Progress on projects funded through Buda’s 2014 voter-approved bond is coming along as scheduled, city officials say, and construction on a pair of city facilities will begin in January.

Funding the $55 million bond was predicted to increase the city’s property tax rate by a maximum of 14 cents per $100 valuation, city spokesperson David Marino said.  However, the actual cost of issuing the bond is now predicted to be a total of 9 cents.

With all bonds being issued from the 2014 bond package, the property tax rate for fiscal year 2016-17 is $0.3704 per $100 valuation compared to $0.3475 per $100 valuation in FY 2015-16. 

Propositions 1 and 2: Facilities

The first two bond propositions allow $27.75 million for the construction of the municipal and public safety facilities on a site at the corner of Main and East Loop streets. The
$21 million municipal facility will house a library, City Council chambers multiuse spaces and municipal court, and the Buda Police Department will move into the public safety building, which will cost $6.75 million.

“As we’re growing, our community is demanding more services from us, and we’re doing what we can to keep up with that,” Marino said.

The plan is to have both facilities completed by spring 2018, said City Engineer John Nett, who is helping complete preliminary site work.

“We’ve been concentrating on drainage improvements, excavating the channel through the side and putting in the reinforced concrete box culvert system,” Nett said.

That work must be completed before handing the project over to JE Dunn, the contractor for the two projects. Construction on the two buildings is expected to begin in mid-January, Nett said.

“I think having everything in one central location, where [residents] can pay a bill or go to the library, really streamlines all the services the city provides for the community,” Marino said. “They can do it all in one place, whereas now everything is in all these different places. This is going to make it easier for them to have a focal point.”

Proposition 3: Streets

Proposition 3 allocates $12.25 million for street improvements, specifically around the downtown area.

“Hays County is one of the fastest-growing areas in the entire country, so traffic is a problem,” Mayor Todd Ruge said.

Four separate projects are included, with three in the final design stage. Of those, Nett said, the final design is nearly 90 percent completed.

San Antonio Street will be improved with additional pedestrian facilities, on-street parking and aesthetic enhancements. Roadway capacity will be improved on Old Goforth, and it will also have bicycle and pedestrian facilities built on it. Turn- and through-lanes will be constructed at the intersection of Main Street and FM 967 to improve traffic flow and safety. A separate Main Street project will address roadway conditions, improve drainage and creek crossing, and add bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

Construction on Main, San Antonio and FM 967 at Main is expected to begin in mid-summer 2017, after the major municipal site construction activities have been completed, and the Old Goforth project will begin at the end of the 2016-17 school year, which lasts until early June.

Proposition 4: Drainage

In spring 2015, the city had just completed the second phase of its drainage master plan. Subsequent flooding in October of that year slightly delayed the bond drainage projects, along with the municipal complex, but Nett said the city’s plans came out better as a result.

Nett said flooding in 2013 and 2015 showed the city where  drainage infrastructure improvements were needed.

Drainage designs included in the initial bond were “upsized” based on flooding in 2015, he said.

Nett said he believes the projects will be more effective as a result.

“What is the impact of 11 inches of rain in six to eight hours in the heart of Buda? That’s what we design for,” Nett said. “When that event happens in the middle of town, how do we need to size the infrastructure to handle that?”

The city will put in new pipes or widen existing pipes and culverts to create more durable infrastructure, Nett said. So far, the city has stayed within its $7 million budget for the drainage projects.

There are six areas of town have been designated for drainage work, all of which will address the Halloween 2013 flooding. The areas around the Oxbow neighborhood, Bluff Street, West Goforth Road, Houston Street, Lifschutz Headwaters and the downtown fire station are all set to receive work.

“So far, it’s been just the design phase services,” Nett said. “We haven’t really gotten to the money reserve for the actual final design and project
construction.”

The city will not access those funds until they go to bid on a contract for the construction, he said.

“We want to be transparent; we want to be prudent; we want to be careful about the way we’re spending money,” Nett said. “I wouldn’t want to charge off without really having all the data. As an engineer, I want as much data as possible, and I think we’ve been doing a good job adjusting and redesigning and making sure the project’s appropriate.”

Proposition 5: Parks and trails

“With our citizens voting for [Proposition 5] as a part of the bond proposition shows that they place a high priority on the parks in the city of Buda,” Marino said. “As a city, that’s our goal as well.”

There are three major components of the Proposition 5 bond project, Parks and Recreation Department Director Drew Wells said, along with smaller miscellaneous projects throughout town.

A new park maintenance building is under construction right now, Wells said. The city expects it to be completed around mid-December.

The complex will measure about 5,000 square feet with office space and work areas for maintenance staff as well as a storage facility for the public works and parks and recreation departments. It will be located behind the Public Works building, at 525 Garison Road.

Just after the bond election in 2014, the city had the opportunity to purchase 40 acres of land north of City Park, Wells said. The funds the city used came out of the $8 million Proposition 5 budget. All development of that land, which will be known as John D. and Byrd Mims Garison Memorial Park, will be completed with other funding.

“We are now going through a master plan exercise with that property to determine how we’re going to develop it as a park,” he said.

In the next two months, city staff will complete a Garison Park master plan to be voted on by council, he said.

A third project, a redevelopment of City Park, will add an amphitheater, water features and additional parking to the site.

“We can host various special events, from concerts to other well-established events like the wiener dog race and Fajita Fiesta,” he said.

City Park and the miscellaneous projects are expected to be completed next summer, but Wells said the projects could be finished as early as spring 2018.