Advisory committee reviews impact-fee-funded water and wastewater capital projects
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Summary
City staff told the Capital Improvements Advisory Committee on March 17 that several impact-fee-funded projects — including an elevated storage tank, Plant 5 ground-storage expansion and a Deep/Elkhorn waterline — are moving toward final design and bidding; one wastewater project came in over budget, raising the projected debt-service fee.
The Capital Improvements Advisory Committee met March 17 and received updates from city staff on impact-fee-funded water and wastewater capital projects, construction schedules and costs.
Staff member Grant Wiegand summarized the 2025 impact-fee update, saying the study lists roughly $31.8 million in potentially allowable impact-fee-eligible costs under the new schedule while reporting that collections under the 2025 fee schedule stood at zero to date. "There hasn't been any changes to the numbers on page 18," Wiegand said, reviewing the packet and describing how fees are assessed when plats are recorded and collected when a builder pulls a permit.
Wiegand gave project-level timelines and responsibilities. He said land acquisition, annexation and zoning are complete for the proposed 500,000-gallon elevated storage tank on a three-acre parcel north of the city; redesign work began in December and staff expects final design in October so the project can be bid. He also described several bid alternates and said the city is pursuing interlocal agreements with neighboring jurisdictions, including an expected council request next month to share design and construction costs for a GBRA main extension along Ammon Road. "Based on the share of water to be taken from this new line, we're expecting it to be 31% — our share — and that falls below the budget threshold," Wiegand said.
The Deep South/Elkhorn waterline (described on the packet as a 12-inch waterline) is at roughly 90% design, Wiegand said; the total estimated cost is $1,617,000 and under the service agreement the city would pay 75% while the developer pays 25%. He said staff expects final design in April and a joint bid with a roadway reconstruction project to begin construction this summer.
Assistant Director of Public Works Steven Fried updated the committee on the Plant 5 ground-storage expansion. "This project adds a 500,000-gallon ground storage tank to Water Plant 5 to improve system reliability and resiliency," Fried said, adding that construction was awarded in December 2024, the foundation is complete and on-site work is expected to resume in April. Fried gave the total estimated project cost as $1,550,299.
Kelsey, the city's project manager for the wastewater expansion, described a two-phase wastewater plant upgrade intended to address immediate facility needs and future demand. Phase 1 design is complete and includes pump-station and odor-control improvements. "Construction costs did come in higher than anticipated," Kelsey said, quantifying the overrun at $1,560,000. She told the committee that, with a revised wastewater debt-service fee structure, the projected fee will rise from $16.91 for FY25–26 to $17.36 for FY26–27.
Committee members asked about opportunities for emergency interconnects and shared water use with nearby improvements in Boerne; Wiegand said staff is negotiating a local agreement for a water-main extension and an emergency interconnect near Fair Oaks Parkway. Several projects noted in the packet are developer-funded under service agreements, and staff clarified which segments the city will design and which the developer will construct.
Next steps identified by staff include final design completion for several projects (April–October timeline windows), taking the GBRA interlocal agreement to council for approval next month, and putting major projects out to bid when designs are finalized.
The committee approved the prior meeting minutes as amended early in the session and heard no public comment. The advisory committee will include these status updates in its semiannual report to city council, which the chair said he will present on April 16.
