Kerrville staff ask council to back $7.75 million pool budget, propose using savings from other bond projects

KERRVILLE, Texas — City staff on April 22 told the Kerrville City Council at a workshop that most quality-of-life bond projects are in construction, but bids for the Olympic Pool came in higher than expected and staff asked the council to support increasing the pool budget to $7,750,000 and to allow savings from other bond projects to be reallocated to cover the gap.

The presentation by city staff member Mr. Hornace covered multiple bond projects funded under the quality-of-life package, including the Cali Theater, the Olympic Pool, Scott Shriner Golf Course, the AC Shriner House, Granger McDonald Park and playground installations at Crittles Shriner Park and Guadalupe Park. "We wanted to bring just these projects to y'all's attention, give you the progress, the good news and the bad news. Fortunately, there's just a little bit of bad news, but we have some solutions. Don't wanna bring problems with no solutions," Hornace said.

Why it matters: Bids for the Olympic Pool exceed earlier estimates and staff said they need a buffer to keep the project on schedule. The pool project carries a roughly 50-week construction timeline; staff said they do not want construction to push into the summer of 2026. To avoid delays, staff asked the Economic Improvement Corporation (EIC) to consider an amendment to allow the city to repurpose savings from other bond projects and then bring that amendment to the council.

Most important details

- Cali Theater: Staff reported the Cali Theater construction started in March with an intended completion date of Aug. 31. The project construction budget is $4,000,000. Hornace said the selected contractor, Guido Construction, has a bid line of about $2.99 million (after alternates were applied) and that the city currently expects some savings because a deductive alternate tied to roofing material was selected. Hornace said staff expects "a substantial amount of savings on this project specifically." Staff also noted Playhouse 2000 requested additional tenant-related work that may be outside the bond scope; staff said they expect to return with an amendment addressing most of Playhouse 2000's reasonable requests.

- Olympic Pool: Staff said bids came in above the city's earlier estimates. Hornace described the pool schedule as about a 50-week construction window and listed potential value-engineering steps such as changing wall materials and choosing cheaper plaster removal methods. Staff proposed increasing the pool budget to $7,750,000 while continuing value-engineering to reduce the final cost; Hornace said he expected the project to land somewhere between the current bids and the amended figure. He noted the pool design includes a bulkhead to convert between 50-meter and 25-yard configurations, but the lower-cost bulkhead option under consideration would remain in the pool and "it makes a 50 meter pool, 48 and a half," which would prevent hosting official 50-meter competitions in that configuration.

Hornace also said the original pre-COVID pool estimate was $5.3 million and that rising costs and market instability contributed to the delta. Staff asked the EIC to consider using projected savings at the Cali Theater and Scott Shriner Golf Course to help cover the pool shortfall and suggested EIC hold an expedited meeting so the city can proceed with a qualified low bidder.

- Scott Shriner Golf Course: Staff reported work is under way, including sprigging of tee boxes and replacement of bridges. A shipment delay for turf (due to weed contamination at the supplier) pushed some timelines; staff gave a projected budget figure of about $3.5 million and estimated conservative savings of roughly $250,000–$350,000 but said the number could change as work continues.

- AC Shriner House: Demolition is complete; elevator steel framing is up and wrapped. Staff said the project is generally at budget but will likely draw on contingency funds and that landscaping funds have been reduced over time.

- Granger McDonald Park: The project is awaiting a decision from Texas Parks and Wildlife on a boating-access grant application of up to $750,000. If the grant is not awarded, staff said they will move toward construction documents using other available funds.

- Playgrounds and other items: Staff said two playground projects had a combined budget of $800,000 and that about $46,000 in savings has been identified. Staff also reported ongoing work on the Downtown River Trail easement and a pending TxDOT donation agreement related to a lighting request from James Avery on Highway 27. Habitat for Humanity was noted as being on the council's agenda that day as well.

Council direction and next steps

Staff asked the council for consensus to pursue an amendment with EIC and then present the amendment to council to increase the Olympic Pool budget to $7,750,000 and to reduce budgets for other projects accordingly. Hornace said EIC indicated it would be "amenable" to the request and to holding an expedited meeting. Multiple council members asked technical questions about pool features (for example, whether the bulkhead can be removed and the cost to do so); Hornace said the fully removable option had been removed from earlier consideration for cost reasons but that staff would provide a firm estimate. The council indicated consensus for staff to bring amendments back: after a brief exchange, the presiding official said, "can have consensus," and directed staff to proceed.

The workshop then moved to an executive session. A council member made a motion to go into executive session under Texas Government Code sections 551.071 and 551.072; the motion was seconded and the council proceeded to the executive session.

Quotes

"We wanted to bring just these projects to y'all's attention, give you the progress, the good news and the bad news. Fortunately, there's just a little bit of bad news, but we have some solutions. Don't wanna bring problems with no solutions," Hornace said.

On the bulkhead design: "You can move it, but it won't it'll it'll have about 6 foot. So it makes a 50 meter pool, 48 and a half," Hornace said.

Ending

Staff will return with specific amendment language and refined cost estimates after additional value-engineering and follow-up with bidders; EIC may meet on an expedited schedule to consider reallocating savings, and the council directed staff to pursue those steps. The council then entered executive session under the cited sections of the Texas Government Code.