New Braunfels City Council approved a $16 million contract with Byrne Construction Services for the construction of the Southeast Branch Library on Feb. 9.

The details: The Southeast Library is tied to the city's voter-approved 2023 bond program, Proposition C, which allocated $28.56 million to library services, as previously reported by Community Impact.

Byrne's fee for the construction of the library will total approximately $1.43 million, including fees for construction and general costs, according to agenda documents.

The background: The 23,520-square-foot facility south of the Guadalupe River will serve a rapidly growing area of the city with a youth- and family-focused design, meeting spaces, outdoor garden and public plaza. City officials said the branch will help relieve pressure on existing libraries and provide resources within walking distance of several nearby schools, Community Impact previously reported.

What’s next: The price will be finalized and presented to council once design work concludes. Construction is expected to begin this summer.

A new boutique wellness spa is planning to open later this month in downtown New Braunfels.

Current situation: Sol Haus Aesthetics + Wellness + Boutique—locally owned by founder Marie Finger—is set to debut with a soft opening on Feb. 28.

It is located at 297 W. San Antonio St. and will be sharing a space with Ruff Town Rescue, a boutique and wellness spa for dogs.

Ruff Town Rescue is owned by Finger’s business partner, Nancy Hierl, according to previous reporting from Community Impact.

What they offer: Sol Haus Aesthetics + Wellness + Boutique will offer a range of wellness treatments including facials and IV therapy. The business will also sell a curated selection of personal hygiene products such as lotions, shampoos and more. A monthly spa membership will also be available for patrons to purchase.

• 297 W. San Antonio St., New Braunfels

The Lower Colorado River Authority is conducting studies to determine if a site northwest of Eagle Lake in Colorado County would be suitable for a new, larger water reservoir. 

The details: LCRA already owns the 2,000-acre site, which could add over 13 billion gallons to the Central Texas water supply amid growing water needs. 

Two-minute impact: The river authority, which supplies water and hydroelectric power to many communities throughout Central Texas, is exploring plans to build a new reservoir that could hold up to 90,000 acre feet of water. That would make it larger than the recently opened Arbuckle Reservoir, or two to three times the capacity of Lake Travis. 

Why now? A new reservoir off the river authority's main channel was established in its Water Supply Resource Report, an overview of strategies to address regional water needs, that was approved last year, according to a Feb. 19 news release. 

The focus of a national initiative to build climate resilience at the local level in Central Texas will focus on three specific climate hazards, the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions announced in February.

What you need to know: The Feb. 18 announcement states that the triple threat of extreme heat, wildfires and flooding in the area will be the focus of the Climate Resilient Communities Accelerator hub in the area. This comes after months of meetings with area leaders, assessment of area disasters and other information gathering.

What they're saying: This accelerator program will be the first through the CCES to include flooding, according the news release.  

"Although the harmful impacts of any of these hazards alone can be very significant, the compounding impacts when they overlap can be devastating," the release states. "Extreme heat can amplify wildfire risk, and heavy rainfall immediately following wildfire can increase erosion and flooding due to soil and vegetation changes."