OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Denton City Council Meeting - September 16, 2025: Budget Adoption, Water Master Plan, and Policy Discussions

City Council — Tuesday, September 16, 2025
BodyAustin, Texas
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, September 16, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 3:42:29

Transcript — Verbatim
0:04

Good afternoon and welcome to this meeting in the City Council.

0:07

Today, Tuesday, September 16th, 2025.

0:11

It's 2 p.m.

0:12

We do have a quorum, so I'll call the meeting to order.

0:15

First thing on the agenda, citizen comments on the consent agenda items.

0:21

Seeing none takes us to reports or for clarification of agenda items listed on this agenda for public hearing and individual consideration.

0:31

Any clarification questions for um public hearing individual items?

0:41

Then that takes us to our first work session.

0:45

And that's item 3A, ID 25, 363, receive report hold discussion, give staff direction regarding the city's water master plan.

1:02

Morning, mayor, counsel.

1:04

Or after you say.

1:09

I got Joe's disease.

1:14

All right, I'm Stephen Gay, Water Utilities and Street Operations General Manager.

1:19

I'll be uh presenting the updates to the water master plan today.

1:23

We do have representatives from our consultant firm Kimley Horn in the room.

1:27

Should we have some uh highly technical questions we need to bring them into the fold on?

1:32

So the current water master plan was adopted in 2018.

1:39

Now, master plans are planning tools.

1:42

The water master plan is a tool that predicts growth and identifies water infrastructure needed to support it.

1:50

Uh these growth projections are associated with capital plans, which start with a 25-year planning window, and then are further refined down to a 10 and a five-year window where the uh confidence in the data is a lot higher.

2:07

Uh the weight the water master plan completed in 2018, projected lower growth in the outer regions of our system and higher growth in the core.

2:19

This is exactly the opposite of what we're experiencing today.

2:25

The objective of this water master plan update is to address the shift in growth trends that we are seeing from the 2018 Water Master Plan.

2:36

This imbalance is driven or driving the need for additional treatment capacity and conveyance infrastructure not contemplated in the 2018 plan.

2:46

The current overall growth has exceeded projections in the western and northern areas of the city, driven primarily by industrial land use south of 380 and west of I-35, as well as the Hunter and Coal developments to the south.

3:08

This heat map shows the change in the growth trend from those projected in 2018.

3:17

This is what we're actually seeing today.

3:20

The area in red represents growth that is far above projections, and the area in blue represents growth where it's well below projections.

3:30

As you can see, the higher growth areas are concentrated around the perimeter of the city, while in fill and growth of the core has slowed.

3:41

Most of the area in red, where we have is most of the area in red is where we have little infrastructure, therefore making it more costly for us to provide water services.

4:17

Service area 1A is 65% below projections.

4:22

Service area 1B is 185% above projections.

4:29

And service area two is 14% above projections.

4:33

Growth in 2025 is aggressive and consistent with the trend shown through 2024.

4:44

Now you all seen this slide before many times in our water master plan in our impact fee studies.

5:00

That dash line on the map dash line on the map represents our CCN, which is our certificate of convenience and necessity, where we have an obligation to serve.

5:06

So to forecast growth, we use a myriad of internal data sources, including but not limited to existing customer water meter data, planned developments in the 5, 10, and 25 year window, the comprehensive plan, which helps us determine uh future land use and categories as well as associated population.

5:30

Additionally, we review historic and current population projections collected from the North Central Texas Council of Governments.

5:39

All of these sources are then combined to create the overall population projections and build a capital improvement plan necessary to support the predicted and projected growth.

5:52

It's important to reinforce master plans are living documents that require frequent evaluation to ensure that treatment and conveyance systems responsibly evolve to support growth and all Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Requirements.

6:14

Now, once we understand how quickly we're growing, where we need infrastructure to support the growth, we build a capital improvement plan.

6:24

The projects shown in red represents the capital improvement needed in the five-year window.

6:30

Blue represents projects needed in the 10-year window.

6:34

And the green represents projects needed within the 25-year planning window.

6:40

Now, because the population projections were lower in the 2018 Water Master Plan, the conveyance and treatment improvements in the 2018 capital improvement plan were less intense compared to today's projections.

6:58

The 2018 Water Master Plan identified a total of 248 million in capital investment over the planning window.

7:09

This update identifies 1.12 billion of needed investment.

7:14

This is being driven by several factors.

7:17

Material costs have more than doubled since 2018 through inflation.

7:23

Labor costs have skyrocketed.

7:25

COVID was a of a contributor, contributing factor to that.

7:30

Growth in the outer regions where little infrastructure exists is occurring more much faster than predicted.

7:39

And with demands exceeding projections, more treatment capacity is required, causing uh further expansion of our water treatment facilities.

7:50

In a nutshell, growth projections and capital improvement plans use a myriad of information to inform them.

7:58

Master plans are living documents that need consistent revision.

8:03

Growth is incurring in areas where we have little infrastructure opposite to that of 20, the 2018 projections, and inflation, uh labor cost, and limited infrastructure and growth centers is driving up cost.

