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Board trims Blue Hole nature center contract, drops formal LEED certification to save costs
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Summary
Board considered Lake|Flato’s contract for the Blue Hole Nature Center, endorsed scaling back to a classroom + restroom scheme within a $4 million construction budget, and voted to remove the formal LEED certification requirement (saving about $87,600) while keeping high environmental standards in design.
The board reviewed survey results and contract terms for the Blue Hole Nature Center and voted to remove the formal LEED certification requirement from the discovery/design contract while keeping LEED-like design standards.
Staff presented public-survey findings that prioritized trails, outdoor interpretive exhibits and watershed protection; only about 15% of respondents reported using Blue Hole primarily for swimming. Working with Lake|Flato, staff said the project was scaled back from a larger concept to a 2,080-square-foot classroom building with separate restroom facilities and outdoor interpretive exhibits to fit a $4,000,000 construction budget (architectural fees and construction budgets were discussed separately).
On the contract scope, staff said removing the LEED paperwork would save roughly $87,600 in fees. "They could build to the specs, LEED-adjacent, do everything like they would, but take out the paperwork," staff said. Board members debated whether formal certification was worth the cost and whether the certification affects grant competitiveness. Staff reported none of the grants they reviewed required LEED certification.
A motion to remove the LEED certification requirement was moved and seconded and the board voted in favor. The board instructed staff to continue designing to high environmental standards and to pursue grants and community fundraising to close the remaining construction funding gap; staff reported $3,000,000 from a Hays County parks bond and said the project still needs roughly $1,000,000 from other sources.
The design contract discussed is for an initial discovery/schematic phase (staff described a total contract figure of $915,780 for the planning/architectural work if LEED certification paperwork is removed). Board members asked for geotechnical work, a careful look at parking/bus turnarounds and attention to scale so the nature center would not compete with the community center.
