Committee recommends city pursue five improvement projects

‍

A committee of 27 Mansfield residents recommended Dec. 13  that the Mansfield City Council pursue five capital improvement projects.

The committee studied the concepts in-depth throughout the fall.

“Mansfield is a great place to live, it’s a great place to work, and it’s a great place to play,” said Michael Mainer, chair of the 2022 Bond Election Steering Committee. “Our committee is confident the projects we are recommending will provide superior activities for families, young and old alike. Mansfield is our hometown, and we are encouraging our friends and neighbors to learn more about the City Council’s goals for enhancing our collective lifestyles.”

The committee members recommended that City Council include the following projects on the city ballot in May: a library, recreation, events, aquatics and fitness center; a Miracle League baseball field; a community park in the southwest quadrant of Mansfield coupled with upgrades to Michael L. Skinner Sports Complex; and expansions to the Walnut Creek and Pond Branch linear trails.

“It’s our recommendation that each project be a separate proposition on the ballot. However, we believe that a new park in the southwest quadrant of Mansfield and upgrades to Skinner Sports Complex should be presented as one,” Mainer said in his presentation to the City Council, noting that implementing one without the other would be “challenging.”

“The committee members spent months rigorously studying several capital improvement concepts, and we are grateful for their thorough efforts to recommend projects they believe will make Mansfield a world-class hometown,” City Manager Joe Smolinski said. “I am confident that our City Council will take these suggestions into account as they work to determine the next steps for making these concepts a reality.”

From early September through early December, staff presented various concepts in detail with cost analyses. The committee was tasked with deciding which and how many projects to recommend to the City Council for consideration. The committee ultimately recommended that the City Council pursue five projects.

“The Mansfield City Council is enormously appreciative of the hours that the committee members dedicated to learning more about the staff’s extremely detailed concepts,” Mayor Michael Evans said. “Additionally, we thank them for recommending projects they believe will provide Mansfield with remarkable experiences. These exceptional residents are ambassadors for our community and are playing a tremendous role in shaping its future.”

Residents who were not members of the committee were offered four separate opportunities to learn about the project concepts and provide feedback before the committee made its final recommendations at the Dec. 13 regular City Council meeting. Presentations from city staff to the committee and answers to anticipated questions about these efforts are available on the city’s website.

The City Council is considering calling a bond election as a method of funding these projects and will decide which ones would be placed on the ballot. The City Council must call for a May 2022 bond election by Feb. 18.

More information about the concepts the committee considered can be found at mansfieldtexas.gov/mycitymychoice.

The members of the 2022 Bond Election Steering Committee are: Russ Arnold; Paul Beaney; Demetria Bivens; Scot Bowman; Michael Crnkovich; Ronnie De Manna; Henry Ellis; Carlos Figueroa; Ben Heefner; Craig Holland; Caleb Hollingshead; Jenny Kralicke; Kraig Kunkel; Michael Mainer (chair); Melissa Moreira; Daryle Perez (vice chair); Laura Power; Kathleen Powers; Karen Self; Tamika Shorten; Amber Simon; Ron Snouffer; Christopher Sunderman; Ashley Swapp; Tobi Tajomavwo; Elon Werner; and Clay Wilkinson.

‍