City Council on Thursday approved a 2027-2032 municipal bond program that will go before voters in May.
But not before the council voted down a proposal by the mayor to split the $35 million costs related to Project Marvel infrastructure into a separate bond.
The $650 million package approved by council includes $442 million for infrastructure needs across the city and $208 million for stormwater drainage.
Most council members praised the work of city staff in putting together a bond package that addressed most if not all of their districts’ needs, even as they lamented the reduced bond size.
“This was my first bond, and this was really challenging but interesting, and we came together and really figured the way through this,” said Councilwoman Misty Spears (D9).
Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2) said the goal was twofold, addressing long-standing needs in the parts of town that “have waited decades for investment” and not risking the need to raise taxes.
And that required every district making concessions, he said. “I’m appreciative of where we are today.”
During the meeting, McKee-Rodriguez requested a reshuffle of some dollars in the bond package that city staff presented.
He suggested reallocating $10.6 million in the pedestrian mobility bucket of funds (under the streets, bridges and sidewalks category) that were committed to Districts 1 and 2 in order to increase funding for Districts 3, 5, 7 and 10.
The councilman also asked that $1.8 million for drainage projects in District 1 be moved to District 10. Council members supported the change.
“We’re going to be able to invest a little bit more into our most failed streets and failed sidewalks because of our colleagues,” said Councilwoman Sukh Kaur (D1).
The $442 million bond package proposed by city staff Thursday is a slight adjustment from the one presented two weeks ago.
It includes $259 million for street improvement projects, $35 million for municipal facilities, $50 million for affordable housing and $98 million for parks and facilities.
Among the items on the list are citywide projects — such as the Wolff Stadium redevelopment, downtown street improvement for Project Marvel and Central Library upgrades — that add up to $148.3 million.
On Oct. 14, City Manager Erik Walsh pushed the council to agree on the recommended total bond capacity of $442 million and another $175 million for a stormwater bond — a recommendation he said would not force the city to raise debt service taxes in 2029 or after.
But council members asked to increase the stormwater bond to provide capacity for two additional council districts.
Now the stormwater bond would support projects in every district throughout San Antonio, the most in District 1. The average residential customer’s stormwater fee would come to $4.94 a month.
The initial proposal also allocated $100 million for repairing failed streets, an amount that was reduced by half.
“We don’t think it’s feasible to do the $100 million in failed streets with everything else,” that is needed, said Michael Shannon, director of Capital Delivery. “Fifty million dollars, I think, would keep us on the path.”
Within the streets, bridges and sidewalks category, every district is allocated $1 million for pedestrian mobility, with added dollars allocated for defined projects. But that amount changes for some based on the proposal put forth by McKee-Rodriguez.
South Zarzamora Street in District 4 gets the largest amount in this category at $32 million.
The parks and recreation category in the bond funds a variety of projects, including the linear greenway trails, River Walk improvements and splash pads, water features and sports courts in the city’s parks.
Municipal facility construction and improvements would be funded with $35 million for five projects, which includes the Bob Ross Senior Center in District 8 and a police substation in District 9.
City staff also recommended that 1.5% of all project spending, excluding stormwater and affordable housing projects, go to public art.
District 7 resident Kim Bishop and arts educator Luis Valdez urged the council at the meeting to extend arts spending to stormwater projects.
Two former council members now in business and community advocacy roles also spoke up for infrastructure needs.
Rebecca Viagran, president and CEO of South Texas Business Partnership, said infrastructure investment on the South Side has citywide and regional economic impact, urging prioritization of the South Texas Parkway and Zarzamora projects.
Ana Sandoval represented the West Side in her new role as executive director of ESTAR West. “We ask council to make an explicit priority of closing the most serious and persistent gaps in basic neighborhood infrastructure a part of your bond framework,” she said.
The mayor posed two amendments to the bond resolution to separate the Project Marvel funding.
In the first, she suggested those funds could come from the Project Finance Zone that’s already slated for the convention center and Alamodome improvements.
In the second, she proposed separating the costs into another bond, giving voters the chance to decide on the funding. Council members voted against both.
At least one council member was disappointed in the final bond package.
“I believe this bond proposal presentation today, at best, reflects a lack of understanding and belief in this community as a whole,” said Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran (D3). “At worst, it is modern-day redlining that rewards the very part of town that most upper management of city staff live in and takes the attitude that the southern sector from the west to the east should be grateful for whatever they get.”
Viagran said she was in favor of a larger bond, which should be possible without a tax increase, she said, given the economic development that’s come to the city through major manufacturing investment, especially on the South Side.
With the package approved, the bond process goes into gear next month with committees established for public input on the bond project list.
Each committee will have three meetings followed by a bus tour in December, and their final recommendations will go before city council on Jan. 20. Voters in San Antonio can expect to see the bond on their ballot in May.
