At Hutto City Council’s last regular meeting of 2015, the governing body made several decisions regarding city parks, residential development and city services.
Parks masterplan and city dog park
On Dec. 17, Hutto City Council approved a parks and recreation master plan, a document that will help guide the development of existing and future parks. The master plan includes recommendations for up to $37 million in parks projects, however, council’s approval of the plan does not guarantee funding of specific projects, Hutto Parks and Recreation Director Mike Hemker said.
“It’s a very thorough document,” Hutto Mayor Debbie Holland said of the master plan. “We have to have something before we can move forward [with parks projects]. You go with a master plan so you have a big picture plan."
One item included in the parks master plan is a city dog park, and council took the first step toward developing the park by approving a long-term property lease at Starmark Behavioral Center.
Starmark agreed to allow the city to develop about eight to 10 acres of its property into a city dog park. The city will not pay for the land, but will need to provide fencing and other structures for the park, Hemker said.
A Hutto coalition called Friends of Hutto Dog Park has been lobbying for the dog park for the past year and is raising donations to help fund the project.
“We waited so, so long for this,” said Sandy Rizzo, a member of Friends of Hutto Dog Park. “We are just so happy now we can move forward.”
Hutto Crossing
Hutto City Council approved the final plat for Hutto Crossing, a residential community planned off Carl Stern Drive and west of the new Trails at Carmel Creek senior housing community. According to city documents the final plat consists of about 41 acres and is expected to accommodate around 120 single family homes.
Trash and recycling services
City Council approved a contract with Al Clawson Disposal as the city's exclusive residential and commercial trash and recycling services provider. Previously the city did not have an exclusive commercial waste services provider and its contract with an exclusive residential services provider is nearing expiration. By 2017, Clawson will be the sole provider of residential and commercial solid waste and recycling removal services, Assistant City Manager Micah Grau said.
The contract will remove competition, theoretically allowing Clawson to charge lower fees and streamline pickup services, Grau said.
Council will approve waste removal fees in January but approved an option on Dec. 17 that would amount to monthly costs of $13.20 for a 65-gallon trash or recycling bin and $16.01 for a limited bulk waste pickup option and a 95-gallon trash or recycling bin.
