What residents need to know
During a May 21 City Council meeting, Public Works Assistant Director Tiffany Strodder said the commission is working to put together a bond proposal for a parks and recreation bond, benefiting the long-awaited Primrose Park expansion.
Phase 1 of Primrose Park, located at 7603 Patterson Road, includes walking trails and parking, with the city planning to add more features to the 25-acre park in future phases, Community Impact previously reported.
Remember this?
This discussion comes several months after City Council and staff debated adding a $56.13 million parks and recreation bond to the May election ballot to benefit:
- Primrose Park expansions
- Irene Stern Recreation Center additions
- Irene Stern Park improvements
- A land acquisition for future parks
- A 5-acre prototype park
- Frances Smart Park renovations
What they’re saying
Council member Kent Pool said he believes the city should propose the parks bond to ensure residents have parks to visit.
“[Primrose Park is] going to be the main park the city’s going to have—let’s take a look at it and do the right thing,” Pool said. “Our city deserves a fantastic park. They’ve waited a long time for it; it’s time for it to be done.”
Mayor Aaron Groff said it would be wise for the city to fund renovations at Primrose Park and Frances Smart Park at the same time so they don’t keep getting pushed down the road.
“Part of my struggle is, if we go out for [a] parks [bond], then it’s really about [finding a bond cost] that keeps us in the tax rate,” Groff said.
However, council member Abhijeet Utturkar said he believes the city should not lock itself into a parks bond because there may be additional bonds for potential infrastructure needs.
“Let’s be cognitive of other items that may be unforeseen,” Utturkar said. “I just want us to be a little bit more conservative in terms of committing ourselves to a point to where we don’t have another recourse.”
Looking ahead
The parks and recreation commission plans to bring a bond proposal for discussion to council in July, Strodder said.
City Council has until Aug. 19 to call the bond election, according to the Texas Secretary of State Office’s website. The November uniform election will be held Nov. 5 with early voting running Oct. 21-Nov. 1.
