City hosts public meeting for 2 improvement projects

The City of San Marcos Engineering/ Capital Improvements Department held a public community meeting on Thursday at the San Marcos Activity Center to present and discuss information on the Sessom/Academy Drainage Improvements and Sessom Creek Improvements Projects.

Shaun Condor, Interim Director of Engineering and CIP for the City of San Marcos, kicked off the meeting by giving a presentation on Sessom Creek Improvements Project.

“The reason for the project is, there’s a wastewater line in Sessom Creek and it’s exposed, if you ever walk Sessom Creek you’ll see it hanging there, some places it’s completely elevated, we’ve had a few breaks here and there and it’s a threat to the San Marcos River,” Condor said.

The two-phase project will be a collaboration between the city and the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan (EAHCP) to design and construct a project to stabilize Sessom Creek from North LBJ Drive to Canyon Road.

The City of San Marcos will remove the exposed wastewater lines in Sessom Creek, stabilize Canyon Road and make some repairs to the existing drainage along Sessom Drive.

In stabilizing Canyon Road, there were two initial ways for the city to go about the project.

“We presented two options to city council. Option one is to remove that culvert and upsize it to 48 inch or 6-by-6 box culvert, option two is to close Loquat Road,” Condor said

 Above, Tiffany Harris, Community Vitality Coordinator, speaks to the crowd at Thursday's public meeting at the San Marcos Activity Center.

Staff was directed to leave Loquat Road open by city council when previously presenting the options. Since then, Texas State University has purchased a majority of the area around Loquat and asked city staff to reconsider closing Loquat and are in discussion about the next steps.

In Phase 1, the EAHCP will address the impact of Sessom Creek on the San Marcos River by installing limestone rocks and blocks in Sessom Creek to stabilize the eroding banks and slow the velocity of the water as it moves down the creek. Phase 2 will call for a natural channel design approach.

Volunteers have assisted in Sessom natural area restoration by removing invasive trees and placing the trunks on contours to slow down stormwater going into Sessom Creek and help bring back healthy habits for wildlife.

“Those who live in the area have seen the work, I mean it looks devastating but it’s the beginning of the restoration phase, it’s going to be gorgeous when we’re done,” said Melani Howard, Habitat Conservation Plan Manager.

Phase 1 is currently under construction and expected to be completed in fall of 2023. Phase 2 design is 60% completed with pending direction from city council on the Loquat Crossing.

Rohit Vij, Senior Transportation Engineer for the City of San Marcos, presented the Sessom Drainage & Street Improvements project.

Project limits will be from Holland Street to LBJ Drive and will include street, sidewalk, drainage, water, and wastewater improvements.

Drainage issues will be improved along Sessom Drive from Yale Street to Comanche Street which experiences localized flooding as part of the Drainage Master Plan projects.

Wastewater line replacement will be added along Academy Street and Sessom Drive from Holland St to Comanche Street Sidewalk reconstruction will be implemented at Academy Street and Sessom Drive between Yale Street and Alamo Street with sidewalks will be reconstructed at Holland Street and Comanche Drive.

Traffic operations will also be improved with the implementation of buffered bike lanes from Holland Street to LBJ Drive. A traffic signal will also be added along Academy Street and Sessom Drive intersection.

Vij explained that the direction from the city council includes adding the bike lanes and conducting a traffic study. Following the study, the city will present the results to the council.

Following the presentations, Rob Fitch, Emergency Management Coordinator, encouraged the community to contact the office for information regarding emergency preparedness. Amy Thomaides, Community Enhancement Initiatives Manager, also asked the community to contact Garbage & Recycling and Resource Recovery Division if there are any problems with garbage services. To close out the meeting

Tiffany Harris, Community Vitality Coordinator, urged residents to take advantage of the various programs, resources and events the city has to offer, including the 2022 Citywide Update on Tuesday, May 24.

Following the presentations, guests and community members in attendance had the opportunity to ask questions to any of the city staff at their respective tables set up at the meeting.

agonzales

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Twitter: @alyssagonz89