By David DeKunder
Staff Writer

Cibolo residents will get a chance to vote on the city’s $27.9 million bond issue during early voting, which starts Monday.

The city of Cibolo has put five bond propositions on the Nov. 4 ballot, including a new police station and fire station, drainage and street improvements, new recreational fields and a new community events center.

City leaders say the bond propositions are needed to fund projects that will help Cibolo keep pace with its rapid growth. Since 2000, the city’s population has jumped from 3,400 to an estimated 17,500 by year’s end.

The City Council voted in late August to put the bond propositions before voters.

“All of the things that are on the bond propositions have been talked about because of the demand from growth, or because they are things that have been asked for by the community,” Mayor Jennifer Hartman said.

Proposition 1, which is $6.4 million, calls for the construction of a new 6,000-square-foot police station and a new fire station. The new police station, which will have offices, meeting and training space, holding cells and dispatch rooms, will be located next to Cibolo City Hall on Main Street.

The new fire station will be built to cover the northern part of the city, which has seen homes and subdivisions being put up at a rapid pace over the years. This facility, which will be located at Cibolo Valley and Green Valley Drives near Veterans’ Memorial Park, will be the city’s second fire station, complementing the Cibolo Volunteer Fire Depart-ment’s central station on Loop 539

Hartman said the new fire and police facilities are long overdue.

“We have outgrown our police station and fire station,” Hartman said. “We ran out of space (at those facilities) a while back. We are trying to do the best we can with the facilities we have.”

Proposition 2, worth $4.2 million, includes the expansion and upgrade of Cibolo Valley Drive in two portions of the roadway. The first project will widen Cibolo Valley Drive from two to four lanes from Springtree Hollow north to Old Wiederstein Road, which will include curbs, gutters on the east side of the roadway, sidewalks and additional asphalt pavement. The second part of the project will extend Cibolo Valley Drive from Borgfeld Road south to FM 1103 near the Main Street intersection.

Hartman said widening Cibolo Valley Drive could generate more business along the road and bring more sales tax revenues into the city.

Proposition 3, at $9.2 million, would pay for two drainage improvement projects that would alleviate the impact of existing development within the Town Creek watershed, providing chances for additional commercial growth. The objective of the drainage improvements are to correct drainage issues near FM 1103 so that more growth may occur near the intersection of FM 1103 and Main Street.

Proposition 4, at $3.3 million, covers the land acquisition and construction of new ball fields. Under the proposed plan, the city would construct four soccer/football combination fields and four baseball/softball combination fields on a 40 to 45-acre site that has not been determined yet. The $3.3 million price tag includes lights, restrooms, scoreboards, bleachers, concession sites and landscaping for the fields.

Proposition 5, $4.8 million, calls for the land acquisition for and construction of a 20,000 square-foot recreational and community events center. Depending on future public input, the community center could house anything from basketball and volleyball courts to meeting and reading spaces.

If all the propositions are approved by voters, the bonds would be issued in phases over a four year period in 2009, 2011 and 2013. For the life of the bonds, which would mature during a 30-year period, the debt service part of the city’s property tax rate is projected to range from a high of $0.1453 per $100 valuation to a low of $0.065.

Hartman said people who come to Cibolo Fest, which will be held Oct. 25 on the City Hall grounds from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., can find out more about the bond propositions as part of a display set up in the council chambers.

“We want to have more people informed about this and make their own judgment calls about what they want for their community,” Hartman said.