Fort Worth Looking To Spend $560M On Roads, Other Improvements Through Bond Election
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - The Fort Worth City Council voted to place a $560 million bond on the May 7 ballot.
This comes as population growth continues in the city.
"When you're the fastest growing city you have to make sure that you have the amenities and the resources and the infrastructure that our city needs," said Fort Worth City Councilwoman Elizabeth Beck.
According to the city, the bond includes five propositions that will be voted on separately:
Proposition A: $360,218,300 for streets and mobility-related projects.
Proposition B: $123,955,500 for park and recreation purposes, including a new aquatics center in the Stop Six neighborhood and a rebuilt Forest Park Pool.
Proposition C: $12,505,200 for a new library in far northwest Fort Worth.
Proposition D: $39,321,000 for police and fire public safety facilities. Included is a proposed headquarters for the Northwest Patrol Division.
Proposition E: $15 million for the city's Natural Area and Open Space program, which focuses on acquiring and improving land citywide to enhance air and water quality, and facilitate other environmental benefits and preserve natural areas.
"We really listened to the feedback from our residents as part of developing this bond package," added Beck. "Our services have not matched that growth, and so as part of this bond package, we are investing in new public safety facilities."
As for how this will be paid for, the city told CBS 11 News there will be no property tax rate increase.
To pay for the capital improvements, the city borrows money through the sale of general obligation bonds.
Residents in the northern part of the city told CBS 11 News the bond is needed a the roads are crowded as more people are moving to the area.
Kimberly Carruth moved to the city over 15 years ago and has seen rapid growth.
"I had a job over on 170 and it was only like a couple of stoplights and 10 miles, less than 10 miles and it took me 15-20 minutes to get to work," she said. "Well there's quite a few more stoplights between here and there now and it takes way longer to get there and way more traffic."
For more details on this bond package and all of the proposed projects, click here.