Officials discussed the park’s parking availability, safety, water quality concerns and next steps.
What you need to know
The city of Georgetown partnered with design firm Halff in August to provide planning and design services for the Blue Hole Park Master Plan, per city documents.
This was the first public update to council since officials launched a community survey Dec. 11-Jan. 12 that garnered 745 participants, Halff project manager Aaron Cooper said during the presentation.
Survey respondents marked restoration and protection as a first priority, followed by open space and bird or nature viewing, Cooper said.
After collecting data, analyzing the site and receiving stakeholder feedback, Cooper and his team created Blue Hole Park concepts A and B, both of which focused on:
- Nature preservation
- Bird blinds
- Terracing, or steps, along green space
- The South San Gabriel River Trail connection
- Sidewalk connections
- Reconfiguring picnic areas
The discussion
Council members favored Concept A’s relocation of the public restrooms from their existing spot by the bend of the San Gabriel River. Restrooms would shift toward the proposed roundabout closer to parking spaces along Rock Street, which French said makes more sense from a public safety and visibility perspective.
“We do have issues in this part of town being as close as it is to the jail, and with the homeless population in this park,” French said. “I want to be conscientious about that. I don't want us to create niches for people to kind of hide out, which I do think Option B has more of.”
District 5 council member Kevin Pitts said while he understands people on the survey were interested in bird blinds, he thinks they could be another facility people experiencing homelessness would utilize.
“I think ... that's where all the homeless people are going to go sleep in and stay in and take over, and no one can be watching birds,” Pitts said. “So I'm a little cautious on installing those.”
Pitts said officials should get feedback from the Georgetown Police Department on this.
Something to note
After seeing a “cesspool” sit in Blue Hole Park during hot summer months, Pitts said he hoped the master plan would involve improving the flow of water—which neither concept A or B currently do. Since the dams are historic, they cannot be removed.
“Primarily in the hotter summer months, you get algae, you get amoebas, you get different things that are not safe to swim in,” Pitts said.
Pitts asked if the city of Georgetown or the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality tests the water behind the dams. Parks & Recreation Director Kimberly Garrett said the city does not test the water quality or publish results from outside parties who do.
“We have signs posted that say ‘swim at your own risk’ with those exact cautions—that it's a natural body of water,” Garrett said. “We don't promote the swimming. People do it, but we warn people of the dangers.”
For years, residents who live along the San Gabriel River have questioned its water quality, reporting algal mats and unpleasant smells coming from the water during summer months, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
Another change
Currently, 47 parking spots exist along Rock Street, and 30 spots are in an existing parking lot by West Third Street, he said. The adjacent Williamson County parking garage also has 384 parking stalls.
“Most people get to Blue Hole in their cars, and most people think that parking is inadequate,” Cooper said.
Based on Halff’s presentation, the concepts’ proposed parking reconfigurations are:
- Adding 62 Rock Street parking spots in Concept A
- Adding 76 Rock Street parking spots and 40 Scenic Drive parking spots in Concept B
“An additional dam [would] really bring the core of activity to this location,” Cooper said. “That's going to prevent parking along Scenic.”
District 1 council member Amanda Parr and District 2 council member Shawn Hood asked Cooper for a mixture of both parking elements into a revised concept plan. District 6 council member Jake French said he wants the primary investment in the master plan to be in the park.
“I can appreciate wanting to add new parking stalls and reconfigure that, but I don't want us to spend millions of dollars reworking parking and roundabouts,” French said. “I'd like to see the money actually invested into the park primarily.”
Public input
Georgetown resident Robert Cravens, who lives near the park, said he prefers Concept A, which could help minimize traffic congestion.
“I can't speak for the people who live on Scenic [Drive], but being a [Track-Ridge-Grasshopper] resident, I've heard ... people complaining about the parking situation and the additional traffic that that leads to,” Cravens said during public comments.
Cravens was not in favor of Concept B’s access road along the Georgetown Cemetery, given the site’s age and history. Resident Linda Thomas was also in favor of Concept A.
“Blue Hole is one of my very favorite places in all of Georgetown,” Thomas said. “I think it's awesome to see these plans starting to come together.”
Husband and wife Ellie and Bryan Krieger attended a Dec. 11 open house for Blue Hole Park to advocate for more trail access to the park, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
At the open house, Ellie Krieger said Blue Hole Park “defines Georgetown.”
What to expect
Officials will hold another open house March 24 and launch a second community survey the same day, Garrett said. Staff will be gathering feedback from the community on the two concepts during the March 27 State of the City and the April 25-27 Red Poppy Festival.
“Our goal is to go back out to the community,” Garrett said.
In June, staff will return with a blend of both concepts before bringing a fully developed master plan to council in September.
