The City of Buda’s Capital Improvement Plan is a five-year planning document that outlines the timing, scope, and funding of major infrastructure and facility projects to support growth and maintain services. It is developed annually alongside the City’s budget and draws from the City’s numerous planning documents and public feedback. The CIP includes projects across multiple categories, including mobility (roads and intersections), parks and recreation, water and wastewater systems, drainage improvements, reclaimed water, and city facilities. Funding sources identified in the plan include voter-approved bonds, utility revenues, grants, and other financing mechanisms. However, actual funding and project timing remain subject to City Council appropriation and annual review. Inclusion in the CIP does not guarantee that a project will be constructed on the schedule shown; adjustments are made based on needs and funding availability.

The City of Buda adopts and maintains a multi-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) to guide the planning, funding, and delivery of major infrastructure and facility investments that support community growth, service reliability, and quality of life. In addition, voter-approved bond programs provide a dedicated funding source for many of the City’s transportation, parks, drainage, and public facility projects.

To ensure transparency, fiscal responsibility, and accountability to the community, the City Council receives regular updates on the status of CIP and bond-funded projects. These quarterly updates provide an overview of project progress, schedules, budgets, and anticipated milestones, and highlight any significant changes, risks, or funding considerations that may affect delivery. 

The purpose of this agenda item is to present the quarterly Capital Improvement Program and Bond Update, allowing City Council to review current performance, confirm alignment with adopted priorities, and provide policy direction as needed.

On June 16, 2026, Council gave direction to design and construct all of Austin Street, all of Old Black Colony, and the western portion of W Goforth Road (west of Bonita Vista/Arikara). The following design and direction are requested from Council. On August 17, 2026, Staff presented to the Mobility Committee, which was made aware of these items, and the Committee provided comments on each.

A. Old Black Colony Road Screening Wall: 
A councilmember requested that staff evaluate adding a screening wall along the back of existing residential homes. Staff evaluated the impact and design and construction options for the screening wall for Council consideration. Staff considered existing conditions, including items on property owners’ properties, which could include landscaping, irrigation, sheds, play equipment, trees, and the existing sidewalk on Summer Pointe HOA property. The proposed screening wall would be an 8’ “fence-crete” type, likely requiring 18” to 24” footing foundations. Option 1 is the replacement of the existing wooden fence with a masonry screening wall at the existing wooden fence line. Option 2 is the construction of a masonry screening wall, offset approximately 3 feet from the existing wooden fence; removal of the existing wooden fence; and construction of wooden fences to tie to the new masonry wall location. The screening wall is not guaranteed to reduce noise, nor is it analyzed or designed to do so. Each option will have a cost impact of about $1.2M should easements be required and will delay construction at least five months to acquire easements and make design modifications. Conversely, a screening wall could be managed separately from the OBC road construction.

If direction is given to design and construct the screening wall, outstanding items to resolve include ownership of the wall, wall type, timeline for wall construction, who obtains easements, how the wall is incorporated into the roadway reconstruction, and the funding source for design, management, and construction. Staff requests a Council decision on whether to include the screening wall in the project and, if so, which option, or to disregard it altogether.

A2. Old Black Colony Road Parkland Impacts for Information Only. No action required. 
Staff is informing Council of an upcoming public notice and hearing for the Old Black Colony Road project. Throughout the design process, the City and project team have worked to minimize impacts to adjacent property owners while delivering the roadway improvements identified in the Transportation Master Mobility Plan (TMMP). The project has been presented to City Council and the public on multiple occasions, and feedback has helped refine the design. To reduce impacts to private property and limit additional right-of-way acquisition, portions of the roadway alignment were shifted into City parkland. While this results in impacts to the park, it substantially reduces impacts to adjacent property owners and represents the most balanced solution identified through the design process. The 60% design was approved in October 2025, and the project is now nearing completion of the 90% design and land acquisition phases. The next step is to formalize the parkland de-dedication necessary to incorporate the affected parkland into the public right-of-way.