8:18

So that's essentially the update on the water master plan.

8:22

And our next steps are going to be we'll be giving a presentation to the public utilities board on the 29th, and hope to have this in front of council for adoption on the 30th.

8:32

With that, I'll stand for any questions.

8:35

Thank you.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Land Use and Zoning█████████████████17%
Budget Equity Analysis███████████████15%
Procedural█████████████13%
Water And Wastewater Management█████████9%
Community Engagement█████████9%
Public Engagement████4%
Racial Equity████4%
Public Safety████4%
Transportation Safety████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Denton City Council Meeting - September 16, 2025

The Denton City Council held a work session at 2:00 PM and a regular meeting at 6:30 PM on September 16, 2025. Key actions included adopting the FY 2025-26 budget and tax rate, receiving updates on the Water Master Plan (showing a need for $1.12 billion in capital improvements), discussing a resolution to declare June as Pride Month, finalizing Tourist and Convention Fund allocations, and approving several zoning and franchise items. The meeting concluded with farewells to departing staff.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved unanimously (7-0) without discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Tracy Duckworth (11th appearance): Criticized the city’s handling of homelessness, alleging retaliation by Giving Grace and violations of Housing First and ADA standards. Stated that homeless individuals are dying and services are inadequate.
  • Chris Watts (Serve Denton Board Chair): Promoted the "Atomic Bingo Bash" fundraiser on October 23, 2025, at the Civic Center, encouraging council members to attend in costume.
  • Nathan Goldsmith (Denton resident): Presented evidence of unpermitted and substandard work by Danella Contracting after the May 2025 disaster. Asked the city to improve contractor oversight.
  • Nick Stevens (John B. Denton Neighborhood Association): Read a letter signed by 61 residents requesting a dedicated work session to overhaul construction coordination after months of poorly communicated utility and road projects. Noted unsafe conditions and blocked driveways.
  • Richard Gladden (Denton resident): Proposed an ordinance requiring public notification seven days before any meeting between city officials and federal agencies (e.g., ICE), following a recent undisclosed meeting about immigration enforcement.

Discussion Items

Work Session (2:00 PM)

  • Water Master Plan Update (Item 3A): Stephen Gay (Water Utilities GM) presented an update. Key statistics: Service area 1A is 65% below projections, 1B is 185% above, and area 2 is 14% above. The 2018 plan identified $248M in capital needs; the update now identifies $1.12B due to increased growth in outer areas, inflation, and labor costs. Council members asked about incentives to guide development and the tight timeline (PUB meeting Sept. 29, council adoption Sept. 30). The plan will inform impact fees and CIP.
  • Pride Month Resolution (Item 3B): Christy Fogel (Chief of Staff) presented options. Mayor Hudspeth opposed (option 2), stating it is divisive and not a core city function. Councilmember Beck supported (option 1) as a sign of inclusivity. Councilmember Jester suggested modifying language: simplify acronym to LGBTQ+ and remove a clause perceived as antagonistic to state legislators. After discussion, consensus was reached to bring a revised resolution forward for a future vote.
  • Tourist and Convention Fund Allocation (Item 3C): Christine Taylor (Asst. City Manager) presented two scenarios. Scenario 2 (favored) allocates $300,000 to Denton County Office of History and Culture, $25,000 each to Denton Festival Foundation and Holiday Lighting Festival Association, $30,000 to Denton Parks Foundation (Dog Days), $70,000 to Texas Veterans Hall of Fame, and reduces the Ambassador Program and contingency. Council members supported Scenario 2, citing partnership benefits and return on investment.

Regular Meeting (6:30 PM)

  • Proclamations:
    • Denton Fire Department recognized for achieving ISO Class 1 rating (score improved from 88.24 in 2017 to 93.73 in 2025).
    • September 28, 2025 proclaimed Good Neighbor Day.
    • September 2025 proclaimed United Way Month.
  • Public Hearings:
    • FY 2025-26 Budget and Tax Rate (Item 5A): Public hearing held; no speakers. The proposed tax rate is 0.595420 per $100 valuation (M&O unchanged at 0.334780, debt service up 1 cent to 0.260640). Average residential tax bill increase $78; utility increase $73. Total appropriations $2.5 billion. Adopted later in the meeting (7-0).
    • Alternative ESA Plan (Item 5B): For Spencer Road industrial development (0.23 acres riparian impact). Council members expressed traffic and environmental concerns. The applicant requested a postponement to conduct a traffic study; council voted 7-0 to postpone indefinitely.
    • Mobility Plan Amendment (Item 5C): Reclassify Eagle Drive, Welch Street, and Avenue A from secondary arterial to collector roads near UNT. Staff cited safety and cost. Approved 7-0.
    • Zoning Change (Item 5D): Rezone 68 acres near I-35/Loop 288 from PD 142 to PDGO for warehouse/light industrial. Applicant presented plans with enhanced design. Approved 7-0.
  • Individual Consideration:
    • SUP Extension (Item 6A): One-year extension for Alevo Apartments (262 units). Approved 4-3 after debate about development delays.
    • Natural Gas Franchise (Item 6B): Grant 10-year franchise to Universal Natural Gas for Hunter Ranch and Legends Ranch. Approved 7-0.
    • Budget and Fee Ordinances (Items 6C-6M): Adopted FY 2025-26 budget, tax rate, and fee schedules for utilities, library, police, fire, and parks. All approved 7-0.

