Plano residents could have a $700.7 million bond package on their ballots in May — and some city council members are concerned about voters having sticker shock.
“It's an unprecedented number,” council member Anthony Ricciardelli said. “It's also an unprecedented projected tax impact. And I think that makes voter education more critical than it has ever been, because this is probably the most consequential bond election in Plano’s history.”
The city council held its final public hearing on Monday on the draft propositions for the potential bond election on May 3. The bond draft includes six propositions with funding for roads, new city facilities and parks.
Ricciardelli said he supported council member Kayci Prince’s suggestion to break up the bond into more propositions. He also asked if there were items that could be postponed for future bond elections to help lower the impact on taxpayers.
Plano Mayor John Muns said he’s open to finding things to trim and understands the bond amount could be a tough pill to swallow. But Muns said the bulk of the projects were necessary to repair the city after a period of rapid growth.
“The developers are gone,” he said. “So now, the onus is on the city of Plano. And so, these are things that we’re responsible for taking care of if we want that city of excellence that everybody talks about.”
Muns warned that waiting too long on certain projects could drive corporations and residents to move to neighboring cities.
The council is scheduled to finalize the propositions at a meeting on Jan. 27 and call for the election Feb. 10.
Proposition A: Street Improvement Projects
The first proposition would put about $342.3 million toward improving roads. This includes repairing and replacing bridges, alleys and improving infrastructure downtown. There’s also funding for new sidewalks, adding turn lanes at various intersections in Plano and for traffic improvements, such as new traffic signals and video cameras at critical intersections.
Proposition B: Public Safety Facilities
The second bond proposition would put $243.6 million toward replacing the Plano Police Department’s headquarters, which is 51 years old. It would also pay for a new 911 dispatch center and to rebuild the city’s police training center.
The $2.4 million also includes money for the Plano Fire Department. The money would pay for 15,000 square foot addition to Fire Station 14 at the Northwest corner of Alma Drive and W. Park Blvd. to address an increase in calls for service and improve response times. It would also fund land acquisition to replace the 48-year-old fire station on Sherrye Drive, the city’s smallest fire station.
Proposition C: Parks and Recreation Projects
Proposition C could put $60.8 million toward city parks, including Hall Park, a new park along Alma Drive and W. Park Boulevard. Other projects include renovations of parks that are 20 years or older and buying land to add parks in the city’s underserved areas.
Proposition D: Fleet Operations Facility
This proposition asks voters to approve $45.1 million for a new fleet maintenance building for the city’s Public Works Department.
Proposition E: Library Facilities
Proposition E includes about $5 million to remodel Schimelpfenig Library, Haggard Library and Parr Library.
Proposition F: City Maintenance Facility
The final proposition would put $3.9 million toward replacing the 41-year-old operations center for the city’s facility maintenance group that’s on 14th St.
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Caroline Love is a Report For Americacorps member for KERA News.
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