Lubbock City Council agrees to call $200M street bond election in November
During a special meeting Tuesday evening, the Lubbock City Council directed city staff to move forward with necessary actions to call a new $200 million road bond election in November.
The council came to a unanimous consensus to call the November election, and after some discussion, agreed to present the bond to citizens as recommended by a special citizens committee last week.
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At the direction of the City Council, city staff will now work to finalize the bond ordinance and a resolution calling a Nov. 8 election with a single ballot proposition. Per state law, the council must call two special meetings next week to formally call the election.
The first special meeting is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 16 at 5 p.m. That meeting will include a public hearing where citizens can comment on the proposed bond election. The council will also consider passage of the ordinance on first reading and of the resolution. During the second meeting, set preliminarily for the following day at noon, the council would pass the bond ordinance on second reading.
A citizens advisory committee was appointed in June to make a recommendation to the City Council on how to move forward with street repairs after a failed bond initiative last November. That committee presented its recommendation to the council last Tuesday, Aug. 2, which urged the council to present a single $200 million proposition to fund 17 street reconstruction and expansion projects, notably excluding any funding for work on Broadway.
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That $200 million bond package the council agreed to proceed with is about $25 million larger than the $174.5 million ask that failed last November, though it contains a number of similar projects, like widening portions of 114th Street, and adds a few more.
The proposed bond would also add two neighborhood projects — reconstruction of several streets in the Dunbar-Manhattan Heights neighborhood deemed to be in very poor condition, and paving of unpaved streets in City Council districts one and two focusing on high-density residential areas.
Besides the two neighborhood projects, recommended road expansions listed in the committee’s priority order are:
34th St. from Ave. Q to I-27 (Reconstruction of this section is ongoing; the bond would fund additional “back-of-curb” improvements)
82nd St. from I-27 to MLK Jr. Blvd.
MLK Blvd. from 74th St. to 82nd St.
34th St. from Quaker Ave. to Slide Rd. (Reconstruction of this section is ongoing; the bond would fund additional “back-of-curb” improvements)
146th St. from Quaker Ave. to Indiana Ave.
114th St. from Indiana Ave. to University Ave.
98th St. from Alcove Ave. to Upland Ave.*
Upland Ave. from 34th St. to 50th St.*
66th St. from Alcove Ave. to Upland Ave.*
114th St. from Frankford Ave. to Slide Rd.
Upland Ave. from 50th St. to 66th St.
Upland Ave. from 4th St. to 19th St.*
Milwaukee Ave. from 4th St. to the north city limits*
Upland Ave. from 34th St. to 19th St.
34th St. from Milwaukee Ave. to Upland Ave.
*An asterisk indicates the project is adjacent to a school.
During the meeting, Councilman Steve Massengale expressed disappointment that the recommendation did not include any work on Broadway, which he says is critical and aging thoroughfare. He suggested adding a second ballot proposition that includes revitalization of Broadway from Avenue Q to Avenue E.
"When you look at the recommendations, it's hard to look at it and say you might do 146th Street without addressing Broadway," Massengale said.
Advisory committee chair Heather Keister said during the Aug. 2 meeting that because of the cost and "controversial" nature of a Broadway revamp, the committee advised more time is needed to study and plan such a project.
"The committee felt like it’s very important to build a package that can be supported by the community," Keister said. "We did not want to put forward a project that could potentially put the rest of the bond package at risk. Therefore, the committee did not include Broadway in the final recommendation at this time."
Councilwoman Latrelle Joy said the council will need more time to determine the size and scope of the Broadway project before presenting it to the citizens. Mayor Tray Payne agreed.
"I think the recommendation of the committee … was that they do encourage us to come up with a plan for Broadway, and I think that would be our next step," Payne said Tuesday. "As we move into the fall with priorities, this needs to be a priority."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock City Council agrees to call November street bond election