Key Outcomes

  • Water Master Plan will proceed to PUB on Sept. 29 and council adoption on Sept. 30.
  • Pride Month Resolution will be revised and brought back for a vote.
  • Tourist Fund allocation follows Scenario 2; total fund level unchanged.
  • FY 2025-26 Budget adopted with tax rate 0.595420 ($78 average tax increase) and utility rate increases (water 3%, wastewater 11%).
  • Alt ESA Plan postponed; applicant to provide traffic study.
  • Mobility Plan Amendment (roads near UNT) reclassified to collectors.
  • Zoning Change (I-35 gateway) approved for industrial park with design overlay.
  • SUP Extension for Alevo Apartments granted through October 2026.
  • Natural Gas Franchise for Universal Natural Gas approved.
  • All fee schedules for city services adopted.
  • Council members expressed farewell to City Attorney Benjamin Samples and Development Services Director Scott McDonald.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon and welcome to this meeting in the City Council. Today, Tuesday, September 16th, 2025. It's 2 p.m. We do have a quorum, so I'll call the meeting to order. First thing on the agenda, citizen comments on the consent agenda items. Seeing none takes us to reports or for clarification of agenda items listed on this agenda for public hearing and individual consideration. Any clarification questions for um public hearing individual items? Then that takes us to our first work session. And that's item 3A, ID 25, 363, receive report hold discussion, give staff direction regarding the city's water master plan. Morning, mayor, counsel. Or after you say. I got Joe's disease. All right, I'm Stephen Gay, Water Utilities and Street Operations General Manager. I'll be uh presenting the updates to the water master plan today. We do have representatives from our consultant firm Kimley Horn in the room. Should we have some uh highly technical questions we need to bring them into the fold on? So the current water master plan was adopted in 2018. Now, master plans are planning tools. The water master plan is a tool that predicts growth and identifies water infrastructure needed to support it. Uh these growth projections are associated with capital plans, which start with a 25-year planning window, and then are further refined down to a 10 and a five-year window where the uh confidence in the data is a lot higher. Uh the weight the water master plan completed in 2018, projected lower growth in the outer regions of our system and higher growth in the core. This is exactly the opposite of what we're experiencing today. The objective of this water master plan update is to address the shift in growth trends that we are seeing from the 2018 Water Master Plan. This imbalance is driven or driving the need for additional treatment capacity and conveyance infrastructure not contemplated in the 2018 plan. The current overall growth has exceeded projections in the western and northern areas of the city, driven primarily by industrial land use south of 380 and west of I-35, as well as the Hunter and Coal developments to the south. This heat map shows the change in the growth trend from those projected in 2018. This is what we're actually seeing today. The area in red represents growth that is far above projections, and the area in blue represents growth where it's well below projections. As you can see, the higher growth areas are concentrated around the perimeter of the city, while in fill and growth of the core has slowed. Most of the area in red, where we have is most of the area in red is where we have little infrastructure, therefore making it more costly for us to provide water services. Service area 1A is 65% below projections. Service area 1B is 185% above projections. And service area two is 14% above projections. Growth in 2025 is aggressive and consistent with the trend shown through 2024. Now you all seen this slide before many times in our water master plan in our impact fee studies. That dash line on the map dash line on the map represents our CCN, which is our certificate of convenience and necessity, where we have an obligation to serve. So to forecast growth, we use a myriad of internal data sources, including but not limited to existing customer water meter data, planned developments in the 5, 10, and 25 year window, the comprehensive plan, which helps us determine uh future land use and categories as well as associated population. Additionally, we review historic and current population projections collected from the North Central Texas Council of Governments. All of these sources are then combined to create the overall population projections and build a capital improvement plan necessary to support the predicted and projected growth. It's important to reinforce master plans are living documents that require frequent evaluation to ensure that treatment and conveyance systems responsibly evolve to support growth and all Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Requirements. Now, once we understand how quickly we're growing, where we need infrastructure to support the growth, we build a capital improvement plan. The projects shown in red represents the capital improvement needed in the five-year window. Blue represents projects needed in the 10-year window. And the green represents projects needed within the 25-year planning window. Now, because the population projections were lower in the 2018 Water Master Plan, the conveyance and treatment improvements in the 2018 capital improvement plan were less intense compared to today's projections. The 2018 Water Master Plan identified a total of 248 million in capital investment over the planning window. This update identifies 1.12 billion of needed investment. This is being driven by several factors. Material costs have more than doubled since 2018 through inflation. Labor costs have skyrocketed.

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