Lakeway's $22 million parks bond easily approved; incumbents keep City Council seats

By a more than two-thirds margin, Lakeway voters approved a $22 million parks bond package on Saturday, while Kelly Brynteson, Jennifer Szmanski and Matt Sherman won City Council seats in a four-way race.

Proposition A on the parks bond had 2,623 yes votes, or 67.9%, to 1,243 votes against.

In the City Council race, incumbent Brynteson finished with the most votes with 2,755, while fellow Trustee Szmanski had 2,695. Sherman won the third council seat with 2,182 votes, while Christopher Levy finished fourth with 1,292 votes.

In the race for two seats on the Lake Travis school board, Place 1 Trustee Phillip Davis staved off a challenge from Craig Cancienne, winning with 51.5% of the vote, 4,325 to 3,093. Place 2 incumbent Lauren White defeated Christy Comfort by 51.8% of the vote, 4,389 to 4,077 votes.

Parks bond package

The bond package aims to improve Lakeway parks with a focus on five major projects: a new Butler/Rough Hollow Park, the Lakeway Activity Center, City Park, the Swim Center and Live Oak Tennis Courts.

In 2018, the city paid off it most recent parks bond from 2002 and has not done any major improvements to its parks in 22 years. The city issued surveys, comment cards, reached out to residents via phone and email and hosted two town halls to incorporate public opinion into the final plan and budget, which at one point was up to $25 million.

More: Lakeway residents to vote on $22 million parks bond on May 4

The new Butler/Rough Hollow Park would sit directly behind Rough Hollow Elementary School and would include an all-abilities playground, an amphitheater, a multipurpose sports field, an age-specific ninja course, pavilions with restrooms and picnic tables, a beginner-level mountain bike trail and basketball courts. The budget for Butler/Rough Hollow Park is roughly $2 million. In a citywide survey in October and November, residents expressed overwhelming support for the new park.

Improvements to the Activity Center, at 105 Cross Creek, could include a new playground, picnic areas and landscaping improvements. The budget for improvements to the center is roughly $508,000.

Improvements to City Park, the waterfront park at 502 Hurst Creek Road, would include an extended driving path that wraps around the park, additional parking throughout the park, a beginner's bike park, a skate park, a basketball court, a dog park, a new playground and new restrooms, a community garden, and a kayak launch and beach walking trail.

Updates to Lakeway City Park could include additional pickleball courts and improvements to existing trails. The budget for the park improvements is roughly $10.7 million.

The Swim Center would see a lazy river, an eight-lane lap pool, a splash pad and improvements to the leisure pool. The plan also shows a multipurpose sports field adjacent to the facility, off of Trophy Drive, and building interior improvements. The current skate park, basketball and volleyball courts would be shut down to accommodate additions to the Swim Center. The budget for improvements to the swim center is roughly $6 million.

The bond would allow for a replacement of existing courts at the Live Oak Tennis Center, as well as a new court, additional parking and a plaza with picnic tables, shading and a restroom facility. The budget for tennis center improvements is roughly $2.7 million.

City Council election

Brynteson, a small business owner, was first elected in 2022. She said the biggest issue facing the city is its rapid growth. She mentioned the upcoming RM 620 expansion project as a way to accommodate growth. The four-lane highway is set to expand to six lanes in the coming years.

Brynteson said her goals for the upcoming term are balancing the budget, growing small businesses, transportation and road safety, strategic development and community engagement.

More: 4 vying for 3 spots on Lakeway City Council

“I review our yearly budget carefully and through a microscope,” Brynteson says on her website. “I am the only council member who voted against raising taxes the past two years while I have been on council.”

Szmanski, director of public affairs for the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, first won a council seat in 2022. She said one of Lakeway’s major issues is rapid growth, whether or not the growth is sustainable, and how to move forward with future growth.

Szmanski also mentioned public safety as an issue she intends to focus on and said the city must be open to new ideas and technologies for conserving water. She noted smart development of the upcoming town center as a goal for her reelection.

"A lot of our residents go outside of Lakeway, like Bee Cave or Austin, to do things," Szmanski said. "My goal is to make this a place where residents stay in Lakeway (and) support Lakeway businesses.

Digital advertiser Matt Sherman has served as a Lakeway Zoning and Planning commissioner and was chairman of the 2024 Lakeway Comprehensive Plan panel and president of the Lakeway View homeowners' association. He said the biggest issue Lakeway is facing is its water supply.

“It is crucial that we work together with the Lower Colorado River Authority, our water partners and nearby municipalities to raise awareness in our community, implement strategies for water conservation and foster smart development — not overdevelopment," he said.

One of his goals for Lakeway, Sherman said, is preserving the city’s “unique identity,” while “addressing the goals set by our residents through recent surveys and ongoing communication.”

Levy, the CEO of the NFA Group Inc., said that one of Lakeway’s biggest challenges is a lack of unity.

Levy also stressed the importance of completing the Town Square to drive sales tax and promote in-city commerce, as opposed to residents traveling out of Lakeway to shop and dine.

Lake Travis school board

In the Place 2 race, substitute teacher Comfort lost her challenge to incumbent White, a former teacher. Place 1 incumbent Davis, a Texas State University professor, kept his seat by fending off Cancienne, an executive at a software technology company.

All four candidates said getting more school funding from the state is key. Lake Travis is facing an almost $6.7 million deficit this year, one of many districts statewide predicting that expenses will outweigh revenue. The school district also is facing challenges related to rapid growth and discussions about book challenge policies.

District voters in 2022 approved a $609.2 million bond package to build a second high school and last year passed a $143 million bond measure to build athletic facilities at the new school.

Lake Travis Families PAC, which emerged from the pandemic when some parents became frustrated with masking and school closure policies, has endorsed Cancienne and Comfort. The two candidates align with the PAC’s values of safe schools, academic excellence and maintaining age-appropriate materials in the classroom.

The Lake Travis Voices for Progress PAC formed in 2023, has endorsed Davis and White, the incumbents. PAC officials said the election is important because if both challengers prevail, every sitting board member will have been endorsed by the Families PAC.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Lakeway's $22 million parks bond easily approved by voters