Annexation UPDATE
UPDATE
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to report that our lengthy deliberations with the City of Austin over annexation have come to an end. The Court ruled in favor of the City on our lawsuits appealing the arbitrator’s Strategic Partnership Agreement award and asking for a judgment to require the City to provide City wastewater service to Lost Creek before annexation.
The Strategic Partnership Agreement with the City went into effect on February 14, 2008. The terms of that agreement are essentially the same as the agreement we presented during our hearings last May but some of the dates have changed. The key elements are:
Annexation of the residential areas of Lost Creek is delayed until the end of 2015
The commercial area along Loop 360 will be fully annexed at the end of 2008
We have accepted immediate assumption of ownership of our water and wastewater facilities by the City, although we will continue operating these facilities (administrative offices, parks and greenbelts will remain ours until annexation of the residential properties).
By April of this year, we must undertake a “criticality assessment” of our facilities and subsequently make any infrastructure upgrades required by the City
By the end of May we must enact and enforce a written water conservation plan for our community with the same goals as the City’s plan
By mid-August of this year we must begin treating our wastewater to remove phosphorus to a higher level than we currently do
Full details of the Strategic Partnership Agreement are on our website.
Our board decided against any further legal challenge of the issues involved with annexation because the probability of prevailing on appeal was low and the ongoing financial cost would have been high. As part of a final settlement of our two annexation-related lawsuits, the City of Austin agreed to pay its own legal fees and we will pay ours.
While annexation and the resulting City taxes and fees for residential owners is postponed through 2015, the terms of the settlement will increase our expenses going forward. We project costs per household may rise up to $600 annually from where they were on Nov 1, 2006. The full extent of this increase will not be known until the criticality assessment is completed but no change in tax rates or water and wastewater fees is anticipated before the start of our next fiscal year on October 1, 2008.
Would we have preferred a different outcome? Undoubtedly, but we had reached the end of our reasonable prosecution of this matter and acted in what we believe to be your best interests. The Board vote to accept the court’s final judgment was by acclamation.
We will work to keep you informed of further developments. Meanwhile, feel free to discuss this matter with me or any of your Board members individually or at Board meetings. And please accept our thanks for your feedback, patience, and understanding during this long ordeal.
Sincerely,
Rick A. Cherye President Lost Creek MUD