During its Jan. 10 meeting, Magnolia City Council unanimously approved a motion to instruct staff to go forward with a proposed public improvement/development agreement with Magnolia East 149 LLC—which is managed by Magnolia Place developer Stratus Properties Inc.—for an additional water well.

This comes amid a temporary development moratorium that was enacted Dec. 21.

“If the council goes forward with this, we would enter into a development agreement with Magnolia East 149 LLC,” City Attorney Leonard Schneider said. “They own the land, and they would retain LJA Engineering to do the engineering work. ... Working with the city engineer to make sure it’s constructed correctly or the way we want it constructed.”

Schneider said he has no objection from a legal standpoint to the city going forth with this agreement.

“Obviously, it would put us sufficiently ahead of the curve even more so by having the third well put in,” Schneider said.

A final agreement will be presented to City Council during its February meeting, Schneider said.

The Audubon Management District, which is developing Audubon in Magnolia, is also working to build a new well with a goal to get it running by May, according to documents provided by the Audubon Management District.

The new well would connect to the city’s water system in two places—Mill Run Drive and FM 1488 and Magnolia Ridge Boulevard and Harlequin Duck Court—with the goal of alleviating some of Magnolia’s issues caused by its water supply capacity shortage, according to the documents.

“[This would be] a simple addendum or addition that will sit on top of your existing agreement with us—the wholesale water supply and sanitary sewer agreement,” said Sam Yager III, vice president of Audubon Magnolia Development, at the Jan. 10 meeting.

After its executive session, City Council unanimously approved a motion regarding “the following contracts with Audubon: Wholesale Water Supply and Sanitary Sewer Agreement, the Land Use Planning and Cooperation Agreement, and any amendments,” according to the agenda.

During the Jan. 10 meeting, Magnolia City Council also approved a motion to award a contract to Weisinger Inc. to build Well No. 8 for $2.89 million.