Haslet advisory committee recommends using impact fee balance for 10‑year water and sewer CIP; asks staff to finish update

The City of Haslet Capital Improvements Advisory Committee voted Jan. 28 to recommend that City Council apply the city’s water and sewer impact‑fee fund balances toward eligible projects in the current 10‑year capital improvement plan and to allow city staff to finish updating the impact‑fee program.

Roman (city staff), who presented the annual Water and Sewer Impact Fee report for fiscal 2023–24, told the committee the report combines a full year of connection data, comparative analysis to the master plans and the financial operations of the dedicated water and sewer impact fee funds. "My name is Roman. I'm here to present our annual report for the impact fee collections and expenditures," he said during the presentation.

The recommendation sent to council notes that the two funds held about $3,000,000 in water impact fees and $1,400,000 in sewer impact fees as of Sept. 30, 2024 — roughly $4,400,000 combined — and recommends those balances be used on eligible projects in the current CIP. The committee voted to forward the recommendation unanimously; no roll‑call vote was recorded in the meeting minutes.

Roman said the city recorded nearly 300 new water and sewer connections in FY24, a roughly 50% increase from the prior year (which had been closer to 200 connections), though earlier peak years reached more than 500 connections. He cautioned that water connection counts can be distorted by large commercial meters; meter unit equivalencies treat larger meters as multiple residential equivalents, while sewer connections typically more directly reflect the number of physical service connections.

Committee members and staff discussed three impact‑fee‑eligible sewer projects now in progress: the Henrietta Creek interceptor (HC‑6) upsizing project — limits described roughly from Schoolhouse Road to Westport Parkway — a TRA metering facility tied into the same branch near Westport Parkway, and a sewer extension serving the fire station and portions of Maxwell Estates and nearby neighborhoods. Roman said coordination with TRA and Fort Worth on the HC‑6 project and the metering facility has reduced the city’s expected contribution; project staff previously estimated roughly $1.8 million total for the HC‑6 work and now expect the city share to be closer to $1.0 million.

On the water side, staff reported the FM 156 pump station expansion is near final construction‑plan submittal to TCEQ and is budgeted at about $5.6 million; Roman said that project is already funded as part of a larger program the committee discussed. Staff also described other trunk replacements and targeted upsizing projects the CIP will list, including replacements on corridors near Meadow and Schoolhouse and segments of the Buffalo Creek trunk line where capacity is limited.

Committee members asked about long‑term capacity and whether service agreements or capacity purchases ensure Haslet can serve projected growth. Staff said the city buys wholesale water through Fort Worth (sourced from the Tarrant Regional Water District) and that sewer capacity has been purchased at the Denton Creek Regional wastewater plant; staff said those capacity purchases and ongoing coordination with the other entities are part of the city’s planning assumptions.

The committee also discussed the geographic limits for assessing impact fees — whether the assessment area should include the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) — and Roman said the city decides assessment boundaries case by case and will evaluate ETJ inclusion as part of the impact fee update.

After discussion, an unnamed committee member moved that the committee recommend the council apply the impact fee fund balance to eligible projects in the current 10‑year CIP and that city staff continue finalizing the new impact fee program; another committee member seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Staff said the initial presentation of the updated master plans, capital improvement plans and a draft impact fee report will be presented at the committee’s next scheduled meeting on June 24, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. City staff also encouraged property owners with questions about specific parcels or zoning to consult available materials on the city website or contact planning staff directly.

No formal amendments to the motion were recorded and no vote-by-name was entered in the meeting record.