Officials and staff with the city of Bee Cave are looking at a recommended $9 million new police department and municipal court facility topping out at around 17,600 square feet.

During the Aug. 27 regular meeting, City Council heard a presentation from Brinkley, Sargent, Wiginton Architects, a firm that conducted a needs assessment for the facility at a price tag of $41,000. Following discussion of the facility and its parameters, council voted ultimately voted to accept the needs assessment.

City Manager Clint Garza said the vote essentially meant council accepted the assessment and he would bring a more solidified plan to council at a yet undetermined date.

Brinkley, Sargent, Wiginton Principal Don Greer presented to council the process by which his firm conducted the assessment, which included understanding the spatial needs, community objectives and location needs of the city.

After reviewing three city-owned sites, Brinkley, Sargent, Wiginton recommended the current location of the Bee Cave Police Department at 13333 W. Hwy. 71 as the preferred site.



Despite some projected constraints including parking and existing trees, Greer said the location offers accommodating ingress and egress for traffic.

"The current police station site ... after running through the other scenarios, it has some valuable assets to it," Greer said, adding the specifications he presented to the city represent a living document, and elements can change as the process moves forward.

The budget rundown for the two-story facility includes the needs assessment, plus $7.55 million in construction costs, $245,000 in furniture and equipment and almost $1 million in professional services, the bulk of which comes from design and architectural fees.

If the design process were to begin in the next couple of months, Greer set an ideal timeline for total completion of the facility at September 2021.

Council Member Kara King asked how the police department would deal with an extended period without the current facility, to which Greer said his firm executed a similar process in Sunset Valley.

Council Member Andrea Willott suggested staff and officers could take temporary residence on the second story of City Hall in the Hill Country Galleria, but no official plans from Brinkley, Sargent, Wiginton have yet been levied toward that end.

Asked by Mayor Monty Parker whether the facility presented by Brinkley, Sargent, Wiginton is adequate, Bee Cave Police Chief Gary Miller said it was.

"It's hard to predict 20 years down the road," Miller said. "Bee Cave is such a unique community, and the population is not a real good figure to use because just like in Sunset Valley, the service population, or the number of people who travel here, is much greater. But yes, I think this is adequate."