Parents, water district press Prosper council for traffic controls at new Richland High; WCID objects to fee request

Parents and a water‑district official urged the Prosper Town Council on June 24 to make pedestrian and driver safety a priority as Richland High School opens, while the Elm Ridge Water Control and Improvement District objected to a town request that the district contribute $236,000 toward a traffic signal.

"It would be a disaster if it was not safe on day 1," said Tim Holden, who lives at 2204 Georgetown Boulevard in Prosper and identified himself as an Artesia neighbor with a daughter who will attend Richland. Holden told the council that students living in Artesia face a route that would send them about a half mile along Fish Trap Road and Teel to reach the school and asked the town to "please work with the county, please work with the Prosper School District to help us make this school safe on day 1."

Whitney Lovano, 2013 Long Park Avenue and also an Artesia resident, described a recent near miss with construction traffic at the same intersection and said the mix of teen drivers, pedestrians and existing heavy traffic "is gonna be a very dangerous intersection." "I'm just really worried about safety," she said.

Mike Perry, president of Elm Ridge WCID and a resident at 2204 Commons Way, told the council his board objects to the town’s current request that Elm Ridge pay $236,000 toward a traffic signal on what Perry said is a Prosper‑owned road. "We have offered a $100,000," he said, describing that offer as a significant, good‑faith contribution. He said the $236,000 figure had increased over time and that his board could not agree to the higher amount.

Perry recited a history of dealings with Prosper officials, including a past negotiation over fire protection fees and recent negotiations over easements and an emergency water interconnect. He said Elm Ridge had approved a $1 million bond for an emergency water interconnect and had paid for appraisals and easement costs when requested, but that disagreements over the traffic signal had threatened cooperation on the water project.

Perry said some easement appraisals initially cost the district about $9,000, returned a valuation near $30,000, and that staff later asked the district to pay about $60,000; he said the district paid and that the easements have been recorded.

No action on the funding dispute was taken during the public‑comment period. The council later approved a town motion authorizing the town manager to enter an agreement for a traffic signal at First and Legacy Drive for $691,000 as part of the consent‑agenda handling.

Other public commenters included Neera Jagrawal, who offered free yoga workshops through Hindu Swayam Seva Sangh, and Kent Elliott, a resident of Old Town Prosper who expressed opposition to piecemeal zoning changes under the downtown transition area designation; both comments were offered during the public‑comment period but did not result in council action at the meeting.

Clarifying details recorded in the meeting: the town’s traffic‑signal contract figure cited during the consent action was $691,000; Elm Ridge WCID said Prosper asked it to pay $236,000 and that the district offered $100,000; Elm Ridge reported a $1 million bond approved for an emergency water interconnect and described prior fire‑protection fee negotiations that resulted in a $15 per household agreement after earlier offers and counteroffers.

Speakers who raised safety or funding concerns asked the council to coordinate with the county and the Prosper Independent School District on student safety and to prioritize construction of traffic controls and crosswalks near the new high school.

The council later adjourned after taking unrelated votes on infrastructure and an EDC land purchase.