During its April 16 meeting, Grapevine City Council passed a resolution outlining the intent to sell $36.7 million in certificates of obligation to cover the funding for the Grapevine Service Center, improvements at the water and wastewater treatment plants, and maintenance for two stormwater culverts.
The overview
Director of Administration and Engineering Bryan Beck said the three projects were necessary to extend the life of existing infrastructure. The service center was impacted by storm damage from a 2022 tornado, which made the building unusable for staff, he added.
The overall cost for the service center project is around $15 million, with $10 million of the certificates of obligation being secured by property taxes, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Strawn said. Improvements for culverts, which had a cost of $1.7 million, involved applying a cement-like epoxy to the interior to address issues that could lead to negative impacts on the city’s stormwater system if left unaddressed, Beck said.
“We’ve begun to have small holes [in the pipe], and you would begin to lose soil into the pipe, and it would sink,” Beck said. “These facilities are under roadways and between houses.”
The final project involves improvements to staff facilities at the city’s water and wastewater treatment plants. The project will cost $20 million with $2 million for design and $9 million for each plant, Beck said.
Zooming in
Strawn said the funding for these projects was already budgeted within various city funds and through insurance proceeds. Taxpayers will not see an increase in the rates because of the bond issue either, Strawn added.
Beck compared the service center project specifically to an interior renovation project, noting changes in the service center were necessary because of an increase in staff members that has created cramped quarters within the facility.
“We are lucky that we have the bonding capacity without having to raise taxes in order to be able to completely renovate a service center that was pretty much destroyed in December 2022,” City Manager Bruno Rumbelow said.
The specifics
For the service center project, several improvements are set to occur, Beck said, including:
- An above-ground fuel island for city vehicles
- Three canopies, one of which will be used for heavy equipment, and the other two for other city vehicles and equipment
- Interior renovations to bring the facility up to date with modern code standards
- A dedicated loading dock
- A hardened space for a tornado, a new bunk room for city work crews to use during inclement weather, and new training and conference rooms
- A covered material storage area
- Expanded lab testing space to perform state-mandated water and wastewater analysis
- Expanded office and meeting space
- New shower facilities
What’s next?
Construction on the water and wastewater plants is expected to start in spring 2025 after a contractor for the project is selected this fall, Beck said. Once complete, the life of the facilities is expected to be extended by about 50 years, he added.
Similarly, the service center should last the city 50 years as well after improvements are complete, Beck said.
Council is expected to approve an intent to sell the bonds in June, Strawn said, which means the city will likely see the proceeds from the sale in July.
