Contracts for storm-related repairs to Clay Madsen Recreation Center, brush recycling approved

City officials approved a total of $549,400 in contracts to replace light poles at the Clay Madsen Recreation Center and recycle brush debris as a result of the March tornado.

The contracts were approved unanimously during an April 14 City Council meeting, where Rick Atkins, Round Rock parks and recreation director, updated council on efforts to repair the recreation center to its pre-tornado state.

In addition to working to purchase and replace light poles that were downed during the storm, a project that comes with a $299,400 price tag, Atkins said his staff is continuing to remove debris, such as broken glass, from its sports fields.

Atkins said the destruction of the 40-foot light poles is a testament to the strength of the storm, because they are buried deep in the ground in order to keep something of that height properly supported.

"If you go up 40 feet, you got to go down at least 15 to 20 feet," Atkins said during an April 12 packet briefing. "So when you start talking about the strength of his storm, we're seeing significant damages that happened."

Council also approved a $250,000 contract with Austin Wood Recycling to grind down brush gathered from neighborhoods impacted by the tornado. According to city documents, the city's brush recycling center is not equipped to handle the large volume of brush created by the tornado, necessitating this measure. Atkins said uncontaminated brush will be turned into mulch.

Not all of the brush gathered by city crews can be mulched, Atkins said, because it contaminated with trash and other debris.

"I will tell you, we have a lot of brush," Atkins said April 12. "A lot of it's been contaminated. Some of that contamination goes out to the landfill."