Pflugerville parks department outlines Lake Pflugerville expansions, boardwalk and future nature center in CIP

Jeff O'Shea, assistant parks and recreation director, presented the parks section of the draft five‑year CIP and walked council through 17 park projects. Three projects highlighted for fiscal year 2026 are the Lake Pflugerville Phase 2b design, a boardwalk and pier replacement item, and a citywide trail corridor study for the Gilliland Creek corridor.

Jeff described phase 2b as "essentially the second part" of the Lake Pflugerville expansion and said design is slated to begin in FY26; the boardwalk and pier replacement appear as a separate line item in the CIP and staff said they will reconcile whether the boardwalk should be combined with phase 2b in the project grouping. Staff noted phase 2a (beach expansion and hardscape additions) and phase 2b (boardwalk, west side parking and future nature center elements) were originally identified in previous planning documents and that parts of phase 2 were included in the 2020 bond program. Jeff said design work for listed phases is expected to begin in the coming fiscal year.

Council members pressed staff about which elements were bond funded and which are future additions. Staff said the boardwalk and beach expansions were tied to the 2020 bond, while a nature center was not part of the bond funding and was carried as a potential future phase in the CIP (staff noted a 2019 preliminary design report listed a nature center estimate). During the parks discussion staff also identified a line item labeled for land acquisition (transcript references around $2,300,000) that could be used for a destination play space, field acquisitions or athletic fields depending on the outcome of an athletic‑field feasibility study that was underway. Jeff said the feasibility work should conclude in the coming months and that staff will provide greater specificity on land use and timing.

Other park items covered included trail improvements, a trail corridor master plan (to provide a transit‑style wayfinding and activation strategy for the city's trails), and smaller playground replacements and capital outlays. Staff and council discussed making trail wayfinding available through GIS and apps such as AllTrails so residents can route via trails and access trail identities and connections.

No formal action was taken at the work session. Council requested clarification of which Lake Pflugerville line items are part of the 2020 bond, whether boardwalk and pier work should be consolidated in the CIP, and specifics on land‑acquisition allocations.