TEJANO BMX TRAILS
Volunteer Built & Maintained

• 5/2/21 Flood Model review & findings by Civil Engineer
• 5/11/21 Council Meeting Video
• 4/26/21 Parks Meeting Video
• City of Pflugerville Organization Chart
• City of Pflugerville City Council and Mayor

5/11/21:
City Council Meeting: Council Members and the Mayor unanimously vote to work with Tejano BMX Trail volunteer group to preserve the trails!

The following was the direction given to city staff:
“Direct staff to work with the Tejano BMX Trails volunteer organization to develop a plan for the BMX trails on City parkland for Council consideration, ensuring compliance with all applicable federal, state & local laws and regulations, and to continue to allow public use of the BMX trails pending plan development, provided all improvements, equipment and materials are removed from the site with the exception of the dirt ramps.”

5/3/21:
2000+ Signatures of Support obtained

4/27/21:
Tejano Volunteers disable water intake system and remove BBQ pit

4/26/21:
Online meeting occurs from 11:30am-12:30pm 4/26/2021 Meeting Video/Audio Recording (36 minute .MP4)
4/20/21:
James Hartshorn, Assistant City Manager replies proposing an online meeting.

4/15/21:
Todd Moon, Lead Volunteer emails City Stakeholders requesting to be involved and aware of all park project developments affecting the trails.

4/14/21:
City of Pflugerville Parks Staff make surprise visit to Tejano BMX Trails.
City Staff talk with lead volunteers, Desmond Startin and Robert Ball about their visit. City Staff mention upcoming park projects and potential concerns with accessibility and water intake. Make no mention of flood plain issues and potential shut down of the trails.

2/4/2015:
City holds public meeting to discuss a volunteer installed comination locked access gate to the Pro Lines/ big jumps for rider safety. The purpose of this gate was to to ensure rider safety, with the reasoning that riders jumping huge jumps shouldn't do it alone in the event of a bad wreck. Having other riders present provides safety support.

The resistance to the gate came from a single individual operating BMX training classes for profit on city property. The outcome of the meeting was that the gate was allowed to remain intact.

Current state: As trail safety and safety awareness has improved, the gate has been removed.

August 11, 2009: (Official City Council Discussion Notes)
B. Youth presentation regarding a successful cooperative project with the City for the establishment of a BMX bike track. Mr. Gonzales provided information on the project and the work done to create the BMX bike track. He stated that over 600 hours had been spent in working on this project and they are continuing to work on it. He commended the young men for taking the initiative to make something for their enjoyment and physical fitness. He stated that it has benefited them and now benefits the City of Pflugerville. Mr. Gonzales recognized three of the young men that worked on the project who were in attendance: Steven Gonzales, Alan Evans, and Armando Flores. Mr. Gonzales stated that he is excited about the cooperation that they have had and that he hopes this is a project that continues. He suggested a possible community BMX bike event in September or October. He stated that it is accessible by a safe route from the trail system and is a fun place to be. Mr. Gonzales noted his pride in the young men that made it happen.

July 28, 2009: (Official City Council Discussion Notes)
D. Discuss and consider action regarding future agenda items. Mr. Gonzales requested an item to recognize a group of teenagers that recently established a BMX bike trail on City land. He noted that it was an impressive project that evolved. Mayor Coleman asked that the group give a five - minute presentation on the project. Mr. Gonzales stated that Mr. Hurta had suggested dual use of drainage ditches to provide skating facilities and he would like to look at that. Ms. Gillam stated that staff has started to look at that and will provide a report. CEVM sign changes to the sign ordinance was noted as an item.

4/26/21 Meeting Summary:
City Stakeholders announce the trails will be shut down 4/30/21 due primarily to flood plain concerns.
City Stakeholders present Staff Notes April 2021.pdf (link below)
Todd Moon speaks on behalf of Tejano Trails. City Stakeholders agree to postpone the shut down for 2 weeks.

4/26/2021 Meeting Materials:

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Tejano BMX Trails <tejanobmxtrails@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Apr 30, 2021 at 4:03 PM
Subject: Tejano BMX Trails: Jumps location on Flood map
To: James Hartshorn <JHartshorn@pflugervilletx.gov>, Sereniah Breland <SereniahB@pflugervilletx.gov>

Hi James,

As we are waiting on input from our civil engineer I wanted to share.

I used Strava mobile application to plot GPS coordinates to create this data visualization.

This map shows the jumps are outside of the flood flow vs the city's estimated location below that puts the jumps in the middle of the flood flow.

The purple to yellow gradient shows elevation.

City Estimation of jump locations:

Thank you,

Todd Moon

• Todd Moon's meeting notes (email correspondence WORD.doc)

  ---------- Forwarded message ---------
  From: Tejano BMX Trails <tejanobmxtrails@gmail.com>
  Date: Thu, Apr 29, 2021 at 8:20 AM
  Subject: Fwd: Tejano BMX Trails: thank you!
  To: James Hartshorn <JHartshorn@pflugervilletx.gov>, Sereniah Breland <SereniahB@pflugervilletx.gov>

  Good morning,

  Just following up on the email below as this is a high priority and don't want to blind side the city with the items below.

