City leaders, construction crews and community members gathered this week to mark a major milestone in the development of The Monarch, a new multigenerational recreation center rising within Pflugerville’s Downtown East district.

What happened: The ceremony celebrated the signing and placement of the building’s final structural beam, symbolizing the completion of the facility’s steel framework and the transition into its next phase of construction.

“This multigenerational recreation center represents growth, resilience and forward movement,” Mayor Doug Weiss said during the event.

“The Monarch is more than a building. It reflects how parks and recreation facilities continue to evolve to meet the needs of our community,” Weiss added.

Check out two of the latest Pflugerville ISD updates, including details on next year's multimillion dollar budget shortfall projection and the board of trustees' vote to not implement a period of prayer and reading of religious text under Senate Bill 11.

$18.3 million budget shortfall projected for 2026-27: The district's budget development has been underway for several months, Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Land said during the Feb. 5 board meeting. According to Land, the preliminary $18.2-million-budget shortfall reflects "structural pressure" from things such as enrollment decline due to the education savings account program and a decrease in School Health and Related Services funding.

Board votes against implementing period of prayer: The board voted against implementing a Senate Bill 11 resolution during its Feb. 19 meeting.

Passed by state lawmakers during the 2025 legislative session, the resolution authorizes school districts to establish a voluntary period of prayer and reading of the Bible or other religious texts during the school day.

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."

Check out six upcoming or ongoing transportation projects around the Austin metro.

Upcoming projects
Austin Light Rail
Project: The 10-mile rail system will initially feature 15 stations along the alignment and all-electric trains running every five to 10 minutes throughout most of the day.
Update: Austin Transit Partnership approved a $60 million design-build contract for the first phase of the project Feb. 18.

• Timeline: construction expected to begin in 2027
• Cost: $7.1 billion
• Funding source: federal grants and infrastructure loans, Project Connect revenues, city taxes

• Timeline: 2026-28 (Phase 1A)
• Cost: $30 million (Phase 1A)
• Funding sources: federal funding, city of Leander (Phase 1A)