Pflugerville mayor: Moving pforward and looking back on a decade of growth
As the decade comes to a close, I would like to reflect upon the city of Pflugerville’s incredible years of growth, prosperity and success.
Having lived here for the majority of my life, I have had the privilege of witnessing our great city continually move forward at warp speed. We have been recognized as one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation by the U.S. Census Bureau, and anyone who lives here knows why Pflugerville draws so many people.
As our community continues to develop, your City Council works tirelessly to ensure that the citizens of Pflugerville have everything they need, including amenities, restaurants, entertainment, parks and business opportunities and public safety. For those reasons and many more, I am proud to live in the city of Pflugerville and to continue to serve as your mayor.
In 2019, we held our first State of the City address to highlight what the future holds. We surveyed our citizens in 2019 to help guide our actions. A piece of that future is coming to fruition with the Northpointe project and the West Pecan District. More recently, we’ve seen a new surge in development for our historic downtown.
The 2019 survey shows we are moving in the right direction. We opened the “Best Little Plaza in Texas” on Main Street in a community-build project, and we continue to focus on the little things that make Pflugerville so great.
Roads are always a focus for our city. Improvements continue with the Weiss Lane widening project, which we completed this past fall. The city recently worked on Pfennig Lane and Kelly Lane. And with the new Pflugerville Pforward Transportation Master Plan, we have a guide for upcoming roadway project needs.
Successes this year also went beyond transportation improvements. We installed our newest playground at Bohls Park. The library added a program called Kanopy which allows patrons to view 30,000 movies and documentaries through an app or online. Other new programs at the library offer ways to preview new books and meet new friends at paint and sip events.
Another notable accomplishment this year is the completion of the PAWS intake facility.
The list of accolades and accomplishments is incredible, so I would encourage Pflugerville homeowners to watch your mailbox for our annual Year In Review 2019 publication highlighting the many projects we have completed.
As this year marks the end of a decade, I reflect on the changes we have seen throughout the city over the last 10 years, and some of the major projects that stand out to me.
We are financially strong. In 10 years we have lowered our property tax rate from 60.9 cents in 2010 to its current rate of 49.76 cents per $100 property valuation. Our bond ratings have improved from AA- and Aa2 to AA and AA1, from Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s, respectively.
Ten years ago, the average Pflugerville homeowner owned a house valued at $172,444. Today the average home value is $254,485.
As more businesses come to Pflugerville and shopping opportunities flourish, our annual sales tax revenue has risen from $3.4 million to $10.4 million. The city’s taxable property was 75% residential in 2010, compared to 67% residential and 33% commercial this year.
In addition, our taxable value of commercial property within the city has more than doubled, from $540 million in 2010 to $1.8 billion this year. That’s significant, as these funds reduce our reliance on residential property taxes.
This decade brought a lot of firsts to Pflugerville. We welcomed our first movie theater, our first hotel and conference center, and our first hospital. Costco, Living Spaces and numerous other businesses also opened their doors, including several at the 130 Commerce Center.
Can you believe that 10 years ago we didn’t have Lake Pflugerville Park, with its beautiful beach, playground, pavilion and amenities that have become a powerful anchor for our parks system? Ten years ago, would anyone have imagined the 1849 Sports Complex and park that will provide field practice space and recreational opportunities for years to come?
The library expansion in 2012 opened a new chapter for the city by doubling the square footage of the library to 28,000 square feet and going “pfine pfree,” allowing everyone to enjoy the facility. We expanded our intake building at Animal Welfare Services and provided air-conditioned facilities for animals while in our care.
Then there are the multiple road projects we’ve completed. East Pflugerville Parkway, Rowe Lane, Kelly Lane and Heatherwilde Boulevard from Pflugerville Parkway to SH 130 look a lot different than they did 10 years ago.
Services that we have come to rely on today, like curbside recycling, began in 2010. Today, we average 370 tons of recyclables that are kept out of landfills each month — thanks to our curbside program.
As we enter 2020, I encourage each of you to get involved and stay connected with your city as we continue to innovate and expand services. The U.S. Census is in April, and I encourage each of you to join me in filling out your Census form and being counted to benefit both the state and your local community.
I look forward to what the next year brings for our community. Pflugerville, the town that I love, continues to get better and better, and has become a great place for families. Have a safe and happy New Year!