Further updates have been made to Butler Park in Lakeway, following an open house with the park’s engineers on Oct. 28.
On Dec. 16, Parks & Recreation Director Andra Bennett shared updated plans and cost estimates to City Council, and sought their feedback on certain aspects of the park’s design.
The park, which has a total budget of $1,992,722, is currently in a conceptual design phase, but will ideally move into a final design stage soon so that construction planning can begin, Bennett said.
The overview
Updated items in Bennett’s Dec. 16 report included:
- Additional shade structures for $67,000
- A concrete masonry dumpster enclosure for $20,000
- A proposed practice ball wall for $19,500, which would be $100,000 cheaper than the originally proposed electric ball wall.
Also included in Bennett’s Dec. 16 report was an update to the beginner bike course at the park. The updated bike course includes progressive skills features, such as elevated ramps, entry and exit points, and dirt flow trail features such as berms and rollers.
The cost of the course is currently set at $113,000.
According to the original parks plan, the bike course was estimated to cost $32,000, council member Matt Sherman said. He expressed concern with the increased cost and said he was surprised to see that local community groups were not consulted to contribute to the development of the bike course.
One resident in attendance, Mike Girard, agreed with Sherman, and said that local organizations like the Lake Travis Trail Coalition could contribute to the development of the bike course.
Although community involvement was valued by the design team, they preferred consulting a professional company with expertise in designing bike courses for this project in order to mitigate liability for the city, Bennett said.
The original $32,000 estimate for the bike course was calculated by Dunaway Associates, the design firm Lakeway is consulting for the project. Upon reaching out to American Ramp Company, the vendor for the project, the estimated cost rose to $113,000 due to infrastructure requirements, elevated ramps and dirt work, Lakeway Communications Director Jarrod Wise said.
What else?
A meeting was recently held at the Highlands Pavilion in October where resident feedback on Butler Park plans was requested. Approximately 40 people attended the meeting, according to Bennett’s Dec. 16 report.
At that October meeting, a potential plan was presented which would quarter off a section of the new park for the neighboring Rough Hollow Elementary School to use during restricted hours. During non-restricted hours, the section would be available for public use.
Several residents at that October meeting argued against the idea. Lake Travis ISD staff have not provided input to city officials regarding the idea as of the council’s Dec. 16 meeting, Mayor Kilgore said.
Other feedback from the October meeting showed that some residents believed there was too much parking and that the park generally needed more shade, Bennett said.
Bennett said that by eliminating nine parking spaces, $65,000 of construction costs could be cut. However, Mayor Kilgore and several other council members expressed a desire to keep the spaces.
A final note
Regardless of recent updates, and despite the fact that numbers are still moving, the Butler Park project is not expected to go over budget, Bennett said.
