Leander city leaders convened at a workshop in mid-January to discuss, among other things, how best to handle the city's growing need for infrastructure.
City Manager Kent Cagle said the city issued 666 single-family building permits in 2013, a record-setting year.
"New residents bring new demand for service, so it's a juggling act in making it all work," Cagle said. "The growth is great and we are expecting and planning for it, but it brings a lot of service demands. All these new homes don't just bring property tax revenue but service demands, too."
The city is planning to issue $15 million–$20 million in bonds that would fund road construction on Municipal Drive, Bagdad Road and West Old FM 2243 as well as building two new fire stations. The new debt—expected to be issued in January 2015—would not raise the tax city rate, Cagle said.
Road projects
The most pressing item on the city's list of bond projects is the widening and improvement of Municipal Drive before the opening of Leander ISD's 25th elementary school, expected in summer 2015. Cagle said discussions between city and district staff are underway. Initial city estimates for construction total about $2.3 million, some of which could be shared with the district.
"We are working on some engineering and looking at [LISD's] preliminary site plans," he said. "We are making comments and getting that process permitted as quickly as possible. I feel sure the intersection at West [Street] and Municipal will have to be improved, and then Municipal itself will have to be improved, widened and completed to the west."
City leaders hope to halve the cost of two larger road improvement projects with Williamson County, whose voters in November approved $275 million in road bonds to be spent on projects throughout the county, including in Leander. Construction on Bagdad Road from West Old FM 2243 to CR 280 will cost more than $8.9 million, and work on West Old FM 2243 from US 183 to Lakeline Boulevard is estimated to cost about $17 million.
Cagle said engineering work is underway, and the city aims to have both roads ready for construction by the end of the year.
"We expect the county is going to have a bond sale sometime this year," he said. "We hope both of those projects are included, but we're very hopeful that at least one will be included. If that is the case, we will have to come up with our 50 percent [funding] match."
Precinct 2 Commissioner Cynthia Long said Leander's efforts to have shovel-ready projects will be beneficial when the bonds are issued in late spring 2014. Williamson County is likely to split the $275 million road bond sale into two or three separate issues, she said.
"Cedar Park and Leander both stepped up in a big way in this process and said, 'We will partner with the county on these projects,'" she said. "I'll be working with each city to figure out what is the No. 1 priority. In Leander's case, they have two No. 1s, but I think we are going to have to decide which is the most important."
If only one road project receives county funding in 2014, Cagle said Leander will delay the second project until county commissioners approve the next bond sale.
Fire stations
Growth has led city leaders to consider adding and relocating fire stations to improve response times. Included in Leander's proposed bond sale is the addition of a more than $2.8 million fire station near Ronald Reagan Boulevard and Journey Parkway as well as relocating Fire Station No. 1 from West Willis Street to near San Gabriel Parkway.
Fire Chief Bill Gardner said the fast-growing population on the city's east side needs better and faster fire coverage.
"The distance from the current fire station out there makes it so the homeowners don't get the same insurance rating as those closer to a fire station," Gardner said. "It's more costly, and there is time delay in getting to those areas. The areas out there are anywhere from eight to 12 minutes [away] compared to a normal response time of four to six minutes."
Cagle said he hopes the opening of both fire stations can be staggered because of increased operational costs. Land in north Leander has already been set aside for the city as part of the fire department's master plan.
Once station No. 1 is relocated at an estimated cost of more than $2.3 million, the fire station building near City Hall will be repurposed, Cagle said. In the next month, the city plans to hire a firm to assist with space planning.
"We are going to be in this location for a long time, so we are taking some steps now to figure out how we can continue to grow with this use of space," Cagle said. "Later this year we will have recommendations on how we can grow in this area."
Funding
Staffers worked with consultants to determine the estimated cost for each road and fire station project, Finance Director Robert Powers said. The city will be able to support up to a $20 million bond sale without a tax rate increase, Powers said.
"We thought conservatively and realistically that the next three years of the property tax base would grow at least 10 percent each year," he said. "That is pretty much all based on what we are seeing with residential permits. It's hard to predict exactly when a commercial development will occur, and once it does, that can really change your percentages. But the 10 percent is just looking at residential development that's already going on, being permitted and platted."
Powers said a January 2015 bond sale will give city staff time to evaluate exact costs, as well as register another year's worth of property tax base growth, because values are calculated at the start of the year.
"More value on the ground means more in property taxes. You can borrow more money and incur more debt, but you don't have to increase the tax rate because more people are paying," he said. "These are projects that are needed regardless of the tax base growth. We are fortunate that because of the tax base growth, we can fund them without a tax rate impact."
