Three new municipal utility districts advance Wedemeyer Ranch development in Leander

Builders can move forward with plans for the Wedemeyer Ranch development in Leander after just three qualifying voters on May 10 approved the establishment, $70.97 million worth of bonds and tax rates for the development's three municipal utility districts, or MUDs. The voters also approved members for the MUDs' three boards of directors. The three MUDS are part of the 927.5-acre Wedemeyer Ranch site southwest of Hwy. 29 and Ronald Reagan Boulevard. The property is owned by San Antonio developer Howard Wedemeyer. About 2,970 houses are planned for the development. At Wedemeyer's request, Leander City Council consented to the three districts' creation in February 2009. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality approved the MUDs in August 2013. A new MUD lies outside city limits but must still be approved by the city government which controls the ETJ. MUDs must be created by the TCEQ or an act of the Texas Legislature before their governing boards can seek voter-approved funding. A MUD then issues bonds to finance construction of houses, water lines, parks and streets. Future homeowners in a MUD pay toward the bond debt with distinct property taxes. According to TCEQ rules, the commission appoints an interim board of directors for a MUD before voters in a local election approve the permanent board and the MUD's establishment. A MUD's board of directors is legally responsible for all the MUD's financial decisions such as setting budgets and tax rates. TCEQ rules require that a MUD director be a Texas resident age 18 or older. He or she must also be a qualified voter—or owner of taxable property—within a district. Only people who legally qualify as residents of a newly created MUD can vote in a MUD election. In many cases a single person can live temporarily within the district and vote to help get the MUD started, Williamson County Elections Administrator Jason Barnett said. The Williamson County Elections Department supervised the MUD votes May 10. Three qualifying residents—one in each MUD—voted to approve all 15 propositions. Five propositions for each of the three MUDs confirmed each MUDs' establishment; adopted the new districts' operations and maintenance taxes; and issued specific amounts of bonds for the MUDs' water and drainage systems, parks and recreation facilities, and roads. In MUD No. 2 and MUD No. 3, one voter from each district supported five candidates who won election to the permanent board of directors. But in MUD No. 1, the qualifying MUD resident voted for only one candidate, Ryan W. Kasten, to win election to the new five-member board of directors. The Texas Water Code specifies that if a district's qualified voter is absent or fails to vote for a MUD's proposed permanent board of directors, the existing appointed interim directors are instead deemed elected to serve first terms. Attorney Sue Littlefield with the legal firm Armbrust & Brown PLLC, who arranged the MUD elections for the developer, declined to comment for this story.