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E-mail This StoryFlower Mound officially became a crucial third player Monday in the construction of the Trinity River Authority of Texas - Denton Creek Wastewater Transportation System.
The town council approved a resolution, 4-0, that authorizes the execution of a contract with the Trinity River Authority (TRA) and the towns of Argyle and Northlake. Councilmember Jeff Tasker was not at the meeting.
The agreement will help set in motion a treatment system that will in turn spark major development in the western part of Flower Mound and the other towns involved.
That includes Canyon Falls, a 1,542-acre mixed use development that lies within extra-territorial jurisdiction in Flower Mound, Northlake and Argyle. Of that, 626 acres will be in Flower Mound. The Belmont development is in Argyle.
“This will serve two large developments in this part of Denton County,” said Kent Collins, Flower Mound’s town engineer. “Right off the bat, this is going to accommodate the areas that need a sewer system.”
The next step will be for the TRA to approve the same agreement later this summer.
The process has been a long one, dating back to 2000 when Flower Mound first approved a contract to become a member of the Denton Creek Wastewater Treatment System. The town paid a buy-in payment of $141,980 and makes an annual payment to TRA for operations and debt service of the plant. Based on an annual flow of 10.95 million gallons, the town’s current annual payment is $35,640.
In 2001, the town began discussions with Argyle and Northlake to jointly build a collection system to connect to TRA’s plant in Roanoke.
An agreement was signed in 2006 between the three towns and TRA to study the Graham Branch of the system to serve all the towns. In late 2006, a contract between TRA and the towns was approved. But, during the planning stages, limited revenue from Argyle and Northlake caused a postponement of the project.
The new contract has Flower Mound sharing 40.39 percent of the cost of the project, which is expected to total $22.7 million. Argyle will put in 33.77 percent and Northlake will contribute 25.84 percent.
“There have been a lot of moving parts in this,” said councilmember Al Filidoro. “But, the town staff has done a great job, and the town council has always been kept in the loop. We were concerned with the construction costs escalating, so to have a system that encompasses Northlake, Argyle and the TRA will really help.”
Collins said the cost for the project had Flower Mound gone in alone would have been $14.3 million, and that was in 2001 dollars.
Now, Flower Mound’s portion will be expected cost to be about $8.5 million.
Phase 1 of the project will include design, land acquisition and construction of the first segment of the project, which runs from the TRA Roanoke treatment plant to a pump station on Cowboy Lane, located in the southern part of Flower Mound. Cost for Flower Mound’s portion of Phase 1 is $4.27 million.
“Now, it’s a reality,” Filidoro said. “We’ve turned preliminary reports into an action plan. We’re further along today than we were yesterday.”
