She lives on Sunrise Circle and said she doesn’t want any change, as town officials contemplate creating a sewer line extension to her area where people use septic systems. She said she doesn’t want to connect to the town line because of the cost and her system’s efficiency.
“There’s no reason to put that [extension] because most of the people out there can’t afford to hook into it,” she said. “It would take so much money for them to hook into it. A lot of people out there get such small amounts of [Social Security] money a month.”
Smith and some other Flower Mound residents, including those who live on Sunrise Circle, met with town officials at an open house Oct. 5 at Argyle High School’s cafeteria. There, town officials responded to residents’ concerns about the potential sewer extension at Sunrise Circle.
Some residents have spoken at recent Flower Mound meetings to voice their concerns about the sewer system in the Sunrise Circle neighborhood and surrounding area.
Smith said she attended the public meeting to ensure she knows what is happening on Sunrise. Carlos Shelton, who lives on Sunrise, said he attended the meeting to find out whether town officials had “real plans” for Sunrise.
“Anybody can say they talked to a contractor—I can call a contractor and talk—or [say they] really have plans to do something,” he said, adding that he knows town officials are in the initial phases of getting feedback from residents.
The background
Town Manager James Childers said in an email there is only one septic system in the Sunrise Circle area that is considered failing, and town officials are working with the property owner on replacement of their system. Because the system was determined to be failing, Childers said the property owner has worked to keep the tanks pumped out to prevent water surfacing.
“This mitigation strategy may be used temporarily for septic systems until they can be replaced,” he said. “We understand the burden replacing a septic system can place on property owners. When a system fails, it’s our policy to work with the property owners on a strategy to first mitigate any public health concerns and look for a permanent solution.”
The town has a section about Sunrise Circle on its website.
Sunrise Circle is an existing development on the western side of town off U.S. 377 that is on septic and does not have sewer service, the town website noted. Town officials are considering options for extending wastewater to the Sunrise Circle right of way for future connection, per the town’s existing sewer policy.
Zooming in
One unresolved issue concerning Sunrise Circle is determining how costs of the sewer extension would be met—through town funds or property owner responsibilities. Assistant Town Manager Tommy Dalton attended the Oct. 5 meeting and discussed how the town could deal with the funding matter.
He said the option town officials talked about that would include payment from everybody is a full build-out option, whether that’s just Sunrise Circle or Sunrise Circle and Oakridge Lane.
“That’s a major capital expense, and there were a couple of ways that could be achieved,” he said. “One was a public improvement district, but under the town’s code of ordinances, that requires an election, and that is probably not the easiest method to [pursue].”
Incidentally, the town’s boundary is essentially the centerline of Oakridge Lane. Everyone south of that line is in Flower Mound, and everyone north is in the Argyle extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ. All of the residents are on septic systems.
In another option under the Texas local government code, town officials could establish an assessment on the properties in question. Officials found under the assessment option, the cost was roughly $3.3 million to extend sewer throughout the Sunrise Circle neighborhood, which would mean $310 a month over 10 years paid for by each property owner, Dalton said. Some people are interested in a sewer line extension and are not as concerned about costs, whether it’s connecting to the sewer line system if their septic system fails or taking the assessment, Dalton said.
A closer look
But there are some people who cannot or do not want to pay the costs for the extension, Dalton said. There is neither a free option that involves the extension of sewer through the neighborhood nor a free option for property owners to connect to the sewer line, if it only enters the neighborhood. Some people, though, may be eligible for Community Development Block Grant funding, which can be used toward the cost of connecting existing residential structures to water distribution lines or local sewer collection lines. However, that only applies to the cost of connecting the lines, not the cost of actually bringing the sewer lines into the neighborhood.
Eventually, a presentation on this matter will be brought to council, and the public will be able to speak at that meeting, Dalton said.
“And at that point, we’ll receive direction from the Town Council,” he said.
The meeting date is unknown but it will be as soon as possible, Dalton said.
The details
The Sunrise Circle tab on the town website features many questions about the development, including about the wastewater connection project. Town officials held a meeting in July on the sewer extension issue at Sunrise Circle.
“No approved funding has been reduced or removed from the project,” town officials explained on the Sunrise Circle question and answer section, adding that “the budget for the project has not been established as town staff is still engaging with the neighborhood on the best path forward and, ultimately, awaiting Town Council direction. Once the final project is determined, funding will be included during the annual budget process or will be added via a budget amendment.”
