Photo courtesy Michiel de Wit/Shutterstock.com City of Austin staff have unveiled $1.5 billion in capital improvement projects, or enhancements to roads and buildings, for a 15-member citizen task force to parse through and prioritize for a recommendation to Austin City Council.
"What we did first was a capital needs assessment, and we worked with our city departments to look at what our capital improvement needs were across several different areas," Capital Planning Officer Mike Trimble said at a Feb. 16 meeting.
Trimble said the office focused on needs in the five- to seven-year time span.
Projects in Northwest Austin that scored high based on metrics used by city staff include renovations to the Milwood Branch Library, located at 12500 Amherst Drive, and corridor improvements to Burnet Road, North Lamar Boulevard and Airport Boulevard.
To fund the improvements, the city is considering selling bonds, a move that may be voted upon in the November election.
Based on the city's capacity to borrow, the largest bond package would be $725 million and would require a property tax increase, according to the Capital Planning Office. That increase would translate to an additional $105 per year for the typical homeowner. The smallest package would be $385 million and would not impact taxes.
Members of the Bond Election Advisory Task Force have been assigned to committees—such as transportation and mobility, parks and open space, and city facilities, to name a few—and will narrow down the projects based on need and furthering the vision set out in the new comprehensive plan, Imagine Austin, which will likely go before City Council for approval in spring.
The list of projects will be available Feb. 17 at www.austintexas.gov/bonddevelopment. For more information about the city's bond development program, contact Molly Scarborough at the Capital Planning Office at 974-7629.
