Terrell TIRS board approves final project plan and agreement for Fairfield TIRS No. 5 near Amazon site

The Terrell Tax Increment Refinance Zone (TIRS) board voted April 30, 2025, to approve resolution 2025-2 adopting the final project and finance plan for TIRS No. 5 and to approve resolution 2025-3 authorizing the form of the TIRS No. 5 agreement and recommending City Council adopt the documents.

The actions set the financing framework for the Fairfield Municipal Utility District area — roughly 2,600 acres south of Interstate 20 and along FM 429 — where the first project is planned on Airport Road near Wilson Road and where a large distribution facility identified in the meeting as Project Spitfire (the Amazon distribution center) is sited. Mr. Sims, the city staff presenter, said the final plan aligns definitions and exhibits between the project plan/finance plan and the TIRS agreement and clarifies eligible public improvements.

The plan and agreement define eligible public improvements to include roads, water, wastewater, drainage, parks and trails, soft costs and contingency, and "public safety related improvements such as, but not limited to, outdoor warning systems, security camera detectors, supporting 9-1-1 service, and other police, fire, and emergency preparedness elements," Mr. Sims said. He gave the example that an additional outdoor warning siren near the Amazon site would likely cost in the $40,000–$50,000 range and that license-plate–reading "flock" cameras could also be eligible.

Why it matters: the exhibits in the packet estimate the full build-out of public infrastructure in TIRS No. 5 could cost roughly $412,000,000. A single project in the feasibility exhibits was shown as adding about 935,000 square feet of building area and about $71,000,000 in added value; the total development added value in the exhibits was presented as about $2,100,000,000 compared with the City of Terrell's current assessed value stated in the meeting at about $2,600,000,000.

The board heard that impact-fee negotiations were part of the developer deal. Mr. Sims said an industry-standard charge for impact fees for the Amazon project would have been about $4,200,000 if charged at full city rates; the parties negotiated a consolidated development fee of $3,700,000 that the city would receive under the development agreement. Mr. Sims said Planning and Zoning had considered and approved land-use matters and the construction plat for the Amazon site; City Council reviewed the development agreement in executive session earlier and will consider final approvals and any allocation of the consolidated fee.

On tax flows and reimbursement mechanics, Mr. Sims walked through an example chart prepared with assistance from P3 (the consulting firm). In the example, if gross tax collections for a year were $1,000,000, the interest-and-sinking (I&S) portion would be withheld first (he gave an illustrative I&S share of about $200,000), leaving maintenance-and-operations (M&O) funds (about $800,000). Under the TIRS agreement as presented, the TIRS would capture 80% of the M&O city property tax increment (he cited a numerical example of $642,000) to flow to developer reimbursement subaccounts until reimbursable project expenses are met; administrative fees were expected to be small ("around $4,000 or $5,000" in the example). Mr. Sims explained the agreement also allows the city to repurpose unreimbursed developer subaccount balances for city projects if the developer stops building.

Board action and next steps: the TIRS board approved resolution 2025-2 (final project and finance plan) and resolution 2025-3 (form of the TIRS No. 5 agreement) by voice vote; meeting minutes record the motions, seconds and "Aye" responses and note "Motion carries," but they do not publish a roll-call tally in the transcript. The approvals forward the documents to City Council for final adoption and authorize city leadership to finalize and execute the TIRS agreement on behalf of the city.

Supporting detail and process notes: Mr. Sims emphasized that the board and staff had worked to make language consistent between the project plan and the TIRS agreement to avoid later disputes over definitions and reimbursement math in what he described as long-term (decades-long) financing documents. He noted that exhibits include site plans showing truck queuing, detention ponds, a reserved 60-foot dedication for an arterial alignment along FM 429, landscaping, and an eight-foot precast concrete screen wall on the property's edge. Based on parking counts and typical distribution-center staffing, staff estimated roughly 1,000 employees for the Amazon facility; Mr. Sims said that estimate is based on city analysis and developer patterns rather than an Amazon staffing figure read into the record by the company.

Quotes from the meeting (attributed to speakers in the record): "Public improvements include public safety related improvements such as, but not limited to, outdoor warning systems, security camera detectors, supporting 9 11 service, and other police, fire, and emergency preparedness element," Mr. Sims said. He also summarized the reimbursement share: "If it's commercial property, then, we're taking 80% of the maintenance operation, city property tax only, not the county. And we are redirecting that, so that it can be available to, reimburse the developer for their project expenses."

The board packet included a feasibility study and exhibits (site plan, landscaping, cross sections, development agreement exhibits, and detailed flowcharts prepared to guide the finance department on allocation and timing). The board recommended City Council adopt the final project plan and authorized city staff and the mayor to execute the TIRS agreement once the city completes its final steps.

Ending: the TIRS board's approvals move the Fairfield TIRS No. 5 project plan and agreement to City Council for final adoption; the transcript records no substantive public comments on these agenda items during the meeting. The City Council will determine final adoption, allocation of any consolidated development fee, and any subsequent borrowing or city projects tied to the tax increment revenues.