The city of Pflugerville made an unexpected $7 million payment from its general fund coffers to finance the start of construction of the Hawaiian Falls water and adventure park scheduled to open by Memorial Day.

The decision came during a special-called Dec. 21 City Council meeting. Funding for the $23.5 million project was slated to come through bank loans taken out by the Pflugerville Community Development Corp., but approval for the loans is taking longer than expected, PCDC Executive Director Floyd Akers said. The city agreed to lend the PCDC $7 million to kick-start construction on the park as the corporation awaits full funding.

"The paperwork is taking a little longer than we anticipated, and we have to start turning dirt," Akers said. "The city is giving us a temporary loan until we get our bank loan, and then we'll pay the city back."

Akers said borrowing money from the city allows the park to be as profitable as possible during the summer months, as waiting for loan approval could have delayed the project's construction and the park's opening date. From the loan, $4.5 million was used to buy the property for the park, and more than $2.5 million is to start construction.

Funding for the park was originally authorized as a public/private partnership between PCDC and Hawaiian Falls. PCDC planned to issue municipal bonds, but switching from bonds to bank loans was deemed more financially beneficial in October. Hawaiian Falls will pay back the PCDC for the cost of the loan while retaining any additional profits made from ticket and concession sales.

"To maximize the profits we'll make on the park, we need to be open at the beginning of the summer, which is Memorial Day weekend," Akers said. "We also made a commitment. And we want to get this open so people can use their season passes."

City Manager Brandon Wade said community interest in the park made the council comfortable with loaning the money. More than 2,200 season passes for the park have already been sold.

"Seeing the anticipated impact that Hawaiian Falls will have on the city and the FM 685 and SH 130 corridor, the City Council approved the loan to help keep the project on time," Wade said.

PCDC plans to pay the city back within the next 30–60 days, when its loans are expected to be approved, though an official agreement has been made to pay back the funds by June 30. Pflugerville Mayor Jeff Coleman said taxpayers should not be affected by the loan, and the money was allocated to the PCDC from excess funds.

If PCDC does not pay back the loan on time, the city will collect the money directly from the corporation's funding base, which comes from a half-cent tax on all city sales transactions.