Buda begins implementation of 2021 Buda Bonds

BUDA, TEXAS — Buda City officials have begun mobilizing to initiate the implementation of the November 2021 general obligations bond projects by forming a Buda Bond Oversight Committee (BBOC) that will be charged with establishing the scope of bond projects and monitoring progress.

The first meeting of this committee will be held Monday, Feb. 28 at 6:30 p.m. at the Council Chambers in the Municipal Building. During the November 2021 election, voters in the City of Buda approved $89.66 million bond package designed to improve transportation and parks, and recreation.

The Buda Oversight Committee comprises 17 Buda residents and five alternates that Buda City Council appointed during a Jan. 18 regular meeting. This ad hoc committee will ensure that the 2021 bond projects are implemented timely, effectively, transparently, fairly, and with quality and equity.

The BBOC will meet regularly to help track bond expenditures, review procurement methods and evaluate project designs.

In addition, the committee will add a layer of transparency to the bond implementation process as the meetings will be open to the public, and the agenda and minutes will be posted on the Buda Bonds website at www.budabonds.com.

The City has also opened solicitations for Bond Program Management Services, an entity that will provide professional consulting to help the City support management and implementation of the 2021 bond projects.

Bond Program Management Services will help administer bond funds, work to keep the design teams on target and on time, perform quality assurance for design and construction methods, and help with the overall management of the bond program.

Once a firm is selected, the City will issue solicitations for design packages. A number of design teams will be brought on to ensure that all projects receive the attention to advance.

During the design phase, project stakeholders will be invited to participate in scoping the project and discussing the construction sequencing.

Neighborhood meetings will be held with neighborhoods adjacent to projects and bond project workshops to allow residents to provide feedback.

There are more than 13 transportation projects and six park and recreation projects; some of these will take months or years to complete depending on the project’s complexity.

However, the City of Buda will work diligently to provide bond updates throughout the bond’s lifetime.

Below you will find a list of Buda residents appointed by City Council to serve in the Buda Bond Oversight Committee and five alternatives. *Buda Economic Development Corp.

Currently, the City of Buda is in the process of completing the $55 million bond package passed by voters during the November 2014 election for facilities, parks, trails, streets, and drainage improvements. As of February 2022, about 90% of all projects have been completed, only a few projects remain.

Some of the 2014 bond projects remaining include Project Area 1A; this construction project is set to create a flood relief channel from west of the railroad tracks near Buda Mill & Grain across FM 2770 to Onion Creek.

PA1A is scheduled to be completed in the next 30 days; Project Area 1B is another drainage improvement project underway.

The City expects to begin construction for this project in the fall of 2022 as design reviews with Union Pacific, permits, subsurface utility locates/relocates, and land/easement acquisition remain the most critical activities in the project.

For bond updates and more information about workshops and Bond Oversight Committee meetings, visit www.budabonds.com. If you have specific questions about the 2021 bonds, please contact Deputy City Manager Micah Grau at mgrau@ci.buda.tx.us.