Architect, site sought for planned civic center
By DAVID LOWE Staff Writer

After nearly three decades of planning, Lampasas leaders are ready to select an architect and a building site for a community events center.

The Lampasas City Council on Jan. 14 authorized a civic center committee to issue a request for proposals from architects. The deadline for submitting statements of qualifications is Feb. 20.

Along with trying to select an architect, the committee is looking for sites large enough for a multi-purpose building and adjacent parking, chairman Jack Calvert said.

Committee members hope to construct a building with a large stage for performances or presentations and want to include "break-out" rooms on the sides of the facility for meetings, Calvert said. The committee also is considering an outdoor patio or other area for staging events.

The civic center would host special events, such as receptions or chamber of commerce functions, he said. In evaluating potential sites, the committee will look for areas with existing utilities and with room for parking and sufficient ingress and egress for 300 or more people.

Real estate costs probably will prevent buying property directly along a highway, though, said the chairman.

"That's just almost impossible to be able to afford highway frontage," Calvert said.

The city has about $1.2 million budgeted for the project. "That's kind of the upper limit," he said, noting the committee plans to apply for small grants, such as Lower Colorado River Authority funds for lighting.

Funding for the civic center will come primarily from hotel/motel monies, Calvert said. Some city funding has been available since the 1970s, when citizens first identified the need for a community event center, he added.

Building the center will not require an additional tax levy on Lampasas residents, Calvert said.

"We're not going to spend local tax money," the committee chairman said.

The chamber of commerce receives a portion of the city's hotel/ motel revenues each year, and hotel/ motel taxes are meant to fund projects such as a civic center, Calvert explained.

Events at the civic center will attract visitors to Lampasas, he said, meaning city sales tax and hotel/ motel revenues likely will increase.

"The need for a civic center has been established for some time," he said. "If we're going to do it, it's time to do it."