Subhead: Wylie Fire-Rescue still in negotiations with Inspiration
Jump head: Retail storage, commercial lease property approved
By Chad Engbrock
The newest neighbor in this part of the county is seeking protection from Wylie.
Inspiration, a planned development located to the north of the city on Parker Rd. in the town of St. Paul, has requested fire safety services from Wylie Fire-Rescue Department. In a work session during Wylie’s city council meeting on April 28, Chief Brent Parker of Wylie F-R outlined a proposal to provide services to the development.
Parker stated in determining the cost services he felt Inspiration should pay, at minimum, the cost for these same services that Wylie residents pay.
He said the formula used was the total expense allocated to the city’s fire and communications departments divided by the total number of meters in the city. Using this formula, a fee of $529 was calculated. In addition to this, Parker said a premium of 15% for administrative costs should be included to his proposal, a total of $607.90 per water meter in the Huffines’ development.
Inspiration is located on 593 acres and will eventually feature 1,400 homes. A model home has been completed and about a dozen additional homes are under construction. Without a fire protection agreement in place, prospective homeowners would have a difficult time securing insurance to protect their property.
The chief said the initial proposal would be to add a two-man squad, working 40-hours per week, for the first two and a half years of the contract. Once enough revenue was generated, personnel would be increased to have a 24-hour squad out of Fire Station No. 2 located at 555 Country Club Rd.
Initial costs for personnel are expected to be $190,000 annually and equipment costs would be approximately $140,000 per year according to Parker.
“We are still in negotiation and not sure how long it will take to complete the agreement with Inspiration,” said Parker. “We want to make sure that we provide adequate services to them and protect our ISO rating for the city of Wylie.”
ISO, or “Insurance Service Office,” ratings for many years have had a large impact on fire departments. At one time, insurance companies used this rating to calculate homeowners coverage rates based on a department’s ISO, which could range from 10 to 1, with 1 being the best. Wylie F-R’s rating is a “1.”
Based on the number of homes expected to be built over the next 30 months, Parker said a squad operating around the clock would be needed by Aug. 2016. He said he expects to have an agreement back for council to consider within the next few months.
Retail-storage granted
A public hearing was held to consider a change in zoning for 11 acres located on the east side of Country Club Rd. (FM 1378), just north of Brown St. The proposed change was for Planned Development Neighborhood Services from Neighborhood Services. Council passed the change, 5-2, with councilmembers Bennie Jones and Nathan Scott dissenting.
The change was requested by Masterplan Land Use Consultants located in Dallas, for a mixed-use development featuring 16,500 sq. feet of commercial lease property along Country Club and 102,000 sq. feet of mini-warehouse/storage behind the commercial units. The property will also include 80 covered spaces for recreational vehicle storage.
In approving the change council stipulated that the covered storage area for vehicles must include sprinkler systems for fire suppression. Additionally, no on-site repairs to stored vehicles will be allowed.
During the public hearing, two prospective tenants spoke in favor of the change and two residents spoke against the change. Additionally three public comment forms were included in council’s packets, two in favor of the change. The change was approved by Wylie Planning and Zoning Commission 5-0.
Council spent over an hour discussing concerns allowing additional storage within the city. Councilman Jones said that he had envisioned a better use for the property than storage.
A second public hearing was held to replat 2.036 acres located on the south side of FM 544 just west of the Kansas City Southern railway. The replat will create two commercial lots, one which will be used to build Honest Car Care, an automotive repair facility.
No one spoke at the public hearing and the replat was approved unanimously.
In other business, council approved an amendment to ordinance 2014-30, the city’s 2014-’15 budget. These amendments will cover changes to revenue and expenditures for the budget which was adopted last September.
Additional kiosk plazas were also unanimously approved. These kiosks provide homebuyers and citizens’ directions to housing developments, public facilities and events. Four new kiosks were approved. They will be located at the northeast corner of Park Blvd and Country Club, at the northwest corner of Alanis Dr. and S. Ballard Ave., at the northeast corner of Creek Crossing Ln, west of S. Ballard Ave and a fourth north of Rain Tree Dr. and west of Country Club Rd. The fourth kiosk was originally proposed for the east side of Country Club.
The ordinance, which covers kiosks, does not allow temporary banners on the structure. Kiosks were a replacement solution for homebuilders who, in the past, had set out temporary signs on weekends, directing prospective buyers to their model homes.
Council also approved the re-appointment of Bob Thurmond, Jr. to the North Texas Municipal Water District’s board of directors. His term will continue from June 1, 2015 through May 31, 2017. Marvin Fuller also serves on the board on behalf of the city of Wylie.
Consent agenda
Council approved the consent agenda as presented. Included in the agenda was a bid for the Industrial Court Wastewater Rehabilitation Project awarded to Horseshoe Costruction Inc., in the amount of $242,255, as well as authorization to execute an agreement with Collin County for construction of Ballard Ave. from Alanis Dr. to the county line.
Presentations
Proclamations during the meeting included students from Wylie ISD who were recognized as Shining the Wylie Way for the third nine-weeks of the school year. They include Olivia Kinkaid, Akin Elementary; Lieu Alak, Birmingham Elementary; Aiden Grasso, Cox Elementary; Nikita Gonholz, Dodd Elementary; Karla Canales, Groves Elementary, Jesus Garcia, Hartman Elementary; Jose Ornelas, Smith Elementary; Veeka Schlensker, Tibbals Elementary; Kate Winters, Tibballs Elementary; Logan Taber, Watkins Elementary; Cailan Dowden, Whitt Elementary; Isabella Ospina, Davis Intermediate; Faith Leiman, Draper Intermediate; Christina Figueroa, Harrison Intermediate; Jeremy Kiuna; Burnett Jr. High; Elias Hoke, Cooper Jr. High; Trinity Wells, McMillian Jr. High.
The state champion Lady Raiders soccer team from Wylie East High School was recognized for their achievement this year. This is the first state championship for the school.
Wylie City Council’s next scheduled meeting is 6 p.m. May 12.
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