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Council approves Paloma Trails contract amendments and BNSF pipeline license, contingent on signatures
Summary
The Decatur City Council voted to approve a first amendment to the professional services agreement with Paloma Trails LLC and a pipeline license agreement with BNSF for water/sewer infrastructure under the railroad; both approvals were contingent on execution of required developer signatures and the PSA amendment.
The Decatur City Council approved two related items Tuesday to advance utilities for the Paloma Trails development: a first amendment to the professional services agreement with Paloma Trails LLC and a pipeline license agreement with BNSF Railway to place water/sewer infrastructure under the railroad right‑of‑way. Both approvals were made contingent on execution of the outstanding documents by the developer and consultant.
Paloma Trails representative Todd Winters was present and the city explained that BNSF requires an explicit license for infrastructure crossing or placed under its track. Staff said Paloma Trails agreed to pay any fees required by BNSF tied to the developer’s infrastructure work rather than the city covering those costs.
Council action and contingencies
- First amendment to professional services agreement (Paloma Trails LLC): Council moved to approve the first amendment to the professional services agreement relating to installation of the pipeline to service the development, contingent on signatures from Paloma Trails and the consultant. The motion carried.
- Pipeline license agreement with BNSF Railway: Council moved to approve a pipeline license agreement to allow the city’s water/sewer infrastructure to be placed under the railroad, contingent on the professional services agreement amendment stated above. The motion carried.
How the items were described in the meeting
Staff described the BNSF permitting as necessary because the infrastructure will be city infrastructure that traverses the BNSF right‑of‑way. Todd Winters and others said the crossing is near an existing crossing on John Downhill Road and would run roughly parallel to an existing sewer line approximately 200 yards south of a BNSF substation.
Votes
Each motion was approved by voice vote; council recorded the motion, second and the chair’s announcement that the item ‘‘passes.’’ The meeting transcript does not provide a roll‑call tally of individual yes/no votes.
What comes next
Staff indicated the approvals are contingent on the developer and consultant executing the required documents. If those signatures are provided, staff will finalize the BNSF license and proceed with permitting and construction steps identified in the agreements.
