Midland council approves new park restroom, backs 78-unit downtown rehab and authorizes water work; waives two small ROW fees

Mayor Lori Belong presided over a February city council meeting that cleared multiple infrastructure and development items, including a contract to replace an aging restroom at Sparks Park, a formal vote of support for a downtown affordable housing tax-credit application and an agreement to extend public water to new and existing neighborhoods.

Laurie Williams, Midland’s parks and recreation director, told the council the existing Sparks Park restroom is roughly 40 years old, difficult to maintain and fails to meet current ADA standards. Staff recommended a ready-built restroom unit from Restroom Facilities LTD for $243,772 plus $31,228 in project-related costs; the total CDBG request for the project is $275,000. “This facility is outdated. It doesn’t meet the current ADA requirements,” Williams said in presenting options for turnkey, kit and ready-built construction. Isaac Garnett of Community Development explained federal CDBG timing constraints and said the program’s timeliness test runs on Aug. 2, which shortened the window for spending the award.

Councilman Burkholder moved to approve the contract and Councilman Norman seconded; the motion carried unanimously.

In a separate item, the council unanimously approved a resolution supporting Overland Property Group’s application to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs for Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to rehabilitate the historic building at 401 West Texas Ave into “Centennial Park Lofts.” April Angstrom, Overland’s director of development, said the plan would yield 78 units (studios and one- and two-bedroom units), about 12,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and a mix of income tiers targeted at 30%, 50% and 60% of area median income. The city’s action included a $500 permitting‑fee commitment required to enter the tax-credit competition; staff emphasized the $500 is an application commitment and does not guarantee award.

Council also approved a public improvement development agreement with Middesa Construction to build public water improvements serving the Vista Del Pueblo Addition, a project staff said will extend water along Todd Road and open nearby parcels to development. Council members praised staff coordination on the multi-party infrastructure solution and voted to authorize the agreement.

The council amended two vacation items to waive fees tied to right-of-way conveyances that will help Common Unity Church build a permanent facility: item 27’s $46,450 fee and item 28’s $6,230 fee were each waived by council amendment and approval. Church elder David Gonzalez described the congregation’s decade of property maintenance and asked the council to consider a waiver because the triangular parcels at issue are small, unused and integral to the planned church site.

Many of the meeting’s final items were routine zoning and sign-permit approvals; a set of sign appeals tied to an ongoing fuel-brand rebranding were granted with one amendment limiting the height of one pole sign to the code maximum while allowing replacement of existing square footage. The council moved to executive session at 12:06 p.m.

Why it matters: The Sparks Park restroom addresses an immediate public‑facing infrastructure need paid from federal CDBG funds; the Centennial Park Lofts resolution keeps Midland competitive for scarce tax-credit funding and, if awarded, would add 78 income-restricted units downtown; the water agreement and ROW waivers demonstrate the council balancing developer-built infrastructure with community service needs.

What’s next: The restroom contract will proceed to procurement and installation; the tax-credit application will be submitted in the state competition with awards announced later in the year; the water agreement tasks the developer with constructing mains that will be conveyed or tied into the city system, and the Common Unity Church will proceed with site acquisition and building plans now that the fees were waived.