Round Rock City Council Packet Briefing - July 8, 2025
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Round Rock City Council Packet Briefing - July 8, 2025
The meeting began with a moment of silence for victims of the Kerr County tragedy and a call for donations to Wilco CARES. The council then reviewed and discussed multiple agenda items scheduled for the regular city council meeting, including staff briefings, a long-range financial plan presentation, and several resolutions and ordinances. No public comments were made during the packet briefing.
Staff Briefings (D.1)
- Council discussed general agenda items with no specific questions raised.
Presentation: Long Range Financial Plan (E.1)
- Kevin provided a high-level overview of the five-year financial plan for fiscal years 2026-2030. Key assumptions include 2.9% annual population growth, moderate sales tax growth of 3% annually, and stable economic outlook. The city anticipates $38 million (21%) revenue growth over five years, with property tax and sales tax achieving more balance. Major operating costs from 2023 bond projects (fire station 11, second recreation center, Old Settlers Park) are factored in. The plan shows stable financials with potential surpluses in 2029-2030. Council asked about the M&O rate cap (3.5% growth) and the impact of the new TMRS option (HB 3161).
Discussion Items
F1 - CDBG Proposed Budget
- Staff presented the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) budget: $672,184 total allocation. Social services funding of $100,827 proposed for Round Rock Area Serving Center (food pantry $30,000, housing assistance $30,000), CASA ($20,000), and Meals on Wheels ($20,827, up $4,000 from prior year). The city adds $250,000 from general fund, totaling $350,827 for nonprofits. Project side: $300,000 for 2,900 linear feet of sidewalk in Green Slopes neighborhood; remaining funds for home repair program (up to $25,000 per home). Council discussed home repair backlog ($300,000 in prior balances) and ability to reallocate funds between projects.
F2 - Concrete Walkways/Plazas Repair with Dig Doug
- Resolution to execute contract for $217,335 to replace heaving concrete walkways and plazas at soccer and softball fields to maintain ADA compliance. Council discussed soil stabilization methods (geo-grid, deeper base) and noted major renovations date to 2007.
F3 - Rock Hollow Park Trail Repair with Myers Concrete
- Resolution for $268,304 to raise a concrete walkway at Rock Hollow Park affected by beaver dams and flooding. Council joked about beaver removal; city has relocated beavers but they return.
F4 - BSN Sports Agreement
- Resolution for $180,000 not-to-exceed for sports equipment (goals, netting, etc.) through March 2028, available to all city departments via cooperative purchase.
F5 - WEX Bank Fuel Card Services
- Resolution to renew contract for $480,000 with WEX Bank for fuel cards and processing. Contract aligns with SourceWell Cooperative, extends five years from September 2025. Council noted 90% coverage of Texas gas stations, 1% rebate, and audit capabilities.
F6 - Chandler Creek Wastewater Line GMP with Spall Glass
- Resolution for guaranteed maximum price $1,548,721 to upsize a 12-inch wastewater line to 15 inches to serve future growth and Old Settler Park expansion. Construction expected to begin later in July 2025.
F7 - Clay/Madison Rec Center Expansion Master Plan with Brinkley Sargent Wigington
- Resolution for $215,732 to develop a park master plan and facility assessment of the existing rec center (part of 2023 bond). Master plan expected in three months; bond funds cover immediate rehab (waterproofing, sewer line). Long-term plan to be presented for future bond consideration.
F8 - Traffic Signal Design with HDR
- Resolution for engineering contract to design a traffic signal at Chandler Road and 130 in northeast ETJ. Council discussed right-turn lane lengths (200-400 feet) and drainage culvert challenges. Project includes future development impacts.
G1 - PUD Amendment for 10 Applegate Circle (Multifamily)
- Staff presented two options for amending the PUD to allow surface parking instead of structured garage, reducing maximum units from 410 to 350 and height from six to five stories. Disagreement on parking lot landscaping: staff and Planning & Zoning recommend standard code (interrupting islands every 10 spaces with trees); applicant requests 90 sq ft per 12 spaces without island requirement, proposing larger trees. Council debated trade-offs between unit count, heat island mitigation, and site constraints (steep slopes, creek). Applicant expected to present at regular meeting. Staff recommended approval of staff's version; no final decision at briefing.
