At the Aug. 20 City Council Meeting, it was reported that the Atmos Steering Committee has reached an agreement with Atmos to resolve the 2024 RRM (Rate Review Mechanism) Filing. This agreement will reduce their system-wide increase by $32.1 million to a total of $164.7 million.
A change in Atmos means they will raise the cost of the residential bill to $5.52 a month (6.84 percent) and raise the cost of the commercial bill to $13.39 a month (3.44 percent).
City Administrator Julie Arrington said, according to Atmos Steering Committee attorneys, the committee recommends the City of Whitesboro to approve this resolution. Alderman Mike Pack motioned and Alderman Su Welch seconded. The motion carried.
The City Council also discussed several projects, including the approval of the construction of an awning at the Food Truck Park. According to the agenda, the owner of Maya’s Family Food Truck, Manuel Sandoval, requested to put a larger awning over the seating area at the food court.
There are currently two smaller awnings that only cover some of the tables. Sandoval has applied for a permit and submitted hand -drawn plans. Sandoval stated he would pay for the materials and build the awning if the city approved him to do so. He also requested a waiver of the permit fees. Mayor Pro Tem Carla Woolsey motioned and Pack seconded. The motion carried.
Arrington alerted the council that the city’s contract with LCRA (an energy, water and community services company) will be up in January 2026 and the city will have to go out for an RFQ (request for quote).
Arrington said this is a rate study to see where the city is in regards to the market and to see where the purchase contract is expected to land to make sure the city is raising enough revenue to cover the bill.
The City Council approved the City Administrator to enter into an agreement with Senergy, an electric utility consulting firm that focuses on engineering and utility consulting.
This approval is for the purpose of developing a Line Extension Policy. Arrington confirmed this is a project that has begun and needs to be completed.
According to the agenda, Senergy is a subsidiary of Schneider Electric who the city has partnered with for years. They currently work with the city on their regulatory reporting. This study will inform the council if the city’s electric rates are competitive and provide financial forecasting with the growth of the city.
Arrington said developing a Line Extension Policy is a way for the city to recapture some of that money for the material that the city purchases. For instance, in the package provided to council during the meeting, Arrington included the example of Cashion Homes developing the south side of Walnut Street for the Storrey Starter edition. Arrington said the cost for the materials needed to build that side of the edition is estimated at $35,859.82. She said you can double that amount of the entire block of 28 homes.
The cost does not include man hours worked, tool usage, truck usage or fuel. The cost is just too extreme for the city to fund at this time. Senergy had a representative at the meeting that informed the council on their firm and how they can benefit the city.
Alderman Miles motioned and Mayor Pro Tem Woolsey seconded. The motion carried.
The City Council voted and authorized the City Administrator to approve the cost for new and upgraded infrastructure for Storrey Starter Homes on Kelly Street. Four council members agreed; Alderman Miles opposed. The motion carried.
Arrington said this is a two-piece project, being built by two developers. One person is developing on Walnut Street and another person is developing on Kelly Street. The property was industrial and is where the peanut factory dryer previously stood. The developers want the infrastructure and manholes to be built.
According to the agenda, the owner, engineer, the building official, the utilities director, City Administrator and the Mayor all met to discuss the installation of the water and sewer.
They are expecting the city to install the infrastructure.
Arrington said the property has water on it and has a sewer in place for the property to the south, but that is a two-inch line and not large enough to handle the amount of homes they are developing. The sewer line would need to be upgraded to at least a six-inch line. There is no electric service on this property. Furthermore, the property owner is requesting the city to pay for the upgrades. This will consist of 1,029.75 feet of sewer pipe with four manholes. The estimated cost for this will be approximately $125K for sewer and $35,859.82 for just materials for electricity.
On updates for ongoing city projects, the Water Tower project has been upgraded to a one-million-gallon tank. Arrington said she is waiting on final plans from the engineer and expect to have something by Sept. 3. Arrington said this will change their projected time frame to finish. Once they receive the plans, they can count two years from then for the completion of the Water Tower project.
In regards to the Water loop line project, Arrington said she has found the easement document template that the previous City Administrator was planning on using. She ran a sample template through the city’s attorney about two weeks ago, which was approved and sent back.
The Texoma Street project has a 54-year-old pipe that has caused hiccups and issues, but they continue to make strides and move forward with the project.
Arrington said of the 4th Street project, she is sitting in a holding pattern to see what the city wants to do with the budget.
The next steps for the Comprehensive Plan would be getting the paperwork, with the list of new committee candidates, sent out to Dunaway and they can begin getting set up with meetings. The council approved the recommended committee members.
Lastly at this meeting, Arrington had a discussion only with the City Council on the 2024-2025 budget.