Road design weighed

New plan for FM 1187 through Aledo discussed by Council

Sara Ortega

sortega@weatherforddemocrat.com

Aledo City Council met Thursday night to hear a new design concept for FM 1187 downtown and options for water and sewer rate increases.

Council voted to continue to explore design options for FM 1187, which would include looks at the economic impact for business and safety issues.

“FM 1187 through downtown is a nightmare,” Mayor Kit Marshall said. “Not everyone will agree [on the new concept], but it’s important for businesses and residences to understand the facts and that we make the best decision for the long and short term.”

The original plan is included in the $1 million from the Parker County Transportation Bond while the new concept is projected to cost $4.3 million. Parker County Judge Mark Riley said the costs would not affect tax payers.

“The City of Aledo and Parker County could partner to submit an application for a grant from the Texas Department of Transportation Enhancement Fund,” Riley said.

That application is due Dec. 11.

The original plan for the downtown project included traffic signals, which would improve traffic and pedestrian safety at the Union Pacific Railroad crossing and improve traffic flow on the Old Annetta/Maverick intersection.

Chris Bosco, design manager for Freese and Nichols, said while the original plan had advantages, it had no increase in FM 1187 traffic capacity.

The new one-way couplet project would require a roadway construction where FM 1187 would function as a roundabout. Bosco said this plan would have the same goals as the first with increased improvement to pedestrian safety from Oak Street to Austin, and improve traffic flow and safety without the use of light signals.

Another major part of the new project includes the possible closure of Chesnutt Crossing in place of the creation of a new crossing with safety enhancements that would qualify as a quiet zone. The quiet zone would not require trains to sound a horn as they passed through the city.

Rick Campbell, president and chief operating officer of Campbell Technology Corporation, said the closure is a requirement of Union Pacific Railroad.

“Generally the rule for UPRR is open one [crossing], close two,” Campbell explained. “For them, every crossing is a liability, but they have agreed to the one for one.”

Councilmen Bill McLeRoy, Randy Watkins and Matt Casey voiced concern for local businesses and churches around the downtown area. Bosco and Campbell said the plans are still in the very early stages and would look into specifics later on into the project.

Marshall said public discussions on the project would be scheduled in the near future.

Chris Ekrut, senior consultant for J. Stowe and Co., presented information concerning a water and sewer rate increase for the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant and the water lines, pump station and water tanks.

“I definitely have better news than last year. The increase we are looking is less than we had anticipated,” Ekrut said. “The credit is due to the mayor and the council for keeping the cost down and maintaining the budget.”

Ekrut presented three alternatives for water rates and three alternatives for sewer rates. The initial projected revenue requirement was about $1.56 million, and the actual rate review is closer to $1.45 million.

Each alternative would recover approximately 42 percent of revenue in fixed charges and has a focus on keeping costs down for lower-income users.

The council made no final decisions on the rate and is mapping out a schedule of public hearings leading up to the election Nov. 3.