Let’s talk about bonds. Roger Moore or Sean Connery?
No, not those Bonds, but rather bonds issued by states, cities, counties and other governmental entities to raise money to build roads, schools and a host of other projects for the public good. I’m assuming by now you have heard that Boerne ISD will have a bond election in May 2022 and the city of Boerne will have its own in November. The school district is in the middle of what I would call the outreach stage, where advocates for the bond are out getting the word out to voters, what the bond is made up of and how it will or will not affect the tax rate. In its case, because the school district is seeing such growth, even with a vote in favor of the bond, the bond will not lead to higher tax rates. Where is the city in its process? So
Where is the city in its process? So far, we have had two workshops to discuss all things parks and recreation, which includes open space purchasing, and facilities, which includes new facilities as well as upgrades to existing facilities.
By the time of print, we should have had our third workshop on roads and sidewalks. This would mostly, if not all, be for updates to existing roads vs. “new roads.” All topics come straight from the Boerne Master Plan as goals our citizens desire.
In a perfect world, we could make it all happen, and no one’s tax rate would be affected. However, add all these together and we are looking at a large price tag. So, the council will hear about all three topics, then start prioritizing what we think the voters would want and how much they would want.
Part of the negative with being a fast-paced growth city/area is how quickly all things city related can become outdated, over capacity and/ or lack services needed, etc.
Digging in a bit in each of the categories: For parks, the biggest project, both price tag wise and inclusion of master plan items, is the completion of the Northside Park at Adler and Toepperwein Road. For facilities, the highest priority is the completion of a new fire station either at Regent Park or Esperanza.
Public safety will always be the council’s number one priority. And finally for roads, the update to Adler Road will likely be one of the top projects. If you have not driven Adler lately, there are clear signs of stress, and with this being our current relief route for downtown events, high flow for school and even more so with the potential park project, Adler needs some updates.
These examples are only part of what falls into each category. I recommend checking out the past meetings to get an understanding of what falls into each category.
As we decide on what projects to add, we will, of course, be reaching out to the community for advocates to help get the word out.
Just to say it again, all these projects come straight from the Boerne Master Plan. Our job is to narrow that group down into what we feel won’t overburden the average Boerne household, help maximize what we can get with the bond and make sure these are lasting projects.
An example would be Adler Road combined with drainage updates and Northside Park, which might also have a regional detention facility. These three combined help check more boxes than doing projects independently.
Stay tuned for more communication and updates starting in April or May. We will need to have a finalized list by August to get on the November ballot.
Cheers Boerne!
Ty Wolosin is a member of the Boerne City Council.
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