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After a lawsuit rendered the voter-approved Hays County Road Bond null and void, Hays County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to post a Notice of Intention to use Certificates of Obligation in an amount not to exceed $240,000,000, which the county estimates will cause a tax rate increase of $0.02 per $100 assessed value, according to official documents. Almost all of the projects, except one in Pct. 4, that were supposed to be funded by the road bond would be completed pending a vote on the issuance of the COs, including approximately 30 road projects related to safety, mobility and connectivity.
“This is in response to the bond program that was put on the ballot in November of last year,” Hays County Commissioner Morgan Hammer said. “This is Certificates of Obligation in lieu of bonds being issued, but it is backed by the majority of voters in Hays County who voted on this bond to move forward with that 2 cents [added to their taxable value].”
PCT. 1 ROAD PROJECTS:
• Old Bastrop Highway/ CR 266 Centerpoint Road to Rattler Road
• Cotton Gin Road/CR 129 Bonanza Street to SH 21
• FM 2001 East Interim Graef Road to Southeast of SH 21 • William Pettus Road/CR 238 - FM 110 to SH 21
• High Road/CR 127 East of Goforth Road to SH 21
• Leah Avenue - CR 269 to Cottonwood Parkway
• Dairy Road Bunton Lane to Cotton Gin Road (CR 129)
• Goforth Road Bunton Lane to Bebee Road/High Road
• Bunton Lane / CR 153 Violet Lane to SH 21 at Gristmill Road
• RM 150 East Preliminary Design Pct. 1 Boundary to SH 21 PCT. 2 ROAD PROJECTS:
• Windy Hill Road Interim - Purple Martin Avenue to FM 2001
• Windy Hill Road Roundabout - Windy Hill at Shadow Creek Boulevard •Windy Hill Road Ultimate - Purple Martin Avenue to FM 2001
• FM 2001 Gap - FM 2001 West to Existing FM 2001
• Hillside Terrace - I35 to FM 2001
• Goforth Road - CR 158 to RM 150
• RM 150 East Preliminary Design Lehman Road to Pct. 2 Boundary
PCT. 3 ROAD PROJECTS:
• Centerpoint Road I-35 to FM 2349/Hunter Road
• Old Kyle Road - RM 12 to RM 3237
• Yarrington Road (RM 150, FM 110) Extension Segment 1 Interim - West of Arroyo
• Ranch to Old Stagecoach Road at RC 16
• Yarrington Road (RM 150, FM 110) Extension Segment 2 Interim - I-35 to Old Stagecoach Road
• Dripping Springs Southwest Connection US 290 to Pct. 3 Boundary PCT. 4 ROAD PROJECTS:
• Darden Hill Road/CR 162 Phase 2 East of Sawyer Ranch Road to RM 1826
• Darden Hill Road Extension - RM 150 West of Springwood Road to West of Sawyer
RANCH-TO-MARKET ROAD PROJECTS:
• RM 150/RM 12 Intersection Safety Improvements - RM 150 at RM 12 Intersection
• Fitzhugh Road/CR 101 - RM 12 to Travis County Line
• Dripping Springs Southwest Connection Pct. 4 Boundary to RM 12
• Sawyer Ranch Road Pedestrian Walkway Meadow Creek Drive to Darden Hill Road
• Sawyer Ranch Road US 290 to Darden Hill Road
• Old San Antonio Road Design/Construction Participation with City of Buda - Main Street to Travis County Line Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra said that some of the projects but not all are “shovelready” and some will require “shared contribution projects” with other funding sources — Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, federal or state — which “will multiply our tax base.”
Hays County Commissioner Michelle Cohen said the road projects are something that is very important to Pct. 1, Pct. 2 and the eastside of the county.
“I feel this is a way to uphold the voice of our constituency who wanted these projects from the beginning,” she said.
Hays County Commissioner Walt Smith said each of the projects listed has had “supporters and detractors,” but the majority of the county was in support of them.
“Our population as a whole supported this bond at the highest … number of voters in an election that our county has ever seen,” Smith said. “I’m not going to walk away from doing the projects that we promised our constituents we would move forward with. … In some very specific cases, if we did not take this action, there would be direct and impactful, negative aspects to public safety that are measurable.”
The commissioners court expects to consider issuance of COs at the Sept. 30 meeting.
