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Athens Council approves amended agreement transferring AMWA assets to city, secures annual payments
Summary
The Athens City Council authorized a Second Amended Agreement with the Athens Municipal Water Authority transferring capital assets to the city and establishing a 50-year arrangement in which AMWA will make annual minimum payments of $300,000 for debt service, capital improvements and maintenance, subject to appropriation conditions under Texas law.
The Athens City Council on Feb. 9 approved a Second Amended Agreement with the Athens Municipal Water Authority (AMWA) that transfers ownership of key water assets to the city and establishes a long-term funding arrangement.
City Manager Elizabeth Borstad presented the agreement, which identifies the transfer of capital assets including the surface water treatment plant, the raw water intake and multiple groundwater wells. Borstad said AMWA will make an annual minimum payment of $300,000 to the city specifically for debt service, capital improvements and facility maintenance; those funds will be held in a separate account and reported annually to both AMWA and the council.
Borstad told the council the 50-year contract will be reviewed every three years and that the raw water intake will need reconstruction in the coming years. She also emphasized that a provision advised by legal counsel invokes Section 271.903 of the Texas Local Government Code: the city’s obligations are conditioned on the council’s best-efforts attempt to appropriate funds for the payments.
Borstad noted one practical effect of the transfer: the city will be able to pursue grants and low-interest financing for capital improvements that AMWA, as an authority, could not access on its own. The agreement also contemplates AMWA-provided funding assistance for modernizing treatment and intake facilities.
Councilmember Bill Priestley moved to approve the resolution authorizing the mayor to execute the Second Amended Agreement and authorizing the city manager to execute all real estate closing documents; Councilmember Bryan Barker seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.
The council authorized staff to proceed with closing and to account for payments and reporting as described in the agreement. No further public comment was recorded on the item at the meeting.
