Addison work session trims proposed tax rate slightly; council debates pool bathrooms, Taste Addison and Quorum Drive bike lanes

The Addison City Council’s Aug. 26 work session advanced a slight proposed reduction to the town’s FY26 property tax rate and generated substantive debate about planned capital projects, including renovations to two outdoor bathrooms at Addison Athletic Club and bike-lane work on Quorum Drive.

City finance staff presented a proposal to reduce the overall property tax rate slightly after receiving an external grant for license-plate‑reader cameras. Finance Director Stephen said that shifting the police department’s planned contribution to an IT replacement fund and applying the grant would lower the town’s total rate from 60.9822¢ to roughly 60.81¢ per $100 of assessed value, a modest reduction that staff said would reduce general‑fund revenue by about $100,000 and leave projected reserves intact.

Why it matters: The proposed tax-rate adjustment is tied to FY26 budget planning. Councilors used the work session to revisit capital choices already in the draft budget, including a $150,000 estimate for renovating two outdoor public restrooms at Addison Athletic Club and a $1.5 million local share of a regional bike-trail project on Quorum Drive partially funded by a council-of-governments grant.

Outdoor restrooms: Several council members questioned the scale and cost of the bathroom renovation. Parks Director Janet Tidwell said the plans include structural work — roof ventilation, attachment of doors to existing CMU block walls to reduce vandalism and security issues — and that the design team separated “need-to-have” items (toilets, partitions, sinks, lighting and airflow improvements) into the base bid while leaving cosmetic items (tile, decorative wall finishes, overhangs) as alternates. Tidwell said the team engaged a structural engineer and that staff can present bids that show a base project cost and alternate items for council consideration. After discussion several council members asked staff to defer the project for further review; one council member explicitly asked to delay the bathroom renovation a year so the town can revisit scope and cost.

Taste Addison and other events: Council members reiterated prior discussions about Taste Addison, a town-funded event. While several councilors said they remain concerned about the event’s cost and effectiveness, others said the council already provided fiscal direction in earlier meetings and that substantial rework would consume staff time; no change to the current budgeted event plan was adopted at the session.

Quorum Drive bike-lane funding and design: Councilors discussed two overlapping projects on and near Quorum Drive: a regional off-road/Cotton Belt connector project north of the Addison Circle (funded largely by a council-of-governments grant) and a separate Quorum reconstruction project south of the circle that includes a parallel off-road bike facility. Several council members said they oppose demolition that would permanently reduce vehicle lanes or remove parking near businesses; others said the grant-funded trail would increase regional connectivity and could drive economic activity for local restaurants and shops. After protracted discussion the council gave staff direction to remove the bike-lane component tied to the NTCOG/COG grant from the pending budget and to study an alternate alignment along Addison Road that some council members said might be preferable for businesses and residents. City Manager David Gaines summarized the direction succinctly: “We are removing the bike lanes from the bike lane project.”

Next steps: Staff will return with bids and alternate scopes for the pool bathroom work, additional detail about options for the bike-lane routing and the formal budget and tax-rate public hearings on Sept. 2 and Sept. 9. Stephen asked if council was comfortable with the proposed tax-rate change; no formal vote occurred in the work session, but staff proceeded on the assumption the council accepted the minor rate reduction as presented.

Councilors emphasized two principles: (1) capital projects should match the town’s agreed standard of quality and (2) large reconstruction that removes lanes or parking near small businesses requires careful review and community outreach before the town proceeds.