Converse council balks at funding for parks master plan; item dies for lack of motion

CONVERSE, Texas — A proposal to authorize a $73,000 contract to update the City of Converse’s parks, recreation and open-space master plan failed to advance at the Jan. 7 City Council meeting after council members questioned the funding source and declined to make a motion.

The item before council would have authorized the city manager to enter an independent contractor agreement with Kimberly Horn for $73,000, with the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) agreeing to pay half of the cost and staff proposing to use the city’s stormwater fee or interest from ARPA funds to cover the city’s share. The request was presented as coming from both the EDC and the Parks Board.

Why it matters: A current parks master plan is frequently required by state and grant-making agencies to qualify for certain facilities grants and to guide multi-year capital planning. Council members said they support updating the city’s parks plan in principle but disagreed with the proposed funding approach and timing shortly after adoption of a balanced budget.

Discussion highlights: Several council members — including Mayor Al Suarez — said the parks master plan was not budgeted in the city’s recently adopted balanced budget and questioned tapping stormwater-fee reserves or ARPA interest to pay for it. The mayor said the stormwater fee was created in 2007 for stormwater operations and suggested using the fund for the purposes for which residents were charged. “We tell the citizens…we add it to the bill. It says stormwater fee. That’s for a purpose,” he said during the meeting.

The assistant city manager and other staff described the option of doing the work in-house if council preferred not to hire an outside consultant, and noted that in-house work could extend the project timeline beyond the nine months originally proposed for a consultant-led plan. Staff also said the EDC had agreed to pay half of the consultant proposal and that Parks Board and EDC leaders supported the update because it is needed for grant competitiveness — a point raised in the staff presentation.

Outcome and next steps: The item did not receive a motion and therefore “died” without council action. Staff told council that the project could be completed in-house if the council decided to decline hiring a consultant; councilmembers asked staff to bring additional options and funding clarifications back for future consideration.

What to watch for: If council requests a formal funding alternative or directs staff to proceed in-house, staff said the timeline would need to be revisited and a calendar for public engagement developed. The EDC and Parks Board have indicated support for a consultant-led plan, and some grant programs require a current parks master plan to qualify for facility grants, a reason staff cited for the consultant proposal.