G2 - Rezoning 2.001 acres on Gattis School Road (Church)
- Rezoning from OF1 (office) to PF1 (public facilities, low intensity) to allow existing church use. Planning & Zoning unanimously recommended approval. No opposition noted.
G3 - Temporary Speed Limit Reduction on I-35 overpass
- Ordinance to reduce speed to 35 mph during construction of retaining wall repairs on the south approach. Signs and message boards will be used; speed limit reverts automatically after project completion.
Key Outcomes
- No final votes were taken; all items are scheduled for the regular city council meeting on July 8, 2025 (evening session). Council expressed general support for most items but indicated further discussion on the PUD amendment (G1) and the parking lot landscaping dispute. Item F9 (water/wastewater service agreement) was pulled for continued negotiations. The long-range financial plan will be incorporated into the FY 2026 budget workshop on July 24, 2025.
Meeting Transcript
Morning. Before I gavel in, I think we're all uh heartbroken and saddened to see what uh our neighbors are going through and our central Texas regions going through uh in Kerr County. I can't even fathom what these families are going through with that have these young young children uh and just uh others that have lost their lives. So I'd like to take a moment of uh silence uh for to remember all these families. Thank you all, and I would encourage everybody that can. Uh there's plenty of places that are taking donations, uh, monetary or the other. Uh and uh Wilco CARES has been opened up again, uh, which is patterned after Round Rock Cares, and we saw what Round Rock Cares has done in this community. So uh just think about that. Open up the packet briefing at 7 30 and please call the row. Mayor Morgan here, Mayor Pro Tim Stevens here, Councilmember Lee. Here, Councilmember Flores here, Councilmember Fleming here, Councilmember Artega here, Councilmember Montgomery. Here. All right, D1 consider staff briefings and council member discussion or questions regarding items on the agenda for the meeting date city for the meeting city council meeting. All right. Uh we have no presentations, we have a minutes. Anybody have any questions on the minutes? Uh resolutions F one consider public testimony regarding the resolution to approved in the city of Round Rock City BG. Joe, you're not gonna let Liz do it. You know, I offered it to her, but uh she respectfully declined. Good morning, Mayor and Council. Morning. Okay, so this item is the CBG proposed budget. Um our C B G budget allocation for the upcoming fiscal year is six hundred and seventy-two thousand one hundred and eighty-four dollars, which is a slight increase over the previous year. And we can use a maximum of 15% of the total budget to support local nonprofits through our social service funding, and we can use a maximum of 20% of the budget uh to administer our grant program, and the remaining 65% is reserved for our project side. Looking at the social services side, the C D BG and general fund social service applications are made available on the city's website to all the nonprofit agencies. Applications are submitted online and are available mid-February and are due mid-March. A courtesy email is also sent to every nonprofit that has ever applied in the past, and we place an ad in the Round Rock leader as well. Once applications are received, staff review the applications and conduct a risk analysis using set criteria and performance measures. Staff proposes funding recommendations that are presented for your consideration and approval. And this year, our social services budget is 100,000 eight hundred twenty-seven dollars, and we propose using 30,000 for the Round Rock Area Serving Center's food pantry program, 30,000 for their housing assistance program, 20,000 for CASA, and 20,827 for the Meals on Wheels program. These funding levels are the same as the previous year, with the exception of Meals on Wheels receiving an additional $4,000 due to the uh increase in the grant. And this council really should be commended that in addition to the maximum 100,000,827 we can use for uh funding local nonprofits. The city contributes an additional 250,000 dollars from the general fund. And this council is one of the few who support nonprofits at that level. Uh, this year's total proposed financial support from the city to our local nonprofits is 350,827. On the project side, uh, we are limited and must serve low to moderate income areas as designated by the U.S. Census or individual residents who qualify as low to moderate income under for the federal guidelines. Each year, Liz accepts applications from city departments in LMI areas, and this year public works applied for $300,000 to install $2,900 linear feet of sidewalk in the green slopes neighborhood. And we propose to use remaining funds for the home repair program. This is the map showing the Green Hill neighborhood to help orient you. Uh this is Gattis School Road here on the south running east and west. This is Joe. Yeah, we don't have screens up here. So we're not seeing anything that they're trying to fix it, but we're not seeing anything that you're showing. Okay. Uh sorry about that. No worries, not appreciate the heads up. I saw the frantic looks on the dias. I was like, uh uh. And it's that's not behind you.
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