A public notice was issued on September 15, 2026, in accordance with Chapter 26 of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Code. Before parkland may be used for a public project, the City must determine that no feasible and prudent alternative exists and that all reasonable planning has been undertaken to minimize harm to the remaining parkland. These findings must be adopted by ordinance following public notice and a public hearing scheduled for October 20, 2026. Please see the public notice for more information. No action or decision is requested of Council at this time. 

B. Austin Street Reconstruction Dumpster Plan: 
A major goal of the Austin Street Reconstruction Project is to design a holistic solution for downtown streetscaping in this transition zone between commercial and residential areas, including the creation of pedestrian spaces. One challenge along Austin Street is the placement of commercial dumpsters within the public right-of-way. The original design direction was to relocate dumpsters from the right-of-way onto private property. Multiple meetings were held with affected property and business owners to discuss this approach; however, challenges were identified, and consensus was not reached.

Staff is requesting Council direction on a revised dumpster plan. The proposed approach includes one shared dumpster location per block within the public ROW, designed with screening and a concrete pad as part of the City's project and serviced daily. Businesses will have the option to participate in the shared dumpster program through an agreement with the City. Businesses that choose not to participate will be required to relocate their individual dumpsters to private property. Any coordination, relocation, and screening related to private dumpsters will be the property owner's responsibility. Council input and direction on the proposed approach are requested.

C. W Goforth Road: 
The project is currently at the 60% design phase. On June 16, 2026, Council directed Staff to proceed with design and construction of the western segment of the project, west of Bonita Vista/Arikara. Staff is requesting direction regarding the future design, right-of-way acquisition, and utility relocations for the eastern segment, east of Bonita Vista/Arikara. Two options are presented for Council's consideration.

Option 1 is to create a "shovel-ready" project. With Option 1, the City would complete the design of the eastern segment, prepare final construction documents, acquire the necessary right-of-way and easements, and coordinate utility relocations. This approach would create a "shovel-ready" project positioned to compete for future funding opportunities and advance to construction when funding becomes available.

Challenges associated with this option include the need for utility relocations without a defined construction schedule, potential difficulties with right-of-way acquisition, and limited public support for the proposed improvements.

Option 2 shelves the design as-is. Benefits of Option 2 include the potential for passive acquisition of ROW and easements through future development and platting, often at little or no cost to the City. This option also shifts to the future approximately $2 million in additional expenditures for final design, metes-and-bounds surveying, utility relocations, land acquisition, and related services. From a program-wide financial perspective, Option 2 is best given debt commitments through FY2027. However, the project would not be shovel-ready and would be less competitive for future funding opportunities. If Council selects Option 2, interim improvements, such as mill-and-overlay or pavement striping, could still be considered for the eastern segment.

The quarterly Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and Bond Update provides City Council with a consolidated view of the City’s active and planned capital projects, including those funded through voter-approved bond programs. This update includes the status of projects, references to budgets and scopes, and identifies any emerging risks, funding constraints, or coordination issues that could affect delivery. Through this review, staff assesses and presents project milestone updates, constraints, program trends, anticipated yearly outlooks, and next steps for the CIP and Bond Program. Council communication allows staff to maintain the project focus and respond to changing conditions while maintaining the overall communication of the City’s capital program.

Decisions on A, B, and C will affect time, expenditures, and potential construction timelines of other Proposition A bond projects. If Council directs inclusion of the screening wall on Old Black Colony and full design through land acquisition (Option 2) on W Goforth Road, Staff will need to confirm the availability of funds for construction of the RM967 Deceleration Lanes, RM967 Right Turn Lane, and Austin Street Reconstruction projects later in FY2027. 

If Council directs the inclusion of screening walls on Old Black Colony, there will likely be a follow-up direction needed from Council regarding easement types, ownership, maintenance responsibilities for the screening walls, and other details.