  FYI, we have gathered over 1800 signatures of support in the past 48 hours.

  Thank you,

  Todd Moon

  https://www.tejanobmxtrails.org/

   

  ---------- Forwarded message ---------
  From: Tejano BMX Trails <tejanobmxtrails@gmail.com>
  Date: Tue, Apr 27, 2021 at 3:11 PM
  Subject: Re: Tejano BMX Trails: thank you!
  To: James Hartshorn <JHartshorn@pflugervilletx.gov>
  Cc: Sereniah Breland <SereniahB@pflugervilletx.gov>

  Thanks James, that would be great.

  Unofficially/off the record please:

  1. I forgot one of our community volunteers is an Attorney for TCEQ.

  He mentioned we may want to request an official hearing pursuant to the Texas Administrative Procedures Act prior to further action on this issue.

  This would buy us time to gather more info & refine our approach prior to a City Council meeting.

  Do you think this is a viable positive option for our group?

   

  2. Additionally, one of our volunteers is a Civil Engineer with extensive experience in flood modeling.

  He suggested we may want to file an open records request for the flood model documents used to assess this liability concern with Tejano BMX Trails.

  This would allow him to review the model for accuracy.

  Do you think this is a viable positive option for our group?  

   

  3. We also have a volunteer who is a licensed Surveyor, who would be willing to survey the trails to provide accuracy in regards to flood modeling evaluation.

   

  4. Another volunteer is friends with a council member who seems to be an advocate for our cause and has agreed to speak with us on this issue.

  Do you think this is a viable positive option for our group?  

   

  5. We know several years ago there was a council meeting or hearing regarding Tejano BMX Trails and it may be helpful to request those documents as well

  Do you think this is a viable positive option for our group?    

   

  6. Is there a link to sign up to speak/present before City Council that shows time frames and materials requirements?

  Thanks,

  Todd

  On Tue, Apr 27, 2021 at 2:28 PM James Hartshorn <JHartshorn@pflugervilletx.gov> wrote:

  Thank you Todd. We truly appreciate your understanding and willingness to work together towards a solution. Council days like today are always pretty busy, but maybe we could circle back later this week?

  Thanks,

  James

  From: Tejano BMX Trails <tejanobmxtrails@gmail.com>
  Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2021 8:49 AM
  To: Sereniah Breland <SereniahB@pflugervilletx.gov>; James Hartshorn <JHartshorn@pflugervilletx.gov>
  Subject: Tejano BMX Trails: thank you!

  Good morning,

  I watched the meeting recording and regardless of the outcome, I want to thank you two.

  Realizing you are both advocates for our cause, I want to ask for your guidance to produce the best outcomes given our situation.

  Off the record, please give me your advice to create a win-win situation.

   

  One thing we have on our side is a local volunteer who is a professional civil engineer.

  He has offered to look at the flood modeling.

  The staff notes you provided have the location of the trails further into the flood flow than they actually are.

  This may help our cause.

  All the other issues are easy fixes.

   

  We want to strive to reduce any tax dollars spent on these efforts.

  We made it this far with minimal taxpayer investments and want to keep it that way.

   

  Please know we are 100% willing to acommodate and work with the city.

  We don't want to lose what we have invested so much effort in.

   

  Sincerely,

  Todd

  ---------- Forwarded message ---------
  From: Tejano BMX Trails <tejanobmxtrails@gmail.com>
  Date: Mon, Apr 26, 2021 at 6:53 PM
  Subject: Re: Tejano BMX Trails: shut down - Meeting Notes 4/26/2021 @ 11:30am
  To: James Hartshorn <JHartshorn@pflugervilletx.gov>
  Cc: Sereniah Breland <SereniahB@pflugervilletx.gov>, Victor Gonzales <victor.gonzales@pflugervilletx.gov>, Shane Mize <ShaneM@pflugervilletx.gov>, Amy Giannini <AGiannini@pflugervilletx.gov>, Jenna Goolsby <jennag@pflugervilletx.gov>, <martychristman@gmail.com>

   

  Thank you very much for the meeting materials James.

  I will try to download this meeting video later tonight or tomorrow morning.

   

  Our group will remove the fire ring/BBQ pit and water system ASAP, by Wednesday at the latest.

  Looking through this website (https://www.pflugervilletx.gov/city-government/agendas-and-minutes), it shows the next council meeting is tomorrow but I didn't see the BMX trails on the agenda.

   

  We would like to have adequate time to prepare to speak before the council.

  Please advise when the next feasible meeting will be held where we can speak and if there is an online request to speak I need to submit to speak.

   

  We truly hope to work with the city to find possible solutions to save the trails.

  We appreciate everyone's time and effort.

