Hutto police chief revisits plan for new justice center
Hutto Police Chief Jeffrey Yarbrough presented a history of the city's police department facilities, identifying a need for upgraded infrastructure, at a July 17 City Council meeting.
"The overall goal is to come together to see if we can meet the needs and serve the community and their needs moving forward," Yarbrough said.
The history
The Hutto Police Department facility was built in 2002 when the city's population was only 2,971 people, according to Yarbrough. Including the main facility and other buildings utilized by the department, Hutto Police has about 18,826 square feet at its disposal.
To meet the needs of the city today, Yarbrough said that the team would need at least a 26,000-square-foot facility, not accounting for future growth.
The breakdown
Yarbrough laid out three concepts for a justice center facility at the July 17 meeting. These options range from $50 million to $65.3 million and include a 45,914-square-foot main police facility, with other features such as possible court space and a police asset garage.
Pflugerville projects $20 total utility bill increase
Pflugerville Finance Director Tracy Waldron presented projected utility rates for the fiscal year 2025-26 budget at a July 8 City Council work session. The next fiscal year has a projected 2% growth rate in standard water and wastewater units.
Digging deeper
“We’ve been looking at the rate model every single year,” Waldron said. “[We] want to make sure that we have the most accurate data in that model.”
In addition to growth in demand, debt service and impact fees—a charge to new development to fund infrastructure costs–also affect residents’ utility rates.
Although the rates are lower than what city staff projected for future budgets during last year’s budget planning, the rates are still an increase from the FY 2024-25 budget.
What residents should know
City staff calculated what an average resident would pay for their utility bill, which assumes a ⅝-inch water meter, 8,000 gallons of water volume and 5,000 gallons of wastewater volume.
The increase amounts to about $20 per bill.
Hutto resolves yearslong lawsuit with Perfect Game developer
The city of Hutto and developer Wolverine Interests resolved a series of lawsuits in July that started in 2019 and centered around the Perfect Game mixed-use development project.
The details
Perfect Game, a baseball scouting company, planned to relocate to Hutto as the anchor tenant in an $800 million mixed-use development led by Wolverine Interests.
Hutto filed a petition against the developer, claiming breach of contract and seeking restitution. Wolverine Interests countered with its own claim.
The amicable settlement officially resolves all existing disputes between the two parties. Additionally, the development site is now free for future projects.
Pflugerville City Council, PCDC deliberate on Project Greenfield
Since approving the land purchase for a site formerly known as Project Greenfield, Pflugerville City Council and the city's economic development corporation have had several meetings to define project goals and direction.
What happened
The most recent discussion between the two entities at a June 24 special meeting focused on deciding the next steps for the 52.69-acre tract west of Lake Pflugerville, now dubbed Project Nexus.
The council directed the PCDC to initiate a request for qualifications, and for city staff to work with the PCDC to choose an owner's representative, or project manager, from the results.
