University Park council approves Snyder Plaza contract additions and first amendment to SMU development agreement

The University Park City Council approved adding the Daniel–Hillcrest intersection realignment and additional Rosedale work to the ongoing Snyder Plaza surface-improvements construction contract and approved related access agreements with private property owners at its Feb. 4 meeting.

Katie Baron, the city’s director of engineering, told the council that SYB Construction submitted proposals totaling $2,882,711.53 to add the Daniel–Hillcrest and Rosedale work to its existing Snyder Plaza contract. Council staff proposed an additional $200,000 construction contingency for the Daniel–Hillcrest work because the intersection contains multiple unknown utilities and the city’s fiber and a 24-inch waterline. With the contingency, the additional work totals $3,082,711.53 and brings SYB’s contract to $18,747,243.13 as presented to council.

City staff said access agreements are needed because some improvements straddle public right-of-way and private property lines. Staff identified the property at 6601 Hillcrest (referred to as “Cotton Island”) and a Rosedale parcel; the 6601 Hillcrest agreement covers roughly 1,300 square feet of sidewalk access and requires the city to accept ongoing maintenance responsibility and to complete the improvements within 365 days. That agreement also contemplates a later development agreement setting out branding or a sign paid for by the city to identify Snyder Plaza.

Councilmember questions focused on the propriety of using city funds for improvements on disputed private property and on contingency use. Councilmembers were told roughly $300,000–$400,000 of the original $750,000 owner contingency had already been used for additional utility work; adding $200,000 would restore available contingency for the project. One councilmember said legal concerns remain about spending on property where full access rights are not yet undisputed but accepted the intersection realignment as a safety priority.

Council approved the contract additions and the access agreements. The Council also approved the first amendment to the development agreement with Southern Methodist University that allows the city and SMU to coordinate specialty paving or branding in the intersection; staff said the amendment does not materially change the parties’ other obligations but formalizes a path for partnership on aesthetic or wayfinding features.

Votes: the motion to approve the Snyder Plaza scope-of-work additions moved and was seconded; councilmembers voted aye (Alyssa Raymond, Phil Fielding, Bob Myers, and Mayor Tommy Stewart). The motion to approve the SMU development-agreement amendment was moved and seconded and passed by the same recorded ayes.