By Samantha Smith

A $100,000 savings could be had by Buda after city officials determined they could complete a cleanup of Garison Park in-house, rather than contracting the project out. 

The city announced the possible savings during a special city council meeting held August 30, where residents got a sneak peek of the city’s proposed $87 million budget. 

According to an emailed response from Buda Parks and Recreation Director Drew Wells, the original budget for the Garison Park clean-up project was $125k which would cover the cost of the work being completed by an outside contractor. 

“The budget was reduced from $125,000 to $25,000 with city staff performing the work throughout the year instead of contracting the work out,” Wells said. 

In the email, Wells said that the change in plans and budget would also reflect a longer duration for the clean-up process.

“It’s the opportunity to realize some savings with the understanding that the clean-up effort will take longer,” Wells said in his response. 

According to Wells the “extra money” saved by the city of Buda for doing all the clean-up work in house was used to “balance the over-all proposed FY 2016-2017 budget.”

The Garison Park land was recently purchased by the city of Buda using a portion of the 2014 bond money in a situation that Buda City Council described at the time as “too good to pass up.”

“The majority of the clean-up required involves flood debris along the creek side,” according to Wells. 

According to Wells, city staff plan on doing the work with “heavy equipment such as back hoes, front end loaders, dozers and dump trucks.”

According to Wells the city plans on installing a few fences to enhance safety but has not yet decided to demolish any structures already onsite.

It is unknown at this time how long the clean-up efforts at Garison Park will take.