It’s good to know what’s going on!

Things have been busy in New Fairview over the last month. Please take a few minutes to read about what your City is doing.

• The May election is fast approaching and each of the candidates running for the Council has provided a profile to help the residents better know who they are electing to office. If you have any questions about the candidates, please reach out to them directly or send your questions to City Hall and we will do our best to get them answered. Here are the open seats and the candidates:
  • Place 2 – Patrick Gunter running unopposed
  • Place 4 – Walter Clements and Cindy Poe
  • Place 5 – John Taylor running unopposed (Special Election)
  • Mayor – Harvey Burger, Lisa Reid, and Nolan Schoonmaker

• The Council candidates hosted a meet and greet on April 5th. The kids were able to hunt for Easter eggs as the adults were able to talk to the candidates about what they feel is important to our City. Thank you for all who attended, making this event a success, and if you were unable to make it, please make plans to attend future events.

• The City Council has approved an agreement with Schaumberg & Polk to prepare and submit an application to the state for a Certificate of Need and Necessity (CCN), the first step in providing a water and wastewater solution in New Fairview. The application and consulting fees, approximately $40,000, have been provided by the Constellation Lake and Shoop Ranch developers.

• The Shoop Ranch master planned community that the Council has been discussing for the last several months was approved and received the rezoning as well as a two public improvement districts (PIDs), one that will spend approximately $300 million on infrastructure and the other providing a $0.15 per $100 valuation to maintain the infrastructure of the Shoop Ranch project. In addition, the developers agreed to the following:
  • $10 million in contributions for public safety
  • $5 million in contributions for a municipal complex
  • Dedicate to the City five acres of land for the construction of a public safety facility and municipal complex
  • $1.5 million in contributions to improve South County Line Road, from FM 407 to the southern city limits, to four-lanes
  • Sales tax sourcing to New Fairview, brining millions of more dollars to the City
  • Public access to all parks, trails, open space, etc. in the Shoop Ranch
  • Design, construction, and dedication to the City of two sports parks (baseball, soccer, tennis, etc.) and two amenity facilities
  • Design, construction, and dedication to the City of the water and wastewater system, as well as providing operating funds until customer revenues are sufficient to cover operating costs

• The Texas Community Development Block Grant Survey that the City staff have been working on over the last several months has been completed and the Council authorized the City Administrator to complete the application for a $350,000 grant that will be focused on streets improvements in areas that are predominately low-to-moderate income. This means that the surveys will define the areas where the dollars may be spent.

• Pacheco Koch has been contracted to conduct a Transportation Impact Fee study that will allow the City to implement transportation impact fees on new development in the City. This will provide the City additional revenues to cover the costs of improving the transportation system within.

• The Council approved a contract extension with the City Administrator, extending the length to five-years as well as providing step increases in pay over the next three-years. The increase in the City Administrator salary is as follows: $105,000, $130,000, and $150,000 over the next three fiscal years respectively.

Mayoral Candidates

Council Candidates

April 5th, Council Candidates Meet and Greet

Both the voters and the kids had a great time as they mixed and mingled with their neighbors and participated in the Easter egg hunt. Please thank your Council Candidates for proposing and hosting this event.

Water and Wastewater Application

Schaumberg & Polk, Inc. (SPI) is working on the engineering and preparation of the City’s application for its CCN. This is the first step in starting a water and wastewater system within the City. Funding for the engineering and application were provided by the local developers.

The Shoop Ranch project was also approved, including the infrastructure PID that will provide, with other developments in the area, the vast majority of funding to bring surface water to New Fairview. Shoop Ranch has agreed to design, construct, and dedicate the system to the City, as well as provide operating funds until the system revenues are sufficient to cover the costs of operation.

We anticipate the process to take from three to six months to complete, depending upon how quickly the state processes the application. During this intervening time the City will be working with area wholesale water providers to identify the best possible paths for the future transmission lines and prepare contractual agreements for the line extensions and ongoing service.

If everything goes perfectly, which rarely if ever occurs, from the day we sign the agreement with the wholesale water provider, we could expect to see the transmission line completed to New Fairview within three-to-five years. This is a large, long-term project that will cost tens of millions of dollars to complete and require partnerships with many other entities.

Shoop Ranch – Master Planned Community

The 1,806 acre Shoop Ranch master planned community has been approved.

This development provides a number of opportunities to improve city operations. A few of the major impacts for our community, include:

• Another funding source (Constellation Lakes) that will help bring surface water to New Fairview; driving down the overall cost for everyone
• Develops a water system and infrastructure that can provide fire protection services, improving the city’s ISO rating and reducing the cost of every homeowner’s insurance policy in the city
• Installation of sewer treatment facilities
• High-speed internet
• Activation of around 700 acres of open space, parks, sports fields, and 13+ miles of major trails
• Funding for transportation improvements
• Funding for public safety improvements
• Adds approximately $1.3 billion in tax base to the city or around $4 million in property tax revenue at the current rate of $0.30 per $100 valuation

The project proposes to develop a Town Square for the city which ties into a community amenity center, sports fields, and a 13+ mile trail system. The Town Square would feature a grocery store, drug store, and variety of retail and office space for local business.

When traveling on FM 407 and passing the Shoop Ranch on the north side of FM 407, travelers and residents would see something that looks like the images below. A ridgeline, running east to west, would only allow a small section that includes the entry monument, some retail shops and a few homes to be viewed from the road. Heavy vegetation, berms, and trees will further improve the overall beauty, as well as minimize the impact of viewing development.

The development includes over 700 acres of parks, sports fields, and open space that allows someone travelling through the development consistently see acres of open space with substantial berms and vegetation screening of the existing hydrocarbon well sites. Currently included in this plan are seven parks that will be programmed and developed as neighborhood and community parks, with each having unique amenities for residents.

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)

It appears that the City has obtained 80% of the surveys from the Chisholm Trails development. We are currently working with our grant administrator to process the surveys and identify areas where the $350,000 qualify to be spent. We really appreciate all of you that took the time to complete the survey online, over the phone, or chatted with Josh on your doorstep. Without your participation, the City would not even be able to apply for the grant funding.

If you have not completed your survey, and would still like to help identify areas that qualify, please complete your survey. You can contact Brooke at city hall, 817-638-5366 extension 1004. She can take your info over the phone or you can access digital version of the form here or an online form here.

Transportation Impact Fee Study

This study allows the city to update the capital plan for transportation improvements, determine costs and assess a proportional fee to those developing within a defined geographic area. This will take approximately three-to-four months to complete and will cost approximately $15,000.

Impact fees are up-front fees charged to developers for the burden their new development will place on City infrastructure. These assessments generate revenue for funding or recouping the costs of capital improvements or facility expansions required by and attributed to the new development.

Chapter 395 of the Local Government Code allows cities to impose these fees and there are specific guidelines that must be followed when working with developers and administering impact fees. Impact fees may also be imposed in the ETJ with some exceptions outlined in Chapter 395.

You can read more about impact fees here or a more simplified version here.