Buda City Council selects new city park playground

BUDA — Nearly a year after learning of the deteriorating condition of the Buda Amphitheater & City Park playground equipment, Buda City Council was presented with replacement options at its meeting Tuesday, June 16.

As previously reported by the Hays Free Press, the city of Buda invested in a comprehensive inspection of all of the playground equipment at city-owned parks in 2025. During a budget presentation the same year, council was informed of the issues at city park, which included exposed concrete, loose, missing and corroded hardware, rotting wood fixtures, unstable structures and more.

At the time, the Parks and Recreation department removed the more acutely hazardous equipment and tightened fixtures as staff was able to.

Ultimately, $850,000 was earmarked in the fiscal year 2026 budget for replacement costs.

During the June 16 presentation, Parks director Tony Host explained that the playground project is important because city park serves as a central gathering space for the community and is utilized heavily not only during community events and festivals, but also daily by local families and visitors.

“The existing infrastructure has aged and no longer fully reflects modern playground standards or community expectations,” he continued.

Additional limitations at the playground include limited shade, accessibility challenges, limited inclusive play opportunities and surfacing concerns, thus leading staff to name the primary goals for the project as safety, accessibility, inclusivity, durability and community identity.

With these goals in mind, Host brought forth three options, at various price points, for council consideration.

Option 1: $825,9000

• Pour-in-place (PIP) surfacing throughout the entire playground area, including the pyramid climber area.

• An age 2-5 playground with integrated shade structure.

• An age 5-12 playground.

• An all-age geo slide.

• An all-accessible, inclusive, all-age playground.

• An all-age we-go-round (accessible merry-go-round).

• Block wall and drainage additions on the hillside of the splash-pad area to mitigate run-off onto the splashpad surface.

• Three shade structures: over the 5-12 playground, at the splash pad entrance and over the accessible playground.

Option 2: $860,500

This option removes the 5-12 age playground and replaces it with a zip line and swing set. Everything else from Option 1 is still included.

Option 3: $873,298

This is the same as Option 1, with the addition of a stand-alone zip line.

Completing the project, while remaining mindful of the budget, was a top concern for council members Monica Davidson, Evan Ture and Greg Bowles, with all having a preference for Option 1.

Bowles, Davidson and council member Kimberly Goodman expressed interest in the possibility of a stand-alone swing set, rather than the zipline listed in Option 3.

Ture further explained that the stand-alone zipline in Option 3 was a strong contender for him, which council member Matt Smith echoed, but they recognized that it may need to be added at a later time.

Council voted 6-0 to approve Option 1. LaVonia Horne-Williams was not in attendance.

According to Host, construction is expected to begin as soon as the splash pad closes after Labor Day and will take eight weeks to complete.