difference A decade of a
of K. Friese & Associates, at the Aug. 22 meeting. In meetings throughout June, July and August, the council got closer to a solidi ed bond package to send to the voters through workshop meetings. Previous meetings had brought discussion about splitting recon- structed roads into one proposition and new roads into another. “There were going to be two sep- arate bonds, and during [a meeting] a council member made a motion to put it all in one bond and that, to me, was a breaking point,” Flores-Cale said. “There’s an underpass and an overpass going from the [FM] 1626 area that goes all the way to I-35 that I do not think we need right now. I think, eventually, when there is development in the area on the east side, we should consider it then. But right now, I cannot say the road is going to lead anywhere that [will be bene cial].” Ultimately, the council landed on an all-or-nothing plan in July: Propo- sition A with all roads included. East versus west The growth that the city has expe- rienced over the past 10 years or so has put a strain on the existing road network. The 2022 bond is not necessarily aimed at addressing the growth and population where the city currently stands but is aimed at the anticipated growth over the next decade, Gap Strategies Principal Je Barton said at the Aug. 22 council meeting. “Kyle has grown about 64% just since 2010,” Barton said. “And you have not only grown in people, you have grown in area; about 30% with the annexation that you have accomplished.” Barton added that while the road work weighs heavily on the east side of Kyle, the bond should be seen as a whole. “You cannot really look at this in total isolation between east side roads and west side roads because what it builds is a total network that allows the city to move,” Barton said. “Several of these roads are designed to move back and forth between east and the west side of Kyle.” The contention of east versus west in Kyle is an ongoing discussion that Mitchell speculates could have been kickstarted with the city’s rst big development in the late 1990s, Plum Creek. “[Plum Creek] was the rst big
nearly doubled and is now at around 45,000 residents. “We are not the little town we used to be,” Mitchell said. “We absolutely need to build roads—not just any roads, well-engineered roads.” Actualizing Proposition A The council tapped Gap Strategies, a rm that helps public o cials and private entities with policies and com- munication, in 2021 to work on the public engagement aspect of the road bond while bringing aboard company K. Friese and Associates to conduct engineering work for the bond. In April, City Council approved preliminary reports from six engi- neering rms on a handful of roads that were to be on the 2022 road bond. The agreements were exe- cuted in May to the tune of just under $1 million from the general fund for reports from Cobb, Fendley & Asso- ciates Inc.; RPS Infrastructure Inc.; Kimley-Horn & Associates; BGE Inc.; Lockwood, Andrews & Newman Inc.; and American Structure Point Inc. Each engineering rm was given a speci c road project to focus on to develop a design schematic, studies in support of the schematic, assess potential challenges and opportuni- ties for the project, frame a schedule for development, re ne cost esti- mates and more. The framework for the plans cre- ated by each rm will be based on various city master plans and criteria outlined by the Texas Department of Transportation. Preliminary plans, sometimes referred to as 10% plans, are meant to do just enough data gathering, collec- tion and analysis to understand what the project as a whole will entail, said Joe Cantalupo, senior vice president has the lights; it has the side- walks; and I can appreciate that because the east side really needs those kinds of add-ons.” “This bond has a lot of things: it
The city’s previous road bond was approved by voters in a special election on May 11, 2013, with a signi cantly smaller price tag and almost half the mileage of road work.
2013 bond 2022 bond
Total dollar amount of bond
Number of projects
$36M
8
5
$294.36M
Total mileage of projects
Tax rate change
6
10.3 miles
+$0.20
+$0.0917 per $100 valuation
per $100 valuation
miles
SOURCE: CITY OF KYLE COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
development that came to Kyle and put us on the map [around] 25 years ago. It was this massive, mas- ter-planned subdivision that came into town, all on the west side. It got a lot of incentives and special con- siderations,” Mitchell said. “It was all good and right for it to happen, but east side development proposals did not necessarily get those things.” Flores-Cale added that just by driv- ing on the east side of Kyle, there is a signi cant di erence in the roads and infrastructure in place. “We are 10 steps behind, probably 10 years behind on the things they should have been working on while bringing in [development],” she said. “This bond has a lot of things: It has the lights; it has the sidewalks; and I can appreciate that because the east side really needs those kind of add-ons.” Barton said that in order for the city to spur economic development and growth—which the council has expressed interest in—on the east side of Kyle, the proper infrastruc- ture needs to be in place, which this bond will help achieve. Cost to taxpayers In the nal presentation to the dais before the election was called, Canta- lupo said that the revised bond pack- age is around $4 million less based on adjustments that were made at the direction of the council. “We try to be conservative in our estimates going forward; on the taxable growth, you have averaged a little over 15% the last 10 years. We estimate a 10% growth from tax years [2023] -[2026] and then 2% after that,” SAMCO Capital Managing Director Ryan Cunningham said.
Dates to know before hitting the polls Here are some important dates to keep in mind regarding the upcoming November election. Oct. 11: Last day to register to vote Oct. 24 - Nov. 4: Early voting period Oct. 28: Last day to apply for ballot by mail Nov. 8: Election Day
SOURCES: HAYS COUNTY, VOTETEXAS.ORG COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
He added that the projects can move faster or slower depending on how the growth within the city pres- ents itself over time. If approved by voters, the city tax rate will increase by $0.0917 per $100 evaluation, according to the city. “If the voters approve, we are going to be able to green-light mul- tiple projects and really see some action here within just a few years’ time,” Mitchell said. City sta and Gap Strategies will host an in-person open house ses- sion Oct. 1 to meet with residents and answer any questions that may linger. The session will be held at City Hall located at 100 W. Center St., Kyle. The city has also created a website so residents can see the map of the roads and see other pertinent information regarding the election: www.kylebonds.com.
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
CITY COUNCIL MEMBER YVONNE FLORES CALE
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SAN MARCOS BUDA KYLE EDITION • SEPTEMBER 2022
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