Kerrville City Council Workshop Summary - January 27, 2026

The Kerrville City Council workshop convened at 4:00 PM on January 27, 2026, at City Hall, 701 Main Street, Kerrville, Texas. No public comments were presented. Staff announced that Agenda Item 2A (New Stormwater Fee Structure) was pulled because the consulting engineering firm from Dallas could not attend; it will be brought back at the next council workshop. The council then received an economic development update and discussed related projects.

Stormwater Fee Structure (Item 2A)

• The item was pulled and deferred; no discussion or action took place. It is scheduled to return at the next council workshop.

Economic Development Update (Item 2B)

• Assistant City Manager Hornes presented a condensed economic development update, noting the story map used last year was not ready because of the transition to the new public safety facility and weather.
• Quality of life projects funded with EIC participation are mostly showing results. The Olympic pool remains the outlier: cost escalation and budget adjustments have consumed some contingency, and staff will meet Friday with architects, contractors, and staff to try to add about $100,000 more to contingency.
• The Shriner House is largely punched out and ready for tenant turnover, but a state testing-and-balancing inspection was postponed; about $150,000 in project savings will be returned to EIC.
• The Caillot Theater is finished and doing well, with warranty items being handled. Granger McDonald Park has a roughly $400,000 gap between the updated probable cost and budget; staff and Upper Guadalupe River Center representatives are working to close it and will reconvene in a few weeks.
• Guadalupe Park is under contract for rebuilding through an agreement involving the community foundation, three NBA teams, and the city. Old damaged playground equipment cannot be donated for liability and insurance reasons and is likely scrap; KSP playgrounds were not damaged.
• Golf course green covers were purchased as freeze protection; the golf course bathroom is still awaiting state approvals. The KPD building has been turned over to the police chief; the 70,000-square-foot facility is still working out issues such as uneven air conditioning and electronically controlled doors.
• Infrastructure work continues on the water treatment plant, wastewater treatment plant, and streets. The Lois storage tank project is awaiting TCEQ and Texas Water Development Board approvals. Travis Street pump station approvals came in about a week after the agency's own deadline, delaying work tied to Lenar's phase-two build-out.
• Agreements noted included the ACOG/Pronto arrangement, the River Hills Mall agreement now under construction, and Whiskey Springs TRES and PID agreements finalized.
• Housing totals cited included: Mariposa has 10 homes under construction with 32 more to go; Habitat has 10 homes under construction; Lenar's Windridge development is close to infrastructure completion and will add about 490 houses; Blue Wood should bring most of its 272 units online by spring; Comanche Trace is phasing its back side, phases 19-24, with 332 total units. Staff said these add up to roughly 1,000 units. The housing study suggested Kerrville needs 2,000-2,500 doors, leaving about 1,000-1,400 more needed.
• Downtown updates included the downtown river trail being delayed until the next TxDOT Transportation Alternatives grant round, likely 2027; a Smithsonian exhibit is scheduled for May 16, 2026; and businesses such as Clint Orms, Water Street Antiques, Pookies, Trailboss, Tail Chasers, Frost Bank, and Panda Express are part of downtown activity.
• Kerrville received state designations: Music City, Bird City, Cultural Arts, and Scenic City (upgraded from silver to gold). Kerrville Pets Alive's new facility is expected to open in June 2026 on Highway 27.
• Todd Bach, invited from the audience, reported about six or seven business retention and expansion projects in the pipeline, including existing businesses expanding and longtime residents opening light manufacturing businesses.
• TURS facade improvement grants drew 42 applications from 24 projects, representing $1.2 million in total projects, $170,000 in grant requests, and only $50,000 available. Staff will send award letters by the end of the week and will discuss additional grants with TURS in March. The list of awardees will be provided to council and will be published because the grants use public funds.
• The KPD building broker process is still open; submissions close on the 6th, after which the submissions will be reviewed. The airport master plan and layout plan are mostly complete; staff said the city did not pursue the transformational EDA grant because it likely did not meet the cluster-of-partnerships criteria. Fire suppression storage tanks were identified as a high-return airport project.

Additional Council Discussion

• A council member asked about recurring flooding in the area between Chinatown and the Wells Fargo building, which flooded again during Friday's rain despite earlier drainage work. Staff responded that the drainage project was completed a couple of years ago; TxDOT sidewalk work along Hill Country Drive is a separate project, and staff would look into the issue.
• Council members discussed using some TURS money for zone-wide benefits, such as informational kiosks or arts-related improvements, rather than only individual grant awards.

Key Outcomes

• No formal votes were taken during the workshop.
• Item 2A will return at the next council workshop.
• Staff will work to add about $100,000 to Olympic pool contingency; meet on the Granger McDonald Park budget gap; send TURS facade grant award letters; publish grant awardees; discuss TURS funding in March; complete the KPD broker solicitation; and plan a KPD grand opening/dedication in the last two weeks of February.