Downtown Marble Falls one step closer to $2.6M in upgrades

The steps and sidewalk along the north side of Third Street between Main Street and Avenue J in Marble Falls tops a six-project list of downtown improvement priorities for the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone Board No. 1.

TIRZ No. 1 ranked six capital improvement projects and five “pay-as-you-go” projects to be presented to the Marble Falls City Council on July 9 for final approval. The board is also recommending the city hire a contracted project manager to oversee all 11 projects. 

A $2 million general obligation bond would be sold to pay for the capital improvement projects with money made available by Oct. 2, when work can begin. Work on the pay-as-you-go projects, estimated to cost $75,000 or less each, can begin immediately.

All of the projects could be completed within two years, said TIRZ No. 1 board Chairman Kyle Stripling.   

“It’s kind of exciting because, in 2013, we started doing this, and now, 11 years later, we have defined projects and we are setting up funding,” he said.   

TIRZ No. 1, which oversees projects to the downtown district, gets its money from a portion of the increased value of property taxes collected above the appraised value in the zone’s base year, which is 2013. The money can only be used to improve the infrastructure within its district to help promote future growth.

Estimated costs for the six capital projects and five other projects are around $2.6 million. Pay for a contracted project manager was set to not exceed $200,000. The position would be temporary. 

This is the first year that Marble Falls TIRZ No. 1 has enough guaranteed annual income to support a bond issue. In another year, the board is expected to consider an additional $2 million bond for other projects. 

Capital project recommendation numbers one through six were presented to the board during its Tuesday, June 25, meeting by Erin Burks, downtown and marketing manager for the city of Marble Falls. After discussion, several projects were moved based on the impact each would have on the district and whether or not the work could begin immediately. 

Board member Richard Westerman, who is also on the City Council, suggested moving up the last project, turning the old public works yard at the corner of Avenue J and Third Street into a parking lot, to at least No. 4 on the list. He cited the positive impact that adding around 60 parking spaces would have as they could serve both downtown and Johnson Park on Avenue J. 

Burks said it’s at the bottom of the list because it is one of several vacant downtown spaces under consideration for a new City Hall. 

“You don’t want to spend money paving and striping it and then have to tear it up for City Hall,” she said. 

Westerman pointed out that the lot is in a flood plain.

“I don’t ever see that being the location for City Hall,” he said. 

The TIRZ board also moved the No. 2 item, additional parking on both sides of Avenue H between Second and First streets, to the No. 6 position. 

“Project No. 2 needs too many dominoes to fall to get there,” Stripling said. 

The board agreed to put that project at the end of the line to give the owners of the China Kitchen building, which was destroyed by a fire on Oct. 5, 2023, time to decide what to do with the property. 

The final projects were approved in this order: 

• Capital 1, $250,000—sidewalk improvements to the north side of Third Street
• Capital 3, $500,000—sidewalk and on-street parking improvements to the north side of Yett Street
• Capital 5, $150,000—drainage and pedestrian improvements to the southwest corner of Main and Third streets
• Capital 4, $500,000—sidewalk and parking improvements to the north side of Fourth Street
• Capital 6, $500,000—paving the old public works yard for parking
• Capital 2—parking on both sides of Avenue H between Second and First streets. 

Pay-as-you-go projects were approved as presented and are: 

• No. 1, $25,000—sidewalk improvements to the west side of the 100 block of Main Street
• No. 2, $75,000—sidewalk improvements to Second Street between Main Street and Avenue J
• No. 3, $75,000—drainage improvements to the north side of Second Street between U.S. 281 and Avenue H
• No. 4, $75,000—improvements to the southeast corner of Avenue J and Third Street
• No. 5, $75,000—sidewalk and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) improvements to the east side of the 400 block of Main Street

All of the projects together plus the project manager’s pay total $2.6 million. Marble Falls TIRZ Board No. 1 has $269,000 in reserve, which can be used to start on the pay-as-you-go projects, Stripling said. Projects at the bottom of the list might have to wait until the next bond issue, depending on how close estimates are to reality when it comes to cost. 

The next TIRZ Board No. 1 meeting is set for noon Oct. 29 in the chambers at Marble Falls City Hall, 800 Third St. 

suzanne@thepicayune.com