Pflugerville council approves audit, easements and road acquisitions; hears CDBG public input

The Pflugerville City Council on Feb. 24 approved several items shaping infrastructure and fiscal oversight, including acceptance of the FY2025 audit, authorization to pursue eminent-domain proceedings on select parcels, and multiple right-of-way purchases tied to the Kelly Lane phase 3 and New Sweden projects.

Audit acceptance: Audit senior manager (speaker 14) told the council auditors issued an "unmodified audit report on financial statements," the highest assurance auditors provide, but noted one significant deficiency tied to deferred revenues after a large prepaid assessment required a correcting journal entry. The auditor said management corrected the entry and will implement new procedures to identify similar transactions earlier; council debated postponing acceptance but ultimately approved the resolution to accept the audit.

Wastewater and annexation: Staff presented a public hearing and background on annexing roughly 62.7 acres for the New Sweden lift-station project; staff said construction is scheduled to start in March. Council also approved staff requests to initiate eminent-domain proceedings to acquire easements for a 15-inch Northwest Willbarger wastewater extension after negotiations with a property owner failed. Norma Martinez, the real estate manager, said the city sought two temporary easements plus a wastewater easement and asked the council to direct the city attorney to begin condemnation proceedings; council approved the request unanimously.

Roads and right-of-way: Council approved an eminent-domain request for several parcels tied to Kelly Lane phase 3 (a four-lane alignment with four roundabouts) by a 6-1 vote after extended discussion about parcel prices and the project budget (staff said land purchases were funded by the 2023 bond and that current proposed purchases are within budget). The council also approved conditional purchase agreements for specific parcels along the Kelly Lane alignment and awarded right-of-way and appraisal services for the Lower New Sweden interceptor project.

Contracts and settlements: Council approved payment up to $330,000 to Wastewater Transport Services LLC for pump-and-haul services related to the Meadowlark Preserve development and approved a small property-claim settlement not to exceed $4,005.21. Council pulled a proposed trail-maintenance contract from the consent agenda to request clearer scope and contract language.

Next steps: Staff will return with clarified contract scope for the trail work, follow up on sewer-hookup questions raised during public comment, proceed with eminent-domain filings per council direction, and implement audit closing-procedure improvements described by the auditors.