Capital improvement plan includes utilities, streets, and parks
Marble Falls rolled out its updated capital improvement plan during the City Council meeting Aug. 4. The plan includes investing $4.5 million to stabilize banks along Backbone Creek. A federal grant will kick in $2.3 million for the bank and erosion stabilization. Staff photo by Daniel Clifton
A new fiscal year is just around the corner for many municipalities, and for Marble Falls, that means rolling out its latest capital improvement plan.
Marble Falls city staff updated the City Council of the running capital improvement plan during the council’s regular meeting Aug. 4. The five-year plan includes millions of dollars in improvements to utilities, streets, parks, and facilities.
The city plans to augment local taxpayer fund contributions with grants.
“I really want to highlight the grant success we’ve had here because I think it’s wonderful,” city engineer Kacey Paul said. “Obviously, we try to do the most with the dollars that we have, so I feel like it’s great that we’ve been able to get several million dollars in grants coming in this year and next to help us address our infrastructure needs.”
For the 2020-21 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, Marble Falls residents can expect water treatment plant improvements to begin. The long-time planned rehabilitation and expansion of the plant was awarded a construction contract on June 16. Pre-construction plans will be underway in mid-August.
Improvements to the water treatment plant are projected to be completed in early 2021.
The capital improvement plan also includes the rehabilitation and repair of above-ground water storage units across the city. This project will involve sandblasting the tanks, coating the interiors and exteriors, and making repairs and part replacements as needed. It will cost approximately $750,000 when completed in 2024.
The raw water pump station, which was damaged during the October 2018 flood, will also get a makeover. Crews will flood proof the station as well as make general repairs. The work includes building a second floor and moving electrical equipment to that level. The project will also lift pump motors out of the floodplain.
“Nobody can predict the weather, but we hope this will make us more resilient for future floods,” Paul said.
The total budget of the project will be $537,000 and will benefit from the application of a $509,460 grant in 2021.
There are a slew of road construction plans in the works, the most recent of which is the work on Avenue Q from RR 1431 to Broadway. The reconstruction will transition the road from pavement to asphalt and broaden the road to the 31-foot-wide city standard with curbs and sidewalks.
“We’re very excited to see this project underway,” Paul said.
The most expensive item on the list is the Emergency Watershed Program Bank Stabilization Project, which aims to shore up and repair erosion damage from the October 2018 flood. The project consists of improvements to five sites, four along Backbone Creek and one at the city’s raw water intake.
“If you’ve driven by there, you’ve seen the erosion and the unstable condition of that bank,” Paul said about Backbone Creek. “This is going to provide us an opportunity to stabilize that and, hopefully, there will be an opportunity for us to fully stabilize our peninsula.”
A federal Emergency Watershed Program grant will pay for approximately $2.3 million of the project’s projected $4.5 million total.
2 thoughts on “Capital improvement plan includes utilities, streets, and parks”
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The most expensive item of the CIP list is NOT the bank stabilization project. The biggest ticket item is Road work in the Lake marble falls subdivision at 8.5mil followed by the water line instillation at 2.1 mil. And they want to build the roads before installing the water lines.Plus it is only part of the roads in the subdivision. The CIP planners need to have their heads adjusted or need to resign.
I am a happy Marble Falls resident with history of this town for the last 50 years. Watching sleepy transform to a discovered golden paradise by those who helped transform this great town as such. My deep found respect to the engineering dept of this great town. As I read the above article, my heart raced to excitement upon the reinforcement of the Backbone Creek banks, as quoted, “The most expensive item on the list is the Emergency Watershed Program Bank Stabilization Project, which aims to shore up and repair erosion damage from the October 2018 flood. The project consists of improvements to five sites, four along Backbone Creek and one at the city’s raw water intake.” I hope the long term fix is initiated in this process at this time of “fixture”. Like considering that we need to drive pilings down deep into the bedrock and extending above ground elevation to secure further damage the this problem, of course with a decorative facing exposed to the recreation side of wall. It seems like the only logical engineering for saving the Backbone Creek bank in the Johnson/Lakeside Parks from future flood events. Positively awaiting as quoted, ‘A federal Emergency Watershed Program grant will pay for approximately $2.3 million of the project’s projected $4.5 million total..” , could cover the cost as above mentioned. Let’s hope this is taken more serious than the stagnant water which sits at the “Beach”. Maybe another band-aide from the city council. Just hoping “real engineering” is initiated and enacted. Now, I can’t wait to see what the outcome of our banks look like. For the future of this once great sleepy town, Marble Falls, TX.