballot language includes provisions\ for facility construction and equipment, but not book purchase

Proposition 2 (part II) • Animal Shelter

• $1 million
• Proposed location: 1600 Waterbrook Drive
• Includes: Enlargement, improvement of the existing shelter facilities
• Updates:* The expansion is no longer being considered for the May ballot

Proposition 3 • City Hall

• $11 million
• Proposed location: To be determined (land must be purchased)
• Includes: A new city hall that would be 45,000 sq. ft.
• Updates:* The ballot language is anticipated to include provision for land purchase

Source: Bob Spoonemore, Capital Improvements Bond Commitee chair

* The updates are according to available information, but may not be comprehensive.