A. The Old Black Colony screening wall, if added, will have a $1.2M impact. Funding of this element is not yet decided upon and therefore impacts to the 2021 bond project and program are not fully defined. 

B. The proposed Austin Street dumpster plan has not been fully quantified but is not expected to change the financial projections of the project. 

C. The W Goforth Road decision on the east side will have a $2M impact. If Council selects Option 1, approximately $2M is a cost avoidance. If Council selects Option 2, funding for design, land acquisition, and utility relocations will be from Proposition A bond funds. Pursuing full design, ROW acquisition, and utility relocation for the eastern segment may affect the City's ability to advance other Proposition A projects into construction during FY2027. 

Pros: 
A. Old Black Colony: The advantages of constructing the screening wall include improving aesthetics along the proposed roadway. 

B. Austin Street: Advantages of the proposed dumpster plan include generally fulfilling the project's intent to improve the streetscape and to address business and property owner concerns about moving shared dumpsters to private property. The proposed dumpster plan is likely to find favor with business and property owners. 

C. W Goforth Road: Advantages to Option 1 to design, obtain ROW, and relocate utilities include creating a shovel-ready project, which could lead to grant funding or more compelling use of future CIP or bond funds. This approach is also consistent with the public's awareness of the project and more closely aligned with the intent of the 2021 BudaBonds-scoped project. Advantages to Option 2 to shelve the project, as-is, are avoidance of $2M of expenditures to be utilized within the program; affected property owners are likely to find favor with this option; and the project is well suited for a future bond program to fund and advance.  

Cons: 
A. Old Black Colony: Disadvantages to constructing the screening wall are the impact on project cost and time. Also, the acquisition of easements from all property owners is anticipated to be challenging, costly, and time-consuming. Another disadvantage of the wall construction is the potential public perception that it will reduce road noise, which is not guaranteed. 

B. Austin Street: The “cons” of the proposed dumpster plan are that the locations of dumpsters remain in the right-of-way, although screened, and that it reduces the number of public on-street parking spaces. The proposed plan will require property owners to sign agreements for the use of shared dumpsters. This process, agreement, timeline, and impacts to property owners will need to be defined and may be challenging. 

C. W Goforth Road: Disadvantages to Option 1 to design, obtain ROW, and relocate utilities include spending bond funds on a project that has no timeline for construction when funds are needed through the end of FY2027 to advance other Proposition A projects. Option 1 also has low public acceptance. Disadvantages to Option 2, to shelve the project as is, are delaying project readiness on the east side.  

A. Old Black Colony: The screening wall is not a requirement by code. Therefore, the screening wall is not required with the widening of Old Black Colony Road. Another alternative is that the screening wall could be fully HOA-led, paid for, and managed, and completed outside the City's project if the screening wall replaces the wooden fences in their existing locations. An alternative is that the construction and cost of the screening wall would be the property owner's responsibility if the wall is desired. In either case, the private contractor would be required to protect or reconstruct the existing sidewalk if damaged. Advantages include that the City would not need to obtain 30+ easements, the roadway design would not be impacted, and the estimated expenditure of $1.2M would not be allocated from other Proposition A projects. 

B. Austin Street: The alternative solution for addressing dumpsters is to require that all dumpsters be placed on private property. Staff will direct the design of Austin Street to include driveways into each property for dumpster access. On-street parking spaces will be reduced accordingly. Staff will notify property owners of this direction and the location of their new driveway, with the property owners working directly with TDS for access on private property. Property owners must use new driveway locations for dumpster access. Every property owner will be required to bear the cost of moving the dumpster to private property, creating a TDS compliance pad, and making modifications to the private property site for TDS access to the dumpster.   

C. W Goforth Road: Tabling or no direction on the east side of W Goforth Road is an alternative. Staff will focus on the design of the approved west side of W Goforth Road. Once design of the west side is complete, Staff will proceed with the east side efforts.