by Grace Rose Gonzalez
Friends,
On Feb 16th, the HDRC heard the item submitted by Parks staff to cut down 10 heritage trees that line the San Antonio River in Brackenridge Park. There were at least 50 citizens that came to the meeting, which lasted almost 5 hours in which staff tried awfully hard to convince the HDRC commission to approve the removal of the trees.
There is a continuance for about a week, as HDRC asked for a presentation of what will be the design at Lambert Beach after the removal of the trees. Staff pushed back hard, not wanting to give HDRC a presentation, but the public and the Commissioners were adamant that this was necessary before they would approve the removal of the Heritage Trees.
The reasons that Park staff gave for rushing this removal was to beat the egrets time in nesting and that the crumbling retaining wall and leaning trees were dangerous. However, the retaining wall and leaning trees have been in this condition for over 10 years, so that seems disingenuous to say, it is a safety issue. As far as the egrets are concerned, the city staff wants to make sure that there is no nesting that begins in March and ends around the end of the Summer. They will not be able to touch the trees once nesting begins as the egrets are a protected bird by Federal Fish and Wildlife.
The Fish and Wildlife representative presented that the egrets were a nuisance, and they were managing closely the egrets with the city by deterring as much as possible.
Overall, the quality of life at Brackenridge will change in the ecosystem structure. The big shade trees will be gone, and egrets misplaced, and little 4” trees with lots of concrete are what have been shown in previous renderings by design team and staff will be in place.
It is an atrocity that we will witness and a horror we will remember for the rest of our lives.
However, something to truly consider before these huge trees are cut down, is, the escalation of cost in construction since the pandemic.
According to the AGC (Associated General Contractors of America) the rising cost in materials was 27.8% from April 2020 to August 2021. Projects all over the city have been impacted by this inflation and commodity shortage. This escalation has not been addressed in our discussions on Brackenridge Park project.
The most prudent action that needs to be taken at this time is a reconciliation to current costs and the scope of the project. We should ask for this reconciliation to verify the variance, and what can really be built. This will help tremendously in prioritization of work. It could be that we wait a year on Lambert Beach area, giving us an opportunity to dig deep into the design with stakeholders. So many stakeholder groups have not had an opportunity to voice their desires, to the point of feeling excluded. This is especially true for the indigenous tribes that these lands were their homes.
A project phasing would be a positive approach in a time of uncertainty in construction. The reality with almost 30% inflation, the project is one third smaller.
In an effort to keep the heritage trees, move the retaining wall, do all the studies, and see if this approach would work, phasing would be a positive method to consider in light of the budget shortfall that this and all construction projects are experiencing nation wide.
Your food bill and gas have gone up remarkably since 2018, and you have had to prioritize your shopping. The same holds true for a construction project.
The reconciliation of the budget variance should be the first homework due by staff to the HDRC Commissioners at the next meeting so to confirm the real size of the project with the money the city currently has designated. The trees may not need to be cut down just yet.
Just a thought, and you should share with your Councilperson.