The current Terrell Hills City Hall building. Courtesy photo

Issuing a request for qualifications from design firms this week, Terrell Hills took the first step toward building a new City Hall – a plan likely culminating in a bond referendum for a project costing up to $3 million.

The Terrell Hills City Council approved sending out the request for qualifications during its Sept. 8 regular meeting. Submissions from firms vying for the design work will be accepted through Oct. 17, said City Manager Mark Browne.

“You hate to put a timeline out there, but we’d like to get the architect on board by November,” Browne said. “The architect would take until next summer for the design plan, and sometime in the summer of 2009 we could go forward.”

City leaders have long contemplated replacing the cramped, circa-1930s structures housing municipal quarters with more modern structures. In a recent telephone interview, Browne said conditions are cramped, and the buildings are prone to power failures given a wiring system not built to provide the juice needed for computer systems.

“We definitely have space challenges,” he said. “And we have a network that is subject to failure because this building was not designed for a computer network. It is a challenge to keep our network running.”

Plans for a new municipal complex would call for demolishing two existing city-owned properties adjacent to existing offices – two homes on 108 Wiltshire and 302 Arcadia – to make way for a new city building. The current City Hall would be preserved yet modified with more modern enhancements, and would be used for expanded police and fire administrative offices, Browne said.

“It’s not set in stone,” he said. “It’s still subject to the architects’ design, and they would help us to determine the most cost-effective way of doing this.”

Absent a formal price tag for the work, Browne estimated a new City Hall would run in the neighborhood of $3 million. Browne said a voter referendum might be floated to residents, depending on the type of financial instrument used to secure funds for the project. Expounding on that notion, Browne said the use of general obligation bonds requires voter approval, while certificates of obligation or a tax anticipation note do not.

A referendum on the matter would be one of two propositions on the ballot, Browne noted. Residents also are being counted on to approve funding for to $3 million worth of street repair, primarily at the arteries of Garitty and Bryker.

“We’ve got a major road construction project that’s going to start in spring of 2009,” Browne said. “It’s a combination of water main relocation and road reconstruction with SAWS (San Antonio Water System),” he said. “The road construction piece is in the range of $2 million to $3 million.”

By proceeding with its plans, Terrell Hills joins sister cities Alamo Heights and Olmos Park making inroads toward a new City Hall. Among the three cities, Olmos Park has made the most progress, with construction on a new, $1.8 million complex on city-owned property across the street from existing city quarters already under way.

Alamo Heights is in the early stages on its own plans and the city manager there recently proposing the need to build a new City Hall and fire station. A price tag for that work has been estimated to possibly exceed $9 million, although no formal council action has been taken.

Witte Museum President and CEO Marise McDermott is beaming after receiving a $4 million donation from the Valero Energy Corp. Sept. 10 towards a $50 million capital campaign to finance an expansion of the Witte Museum. The money from Valero - which brings the total the Witte has raised so far to $13.5 million - will be given out over the next five years, and will go toward the construction of the Valero Great Hall. The entryway is part of Phase II of the Witte’s expansion plan. If all goes according to schedule, the capital campaign should wrap up in 2011, with construction slated for 2012. When it’s complete, it will expand the Witte’s footprint by more than 65,000 square feet. Photo by Mary Candee

Ever wonder where some of the names in Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills and Olmos Park come from? David P. Green and his book “Place Names of San Antonio” explains. All excerpts are used by permission.

Austin Highway

The route from San Antonio to Austin was once a winding roadway from downtown, starting with Austin Street and heading east beside Fort Sam Houston along what is now, in whole or in part, Old Austin Road, Harry Wurzbach Highway and Corrine Drive.

In 1935, hard-won State Highway 2 opened as the new road to Austin, following Broadway from downtown north to the center of Alamo Heights. There existing blocks were cut through diagonally and homes were removed so the new highway could extend northeast and meet the old route nearly three miles away at Salado Creek.

Austin Highway flourished until Interstate 35 opened in 1964 as the new major thoroughfare to the state capital, named for colonizer and Texas patriot Stephen Full Austin (1793-1836).

Construction of the pool located at 308 Torcido was halted until the city of Alamo Heights rules on the variances. Photos by Mary Candee

Some are calling it the second battle of the Alamo after a war is being waged in Alamo Heights over image.

Signs are up and the campaign is under way to stop a giant swimming pool from being built in the front yard of a home.

In Alamo Heights, image is important.

“Torcido is a beautiful drive. It’s always been a beautiful green drive,” Kathy Friesenhahn said.

So Friesenhahn got a little upset when her new neighbors decided to build a pool in their front yard.

“Well, I thought, ‘Who in the world would want to put a pool in their front yard? It’s public,’” she said.

Standing on the sidewalk, the top of the pool is 18 feet off the ground and close to the street.

“It is certainly out of context on the street,” Friesenhahn said.

The controversial pool along Torcido has had the artist rendering and plans for the pool posted alongside the construction.

Rogers designed the property landscape. He says the pool will have an infinity design in the end.

“When the landscaping is completed, and you’re walking down the street, you can probably hear the sound of the water, and sort of see the wall being wet, but it will be a continual wall,” Rogers said.

He argues with the difficult terrain of the property, there was nowhere else to put the pool. But he’s confident it will be beautiful.

Friesenhahn would still rather not see it.

“I just don’t think it’s in keeping with the rest of the street. None of us have a front yard pool,” she said.

The city issued a stop work order because the owners need a variance to build the pool so close to the sidewalk. The city was to decide if the owners will be granted one at a public meeting Wednesday night.

This story originally appeared on MySA.com on Sept. 4.