Prosper council OKs new public works, parks building after failed bond proposition

After Prosper voters rejected a bond proposition for a new public works and parks service center, Prosper Town Council approved just under $23 million in funding to move forward with a scaled-back version of the facility.

What it means

At their Dec. 9 meeting, council members approved a $22.99 million construction contract with Byrne Construction for the administration building.

Director of Public Works Carrie Jones said town staff worked with Byrne to scale back the project after the 2025 bond election, reducing features and “shelling” portions of the building to fit available funding.

Mayor Pro Tem Amy Bartley said at a Nov. 11 meeting that officials had previously earmarked $15 million for the new public works facility, in addition to the $10 million that was included in the failed bond proposition.

Jones said the building is designed for about 165 employees, with 90-95 expected to move in initially. She added town staff will build out shell space as staffing grows and once the facility’s shop component moves forward.

The facility will be located close to downtown Prosper at 601 W. Fifth St., according to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

Zooming out

Bartley said the town will work to identify funding over the next several years to complete remaining components of the service center originally planned to be paid for by the bond funding, such as the shop and covered storage, using capital dedicated funds or alternate bids.

Jones said staff expect to bring a change order back before council after redesigning the shop sometime next year as funding allows.

“There is no scenario where we want the admin building without the shop,” Bartley said. “We are not floating any bonds for this. ... The voters said no [in] the bond election, so we are funding this with available cash funds only.”

Mayor David Bristol said previously that of the failed propositions, the public works service center is his top priority. He added Dec. 9 that the public works building will “take away” funding from other projects.

“We have to get our public works people out of the double-wide trailers that they are working out of currently,” Bristol said. “We will put aside other projects to get that facility completed.”

One more thing

Town documents state additional funding has brought the project’s budget from $15 million to $25.35 million, which was identified from project savings in water and sewer projects and capital dedicated funds.

“As we mentioned during the previous bond election, this is a critical facility,” Bristol said. “We’ve got to get it moving.”