County hears update on transportation, water needs efforts

Apr. 12—WEATHERFORD — Water and roads continue to be a hot topic for county officials.

Commissioners met Monday, approving authorization for Freese & Nichols to begin planning for a bond election in November.

Parker County Judge Pat Deen, one of several county representatives who met with lawmakers at the Capitol recently about water and transportation needs, said the bond amount is still to be determined, with hopes of some financial relief from legislators and other state entities.

"The direction out of that was to coordinate with [U.S. Reps.] Roger Williams and Kay Granger, and see what help they can give us," Deen said. "We cannot ignore the need for transportation in this county ... if there's an accident [on I-20], it magnifies it throughout the entire county.

Precinct 4 Commissioner Mike Hale, who also met with Sen. Phil King and State Rep. Glenn Rogers and Sen. Drew Springer, said transportation needs have skyrocketed since he took office in January, noting the issue has been a main priority, particularly in his precinct.

"I want to commend Rep. Rogers — him and his staff have rolled up their sleeves and worked very hard on multiple issues for our area in Parker County," Hale said. "I was a little disappointed [to hear about] some funding we were hoping to get at the state level, but our representatives and senators are working hard to try to help and find programs and some budget that we can use in our area to help expedite these needs."

The commissioner also lobbied for programs and other opportunities to leverage road and bridge money currently available, and "get the best return on our investment ... [through] grants or opportunities that are available to us."

County engineer Chris Bosco, of Freese & Nichols, said they are looking at matching funds and partnerships through TxDOT and the Council of Governments.

One of the key takeaways, he added, will be an influx of funding through TxDOT, though the county must have projects "shovel-ready" to take advantage of that funding, with a focus on expansion of Interstate 20 and safety on Farm to Market roads.

Deen said the objectives of this particular bond would be different than the previous two, in that the focus would be on the East-West I-20 corridor and frontage road access to alleviate traffic.

Commissioners approved $78,170 for Freese & Nichols to do preliminary work approaching the bond, which includes program development and communication.

"At some point, we're going to have to define what these projects are as we move forward," Precinct 3 Commissioner Larry Walden said. "'To improve transportation' is not a good enough answer. I'm confident [residents will vote in favor] but we need to provide a list of what we're going to do."

Bosco had previously noted that projects done through the county-TxDOT partnership — such as the Centerpoint exchange — required the county to advance the project. The state did deliver the funding, though the engineer noted it "might take several years."

Walden pointed to a railroad crossing project in downtown Millsap that was completely roughly seven years ago.

"The county did their part but TxDOT did not," he said.

The $78,000 was a drop from 2008, when the county proposed an $80 million transportation bond, at a pricetag of $120,000 for bond program management. In 2016, the county paid $90,000.

"[The price] has come down because we have more already developed from the last two bond elections," Bosco said, noting that the county still has an existing website for bond election information, which just needs to be refreshed.

Commissioners Monday also pointed out the parallel to transportation safety in water needs.

Walden said he, County Attorney John Forrest and members of the Hydrology 2050 Committee met with state and county representatives from Palo Pinto and Stephens counties to discuss legislation to create the Cross Timbers Regional Utility Authority, which would coordinate water conservation and procurement methods for the three counties.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has listed water funding as one of the top priorities of the Texas Senate, which unanimously approved to pieces of legislation April 3 to address the future water needs of the state.

Filed by state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, Senate Bill 28 and Senate Joint Resolution 75 create a new Water Supply for Texas Fund. Administered by the Texas Water Development Board, the fund will provide loans to develop or acquire new water in Texas.

The bill did not list how much money would be dedicated to the fund — particularly as the state sits on a $33 billion surplus — but Perry previously said he believes it will "start with a 'b'." The bill has been sent to the House for approval.

"All of North Texas ... with two severe droughts over the last decade, there's a strain on water resources," Walden read from a fact sheet Monday. "Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Gordon, Graford, Brock, Millsap, Palo Pinto, Santo and most of western Parker County are under water restrictions. and this is our wettest time of the year."

The commissioner added the Cross Timbers bill is in draft form and being polished and reviewed for legal conflicts. A 30-day public notice of filing (to April 22) is required before the bill can be filed and sent to a committee.

The Cross Timbers authority would have contracting, bonding and eminent domain authority but no taxing authority.

The court Monday also:

—Approved the use of all four downtown square quadrants for the Weatherford Chamber's 38th Annual Parker County Peach Festival, as well as the County Attorney Building for hospitality.

—Approved a bid to add a glass door, frame and magnetic lock to the Precinct 1 constable's office to add privacy and security. The $63,000 will be coming out of the constable office's budget.

—Proclaimed April 23-29, 2023 as National Crime Victims' Rights Week and granted use of the Parker County Annex for displaying artwork.

—Authorized execution of beneficiary agreements between the county and Walnut Creek SUD, Town of Brock, Millsap Waste Water and the city of Millsap, Millsap Water Supply, ESD 8, Parker County SUD, Bourland Estates Water Supply and Western Parker County Water for distribution of ARPA funds.