Dripping Springs OKs Village Grove proposed improvements

DRIPPING SPRINGS —Following a presentation by city attorney Laura Mueller, Dripping Springs City Council unanimously approved a budget for Village Grove proposed improvements on Ranch to Market Road 12 pursuant to the Offsite Road Agreement on Aug. 6.

During the Offsite Road Agreement negotiation process, the Village Grove Development Team has had ongoing conversations with city staff; two meetings were before the Development Agreement Working Group, three meetings were before the city’s Transportation Committee and two meetings were with TxDOT to discuss transportation improvements associated with the development.

Three alternate connectivity scenarios were considered for the development to align with the city's Transportation Master Plan.

The final, preferred scenario includes a minor arterial roadway (Village Grove Parkway) constructed between RM 12, south of the Planned Development District 11, to US 290, aligning with the signalized intersection at Wild Ridge Boulevard. The alignment provides a direct route between RM 12 and US 290, without bisecting the city’s Sports & Recreation Park.

The transportation improvements, aligning with the city’s priorities, to be constructed by Village Grove will provide additional roadway capacity and needed relief to the RM 12 and US 290 intersection. A two-lane roadway is needed to initially meet the traffic demands of the Village Grove development, but ultimately a four-lane roadway will be required for the demands of the area to accommodate future growth, according to Mueller.

The Village Grove Development Team has agreed to the following:

• Design and construction of Village Grove Parkway as a two-lane minor arterial, with left-turn lanes from US 290 through the development to RM 12. The construction of this two-lane arterial, between Rob Shelton Boulevard to RM 12, will be partially reimbursed by the city after the city receives and approves the budget for said roadway.

• Design and construction of two-lane minor arterial roadway, referred to as Market Hills Drive, between Wild Ridge Boulevard on southern border to the southern border of the 7-acre civic site.

• Reserve portion of right-of-way along Village Grove Parkway from US 290 to the southern border of development for future expansion to a four-lane roadway.

• Design and construction of the fourth leg of a traffic signal at US 290 and Wild Ridge Boulevard/Village Grove Parkway.

• At the June 7, 2022, meeting, the developer proposed that the city partially fund the connection between Rob Shelton Boulevard and RM 12, as well as fund the RM 12 intersection improvements; the owner then agreed to fully fund the connection between Rob Shelton Boulevard and RM 12. The developer will be reimbursed up to the amount of cost of the RM 12 intersection improvements through reuse fee rebates and third-party proportionate share, if Traffic Impact Analyses for other property owners/developers occur.

The city and Village Grove negotiated that the city would assist in funding the RM 12 intersection improvements, while the Village Grove Development would fund the remainder of the improvements. In order to move forward with the RM 12 improvements, the city needed to approve its budget.

These improvements include:

•  The removal of the existing traffic signal at the intersection of RM 12 and Sports Park Road and the placement of the traffic signal at RM 12 and Village Grove Parkway

• A westbound right turn lane on Village Grove Parkway at RM 12

• A northbound right turn lane on RM 12 at Village Grove Parkway

• An eastbound left turn lane on Village Grove Parkway at Rob Shelton Boulevard

• Restriction of Sports Park Road at RM 12 to right-in, right-out operations

The budget provided is for $2,315,169.24, aligning with the proposed construction plan. The drainage infrastructure required for the construction of the northbound right-turn lane on RM 12 at Village Grove Parkway is expensive, according to council agenda documents, and this is one part of the budget the city will work on with the developer with the above number being a cap.

The city’s reimbursement would include the reimbursement of reuse fees for the development. Each living unit equivalent (LUE) is $1,675. The development currently has plans to have 428 lots, which is a reimbursement toward the budget of $716,900. The remainder is to be paid over the next 10 years from other developments that have a proportionate share of the improvements. No other city fees will be paid towards the improvements.

“Our reimbursement agreement states that we will be reimbursed our reuse fees currently based on the number of units that they are proposing,” Mueller said. “Up to the next 10 years, any developers that would benefit from these improvements, we would get their [proportionate] share based on their Traffic Impact Analysis and so forth.”

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Water Meters

To keep up with demand of the growing system, Dripping Springs City Council also unanimously approved authorizing city staff to exceed $50,000 worth of purchases from Atlas Utility Supply for the appropriation of water meters for resale to customers.

The city provides water services to several subdivisions in the area. On Dec. 7, 2021, Dripping Springs City Council selected Atlas Utility Supply as the vendor to provide cellular enabled water meters to the city. Since then, city staff has been utilizing the vendor to obtain meters and build out the water system, integrating the cellular technology with the city’s utility billing system.

“State law and our purchasing policy says that any expenditure over $50,000 with one vendor in a fiscal year has to be approved by council,” said Deputy City Administrator Shawn Cox.

Council member Taline Manassian asked for confirmation that the council is not approving a certain purchase, but rather acknowledging that the city is going to spend more than $50,000 with Atlas. Cox agreed with her statement.

This item is budgeted and is a pass-through cost for the city.

Council will meet again on Tuesday, Aug. 20.