Grand Prairie CIAC reviews impact-fee water and wastewater projects, approves financial summary and forwards status report to council

The City of Grand Prairie Capital Improvement Advisory Committee on March 24, 2025, received a staff briefing on the status of impact-fee eligible water and wastewater projects, approved a financial summary of impact-fee collections and voted to forward the projects' status report to the City Council once a complete packet of charts and maps is assembled.

The briefing covered projects across the northern and southern portions of the city, including completed work, projects under design, and projects scheduled for future design and construction. Committee members spent substantial time asking for full charts to accompany the maps shown on screen; after an initial motion to table the items pending a complete packet passed, the committee later reconsidered and agreed to approve and forward the materials once the printed packet was available.

Staff described several water projects in the northern part of the city as complete or near completion. A 2,000,000-gallon elevated storage tank on Peninsula (identified as “B” in staff materials) was reported as complete and eligible for impact-fee reimbursement if funds are available. The Robinson Road elevated storage tank, pump station and associated waterline were described as substantially complete; staff said only final tie-ins and SCADA updates remained. The Camp Wisdom parallel water line project was reported to be under design with construction programmed for fiscal year 2027.

Staff said construction began in January 2025 on projects labeled 1S and 3S; both were expected to be substantially complete and in service by January 2026, with final tank work requiring additional months. Other northern and southern water projects (identified in staff materials as 5S, 6S, 7S, 8S and others) were described as progressing through design or programmed for design in fiscal 2026 with construction following in 2027–2028, depending on the project.

On wastewater, staff outlined multiple gravity mains and lift-station projects. East Avenue K was described as a planned gravity main (10-, 12- and 18-inch) with design programmed for 2026. The Shady Grove corridor was described as a broader roadway and utility project that will include wastewater, water and storm drainage components; the wastewater portion is part of the impact-fee-eligible work. Grand Lakes Boulevard was reported to be under design and expected to be biddable in summer 2025. The Performance Lift Station expansion (and a 21-inch gravity main) was identified for design in fiscal 2026 and construction in 2027. A Davis Road-related gravity main (SS2) was described as under design and expected to be bid at the end of 2025 or early 2026.

On the finances, staff presented an impact-fee collections summary for the period covered in the staff packet. The report showed total impact-fee collections of $820,172.50 across the four impact-fee funds (north/south water and north/south wastewater). Staff highlighted that one account (the North wastewater bucket identified in the presentation) held $223,008.95, and explained that collected impact-fee funds may be used only on projects in the corresponding geographic/bucket category and only for impact-fee-eligible capacity projects; funds are not fungible into the city’s general budget. Staff also explained the common reason for refunds: developers sometimes pay for a larger meter size at permit submittal and later downsize the meter before installation, triggering a reimbursement for the difference.

Committee action and procedure: the committee first moved to table the presentation until members had a complete printed packet (the motion to table passed by a recorded show-of-hands vote of 6 in favor, 4 opposed). Following that vote, a subsequent motion was made to approve the financial summary (item 3) and to reconsider the tabling of the status report (item 2). The committee unanimously approved the financial summary and then unanimously approved reconsideration of the earlier tabling motion. After a brief review of the printed packet, a final motion to approve the status report/presentation and forward the completed packet to City Council was made and approved; the transcript records the motion and second and indicates the motion passed. Earlier in the meeting, the committee also approved the minutes of the July 22, 2024 CIAC meeting (motion by Commissioner Michelle Mather; second by Commissioner Frank Gonzales; recorded as passed unanimously).

The staff presenter repeatedly emphasized that the briefing was informational and that no construction or contract decisions were being made during the briefing; the committee’s approvals directed staff to file the financial summary and the status report with the City Council. Staff indicated that impact-fee-eligible projects would proceed according to the adopted capital improvement program and available funds, and that use of impact-fee funds would occur only for projects listed as impact-fee eligible.

The committee adjourned the CIAC briefing at approximately 6:10 p.m.; the Planning & Zoning Commission public hearing was scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.

Ending: The presentation established a timeline of near-term and multi-year projects funded or partially funded by impact fees and clarified the constraints on how impact-fee funds may be used. Committee members asked for and obtained a printed packet to accompany the online maps before forwarding the materials to City Council for filing.