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Jun 04, 2023

City, district make little progress on bond projects

By Brendan Marchand | on August 30, 2023 LONG NIGHT AHEAD — Community members sign in for Paradise’s council meeting Monday night. The mayor, council and city engineer discussed the PISD bond projects

By Brendan Marchand | on August 30, 2023

LONG NIGHT AHEAD — Community members sign in for Paradise’s council meeting Monday night. The mayor, council and city engineer discussed the PISD bond projects — a single agenda item — for over two hours.

Paradise ISD’s $58.5 million bond that voters approved of in November is still on hold, and there’s no definitive answer as to when the district can break ground on the facilities improvements projects.

On Aug. 2, the PISD School Board and Superintendent Will Brewer released a letter to “the community of Paradise” outlining a series of public improvements that the city is requiring of the district before construction on bond projects can begin. According to the letter, the school board felt as if the requirements of the city were unusually demanding, stating that the city views the bond as an “opportunity” to use school funds for future master water and thoroughfare plans.

Aug. 3 Paradise Mayor Amanda Black released a statement on behalf of the city, countering by saying the requirements for PISD by the city are to “provide for managed growth and for the health, safety, and welfare for the residents of the City of Paradise.” She continued by saying in the statement that it appeared the district’s “lack of planning … is being directed in such a way as to make the City the scapegoat.”

At the city council meeting Monday, Black recounted her timeline of events from April 2022 to present-day regarding the bond projects and public improvements. The timeline below also reflects PISD’s responses to the mayor’s timeline, which the Messenger received via email Wednesday.

(See full comments from PISD regarding the mayor’s timeline here.)

The meeting was then turned over to city engineer Michael Anderson, who said that according to Chapter 212 of the Texas Local Government Code, cities – through the process of platting – are able to determine what impacts are required of the development to offset any impacts the development may have on adjacent systems.

“That could be a drainage system, roadway system, water system or sewer system. That process is applicable to anyone developing in Paradise or its ETJ,” Michael Anderson said. “That process is done by a church, residential developer and it also applies to schools. I think what the mayor was trying to help everybody understand (with her timeline of events) is that the school board was informed as early as 2022 that there were issues with the city’s system.”

The engineer added that it is difficult for the city to understand the full impact of PISD building a new school and the effect it will have on the city’s systems, because the city does not have “technical information” from the professionals who are working on the bond projects. He said once the city receives those specific documents that detail the district’s plans, city engineers can determine what needs to be addressed, and what city improvements can be postponed.

He then presented a site plan with the proposed projects from PISD created by the city, which included improvements to Schoolhouse Road, Hickory Street and an unnamed “Street A.” He said that there may not be an immediate need for some of these projects, but without more detail on the district’s building plans, the city does not know.

“… I don’t know if the [district] has an overall plan, but if they do, we’ve never seen it,” he said. “When you don’t have a plan, it’s real hard to figure out how to phase things out. We’re not asking for full-blown engineering plans for all of this, there are just studies that need to be undertaken by the district … that’s why you have to do your TIA.”

At the school board’s July 31 meeting, trustees voted against the city’s proposed TIA, which according to city officials, will delay the district’s projects. The school board felt as if the city proposed unnecessary areas to study, referencing an area near Grace Fellowship that’s more than a mile away the proposed junior high site.

Michael Anderson then discussed impacts on the city’s water infrastructure that would need to be addressed by PISD. He noted new housing developments near PISD campuses have installed 8-inch water lines to provide additional fire protection.

“The city is endeavoring to provide about 1,000 gallons a minute to residential development [for fire protection],” Michael Anderson said. “… [The new junior high] is 85,000 square feet … and from what I can gather that needs somewhere between 200,000 and 400,000 gallons of storage on the ground or in the air to fight a fire (according to the International Fire Code). That’s a whole different level of fire protection than the residential developments.”

He continued by saying that PISD can either contribute to building new water storage for the city, or they can build their own. If the district chooses the latter, they would need to separate its water lines from the city’s.

Later in his presentation, Michael Anderson noted that PISD has 19 water meters, multiple active water wells and a sewer system, all of which have poor mapping due to the district privately operating their water before the city became incorporated. He said a clear map needs to be given to the city before any progress can be made on the bond projects.

“So, at the very least, you need backflow protection and a layout of where everything is?” asked council member Cody Anderson. Michael Anderson replied that “it would be helpful.”

Cody Anderson then asked if this was something that should have been taken into account when the district called the bond, to which Michael Anderson said it should have been addressed in the timeline and budget of the projects. Michael Anderson said between the TIA and water infrastructure mapping, the two could take six months to complete, which would put the district well behind schedule.

After Michael Anderson’s presentation, city officials discussed how to move forward with the district. Black reiterated her opposition to a joint meeting between the council and school board, saying that the two entities’ “professional teams” should meet.

“Was it your experience in meeting with and communicating with the school district and their professionals that they had given any indication that they had planned for having to meet the financial burden of any impact to the public infrastructure?” City Attorney Andrea Russell asked. Michael Anderson replied “no.”

“They thought that wasn’t their obligation and that it was the city’s job,” Russell said. “I think that’s where the tension is here.”

PISD School Board member Landon Smith, who was in attendance at the meeting, asked Michael Anderson about the need for PISD to provide 400,000 gallons of fire protection to coincide with the bond projects.

“That’s what it says in the International Fire Code,” Michael Anderson said. Landon Smith then pointed out that if the full 400,000 capacity was used to extinguish a fire on a school building, it would just destroy the building with water damage. “I’m not a firefighter,” Michael Anderson replied.

School board member Heath Smith also asked city officials about water storage tanks for fire protection. The discussion returned to citation of the fire code.

Brewer was the final representative from the district to make a public comment. Brewer began by recalling Black’s statement that he declined her request to appear at a July school board meeting, saying that he in fact did extend an invitation for her to attend.

“It didn’t seem like it would be an agenda item that would have a discussion, just like I could come sit and watch,” Black said. Brewer replied, “Which is what we’re doing here. That’s why I’ve requested the joint meeting, because it’s just one-way communication.”

He brought up his own concerns over the water improvements that the city is requiring of the district. Specifically, he mentioned confusion as to what the district is being asked to do regarding fire hydrants.

Brewer brought forth the idea that a joint meeting would help resolve some of this confusion, making for the sixth time such a request had been made. Black responded by saying that the discussions should be left to “professional teams,” and Russell said it is not typical for two elected boards to have a meeting like Brewer was proposing.

After more deliberation between city and school officials, Cody Anderson said that he would be willing to meet for a joint meeting. His comment sparked the only conversation of the night that gave both the city and school district any resolve.

After a recess, Black closed out the two hour discussion over the single agenda item. She set a joint city council and school board meeting for Sept. 20 at 5:30 p.m. in the Paradise Junior High cafeteria.

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