In nearly a three-fourths majority, citizens of San Marcos voted in favor of three bond propositions that will benefit public safety, the library and the school district.
The bond election was called by the City Council of San Marcos in February, with recommendations from the Community Improvement Task Force established in October 2016 to evaluate prospective projects for the city.
The first bond, for the benefit of public safety, will be put toward various renovations and staff training for law enforcement agents and firefighters. The bond passed by 75.62 percent.
The police department renovations include renovating the existing 911 center, adding security and perimeter fencing, renovating the parking spots for visitors, replacing the existing HVAC equipment and creating new offices within the department itself. According to the San Marcos City website, this project will cost a total of $5.5 million to complete.
Two fire stations will be renovated and relocated with the funds appropriated by the bonds. Holland Fire Station #2 will be relocated to Wonder World and Ranch Road 12. The structure stands 63 years old and has been operating since its opening in 1954. Highpointe Fire Station #8 is being constructed as an additional fire station on the east side of IH-35.
Lastly, $2 million of the funds collected by this vote will contribute to a Fire Training Field. This facility will allow San Marcos Firefighters to conduct further training. The facility will include residential and high rise live fire training, resources for rope and trench rescues, confined space rescue, vehicle extrication and fire, police and EMS integrated response training.
The second bond that passed by 76.80 percent will contribute to the expansion of the San Marcos Library.
The library expansion project will increase the size of the library by an estimated 29,000 square feet by creating additional meeting rooms and classrooms and enclosing the children’s room. In addition to the new rooms, a drive-thru book drop off will be added on the side of the building. The funds will also allow for more parking spaces to be added to accommodate the new size of the facility.
“Now the city of San Marcos is in the process of evaluating the best way to execute these task in the timeliest and most efficient manner. Although there is no public date set to break ground, meetings will be conducted over the next few months,” said Kristi Wyatt, Director of Communications & Intergovernmental Relations for the City of San Marcos.
The total budget for these two bonds is approximately $31 million. The last bond, concerning the school district, has a total budget of $107.3 million.
Voters overwhelmingly approved the school district bond, with nearly 74 percent voting in favor of it.
The bond money will go toward renovating and upgrading various campuses in the San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District. The size of the budget will allow for all of the elementary schools to be renovated. Additionally, Goodnight and Miller middle schools will be renovated. The proposition also calls for classroom addition to the high school and construction of a new elementary school.
“Nine of our eleven campuses are overcrowded or at capacity. We needed a place to put them. We also have to look at projected growth,” said Iris Campbell, employee for the office of public information for SMISD.
The second proposition of the school bond would allow for technology and security upgrades within the district and add a new transportation center with 10 additional buses.
The tax rate increase citizens will be paying amounts to 10.46 a month for the average homeowner, or $122.55 per year, according to the San Marcos City Website. This estimate was done based on the average value of homes in San Marcos.
This vote was the city’s first bond election in 10 years. Complete election results can be found here.