Pflugerville Officials Outline 2015 Accomplishments

NORTH AUSTIN-PFLUGERVILLE, TX -- Like many achieving the age of 50, the city of Pflugerville has taken stock of its accomplishments in the past year as if reflecting on its personal history.

Well, it was actually Pflugerville city officials writing in the municipal newsletter. But it does have the effect of a first-person (or first-city) account from Pflugerville itself.

The past year marked the 50th since the city’s incorporation in 1966. To celebrate, a 60s-themed birthday party of sorts was staged at Pfluger Park in July featuring music and movies from that era.

State Rep. Celia Israel invited city officials to the Capitol to mark the municipal milestone with a proclamation. The benchmark also inspired members of the Pflugerville History Diggers to start work in creating a digital historical archive of interviews with local residents describing what it’s like to grow up in Pflugerville.

Then, in the widely distributed newsletter, Pflugerville officials get down to business. A number of significant projects were accomplished in Pflugerville in 2015, efforts seeing strong support from residents at the ballot box.

The City Council raised the property tax rate ever so slightly to help pay for voter-approved bond projects and bolstered city operations.

Officials note that while a bond for a new animal shelter was not approved by voters, it prompted city officials to expand the shelter by 24 additional larger kennels and eight small ones.

Officials also tout last year’s creation of the Senior Advisory Task Force, now a widely used resource that has seen attendance more than double since its launch.

In terms of infrastructure, there was plenty to boast about on that front as well:

• Street speed limits were adjusted as a result of speed studies conducted to evaluate driving patterns. A survey of residents yielded input city officials will implement--particularly in the next two years--as the city continues to grow.
• An update of the city’s Unified Development Code and Engineering Design Manual was completed after two years’ worth of revisions. The document is a blueprint of sorts that outlines the type of development allowed to occur in Pflugerville. It covers a wide range of areas that include permissible land use, building densities, street widths, parking requirements, and more.
• The Pflugerville Master Transportation Plan also was approved, in May. The document serves as a guide for development of transportation improvements associated with growth and development. Measurable accomplishments steered by the guiding philosophy of the master plan include the use use Community Development Block Grant funds to improve Windermere Park and disburse Youth Recreation Program scholarships.

Officials also note the development of a pair of projects at the library that happened in 2015: Creation of a digital historical archive at the library capturing historical documents and launch of a text chat service to connect with library patrons.

The police department kicked off programs of its own, including the “Pfreeze Pflugerville” initiative aimed at rewarding children for using crosswalks. In 2015, the department expanded its park patrol presence, installed a medicine disposal kiosk and became a registered “safe trade” site for residents buying or selling merchandise online.

Police also entered the world of social media as additional forums to convey information to the public, with accounts on Facebook and Instagram. Among news shared was the level of community participation for its version of National Night Out, ranking 10th in the state.

Ongoing projects begun last year include a Pavement Evaluation and Assessment project aimed at examining 439 lane miles of roadways to assess their condition. Safety improvements at two key intersections--Picadilly Drive/Central Commerce and Grand Avenue Parkway/Edgemere Drive--were begun in November.

City officials also continually expand water lines to accommodate new development and subdivision.

Not one to sit on its laurels, the city is looking ahead to 2016 when it plans to focus on key projects: more animal shelter improvements; widening of Heatherwilde Boulevard; installing another traffic light at Kingston Lacy Boulevard; constructing courtyard shade and revamping the parking lot at the library; fine-tuning a sports complex master plan; launch of a new municipal government website; using more CDBG funds for sidewalk extension at Foothill Farms Loop and Edgemere Drive; installation of a Windermere Park pavilion; and building senior accessibility improvements at the Pflugerville Recreation Center.

All told, not a bad list for a still youthful 50-year-old. Or, in this case, a pfifty-year-old.