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Hays County is looking to improve roads, and they will need voter support to do it. Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra announced that there will be a road bond on the November election ballot at the regularly scheduled Hays County Commissioners Court meeting Tuesday.
Hays County Pct. 1 Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe said that a lot of the proposed projects are east to west connections, which are very important for “safety, mobility and connectivity.” She added that there should be a balance between the impacts on residents and the benefits of the projects.
“There is a lot of need out in our county. Transportation has always been an important and needed infrastructure. It is something that our residents use every day, and it is still one of the top, if not the top, issues that residents call in about,” Ingalsbe said. “I believe that it’s important to have a process to allow our residents to determine if this is a need that they are willing to fund. … We also need to be conscientious of the impact that this will have on our families.”
Dan Wegmiller, Specialized Public Finance vice president, said the bonds would be issued separately across four to five years and would not hit Hays County’s debt profile immediately. Wegmiller said that growth estimates were used to calculate the impacts of the bond on an individual’s property taxes.
“For someone that has a $400,000 taxable value, 2 cents would be an $80 annual increase,” Wegmiller said. “If it’s a $500,000 home, it’s a $100 increase roughly.”
Carlos Lopez, Hays County GEC program manager, said that in March of 2012 the Hays County Commissioners Court adopted a resolution directing staff to develop a draft program of work for road improvements throughout Hays County.
Cory Grell, HNTB project manager, presented the proposed projects across the county along with the associated costs. Grell said the focus was on
“The total cost of all of the projects within Precinct 1 is $118 million. The total cost of this proposed bond package [for all precincts] is approximately $450 million.”
Cory Grell, HNTB Project Manager
