City manager directed to develop new protocols
HUTTO — The city is cracking down on construction delays, with new requirements for contracts looming and one business arrangement for a traffic light canceled.
Those were outcomes at the Feb. 5 City Council meeting, where leaders said infrastructure work and capital improvements needed to support a city of 40,000 seem to move at a snail’s pace.
At issue are developments with Hutto Lake Park and a traffic-control signal.
Council members issued several directives to City Manager James Earp regarding policy and contract changes. “Every project we have is not hitting deadlines and then I see this and I’m getting a clearer picture and I’m so frustrated,” said Mayor Mike Snyder.
Hutto Lake Park
The Hutto Lake Park project, 805 Estate Drive, is a capital-improvement initiative with an augmented playground; construction should have started Dec. 8 and was expected to finish March 31.
The council learned the design is not complete, so there is no construction underway and no completion date.
“‘Unmonitored changes combined with scope additions occurred without formal review or approval by City Council,’” Snyder said, quoting a message he received from Interim City Engineer Patricia Davis.
“Ultimately, how did this happen?” the mayor asked Earp.
The city manager said the problem stems from how the city addresses changes that happen after a project starts.
Designers seeking input from council members or department heads can change the scope of a project, and those iterations coupled with unforeseen obstacles can cause delays, the city manager said.
New conditions can require more funding and require council approval, plus a formal protocol needs to be established to trigger the return of a contract to City Hall for review, Earp indicated.
“ There’s a functional built-in disconnect right now in our system that allowed this to happen,” Earp said.
In the case of the Hutto Lake Park renovation, once the contractor started speaking to city staff about the community’s needs, a decision was made that the playground should be autism-friendly certified.
Hutto does not have a sensory or all-abilities public playground.
Earp said an autismfriendly playground is harder to design, adding time and potentially cost. The added time has delayed the design being finalized, and the project will probably also need additional funding if the sensory design is approved.
Earp recommended future contracts include time-based milestones that would trigger a review if missed and council approval of a change order if more time is going to be needed, the same as is required for cost increases.
The council agreed and added a directive Earp provide a monthly update focused on any projects that could be at risk of falling behind on timelines.
An updated timeline for the Hutto Lake Park project will be presented at the Feb. 19 council meeting.
Sidewalks and a traffic light
In addition to wanting an overview of at-risk projects and the reasons for the setbacks, council members said they aim to hold contractors accountable for delays.
The city has several infrastructure and sidewalk projects it is already looking at holding in default.
At its Thursday meeting, the council authorized Earp to send a notice of default and termination of contract to an electrical company hired to install traffic signals at Innovation Boulevard and Limmer Loop.
The contract was signed last March 2025 with a completion date that summer.
The signal poles are up but the lights are not yet working.
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“Ultimately how did this happen?”
— Mayor Mike Snyder
