Highland Village City Council members reviewed a construction-management-at-risk (CMAR) preconstruction budget Oct. 28 and directed staff to proceed with limited upgrades at Pilot Knoll Park but not to build the proposed overnight cabin units.

Phil (parks staff) presented the CMAR cost estimates and design review, telling council that a modular septic design for cabins priced to serve 16 units would be about $173,550 for engineering and that total cabin and related infrastructure estimates under the CMAR exercise were approximately $3.4 million. He also presented an alternative: a city-maintained package plant for the park and showed a separate estimated total of about $4.7 million for the combined gatehouse, cabins, boat ramp and RV restroom program under a different design approach.

Phil also said Texas Parks and Wildlife grant deadlines and Army Corps of Engineers permitting timelines add scheduling risk, and that construction-material costs remained "very volatile." In his presentation he noted the grant reimbursement deadline of April 30, 2028, and described daily monitoring and pumping of existing dump-station tanks after staff found two previously undocumented buried tanks on park property.

After receiving the CMAR pricing, council members concluded the overnight‑cabin proposal was not financially viable under current construction costs and demand assumptions. Council discussion concluded the cabins would not produce sufficient net revenue to justify the estimated capital cost, given current occupancy assumptions and project escalation. One council member summarized the group’s view: the cabin plan has no clear path forward under present market conditions and funding constraints.

Council directed staff to proceed without cabins and to move forward with the gatehouse, renovations to the RV restroom and day‑use area, and boat‑ramp improvements. Staff also was directed to consider adding premium RV slips at a later date as an alternative revenue strategy and to evaluate reallocation of remaining 2021 park bond funds to other over-budget park projects if appropriate. Council asked staff to return with refined scopes and updated budget numbers before any new capital commitments.

No formal vote was required to record the direction; council provided staff with unanimous guidance to remove the cabins from the current project scope and proceed with the smaller set of improvements and follow-up financial analyses.

The park update also included maintenance and regulatory details for the campground’s septic and dump-station systems; staff reported daily tank-level monitoring and one-time pump-outs after locating the two buried tanks. The city will continue coordination with Texas Parks and Wildlife and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the boat‑ramp work and will bring updated cost and grant‑match figures back to the council.