Council approves $498,554 contract to move power lines underground in Historic Colored Addition

Pflugerville City Council approved a discretionary service agreement of $498,554 with Encore Electric to relocate overhead power lines to underground in the Historic Colored Addition infrastructure improvements project.

Council discussion centered on the cost-benefit of undergrounding utilities. One council member asked why the city was spending roughly half a million dollars to place utilities underground when a similar downtown evaluation concluded the return on investment did not justify the expense. Evan, who the engineering staff identified as overseeing transportation and drainage engineering, said the undergrounding was included in the project design following community direction and that doing utility work while streets are already being reconstructed is more efficient.

Speakers noted the project responds to long-standing infrastructure deficiencies in the Historic Colored Addition, including dilapidated conditions, flooding and low water pressure that staff said could affect fire-flow capacity. Council members discussed equity and precedent, with some arguing that starting undergrounding in this neighborhood could lead other areas to request similar upgrades and increase citywide costs.

City staff and council agreed that combining roadway reconstruction with utility relocation reduces disruption and can address multiple infrastructure needs at once. The council voted to approve the agreement and authorized the city manager to execute the contract; meeting minutes state the motion carried.

Votes at a glance: the council approved the discretionary service agreement (agenda item 5D) to relocate overhead utilities to underground for the Historic Colored Addition project; the motion carried per minutes.