Here is a recap of what was featured in the Wednesday, Jan. 4, e-edition of the Taylor Press. The e-edition is emailed to subscribers and available at www. taylorpress.net.
CRUMBLING CONCRETE PLAGUES HUTTO PARKS DEPT.
HUTTO – City council was divided over a bid for concrete repair on Cottonwood Creek Trail in Creekside Park, citing needs for higher standards and updated specifications.
The contract was recommended for approval by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department at the Dec. 15 meeting.
The scope of work is to tear out, haul off, and replace approximately 650 linear feet of broken concrete in two areas along the trail between Front Street and Carl Stern Drive.
Four companies bid on the project.
Austin-based DigDug Construction submitted a bid that was less than half the cost of the next lowest bid and won the city staff’s recommendation. However, council members seemed concerned that the disparity between DigDug’s bid of $67,877 and the next lowest bid of $143,000 might come with a hidden cost.
Though council members agreed in principle, the path forward proved contentious. At the end, concerns over the trail’s hazardous condition prevailed and the council voted 4-3 to proceed with awarding the contract but also issue a change order with Dig Dug to increase the sand base to levels recommended by the public works department. If the cost for the change is not more than a 25% increase, the city manager is authorized to proceed with the contract.
SAMSUNG HIGHWAY NAMED
At the Dec. 20 regular meeting, Williamson County Commissioners named a stretch of road just south of the semiconductor fab site between County Road 404 and Farm to Market 973 “Samsung Highway.”
Previously called “Future County Road,” Samsung Highway will eventually connect Farm to Market 3349 and Farm to Market 973 with a four-lane roadway with additional safety features.
According to Williamson County’s list of Southwest Taylor Improvements, the highway will be completed in segments.
County spokeswoman Connie Odom said on July 19, 2022, the Commissioners Court selected Chasco to complete segment 1, from CR 404 to FM 973.
The court approved $11.3 million for the project, and it should be completed by fall 2023, according to county officials.
HUTTO ISD CONSIDERS $482 MILLION BOND TO ACCOMMODATE GROWTH
HUTTO – Hutto Independent School District Board of Trustees is considering a $482 million bond package that will pay for new schools, renovation and maintenance of existing schools and technology upgrades.
If it proceeds, the bond will be on the ballot in May, 2023. The last Hutto ISD bond was passed in 2019.
The Long-Range Facilities Planning Committee presented the bond recommendations to a packed house at the Dec. 8 board meeting. No community members spoke against the bond during the public comment period before the presentation. The board has until Feb. 17, 2023, to decide whether to formally call a school bond election.
