Police facility project update
Lakeway City Council heard during its Monday meeting the most recent update regarding the new police facility that broke ground in February at 1941 Lohmans Crossing Road.
According to city staff, about 34 percent of the project has been completed, and around $7.9 million has been spent, leaving approximately $15.3 million in the budgeted funding.
Several council members expressed concerns regarding the use of contingency funding. The project has used up nearly 60 percent of the construction manager contingency funding, Council Member Steve Smith said, but the project is yet to reach 40 percent completion.
City staffers said it is normal for contingency funding to be applied to a project during the beginning phase, and they are confident in the sufficiency of funding for the project.
The scheduled completion date for the project is Feb. 15, 2019, city staff said.
Several vacancies on the city’s boards and committees filled
The City Council unanimously appointed current Mayor Pro Tem Ron Massa to continue his role for another term.
The council moved on to appoint members for:
- Public Engagement Advisory Committee
- Zoning and Planning Commission representatives on the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee
- Board of Ethics
- Board of Adjustments
Final plat for the Overlook at Lakeway Subdivision approved
The City Council voted 6-1 to approve the final plat of a new subdivision located along Flint Rock Road and west of RM 620 during the meeting, with Council Member Steve Smith casting the lone dissenting vote.
The 9.1-acre subdivision would naturally be divided into two lots by Flint Rock Road, according to the plat design. The approval of the final plat would make way for a proposed office development of the subdivision, which would introduce two multistory office buildings to the site, according to city documents. The larger building would be 45,000 square feet; the smaller one would be 24,600 square feet.
Both buildings would be equipped with indoor garages as well as surface parking, city documents said. The submitted site design would provide 340 parking spaces—nine spaces more than the required minimum. The developer’s request for council approval on the final plat received the unanimous recommendation of the city’s Zoning and Planning Commission at its June 6 meeting.
During the meeting, council members discussed their safety concerns if an access point were to be built along the south side of Flint Rock Road for cars to access the southwest lot. With the two lanes of westbound traffic on Flint Rock Road merging into one lane at Wild Cherry Drive or managing to turn right, Massa said, the risk of a collision could increase at the intersection.
Rate for solid waste collection services up by 40 cents per residence per month
With Council Member Bridge Bertram absent, the council unanimously agreed to increase the monthly rate per residence for solid waste collection by 40 cents during its Monday meeting, followed by the council’s approval of a 3.2 percent increase in the city’s funding for the service, as requested by the service provider, Waste Connections.
About 6,750 residences are using the city’s disposal services, according to city documents. The change, which will take effect July 1, will raise the monthly rate the residents have to pay from $21 to $21.40, city documents state.
The raised rate is due to an increase in the company’s disposal fee, according to city documents. As verified by city staff, the disposal fee, which accounts for 32 percent of the overall operating fee, has gone up by 10 percent, which resulted in the 3.2 percent increase in Lakeway’s expense funded by the city’s Solid Waste Fund. That brings the monthly base rate the city has to pay for the service from $16.48 to $16.87 per residence.
