By Amira Van Leeuwen
KYLE — Significant supply shortages continue to prolong the completion of La Verde Park, which was supposed to be finished in July 2022.
Although the project is 75% complete, La Verde Park, located at 3901 Burnham Road, still needs exterior tile at the pavilion, landscaping at the dog park, swings and a volleyball court, along with additional punch items. The projected completion date is this month, but availability of materials for the unique structures in the park may further delay opening.
Ryan Rosborough, AG|CM vice president for Central Texas, said the pavilion structure is driving the project’s schedule — a structure facing supply chain issues. Rosborough said the company had to wait three months to get a Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU) and nearly four months for concrete cinder blocks.
“We finally got those [the concrete cinder blocks] in and they were wrong. It was the wrong material. It wasn’t the contractor’s fault; it wasn’t anybody’s fault. They just shipped the wrong stuff and so we literally had to almost get back in the queue and start over and explore our options with the block,” Rosborough said. “So, that in itself pushed the schedule way out.”
The vice president said they have also been having supply chain issues with the park’s electrical panels.
“Anything electrical, whether it be generators, you know, electrical panels, fuses — all that stuff is in very short supply, right now, very hard to get. So, that compounded the problem because obviously, we have a lot of electrical out there, underground electrical lighting — all that stuff in the steel for the pavilion structures,” he said.
Eventually, the city received the correct CMU blocks and is now waiting on steel; Rosborough said the project is in a lot better shape now.
“There have been some change orders on the project, which have changed scope, which has added some dollars to the project. But as far as [the]schedule is concerned, there have been no payments made for additional time extensions, general conditions, none of that,” Rosborough said.
The largest addition to the park that wasn’t in the initial planning was a water lift station. The lift station was added to accommodate where the park’s water was going to leave the drain via storm sewage.
The initial budget for the project was just under $6.8 million, funded by the city’s general fund, but by adding lift stations, city council approved in December to add a 5% contingency for a total added amount of $245,750.
The city’s finance director Perwez Moheet said the project is initially being paid for by Kyle’s property taxpayers and then eventually reimbursed by those within TIRZ #2, with the understanding that future property tax revenue generated within TIRZ #2 will reimburse the general fund over time.
“As these ‘loaned funds’ are repaid to the city’s general fund over time, the property taxpayers within the boundaries of TIRZ #2 will eventually pay for the La Verde Park and Trails project costs. It is important to note that since the county is also participating in TIRZ #2, the county’s portion of the incremental property tax revenues generated within TIRZ #2 will also be used to repay the city’s general fund,” Moheet said.
Interim city manager Jerry Hendrix thanked Kyle residents for their patience.
“We realize this is a much-anticipated public amenity that citizens are waiting for. And we recognize that and we’re doing everything we can to get it finished as quickly as possible,” Hendrix said. “But we also want to make sure that we are right because once it’s here, [it]is going to be here for a long time.”
