City Administrator Update

We’ve had a fair amount of activity over the last two-weeks and things look like they are only going to get busier. Street maintenance has continued with a slight change in focus of identifying and clearing bar ditches and other drainage pathways, as well as repairing signage, as they are fixing the roads.

We are working with our code enforcement officer to step up enforcement of the City’s codes. This includes trash and debris, grass and weeds, junk vehicles, and other nuisances as outlined in the City’s ordinances. We are going to take a dual pronged approach to this process, utilizing our public works crew and code enforcement, to notify home owners that are in violation and work with them to bring their property into compliance.

Development Update

I have now met with all the developers and their teams who are active in the City of New Fairview. They have been very helpful and ensure me that they will continue to be good partners with our City. In driving through the City, it is clear that the new developments currently planned will have little or no impact on the traffic, nor the rural look and feel of the existing neighborhoods but they will have a drastic impact on the quality of the City owned roads and other services.

Falcon Ridge: I was informed that they have sold their last lots in the development. Once completed, the homes in Falcon Ridge will add approximately $75 million in new tax base. This is significant considering that the entire taxable base for New Fairview is approximately $140 million. This will generate additional revenue that will be used for the maintenance and upkeep of the roads and other City assets.

Dove Hollow: The development is progressing as planned. They are having some issues with Aqua Texas supplying water to the final phase of their development but that is not slowing them down on the initial phases. Once completed, this development should add an estimated $75 million in new tax base.

Constellation Lake: The project has been delayed as they work through issues regarding infrastructure, but they are committed to bringing a quality housing project to New Fairview. I had the opportunity to visit with the development team, tour a model home, and drive through a neighboring community. The quality of the homes and the development are far superior to many that I have seen in other communities and will be a good addition to our City. This development includes commercial and retail components, but conservatively it will add hundreds of millions of dollars to the tax base and potentially millions of dollars in new sales tax revenue.

July Building Permits: In July 2020, the City received 31 new housing permits with an estimated value of $7.5 million and the City collected $102,361 in building permit fees.

New Fairview Road Program

In our most recent Council Meeting we discussed the road program and how we should proceed. The first and foremost issue at hand is making sure that the roads are safe for travel. If there are any roads that have significant pot holes or other issues making it unsafe to travel, the Public Works crew will prioritize for repair. Understanding this, the Public Works crew will be spending the majority of their time working on drainage and water flow issues that are the underlying issue causing sub-surface damage and road failures.

We will be working with the residents to help them better understand what we are trying to accomplish, and how they can help, in preparation for total road reconstruction and installation of new asphalt roads in the neighborhoods with poor and/or failed roads.

East Wise Fire Rescue

The City Council approve an agreement with East Wise Fire Rescue to provide fire protection in New Fairview. As part of this agreement, the City provided the East Bay of the City’s multi-purpose building for housing a brush truck and a $1,000 annual payment. We are still working on installation of an electric pump and plumbing the City Hall water tanks as a refill station for the brush truck, as well as for other mutual aid fire trucks, that may need access to water.

The placement of the East Wise Fire Rescue brush truck in the New Fairview multi-purpose building will significantly reduce the response time for the citizens of New Fairview and should also improve our ISO rating, which impacts homeowners insurance rates, by improving fire protection coverage area within the City.