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City manager outlines $127.7 million multi-year CIP; community center and water/wastewater projects drive 2026 spike
Summary
City staff presented a revised capital improvements program for fiscal years 2026-2028, highlighting a near-term $31 million community center expansion, multiple street and utility projects, and delays tied to Union Pacific permitting and state grant approvals.
City Manager Jesus Garza and Public Works staff on July 1 presented a revised capital improvements program (CIP) that shows $127.66 million of planned projects across fiscal years 2026–2028, with roughly $79 million budgeted in fiscal 2026 driven largely by a proposed community center renovation and expansion.
Garza and David Shibley, who led the project briefing, detailed the city's priorities: a large community center renovation and expansion, residentialstreet maintenance and reconstruction across multiple neighborhoods, thoroughfare resurfacing and design work, and several utility projects including replacement of aging water lines and a regional wastewater headworks screening facility. Shibley said Vine Street work awarded earlier this evening is part of the 2025 program.
Staff said timing and scope changes were prompted by several operational constraints. The Northeast Water Street project awaits a Union Pacific permit to bore under a railroad; staff said such permits often take about six months to process and that the permit was submitted in April. Multiple projects tied to Community Development Block Grant Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funding remain under review by the Texas General Land Office (GLO); staff reported repeated back-and-forth with the GLO to justify project eligibility, delaying award and construction timelines.
Garza and Shibley also described schedule adjustments due to the Bridal/Briggs bridge reconstruction (staff used the transcript term in discussion), which has shifted heavy truck traffic and prompted staff to postpone a mill-and-overlay on Millet until after the bridge work is complete. They noted Bon Air paving and drainage will be combined into one project to bid for better unit pricing and to prioritize work near Crane Elementary during summers.
Staff emphasized a multi-year approach intended to stabilize annual CIP spending at around $25 million after the 2026 spike, citing long-term debt capacity limits presented elsewhere in the city's financial planning. Garza said the strategy aims to avoid wide year-to-year fluctuations in the city's capital program.
Council members asked about specific streets, timing, and how staff selects streets for work; staff said selections rely on a pavement assessment and a mix of neighborhood and targeted single-street projects. On CDBG-MIT items (Lone Tree Acres, wastewater/water SCADA), staff said the GLO's review requires additional justification and engineering input and that those projects have not been pushed to construction in fiscal 2025 as a result.
Shibley said some projects will use trenchless rehabilitation (like pipe-bursting on Mockingbird to avoid full excavation) where feasible and that staff will coordinate phasing so that new utility work is not immediately followed by a pavement overlay that would be undone by later excavation. The presentation closed with staff inviting council feedback on the later-year list so the CIP can be adjusted before final adoption of the fiscal 2026 budget.
