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A number of city parks projects are set to move forward through various stages, should the Abilene City Council approve the measures Thursday.
The council also is scheduled to hear a report from the Mayor’s Entertainment District Task Force, which is expected to offer a recommendation against any special alcohol rules for downtown.
Beginning with the 8:30 a.m. meeting Thursday, the council will hold only morning meetings at City Hall, 555 Walnut St., the rest of the calendar year.
Park trails and bathroom improvements coming
Council will consider four different agenda items relating to the status of the city’s parks, with the most pressing being Stevenson Park’s improvements.
More: Let Us Breathe seeing new life at Stevenson Park, with more changes to come
City Manager Robert Hanna said Stevenson Park’s project aims to address some deficiencies, made glaring during a recent Juneteenth celebration that spurred council action.
Bathroom renovations, pavilion construction and improvements at the basketball and tennis courts — including resurfacing and lighting installations — are all part of the plan. But there’s a snag: Hanna said the cost is more than $200,000 higher than the original plan.
“That is a direct reflection of construction cost increases over the last 12 months and supply chain concerns based on the pandemic,” Hanna said. “Experts are saying that may not be figured out until 2023, fully, though I think the contractor community is just reacting to the price increases they have as well.”
Hanna said the higher price will become part of a new plan, augmenting the original budget for the improvements that hit on a quality-of-life issue he said the city will address in the coming years with greater park investment.
Originally, the city budgeted about $342,000 for the project. The additional needed, bringing the total project budget to about $550,000, will come from the city’s minor improvement funds, if approved by council.
Abilene-based Justice Construction Inc. was selected as construction manager for the project.
Other park projects on Thursday’s agenda are:
► Approving a new contract with the management team at the Rose Park tennis center, currently Chris Redman, for about $79,500 per year for the next five years. There are two additional optional extensions also included in the contract, each for five years, as well. It’s about $9,000 more than the previous contract, the first increase in nine years, Hanna said.
► Approving design stage contracts with JACOB | MARTIN LLC to bring a prefabricated restroom facility to Cobb Park and a pavilion and splash pad to Lee Park. The project will cost about $76,000 to design.
► Hiring JACOB | MARTIN LLC to also design pathway expansion and improvements to Sears, Nelson and Redbud parks. The three pathways, Hanna said, will expand from 8 feet to 10 feet wide, granting more space for runners, walkers and bicyclists to all enjoy the outdoor space.
“If you go look at our peer communities in the state, our parks systems are woefully behind,” Hanna said. “We are not competitive with our peer communities, the 10 cities we look at. I think quality of life is an important part of living in a city, it’s why you choose to live in a place.”
New alcohol rules not needed
A downtown entertainment district is being proposed for Abilene’s downtown area, but new rules allowing off-site alcohol aren’t needed, according to recommendations from a city committee tasked with studying the proposal.
More: Council gives nod to task force to study ‘entertainment district’ in downtown, SoDA
Since being formed in April, the Mayor’s Entertainment District Task Force studied the need for a special area consisting of both downtown and the SoDA (South of Downtown Abilene) district.
After months of meeting with business and civic leaders and consulting lawmakers and police, the task force found the special area would be beneficial, though the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission already regulates off-premises alcohol.
Additional findings identified improving pedestrian lighting, creating more parking areas and streamlining the event process as beneficial aspects of the proposed dntertainment district.
A full-time downtown coordinator could be brought in to help facilitate some things, as well as educating those in the district as to what can be expected.
There’s a focus, Hanna said, on promoting a family-friendly downtown.
Hanna said the task force will make a pair of recommendations Thursday that the city’s staff will oppose: extending the hours of downtown’s Everman and Minter parks to 2 a.m.; and allowing for alcohol consumption at the parks.
Hanna said the staff opposes these two as they don’t further the “family-friendly” mission for downtown and would likely cause enforcement issues downtown.
Council is expected to hold a public hearing on the matter but not make any decisions based on the recommendations Thursday.
More: Downtown entertainment district board returns to Abilene council agenda
Timothy Chipp covers education and is general assignments reporter for the Abilene Reporter-News. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.
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