HAYS COUNTY
Hays County is looking to improve roads, and they will need voter support to do it. Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra announced that there will be a road bond on the November election ballot at the regularly scheduled Hays County Commissioners Court meeting Tuesday.
Hays County Pct. 1 Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe said that a lot of the proposed projects are east to west connections, which are very important for “safety, mobility and connectivity.” She added that there should be a balance between the impacts on residents and the benefits of the projects.
“There is a lot of need out in our county. Transportation has always been an important and needed infrastructure. It is something that our residents use every day, and it is still one of the top, if not the top, issues that residents call in about,” Ingalsbe said. “I believe that it’s important to have a process to allow our residents to determine if this is a need that they are willing to fund. … We also need to be conscientious of the impact that this will have on our families.”
Dan Wegmiller, Specialized Public Finance vice president, said the bonds would be issued separately across four to five years and would not hit Hays County’s debt profile immediately. Wegmiller said that growth estimates were used to calculate the impacts of the bond on an individual’s property taxes.
“For someone that has a $400,000 taxable value, 2 cents would be an $80 annual increase,” Wegmiller said. “If it’s a $500,000 home, it’s a $100 increase roughly.”
Carlos Lopez, Hays County GEC program manager, said that in March of 2012 the Hays County Commissioners Court adopted a resolution directing staff to develop a draft program of work for road improvements throughout Hays County.
Cory Grell, HNTB project manager, presented the proposed projects across the county along with the associated costs. Grell said the focus was on safety projects, mobility projects, regional connectivity projects, right-of-way preservation projects and new alignment projects. He said the benefits would be less accidents and safer travel, less traffic, faster commutes and increased connectivity.
“The total cost of all of the projects within Precinct 1 is $118 million,” Grell said. “The total cost of this proposed bond package [for all precincts] is approximately $450 million.”
There are several projects that are proposed for Precinct 1 in which San Marcos resides. Grell said the first is for Old Bastrop Hwy from Centerpoint Road to Rattler Road, which is a 1.16 mile stretch. The improvements included one lane in each direction, shoulders and turn lanes, which had an estimated cost of $11,187,000.
Grell said the plan has improvements to Cotton Gin Road from Bonanza Street to SH 21 and involved two lanes undivided and shoulders, which should cost approximately $18,032,000. The plan had improvements to FM 2001 from Graef Road to Southeast of SH 21 and involved new alignment, one lane in each direction, shoulders and turn lanes, which had an estimated cost of $1,764,000.
Grell said the plan has improvements to the William Pettus Extension from FM 110 to SH 21 and involved one lane in each direction, which had an estimated cost of $3,672,000. He said the next project is High Road east of Goforth Road to SH 21 and involved five lanes undivided with a two-way left turn lane, which had an estimated cost of $13,071,000.
Grell said the next project was on Bunton Lane, Heidenreich Lane and Gristmill Road from Violet Lane to Gristmill Road and involved reconstructing existing two lanes and shoulder, which had an estimated cost of $39,089,000. Grell said another project is Dairy Road from Bunton Lane to Cotton Gin Road and involved reconstructing two lanes and shoulder, which had an estimated cost of $1,000,000.
Grell said two of the projects had a Precinct 1 and Precinct 2 component: Goforth Road and FM150 East. He said that Goforth Road from Bunton Lane to Bebee Road/ High Road and involved a new five lane roadway and one roundabout, which had an estimated cost of $25,462,000. He said FM150 East from the precinct boundary to SH 21 involved possibly widening, which had an estimated cost of $788,000.
Becerra said it is the court’s intention to bring the bond before voters on the November ballot.
