Kyle council receives update on senior center

KYLE — At its July 6 meeting, Kyle City Council requested an update on the status of an agreement for a possible senior center that was discussed on Jan. 4, 2022.

The original item that was voted on in 2022 was for an agreement with A&E Design Group Inc., Buda, Texas to provide architectural and design services for a new senior activity and community center “and to bring back an agreement with all terms and conditions including contract amount for city council’s approval at a future council meeting.”

According to Steven Butler, a member of the Kyle Area Senior Zone, the intent was “to not bring back a contract to city council until we have the funding secured that would go along with that contract.” The item passed 7-0.

The reason the agreement was never brought back to council was because by the time the funding became available, other discussions regarding the senior center began and questions arose about the viability of the potential site.

The facility had been publicly planned to be built at Linebarger Lake, a location that Assistant City Manager Jerry Hendrix now states has “obstacles that would increase the price.” One of these being the lack of parking space, a topic that was discussed heavily at the Jan. 4, 2022 meeting.

The first staff member to comment on the possible issue raised by parking was former council member Robert Rizo: “The other thing is the parking, I just want to make sure we have ample parking for the facility.”

To which Hendrix responded that parking should not be an issue as the facility would be on the Vybe Trail and would be accessible via golf carts that could charge on-site, reducing the space needed to meet the parking requirements.

Despite discussing Linebarger Lake as the prospective location for years, the city is now looking at other locations to build the center — a comment that multiple seniors in attendance audibly dismissed.

The seniors currently share a space with the Parks and Recreation department. Though not a permanent fix, Hendrix confirmed that there is money in next year’s budget that would allow a rental space to be obtained for Parks and Recreation to allow the seniors to at least have a space of their own.

Mayor Travis Mitchell advised council that while there is strong desire to find a location and receive architectural plans for a senior activity center, they must not repeat history.

According to Mitchell, the city spent $1.4 million dollars years ago on design plans for a recreation center that ultimately went nowhere due to the lack of “commitment and resolve to actually fund the facility itself.” To prevent this, Mitchell explained that the city would have to move forward with an “A to Z plan” that would have the location, the plans and eventually a bond election to fund the construction of the facility.

Kyle Area Senior Zone President Betty Conley stated that there was simply miscommunications between the city and the organization: “At city council, they said there had to be studies and we weren't aware of that. Because when we first went and talked about the land, the first thing out of Ellen [Ermis, membership-communications-historian,] was, ‘Do we need any environmental studies?’ And we were told, ‘No.’ So, that's where the confusion is. One person told us 'no' and … somebody else is saying something else. The changing of the board I think [is where] things got lost in the discussions.”

Council member Yvonne Flores-Cale also made it a point to emphasize the importance of publicly making a decision.

“No, there was no agreement. Yes, there was supposed to be an agreement, but somewhere along the way, council directed staff — not on the dais, maybe at a vision workshop — which I think we’ve discussed is not real direction,” said Flores-Cale. “Direction always has to come from the dais, collectively. We’ve got to give the residents a chance to respond.”

In a similar sentiment, council member Bear Heiser apologized for the lack of communication between council and the community members, promising to do better in the future.

Council only discussed updates on the senior center and did not take any action.