  Thank you,

  Todd Moon

  On Mon, Apr 26, 2021 at 5:55 PM James Hartshorn <JHartshorn@pflugervilletx.gov> wrote:

  Good afternoon Todd,

  Thanks again for visiting with us this morning. Attached is the document we reviewed together. Keep in mind the pdf document is in draft form – really just a compilation of our notes thus far. Also, you should be able to click  this link to view a recording of the meeting. I’m new to using this feature, so if it doesn’t work, let me know and we can figure out alternate means of getting it to you.

  Attendees of today’s meeting were:

  Sereniah Breland, City Manager,

  James Hartshorn, Assistant City Manager

  Amy Giannini, Assistant City Manager

  Shane Mize, Parks & Recreation Director

  Jenna Goolsby, Floodplain Administrator

  Various City planning documents can be found on our website here.

  Finally, as you mentioned, we ask that your organization no longer makes fires in this area or pumps water from the creek (effective immediately), and that the fire pit, water pump system and any items/equipment related to these two activities are removed as soon as possible.

   

  Our doors are open and we look forward to working together with your organization to identify possible solutions and a path forward. Please reach out if you have any questions/concerns/ideas between now and the next Council meeting, and we will be sure to share information if anything new comes up.

   

  Sincerely,

  James

  From: Tejano BMX Trails <tejanobmxtrails@gmail.com>
  Sent: Monday, April 26, 2021 2:10 PM
  To: Sereniah Breland <SereniahB@pflugervilletx.gov>; Victor Gonzales <victor.gonzales@pflugervilletx.gov>; James Hartshorn <JHartshorn@pflugervilletx.gov>; Shane Mize <ShaneM@pflugervilletx.gov>
  Subject: Tejano BMX Trails: shut down - Meeting Notes 4/26/2021 @ 11:30am

  Please share with stakeholders.

  Thanks for your time meeting with me today.

  We were completely blindsided by the notification to shut the trails down this Friday and appreciate the 2 week period of delay.

  We ask that we be included in all communications, meetings and efforts regarding further developments.

   

  We hope to work towards a partnership that preserves Tejano BMX Trails for the sake of the community and to eliminate reputation harm to the City of Pflugerville from bad media publicity and negative community response.

  We were able to overcome the exact same concerns presented at today's meeting with the City of Austin to preserve decades of community volunteer efforts at 9th Street BMX.

  Please review the 9th Street BMX website for details of the proven successful model of city partnership we would like to follow at Tejano BMX Trails.

  https://9thstreetbmx.org/

   

  If you haven't already please take time to review the Tejano BMX Trails website:

  https://www.tejanobmxtrails.org/

   

  Action Items:

  City Stakeholders requested to provide:

  1.   A copy of the document presented at the meeting today.

  2.   Meeting recording.

  3.   A list of attendees and contact information.

  4.   A list of stakeholders involved in this project: General Counsel, Flood Management/Watershed, City Council, etc.

  5.   Any planning/master plan documents.

  Tejano BMX Trails volunteers:

  1.   Removal of concrete fire ring on the concrete foundation that is bordered by 2 foot high concrete walls..

  2.   Removal of water intake system.

  Addressing concerns mentioned in the meeting:

  Erosion:

  ·        Jumps are compacted upon creation and maintained on a daily basis.

  ·        Jumps are tarped to prevent wind and water erosion.

  ·        We actively mitigate erosion of the trails for our benefit as well and soil conservation and flood plain concerns.

  ·        Grass has been planted on the sides and back of all of the jumps to control erosion.

  ·        Silt fencing could be installed to address additional concerns.

  Water Usage:

  ·        Water is gathered from the creek to water storage tanks and applied very sparingly (by hand from garden watering cans).

  ·        There are several residences upstream who implement the same method to water their lawns through irrigation systems vs. by hand.

  Fill:

  ·        No fill has been brought onsite.

  ·        All jumps have been created by manual labor (shovel by shovel) without the use of any machinery.

  ·        The dirt used to build the jumps is dug by hand from the rideable pits between the jumps, this equates to a Zero Net Gain.

  ·        None of the jumps are in the water flow path during a flood, they are all in the flood plain are and do not create blockage to water flow. (supporting visual evidence available)

  Evidence of Community Support:

  We will begin a Community Support Campaign to include an online petition, letters of support, social media support and coverage via local media outlets replicating our efforts at 9th Street BMX.

  We will begin production of a Public Service Announcement (PSA) replicating the PSA used for 9th Street BMX (below)

   

   Tejano BMX Trails:  (current state)

  Petition for Support: 151 Signatures (This will change to a petition for preservation)

  We will be requesting a letter of support from Mayor Gonzales

  Tejano BMX Trails Instagram: 596 followers  

  9th Street BMX: (examples of proven community support)

  Support letter from Mayor Steve Adler

  9th Street BMX Public Service Announcement (PSA)

  9th Street BMX: Austin Parks Foundation (APF) Golden Shovel Award - Best Adopt a Park group 2019

  9th St BMX Instagram Followers: 9,902  

  Thank you,

  Todd Moon