Brittany Kelley
KYLE — Kyle City Council forwent cost savings to move forward with the Bunton Creek Road project and Center Street off-system project, with the original sidewalk sizes, following discussion at its Oct. 5 meeting.
Prior to the items, Kyle Trail Coalition members Josh Keller and David Kirtley took to the podium during public comment to express their support. Kirtley stated that “there was a compromise that was agreed to, between Mayor [Yvonne] Flores-Cale and council member [Claudia] Zapata, that we would pause the Center Street project and prioritize the Bunton Creek project, including the Vybe Trail. I think that’s a great idea. It’s something that our group — from everyone that I’ve spoken to in the group — that we all endorse.”
The pair also supported 12-foot wide sidewalks for the trail.
However, resident Kenneth Rocha suggested having six-foot trails instead.
Kyle Area Senior Zone president Betty Conley added that there are limited sidewalks on the east side of IH-35 for children, so the focus should instead be on their safety, as they can’t even walk to school safely.
Bunton Creek Road
Beginning the presentation on Bunton Creek Road was city engineer Leon Barba. He noted that the road is part of the 2022 Road Bond project and will improve the street 365 feet east of Lehman Road to Porter Cove by creating four lanes, along with a center turn lane.
It would also include a 10-foot shared-use path on the north side and a 7-foot sidewalk on the south side, with a 12-foot Vybe Trail crossing.
Although the design process is at 100%, ongoing aspects include: a previously planned roundabout that is currently paused; whether to underground utilities; evaluation of the intersections; and an agreement with County Line Special Utility District.
Because of the extension of the roads, the current roundabout at Bunton Creek and Goforth needs to be replaced, said council member Melisa Medina. She also brought forward concerns about traffic at Bunton and Lehman and how it’ll be funneled. Barba explained that it’ll go from five lanes to two, until the next phase is completed.
Previously, during the Sept. 10 meeting, council directed staff to bring back an item to prioritize the project.
“Twenty-eight point six million [dollars] is what the estimated cost — back in 2022 — [was]. Today’s cost estimate is $39.8 million,” said Barba.
Cost savings that could be considered are as follows: reducing the Vybe Trail down to 6 feet: $90,500; reducing the shared-use path to 6 feet: $185,000; reducing the main sidewalk to 6 feet: $55,000; and maintaining overhead utilities: $3,430,000; though incorporating these changes would cost $30,000 in design fees, according to the presentation.
“I don’t want to do the 6 [foot shared-use path], I think that’s way too small. This is going to be a really good area for people to use the trail. I think there’s going to be a lot of kids walking on it [and] there's going to be a lot of foot traffic because that place is a terrible place to drive, so I can see people riding their bikes,” said Flores-Cale. “I would like to see a 10-foot minimum in this area.”
Council member Lauralee Harris feels that the original sizes of the sidewalks are important, due to the proximity to the school and the fact that they relate to pedestrian safety, to which council members Claudia Zapata and Marc McKinney agreed.
Regarding the utilities, council member Michael Tobias — who covers this district — noted that it would be difficult to underground them, as there are houses near them.
McKinney stated that not only would undergrounding be good for aesthetics, but also to prevent visual distractions for young drivers.
“And when it comes to the sidewalks, again, I need to remind everybody, with the state law that’s out there, when it comes to sidewalks and schools within the two-mile radius, [if] we build sidewalks on either side or even just one, people lose bus services,” said Tobias. “I know there’s a lot of students that walk home to Casetta Ranch, but also people that ride the bus all the way to Bunton Creek subdivision. That’s something we’re going to need to really consider when we’re designing any sidewalks.”
“I am still unresolved on whether the language of the bond covers multi-use and trail paths because the ordinance seems to define what a sidewalk is and the multi-use paths and the [Vybe] Trail are differently defined,” said council member Courtney Goza.
The legal opinion is that it is allowed, according to the city’s bond attorney.
Tobias motioned to approve the item as presented, with the original sidewalk sizes, along with undergrounding the utilities. With this motion, it was also understood that Interim City Manager Perwez Moheet would be exceeding the budget by $11,220,000. It passed 6-1, with Goza dissenting, as she disagreed with the choice to move the utilities.
