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Garland bond study committee recommends four propositions; council will decide Feb. 4 whether to put package on May ballot
Summary
A citizen-led bond study committee has recommended four propositions covering streets, economic development, municipal facilities and parks. The mayor said the package would not raise the tax rate if approved; the City Council will decide Feb. 4 whether to place the measures on the May 3 ballot.
The mayor of Garland announced that a bond study committee has recommended a four-proposition bond package that would be considered for the May 3 ballot, and said the City Council will decide at its Feb. 4 meeting whether to move the package forward.
The committee’s recommendations cover: citywide street and transportation improvements (streets, alleys, gateways and corridors); economic and community development (land assembly, incentives and revitalization to create destinations and support neighborhood programs); municipal facility improvements focused on the Granville Arts Center; and parks and recreation improvements including public waterfront access at Harbor Point and continuation of the city’s trails program.
The packages would fund projects the mayor tied back to Garland’s 2019 bond program, which voters approved for $423,700,000. The mayor credited the 2019 bonds with multiple groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings over the past five-plus years and listed specific projects completed or underway that drew on that funding.
Among projects the mayor highlighted were new and renovated public facilities: a new Hollubaugh Recreation Center and Aquatics Facility (two gymnasiums, walking track, children’s pool, slide and outdoor courts), updated library facilities including a new West Garland library with study rooms and a maker space, two fire station relocations and a new street operations building. He also noted road projects such as Namib School Road (lane additions and flood-plain work) and a major municipal surf-and-swim replacement that will include a lazy river, surf simulator and water slides.
The mayor said the committee’s recommendations have been presented to the council and that information tables were available to the public at the event. He emphasized there would be no tax-rate increase associated with the proposed bond package if voters approve it.
The mayor urged residents to review material at garlandforward.com and garlandneighborhoods.org and to speak with committee members and city staff before the council’s Feb. 4 decision on whether to place the propositions on the May ballot.
Votes or final council action on the package were not taken during the address; the council is scheduled to consider whether to place the measures on the ballot on Feb. 4.
