Senior center, east side study on College Station agenda

[dazed2010]

Senior center, east side study on College Station agenda

http://www.theeagle.com/stories/011107/local_20070111059.php

College Station leaders will talk this week about awarding an $80,000 contract for a consultant to study and make recommendations about transportation needs on the east side of Earl Rudder Freeway.

The City Council also will discuss design plans for a senior citizens facility to be built near a planned "city center" complex on Krenek Tap Road.

Both topics are scheduled during the council's 3 p.m. workshop meeting Thursday.

Public Works Director Mark Smith is recommending the city hire Kimley Horn and Associates of Houston to study transportation needs east of Earl Rudder Freeway between Harvey Road and the Nantucket subdivision. The work will take about 90 days, according to a proposal submitted by the Houston-based firm.

When city staff suggested in August that a transportation study be devoted to the east side of town, Councilman John Happ opposed it, saying it was a piecemeal effort and a waste of money, especially because the city is conducting a comprehensive plan update that includes a citywide thoroughfare.

But Smith said this week the east side needs to be studied immediately, and the comprehensive plan rewrite will take more than a year to complete.

"This part of town is a developing area," he said of the eastern portion of College Station. "We didn't want to wait that long to get data on an area that is growing so fast."

The consulting firm is scheduled to meet with an advisory committee - which will include representatives from the neighborhoods included in the study area, members of the city's transportation committee and developers who work in the area. Two public meetings are planned, and the consultant will develop a model of potential roadway scenarios.

An implementation strategy also will be developed. The consultant will identify and prioritize steps that should be taken before the adoption of the updated comprehensive plan in order to accommodate traffic, according to the proposal.

Design projects are not chosen based on the lowest bid submitted. Kimley Horn and Associates, which has not done prior work for College Station, is being recommended by staff for a couple of reasons, Smith said.

"They specialize in traffic work," he said. "And, honestly, it's important for this particular study to have a very objective consultant, one that doesn't have any local connections."

Prior to Smith's presentation to the City Council on Thursday, Parks and Recreation Director Steve Beachy will discuss a design concept for the planned senior center.

The senior center has been under consideration since 2000, and probably will be included as part of a bond package set to go before voters in 2008.

The facility could cost about $5 million to $6 million to build, Beachy said Wednesday. Specific cost estimates will be released Thursday.

The design work was performed by architects from Brown, Waterford and Reynolds for $75,000.

When the conceptual plan is presented Thursday, it will include a three-dimension model and floor plan, and it will define the scope of the project, Beachy said. The architect also is recommending that the facility be built between the future extension of Dartmouth Street and Central Park.

"The seniors wanted a building in proximity to Central Park so they can use the walking trails," Beachy said, noting that the architect met with a senior advisory committee several times while preparing the concept.

The City Council has said it wants to build the senior center in the Central Park area because other municipal buildings already are there, and a future City Hall is planned.

Beachy said if the design is approved by the council Thursday, the next step would be to put the project in a future capital improvement program, such as the 2008 bond referendum.

"Once the funding is approved, typically I think you could allow about one year to complete the design process and another year to build it," he said.

"This has been something our seniors have talked about for seven years now. It's a dream for them. It's an exciting project."