Pflugerville voters to decide on bonds for roads, parks

Oct. 19--

Lake Pflugerville Park is a mostly barren shore, with a small beach where residents bring children and dogs to swim and enjoy a popular walking trail around the lake. Parks officials envision adding a boardwalk with shaded areas and a promenade that could host community events.

When Pflugerville voters head to the polls starting this week, they will decide on the city's largest ever bond package, consisting of $28 million for road repairs and upgrades and $25 million for parks and trail improvements. If Pflugerville voters approve both bonds on the Nov. 4 ballot, the average homeowner could see a $144 annual increase in property taxes.

"The council and staff and the parks commission and planning commission have been working for a few years to put this list together," said City Manager Brandon Wade. "These are the highest priority projects for the city."

The centerpiece of the $25 million parks bond would be an $11.3 million sports complex that would include soccer, football and baseball fields. The project would include parking lots, restrooms and seating for those fields. The city hasn't purchased the land yet, but is eyeing several tracts between 80 and 120 acres, said Terri Waggoner, spokeswoman for the city.

The bond would also include $8 million for the makeover of Lake Pflugerville Park. The bond money would transform the shoreline and includes much-needed restrooms for the park and improvements to the popular trail around the lake.

Several undeveloped parks would get $4 million for shade structures, playground equipment, dog parks and trails. Which parks would get the improvements has yet to be decided, Waggoner said.

A long list of trails would also be improved or expanded, using about $1 million from the bond. The trails on the highest priority list are Brookhollow Trail, Gilleland Creek, Pfairways Trail, Settler's Valley Trail Gap, a connection between Heritage Loop and Creekside Trail loop, Heritage Park Trail and Kuempel Connector. The remainder of the bond funds would be used for insurance costs.

If approved, the parks bond would raise the average homeowner's property taxes by $68 a year.

The $28 million road bond package includes seven major road projects focusing on some of the city's most traveled thoroughfares.

A portion of East Pecan Street and Heatherwilde Boulevard would get extra lanes. Weiss Lane and Rowe Lane would get shoulders, and Weiss would get turn lanes at major intersections. About $8 million from the 2011 Travis County road bond would help pay for those upgrades.

Pfennig Lane will get a center turn lane, curbs and gutters, and 13 streets in the Heatherwilde and Windermere areas would be completely rebuilt.

The Pflugerville Chamber of Commerce's board of directors recently voted to support both the roads and parks bond packages, "because the board felt the bonds advanced the community development of Pflugerville," said Patricia Gerver-Brown, president and CEO of the chamber.

"They felt the city had put together a well thought-out bond package," Gerver-Brown said. "The road bond is all about people getting where they want to go when they want to go there."

If the road bond is approved, it would raise property taxes for the average homeowner by $76 a year for the average homeowner, taking into account projected growth and city revenue projections.

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