Eagle Pass City Council Holds Water Impact Fees Public Hearing and Approves Water Subscription Fee Increase, Natural Gas Franchise, and Other Issues

By: Miguel Munoz, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2018

The City of Eagle Pass, Texas City Council held a Public Hearing on Water Impact Fees and approved several important Ordinances or Resolutions concerning the increase of Water Subscription Fees, the City’s Natural Gas Franchise, amending the City Budget to transfer certain employees and create a new Public Relations Coordinator position, amending the guidelines and criteria for granting City tax abatements, the City’s 2016-2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, and other City business issues at their special meeting held on Tuesday, March 20, 2018.

The March 20th special meeting opened with a public hearing to consider the adoption of a water impact fee within the City of Eagle Pass corporate boundaries and extraterritorial jurisdiction presented by Eagle Pass Water Works and Sewer System General Manager Jorge Barrera.  Barrera advised City Council that a detailed study had been done by a consulting firm on behalf of the Eagle Pass Water Works System forecasting the need of both a water impact fee and a wastewater impact fee for the next 10 years in the corporate limits and extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City of Eagle Pass. Barrera noted that the City Waterworks System currently does not charge a water impact fee but does charge a wastewater impact fee for all new real estate development of $526 per living unit equivalent (per lot) paid by the real estate developer.

The City Water Impact Fee Committee and the study recommend that the water impact fee be increased from $0 to $828. for inside city limits and $0 to 828 for outside the city limits, an increase of $828. Barrera also presented that the current City Wastewater Impact Fee is $526 per living unit equivalent (per lot) for both inside the city limits and outside the city limits, but the Committee and the study recommend to decrease it to $0 per living unit equivalent (per lot).  The Water Impact Fee will be paid by the developer for new real estate developments only within the city limits and its extraterritorial jurisdiction. Although the proposed water impact fee will  be for new development within the City limits and its extraterritorial jurisdiction once the City Council approves such an Ordinance, the increased fees make the costs of future development in Eagle Pass and its extraterritorial jurisdiction more expensive for developers, who ultimately pass these increased fees to the consumers who buy a real property lot to build a home by increasing the costs of the lots.  For instance, City Councilmember Luis E. Sifuentes noted in the meeting that the current price of a regular 5,500 square foot lot (50 feet wide by 110 feet long) in Eagle Pass is approximately $35-36,000 per lot. Consequently, the price of future real property lots will increase whenever the new proposed water impact fee is approved and implemented in the near future.  Remember the water impact fee has not been approved by City Council yet, but is still in the public hearing phase for citizens public comment and eventually will be proposed in a forthcoming Ordinance. The proposed water impact fee is for new real estate developments after the City Council approves the Ordinance in the future to be paid by the developer.  All existing real properties and development will not be required to pay the new proposed water impact fee because they are grandfathered, according to City Attorney Heriberto Morales of Langley and Banack.  The City Council will have another Public Hearing for citizens public comments in the near future.

The next agenda item tackled was No. 2 concerning the approval of an Ordinance to update the Water Conservation Plan and the Drought Contingency Plan. Jorge Barrera advised the City Council that since the City of Eagle Pass through its Waterworks and Sewer System receives funds from the State of Texas, the City is required to submit these two conservation plans to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) every five years.  City Waterworks System Assistant General Manager Jorge Flores told City Council that there were no major changes except to update the population figures and other growth numbers.  The City Council approved the first reading of the Ordinance regarding the update of the Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plans.

Agenda Item No. 3 was next regarding the approval of an Ordinance increasing the water rights subscription fee from $188 to $300 per living unit equivalent (per lot) for new real estate development in the City limits and extraterritorial jurisdiction to be paid by the developers after the passage of the Ordinance by the City Council.  Jorge Barrera advised the City Council that the water subscription fee increase is for a City fund to be used for purchasing new water rights for the City in the future.   Currently, the City has 12,600 Acres Feet of water rights from the Rio Grande River from the State of Texas TCEQ, which should be enough water for the City until 2039, said Barrera. However, the City is always seeking to buy new water rights when available at a reasonable market price as a safety measure for future growth, added Barrera.  Barrera noted that the City recently purchase some water rights at a cost of $3,000 per Acre Foot. The current water subscription fee of $188 per living equivalent unit (per lot) has not been raised since over 20 years and the cost to the City to purchase new water rights has increased significantly over these years. Mayor Ramsey English Cantu stated this fee increase is needed and water is a commodity required by the City to operate and its future growth. This fee increase will be paid by the developer, who eventually passes it to consumers in the cost of each new real property lot.  The City Council unanimously approved the first reading of the Ordinance.

The City Council also approved the City of Eagle Pass 2016-2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017 presented by CPA Milo Martinez of Martinez, Rosario & Company, L.L.P. of San Antonio, Texas. Martinez advised City Council that the City is receiving an unmodified opinion (best available)) and the City finances were all positive with a fund balance growth of $1.8 Million over the last fiscal year. Martinez noted that the City’s enterprises of the Waterworks and Sewer System, International Bridge System , and Waste management contributed $12.5 Million to the City’s General Fund,  including $11 Million by the International Bridge System and $360,000 by the Waterworks System.

Other Agenda items approved by the City Council at the March 20th special meeting included Agenda Item No. 8 regarding the approval to sell a City Property acquired from a Tax Sale which was never purchased for the amount of $14,000 instead of its $35,140 market value on the grounds that it is better to put properties back on the City’s tax roll than it not paying any taxes at all; the awarding of the City’s Natural Gas Franchise to locally-owned and operated Texas State Natural Gas Company, Inc. for a 20 year period; the amending of the City Ordinance granting tax abatements through updating its guidelines and criteria and appointing Committee members; a Resolution declaring certain City property as surplus; the second reading of an Ordinance to amend the City Budget.to transfer certain city positions or upgrade them and the creation of a new Public Relations Officer position for the City as st a starting salary of $32,000; a Resolution authorizing the City to apply for a grant to the Office of the Governor Criminal Justice Division to purchase body cameras for police officers; the final plat approval of the Eagle Garden Estates Subdivision owned by the LIfson Family; the final plat approval of the Elm Creek Subdivision Unit 1 Fire Flow Variance Request; authorize the City Manager to accept the CDBG grant for improvement of Rosevelt Street; authorizing the City Manager to submit a grant application for the Amy Young Barrier Removal Program; and an amendment to the Colonias Self-Help Grant Program.

The Eagle Pass City Council is composed by Mayor Ramsey English Cantu, Mayor Pro-Tem Yolanda P. Ramon, and Councilmembers Rudy Villalpando, Luis E. Sifuentes, and William Davis.  All City Council meetings are open to the public.