Board declares real property surplus, authorizes sale of land
DRIPPING SPRINGS — Dripping Springs ISD is laying the groundwork for a project to be completed that is a component of the May 2025 bond.
At its March 31 meeting, the DSISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved the authorization of proceeding with design work for the Dripping Springs Elementary School (DSE) waterproofing and exterior replacement project with the intent to reimburse costs with future bond proceeds. This project is part of the capital improvements section of proposition A in the May 2025 bond.
“In order to get that project this summer, we need to start the engineering and design of that project. We do have a reimbursement resolution in place for pre-bond costs that would cover this, but I wanted to take the conservative route and have the board approve us moving forward with those design fees because if the bond is not successful, and we’ve spent this money, it would need to come out of the general fund,” explained Deputy Superintendent for Finance and Operations Elaine Cogburn.
Additionally, this summer, DSE will also undergo Phase 2 of the renovations that were approved under the 2023 bond.
PBK Architects proposed a 6% fee for design and construction administration; the estimated cost for the services is $144,000, Cogburn said.
“Otherwise, we would have to wait until May 3 and then start that and that would further delay the project,” the deputy superintendent continued. “We are asking for approval to move forward with [the] design on the DSE exterior.”
Replacing the exterior at DSE will take longer than the summer months, so the idea would be to move the entire exterior from the campus, redo the front area and then, when school does start back up for students, work would continue to replace the exterior, Cogburn said. There would not be a lot of heavy machinery, so it should not be very loud: “The work will continue beyond August,” she said.
Moving into board discussion, board president Dr. Stefani Reinold asked, because there will be work continuing after the summer months, how long the district is anticipating for the completion of the project to take.
“We are looking at several options on that. One is to get to brick layers to actually do that. What you do is actually take of all of the brick, obviously in the summertime with the plans … you guys are approving,” explained director of construction James Conkle. “Take all the windows, do the waterproofing, replace the windows, start on the front and start on the right side where the portables are and try to get that done by summer. Depending on how much we get done, we are probably looking at two months to finish the rest of that school.”
Trustee Olivia Barnard asked for a breakdown on what the district is paying for when they are talking about an existing campus and design fees. Conkle explained that the majority of this is the waterproofing detail, which is complex, so it has to go through the city’s permitting process; he explained that it’s very detailed with the lentils, waterproofing, exterior, insulations, soundproofing and more.
Whether or not the May 2025 bond passes, this project is vital to the DSE campus and still has to get completed, Conkle said.
The board also voted 7-0 to approve a resolution declaring property as surplus and authorized the sale of real property.
Property owners adjacent to the district’s section of land north of Roger Hanks Parkway approached the district regarding the possible purchase of 0.19 acres of district property — approximately 10 acres north of Dripping Springs High School, which currently remains vacant — bordering the property owner’s lot.
“We were approached late last summer with some property owners contingent to our land just north of the high school about purchasing a small sliver, so that their property line was evened out,” said Cogburn.
The potential buyers completed a survey of the property and sought an appraisal of the surveyed area. The appraisal indicates a fair market value of $21,000 for the 0.19 acres.
“We’ve looked at it and we don’t think selling that will impede any future use. There is no impervious cover issues and so, this action would declare that 0.19 acres as surplus and allow us to negotiate a purchase agreement,” Cogburn explained.
The resolution authorizes the superintendent or designee to negotiate and execute a real estate purchase and sales agreement with the buyer. It also authorizes the board president, as required by law, to execute a deed in a form approved by legal counsel to effectuate the sale of the property.
The DSISD Board of Trustees will meet next at 6 p.m. April 21.
