Overnight camping, indoor pool projects proceeding

A rare agreement between Austin and Cedar Park city officials should help YMCA Twin Lakes obtain utility access necessary to complete an overnight camping site.

Austin agreed June 28 to transfer part of its ETJ property to Cedar Park, which soon intends on annexing the land and rezoning it for park use. The arrangement, once approved by Cedar Park will allow YMCA to proceed with plans to expand its Twin Lakes camp grounds and renovate its on-site branch office.

"It is very rare, given the unique ownership and use of the property," said Garret Bonn, Cedar Park project manager. "It just makes it easier if it's all owned and served by the City of Cedar Park."

Austin has no readily available utility access to the area, making it difficult for them to accommodate the proposed camp site. Instead, Cedar Park will service the entire YMCA property, linking up 10 new cabins and a repurposed dining hall for overnight visitors. The south portion of the property was previously under Austin's jurisdiction.

"This is a property the City of Austin would never annex," Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell said at the June 28 meeting. "Secondly, the most important thing is it's owned by the Texas Parks Department and would be parkland no matter what happens."

Texas Parks and Wildlife designates the property to Williamson County, which in turn leases the land to YMCA. County Commissioner Cynthia Long, who served as the organization's first board chair, long advocated for the expansion.

"There's very few places you can offer overnight camping in what is really an urban setting," she said. "Just getting children out to connect with God's creations is a huge thing."

The overnight camping grounds will be available for organizations and companies, but it is being built primarily to accommodate children who are too old for day camp services, Williamson County YMCA CEO Jeff Andresen said.

The project will be done in multiple phases, Andresen said, starting with six cabins and the dining hall. The campsite will help address demand, he said.

"We did a survey about five years ago in the Cedar Park-northwest Austin area, and we found out there was an absolute high interest because folks are having to take their kids quite a way out," Andresen said. "There were concerns if parents ever need to get to the kid because that takes time."

The Y is raising money for the $2 million project, he said, with at least half the money collected so far. The organization is also spending $4 million toward renovations at the YMCA Cedar Park branch office, which is expanding to include a new indoor pool, teen center and aerobics area. Construction started in March, Andresen said, and should be complete by the end of the year.

The indoor pool has been on Andresen's wish list since the Twin Lakes branch office was built seven years ago.

The outdoor pool area has and will continue to remain open through construction. Also, St. David's HealthCare has partnered with YMCA to help build a warm water therapy pool in the new indoor venue, giving the Twin Lakes branch three pools total, Andresen said.

There will also be a new cardio theater, which plays movies in a dimly lit workout room that features multiple low-impact exercise machines.

Twin Lakes YMCA, 204 E. Little Elm Trail, Cedar Park, TX 78613