Burnet picks City Hall architect
The old Bealls building at 118 E. Polk St. in Burnet is slated to become City Hall in the near future, now that the city has hired an architect to begin design work. Staff photo by Brigid Cooley
Designs for the Burnet City Hall project will be drawn up by Seaux & Pierce, an Austin-based architectural firm. The Burnet City Council approved awarding the contract during its Tuesday, July 13 meeting.
Once renovations are complete, the new City Hall will be located at 118 E. Polk St. in the old Bealls building.
The City Hall Committee recommended pursuing a contract with Seaux & Pierce after interviewing three firms at the end of June, City Manager Dave Vaughn said. Designs by the firm include the Market on H building at 206 Avenue H in Marble Falls.
“A lot of their work, as we looked at it, just really screamed Hill Country, which I think is something the committee felt very strongly about,” Vaughn said. “The (building) needs to be something that represents our community.”
The exact cost of the renovation project can be negotiated now that an architect has been chosen and will likely be between $3 million and $4 million when finished, Vaughn said. To cover these costs, the council will likely approve issuing $5 million in debt to pay for the construction during its next meeting, which is July 27.
“In order to be able to make that work from a budgetary standpoint, we need to be able to pay off the fire station, which currently has an outstanding balance of one million, one hundred, and forty-five thousand dollars,” Vaughn told councilors. “Essentially, by doing that, we free up about $2.2 million in debt capacity.”
During the meeting, councilors voted in favor of a resolution to pay off the fire station debt early.
“The City expects to have sufficient funds available after taxes are collected for the 2021 tax year to pay off a portion of the Callable Obligations prior to their maturity, which will save the City’s taxpayers by reducing the City’s future principal and interest payments on such debt,” the resolution reads.