During a meeting that didn’t adjourn until almost 2 a.m. today, the city council authorized the development of an athletic complex in Northeast Kyle that will contain an indoor recreation center, a tennis complex that could be the site of a pro tour stop in the near future, and a tournament-class indoor/outdoor volleyball facility along the ability to add even more similar amenities at a later date, almost all of which will be paid for through private investments.
The city finally getting its own recreation center alone is the realization of a dream shared by a large number of Kyle residents, who, according to a citizen survey included in the most recent Parks Master Plan listed an indoor rec center at or near the top of their wish list for the city.
During the marathon meeting, the council also approved on first reading an ordinance replacing the city’s Ethics Code, agreed to banish the electric sign at City Square Park, approved a consent agreement that could lead to major commercial development along either side of FM 1626, passed on first reading a design guide intended the improve the quality of life for those living in new residential developments, and received no significant public input during the first in a series of public hearings on the FY 2017-18 budget and a proposed tax rate of $.5416 per $100 of assessed taxable property valuation.
City Manager Scott Sellers told the council that a series of agreements, the details of which will be brought before the council fairly soon, with private entities, will ultimately produce "a very, very innovative solution to a problem the city has been wresting with for the last 10 years and that is how do we fund a recreation center for the citizens of Kyle. Ten years-plus ago, the city received about 45 acres of land at the corner of Beebee and Dacy and engaged in a roughly million dollar architectural study with a firm, Marmonmok out of San Antonio. At the time it was discussed publicly and actually brought before council to appropriate $20 million for the facility, but at the time it was not a high enough priority on the city’s list of many, many projects to fund. So it has set idle for the last 10 years.
"About a year ago the city had the good fortune of being visited by several entities that wanted to so some form of recreation in the city. We looked at various parcels for those entities. It became apparent the city actually had a very good opportunity to leverage this Kyle Vista Park for a ground-lease situation with these entities. We had several entities over the last year that have we have been negotiating with. At this point we still have two that we are working with."
Sellers said the agreements call for the city to provide park land to these entities for $20,000 a year for 10 years and in return the entities will construct and provide certain recreational facilities.
"What we have done is we have brought entities together to satisfy a need in the community without impacting our tax rate," the city manager said.
Sellers said he could not reveal the names of the entities the city is negotiating with but could describe the type of facilities these entities planned to install in Kyle Vista Park:
"The first one is a tournament quality tennis complex with multiple outdoor courts and several center courts that are covered. The facility may actually house national tournaments or larger. The other entity is a tournament-class indoor/outdoor volleyball facility that will have a dozen or so courts, plus outdoor sand courts. This facility will be allowed to be multi-purpose for other indoor activities such as basketball. We are working with yet another entity that would have a large recreational-type facility that will also be multi-purpose for any sort of indoor sporting activity."
Sellers said there is also the possibility the city could partner with the school district to locate a natatorium at the facility. He said the two parties have already discussed such a joint venture. "For one reason or another, that did not materialize. However, I am of the understanding that option could still be on the table. If so, the city would very much like to continue to explore that."
Sellers said the city might still fund a skate park or a splash pad at the facility with taxpayers funds along with "a walking trail that goes around the entire complex. There may be soccer as part of this. There may be some sort of baseball or softball option here."
He said the city is still looking for private entities that would like to bring non-competing sports facilities to the project "so we can have the broadest range of recreational opportunities for our citizens."
Mayor Todd Webster said he was not aware of another municipality that had participated in a project that was this creative.
"Instead of waiting another 20 years for a recreation center, we’re really going to achieve something special by moving in this direction," Webster said. "We’re bringing in the types of things people are looking for."
Council member Travis Mitchell said the project made him extremely proud of the city’s staff.
"This typifies the culture at the City of Kyle," Mitchell said. "The $20 million price tag was a non-starter for everyone on council. Instead of having a staff that chose to just let this slide off the table, the city manager brought forward an impossible solution. It’s the truest definition of making lemonade out of lemons that I’ve seen at City Hall since I’ve been here. It makes me really proud of staff to know that you’re just not taking a non-starter as a non-starter but instead are finding creative ways of saving money while at the same time getting more than we ever hoped. This is a great testament to our city manager and our staff who didn’t quit on this thing."
I’ll have more to write on this city council meeting tomorrow evening.
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