Tomball City Council members voted unanimously March 19 to award a contract to Diffco LLC for improvements to Broussard Community Park, which marks the start of the construction phase for the land donated in 2014.

Land for the city park, located at 1414 E. Hufsmith Road, was donated by Humana Inc. CEO Bruce Broussard in July 2014. The KaBOOM community partner and construction grants program as well as local volunteers constructed a playground on the land in December 2014, the first of the park’s amenities to be constructed. Since then, the land has not seen any significant alterations, although city officials have set aside various funds over the past few years for future park improvements and extending utilities to the site.

The contract awarded Monday totals $853,616.52 for site improvements, including constructing soccer fields, parking lots, grading and on-site detention, as well as removing existing fixtures like the gravel driveway on the property, according to city information.

“This is not all the improvements to Broussard, either,” City Manager George Shackelford said. “This is just the start. There’s more to come.”

Director of Public Works David Esquivel said Diffco LLC has 120 days to complete the construction phase.

Other highlights from Monday’s meeting include creation of a public improvement district for Grand Junction subdivision—a proposed residential community located on East Hufsmith Road—approval of a development agreement between the city of Tomball and Tomball Grand Junction LLC for the construction of the subdivision, and a temporary speed limit on Zion Road.

Drivers traveling east and west on Zion will see a temporary construction speed limit of 25 mph between East Hufsmith and Raleigh Creek Drive as well as a temporary speed limit on East Hufsmith between Zion and Snook Lane, according to city information. The new speed limits are expected to be posted within 10 days.

Monday’s meeting was also Shackelford’s final council meeting as city manager before his retirement, effective April 2. Shackelford, who will be replaced by Assistant City Manager Rob Hauck, has served in Tomball since 2010.

“I actually did a rough estimate of how many council meetings I’ve attended over 38 years [in city government], and with council meetings—regular, budgets and special meetings—it was about 2,200 council meetings,” Shackelford said.