Fate council approves purchase of land for future Water Tower No. 3

The Fate City Council on May 5 approved Resolution R2025-023 authorizing the purchase of property intended for a future elevated Water Tower No. 3 after staff told council the site matches the city’s engineering needs and a willing seller was available.

City staff said the site aligns with the utility master plan and that the purchase was timed to avoid condemnation. Michael, the city manager, told council the city negotiated the price and that "we believe it's a very advantageous price for the taxpayer." The council voted 7–0 to approve the resolution.

The council and staff framed the acquisition as a forward-looking step tied to system capacity. Scott, an engineer on staff, reported Fate has roughly 9,176 water connections currently and that a third tower would be triggered at about 15,000 connections. Staff estimated design, bidding and construction would take roughly three years, placing the tower in service around the point the system reaches that threshold. Staff said the tower supports system pressure for firefighting and general service.

Staff said the parcel is approximately 5–6 acres and the city expects it will only need the first 1.5 acres for the tower footprint. Remaining acreage could be dedicated to future right-of-way, municipal use, or subdivided and sold; staff said final use will be determined during design and feasibility review. Staff said they do not anticipate using debt to purchase the property at this time and expect to use impact fees and water capital reserves for project costs.

Council members pressed staff on timing and metrics. When asked "what metric was used to kinda trigger that we would need a third water tower?" Mark, a councilmember, was told the 15,000-connection threshold triggers a new tower and that the city is currently adding connections at a slower pace than a few years ago but remains in the multi-year window to need the facility.

The city also emphasized it looked for a willing seller to avoid condemnation, and that the parcel’s elevation and proximity to an existing water main made it strategically suitable. Staff said when it comes time to build the tower, the city will still need design, permitting and construction, and could sell or repurpose surplus land if building costs made residential development impractical.

Council approved the resolution 7–0. No debt authorization was included in the motion; staff said funding is expected from impact fees and water capital reserves and that the city would not use eminent domain to secure the site.