The Lampasas City Council on Monday voted unanimously to designate 32 acres of land as perma- nent open space at the site of the Lampasas Regional Sports Complex, to be built on Farm-to-Market Road 580 West.

The designation of open space fulfills a Texas Parks & Wildlife Department condition attached to the TPWD grant the city received for the sports park.

City staff now can submit park plans for approval, after which they can advertise for bids, City Manager Michael Stoldt said.

The 32 acres sit at the south end of the sports park. Boundaries of the open space have been drawn to leave a strip of land near the fence line available for the extension of utilities and for a possible city street extension, Stoldt said.

The 32 acres occupy a marshy area of the sports park property, and the land collects a large amount of runoff, the city manager said.

"Of all the land out here, it is the least suited for development," Stoldt said. "That's why we picked it."

In other business, the City Council selected a bid of $536,823 from CWA Construction Inc. of Waco for construction of an animal control facility on 1.7 acres on College Street at the city's wastewater treatment plant.

Because the city and Lampasas County will share the building costs, the council's vote on CWA Construction is subject to approval by the Lampasas County Commissioners Court.

The bid total includes an increase of $6,250 for 16-gauge doors. CWA Construction's original bid of $530,573 covered the installation of 20-gauge doors.

Even with the adjustment, however, the Waco company's price is about $5,000 less than the secondlowest bid.

Stoldt said CWA Construction, which has worked on numerous projects at Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, submitted several "outstanding" references.

In another matter, the City Council voted 7-0 to approve a request by Vision Downtown Lampasas! to install on city poles along Third Street several banners advertising the downtown area.

The banners, which will feature the same designs as the banners on Key Avenue, will be placed facing the sidewalk, rather than on the street side, to keep them from being hit by street-sweeping trucks and delivery vehicles.

The banners will follow the color palette specified for the downtown business district. Mayor Pro Tem John Cole suggested using bright colors, as he said some banners on Key Avenue are difficult to see.

"I just would like to see more brilliant colors -- something that jumps out at you," he said.

In the first of two votes related to the new high school, the City Council approved a quote of $36,488 from Techline Inc. for the purchase of material to build a new electric feeder line from the Naruna Road substation to the campus.

The quote also includes the cost of poles to build service lines for the second phase of Diamond Ridge subdivision.

The council also accepted a quote of $8,635 from Pete Henniger Fence to build six gates and a fence for access to utility easements for the feeder line.

In addition, the council voted 7-0 to set fees for the 10 new hangars being built at Lampasas Municipal Airport. The monthly rental fees are $160 for a 40-foot hangar, $180 for a 42-foot hangar and $200 for a 44-foot hangar.

During the citizen comments portion of the meeting, Lampasas resident Kenn Manly said the city needs traffic lights at the intersections of Western and Fourth streets, and at Western Street and Central Texas Expressway. Manly said he has seen near-collisions at both sites.

Mayor Judy Hetherly said city staff have asked the Texas Department of Transportation to install a light at Fourth and Western. TxDOT officials, the mayor said, have indicated they want to put a light there in conjunction with possible future improvements to Fourth Street/Loop 257.

The mayor said she will ask for a light at Western and Central Texas Expressway as well, but she said TxDOT officials often ask which traffic light Lampasas would be model would cost about $160,000.

Vincent has expressed interest in purchasing a large distributor, as he said a new unit could help the county minimize asphalt waste and reduce its payments for asphalt transport.

The court took no action on the matter.

In another item, commissioners met for about 30 minutes in executive session to discuss bids for an animal control facility to be built on 1.7 acres at the city of Lampasas' public works yard. The facility will be built with city and county funds.

The county received 15 bids that ranged from $530,573 to nearly $1.09 million. The highest bid was the only one to exceed $715,000.

The Commissioners Court took no action on the bids.