Mar. 17—The city of Alvarado made an historic first recently, in agreeing to collect almost $12 million dollars from six residential developers to pay for the construction of a wastewater treatment plant expansion. The city council approved the agreement during their Feb. 21 meeting.
City Manager Paul DeBuff said that although the city has already been working on the treatment plant expansion, the developers will now begin pouring cash into an escrow account, which the city will withdraw from as it incurs expenses on the plant.
"It's a historic agreement like the city has never seen," DeBuff sad.
The developers involved include Lennar Homes, Bluebonnet Capital, Greenbrick Edgewood, History Maker Homes, Bloomfield Homes and Agave Trail Development.
"This is the kind of success a city can see when we work in active partnership with developers and business owners to create new solutions to new problems," DeBuff said.
Mayor Jacob Wheat thanked DeBuff for his work, and emphasized holding the developers accountable.
"We constantly hear concerns from citizens about developers paying their own way for their impact on infrastructure, and this agreement does exactly that," Wheat said. "We are excited to have Paul on board, and thank him for accomplishing a seemingly insurmountable task in his first six months. We're eager to see what else he can do."
Public Works Director Michael Dwiggins also expressed enthusiasm for the new expansion because of the city's recent and steady growth.
"With the growth we're seeing, it's great to see the developers showing their commitment to the city with their pocketbooks, which will also help us raise the bar on new treatment technologies," Dwiggins said.
With a 2020 population of 5,118, Alvarado is growing at a rate of 3.98% annually and its population has increased by 35.22% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 3,785 in 2010.
In addition to the treatment plant agreement, the city is working with developers to provide millions more to the city for reconstructing existing streets.