The Lubbock City Council could vote as soon as next month on whether to hold a bond election.

The election, recommended for May, is in the works after the citizen advisory committee proposed a nearly $134 million bond package to city leaders on Thursday.

"Simply stated, we can no longer kick the can down the road when it comes to facing the needs of city facilities and amenities," chairman Barry Orr said.

The council still has to approve the election and decide what projects voters will consider.

The recommendation includes the endorsement of projects ranging from public safety to quality of life, advising the council to serve voters their options "cafeteria style" so they are able to pick and choose the ventures they'd like to fund.

While including the bond package in this November's general election could save the city money, the committee said a May 2015 election would allow voters to focus on the individual projects to include a bond, thus funding through increased taxes down the line.

And, that will likely be a discussion on the dais.

"That's going to be tough because you have to look at the cost of the election," Mayor Glen Robertson said. "I do understand the recommendation of the CAC because they don't want the politics to get involved. They want this to truly be about Lubbock, Texas, and what's important for our future."

The council likely will consider holding the election either November, May, November 2015 or even May 2016, Robertson said.

During the work session, Councilwoman Karen Gibson stressed that voting for a project in the bond election means paying for it through taxes later.

Public safety

Topping the list of public safety issues is the city's dilapidated police station, but it won't be on the ballot next May.

Instead, the committee asked the council to immediately issue an almost $67 million certificate of obligation to construct a new station.

Robertson said he likely will vote in favor of that recommendation.

"It's life, health and safety," he said. "We are talking about the police department, the emergency operations center - we can't wait on a bond election. We need to move and we need to move quick."

A project implementing tornado sirens is second on the public safety list, and it likely will have a place on the ballot.

The $2 million project will bring Lubbock up to par with other cities, said Jay Leeson, municipal facilities and public safety subcommittee chairman.

Lubbock is the only city with a population greater than 200,000 in Tornado Alley that doesn't have outdoor warning sirens, he said.

The idea of tornado sirens has been talked about for several years and two separate committees have looked at it recently.

Now, chairman Orr said, it is time for the voters to have their say.

In total, the municipal facilities and public safety portion of the proposed bond package - not including the police station - will be $18.5 million.

Other projects in this portion of the package include addressing city facilities.

Streets

Lubbock is growing. In fact, the city has grown by about the size of Brownfield in the last three years, but growth means more cars driving on roads.

"Our infrastructure is strained and we have got to catch up to the growth of this community," Orr said.

Street repairs, particularly the continuation of 34th Street reconstruction from Quaker Avenue to Slide Road and from Avenue Q to Interstate 27 make up a major chunk of the bond package.

The seven proposed street projects will cost about $66 million.

To help manage road maintenance, however, the committee recommended implementing a municipal vehicle registration fee - though the city attorney said that could be problematic.

Quality of life

Not all the committee's recommendations are so serious.

In surveys, the public expressed an overwhelming desire for a dog park and splash pads.

"To continue to grow, and to continue to attract families, you've got to provide amenities to those families to attract those young families," Orr said.

Though, the city's pools need more funding as well; he said the city either needs to "get out the pool business or get into it the right way."

Additionally, part of the parks portion of the bond package would connect the Canyon Lakes with a walking trail.

The total cost of adding an additional pool in Southwest Lubbock and updating the current ones, building a dog park and expanding the Canyon Lakes walking trail will cost $49.5 million.

stevie.poole@lubbockonline.com

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