The dispute over the collection of assessments on more than 100 homes in Kyle’s Bunton Creek Village subdivision came to a close Dec. 15. After year-long legal battle, the city of Kyle reached a settlement with Freehold Capital Partners, the developer of the neighborhood. Many homeowners said liens were being placed on their homes because of their failure to pay an assessment they had never been told they owed. Kyle City Council voted 7-0 to approve the settlement. Council also approved on Dec. 15 reassessing the properties in the Bunton Creek public improvement district. A PID is a development that finances infrastructure upgrades through assessment collections from property owners. The assessments, which are paid in addition to property taxes, are typically paid over a period of many years. “As these things go I think it was a pretty fair deal,” Mayor Todd Webster said. “We were able to reduce the overall cost of the assessments and bring that in line with the infrastructure that has been put and is going to be put out there. We were able to take care of all the harm that was caused by the failure in administering the PID. All in all it was lot of work, but I’m relieved it has come to a resolution.” In 2005 the developers of Bunton Creek Village created a PID to fund water and wastewater system improvements in the subdivision. By 2013 collection of the assessments in the PID had stalled. But in 2014 homeowners received notices from PID Holdings, a firm that claimed to have taken over administration of the assessments, that liens were being placed on their homes for failing to pay their assessments. The city argued PID Holdings’ actions were illegal. Later that year Kyle City Council released the liens and reassessed the properties in the Bunton Creek PID. As part of the settlement the parties agreed to amend the assessments levied against the homeowners. Assessments that were set at about $2,900 were reduced to $1,850 based on an evaluation of the construction work that had been done. Property owners can pay their assessments through a $148 annual fee over a 20-year period. They can also avoid paying interest by paying the full amount once the settlement contract is signed. Larry Jones, a Bunton Creek Village resident, said council should look closely at any future PID proposals. City Manager Scott Sellers said Walton Development has requested a PID in southeast Kyle where the developer is building two residential subdivisions: Kyle Estates and Pecan Woods. Plum Creek Development Partners has also expressed interest in creating a PID in Kyle but has not formally submitted a proposal, Sellers said. Jones said before council took action on the item that residents in Bunton Creek Village have been out of the loop as legal issues have been sorted out. “We would like this thing to come to an end,” he said. “We would also like a legitimate place to send our paycheck.”