Center Street project
Also part of the 2022 Road Bond, the Center Street project is divided into two segments:
Off-system
• From Old Stagecoach Road to Veterans Drive
• 12-foot Vybe Trail on the north side
• Two 11-foot driving lanes
• A 14-foot center turn lane
• A 6-foot sidewalk on the south side
On-system
• From Veterans Drive to Main Street
• 12-foot Vybe Trail on the north side
• Two 11-foot driving lanes
• A 14-foot center turn lane
• 11-foot buffer area on the south side
• A 6-foot sidewalk on the south side
The proposed condition revisions include reducing the Vybe Trail to 6-foot on both sections.
Council opted to pause discussion on the overall project at its Aug. 27 meeting, until the following was provided: a response on the Texas Historical Commission review, a Vybe Trail Ordinance review and a Vybe Trail presentation, which occurred Sept. 10.
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) determined that the Texas Historical Commission did not need to be contacted, said Barba.
“[Resident] Lila Knight did write in and she had some objections about the TxDOT study that was done,” said Goza. “She says, ‘First, no one has contacted the property owners about the plans for the Vybe Trail and underground utilities. The underground utilities will require the destruction of numerous trees and landscaping at the Katherine [Anne] Porter House’ … She goes on to say that, ‘There was no mention of staff memo of any contact with the Texas Historical Commission, neither [have they] contacted us or the Hays County Historical Commission.’”
Goza continued to read Knight’s concerns, which included whether or not the homes could be considered a potential historic district.
Flores-Cale also mentioned an email from another resident regarding historical concerns.
Continuing with the presentation, Barba said that the following cost savings could occur, should council choose to incorporate them in both portions of the project:
• Converting Vybe Trail to a six-foot sidewalk : $1,037,000
• Right-of-way easements wouldn’t be needed: $80,720
• Maintaining overhead utilities: $6,766,000
The changes would cost $80,000 to implement, though it would result in a total savings of $7,813,720.
Barba also shared that the contractor asked to suspend its contract, due to their inability to perform the initial schedule phase work, as a result of potential design changes. There would be a potential monthly cost of $90,000 to $140,000, since the contract would be suspended, said Barba.
This would be covered under the contingency that the city has set aside for the project, he continued, though the total impact for approximately six months — until the contractor was back — would be approximately $540,000 to $840,000.
Council was presented with three options for the off-system project, which consisted of:
• Option one: 12-foot Vybe Trail, with underground utilities for $29 million — $16.7 million over the original budget
• Option two: a 6-foot sidewalk and overhead utilities for $23.6 million — $11.3 million over the budget
• Option three: 12-foot Vybe Trail and overhead utilities for $24.2 million — $11.9 million over budget
Flores-Cale asked whether or not the off-system needed to be paused because she was okay moving forward with it.
“Yes, because they have no place to work because the utilities are in the way [of the proposed road project]; it’s part of their contract, but we’ve told them to stop,” said Barba, adding that it’ll have to be paused even if council approved it to move forward, since there would need to be time to underground the utilities.
Assistant city manager Amber Schmeits explained that if the utilities move underground, the city is responsible for the cost, due to it being considered beautification, but if they are relocated and remain overhead, then Pedernales Electric Co-op would be responsible.
McKinney stated that if there is any part of the road that needs beautification, it’s in the proposed area. Additionally, the 12-foot Vybe would help connect the neighbors to the park, he said.
The on-system project had the same three options for various totals, with an additional fourth option of pausing. Currently, $3.1 million has been spent, said Barba, but if the project is paused, construction costs will continue to rise.
“I also question whether the Vybe Trail is really viable to go on the route that we have in downtown because there’s a lot of problems just on the South Main Street route that’s coming in and what we need to do with that,” expressed Goza.
McKinney agreed with this sentiment and motioned to pause the on-system project and approve option one — 12-foot Vybe Trail, with underground utilities — for the Center Street off-system project, as well as allow Perwez to go $16.7 million over budget. The item passed 6-1, with Melisa Medina dissenting.
“This is a good day. This is a happy [time]. We got trails going on both sides,” concluded Flores-Cale.
To listen to the full discussion, visit bit.ly/4ydFtuP.
