Plano City Council Meeting – October 26, 2026

The Plano City Council convened in open session with all council members present. After the opening, the council recessed into executive session under Texas Government Code Sections 551.071 (legal advice and litigation), 551.072 (real estate), 551.087 (economic development), and 551.074 (personnel). Upon returning to public session, the council approved an appointment, heard the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) 75th anniversary presentation, received the Custer Road water main status report, and discussed the future of the Plano Aquatic Center.

Consent Calendar / Appointments

• Approved a motion to promote Kevin Morris from Alternate to Regular Member and to move Kenneth Pittman to Alternate. The motion was seconded and passed by a show of hands; no vote tally was announced.

North Texas Municipal Water District 75th Anniversary

• Plano's appointed NTMWD directors, former Mayor Phil Dyer and Ron Kelly, joined Executive Director/General Manager Jenna Covington and Engineering Director Mark Simon for a presentation marking the district's 75th anniversary.
• The presentation noted that Plano's population was 2,200 when the district began and is now 300,000, and that Plano receives water, wastewater, and solid waste services from the district. The district has 13 member cities and serves "more than 2.4 million people across 80 communities," although the commemorative video closed by referencing 2.3 million people served. The district said it served 32,000 people in 1956, has more than doubled its service population six times since then, and about 75,000 people move into its service area each year.
• Covington reported 141 active district projects with a current value of $4.4 billion, driven by growth, aging infrastructure, and regulatory requirements.
• The district presented the city with a glass water-drop sculpture, and Mayor John Muns read a proclamation declaring October 26, 2026, as North Texas Municipal Water District Day in Plano.

Custer Road Water Main Status Report

• Mark Simon said the project is 99% complete. The existing 30-inch line down the center of Custer Road had condition-related needs, so the district is installing a 36-inch line connecting to the 48-inch line on Renner Road. Because the Custer Road median is now too narrow, the only available corridor north of Plano Parkway was the right-hand traffic lane.
• The project's design was awarded in June 2020, construction was awarded at the end of 2024, and the contractor mobilized in spring 2025. The pipeline is installed and tested, but final tie-ins require coordination among Plano, Richardson, and the district and require suspending pumping operations. The tie-in target moved from November 2, 2026 to about November 30, 2026, partly because higher-than-expected October water use slowed the schedule.
• Remaining work includes disinfection and flushing in the next two weeks, roughly six days of tie-ins, cement grouting of the old 30-inch line over about two months with left-lane closures, and about four months of paving restoration. A district-approved change order added paving on Custer Road from north of Plano Parkway to Dolphin; Dolphin was almost fully repaved and Pittman roughly half repaved. Project completion is expected in April to early May 2027.
• Other challenges included an out-of-alignment Atmos gas line, tunneling under George Bush, DART fiber-optic lines installed deeper than shown on plans, and a Plano sanitary sewer line without required separation that will be addressed by tunneling a new sewer line across Custer at Carmel.
• Mayor Pro Tem said residents near the laydown yard were concerned, citing dust, stormwater, noise, vibration, and reported home cracks. He urged the district to work more closely with residents and more tightly inspect subcontractors. Councilmember Kerr echoed those concerns, saying website updates lagged and residents lacked a clear channel for complaints. Both recognized the lessons-learned items and supported improved communication, inspection, and coordination.

Plano Aquatic Center Update

• Parks and Recreation Director Ron Smith said the city has operated the Plano Aquatic Center (PAC) for 49.5 years on land leased from Plano ISD since August 1977, and some PAC classes have run for three decades. He acknowledged that relocating classes is not the same as preserving the community the facility has built.
• PAC direct and indirect costs total about $1.3–$1.4 million, with revenue of $157,000. Smith said $572,000 in revenue would be needed to meet the 41% cost-recovery expectation for tier-three recreation centers. He cautioned against comparing PAC, a pool-only facility, with recreation centers that have gyms, tracks, and exercise equipment.
• Smith recommended making a financially sound decision while considering impacts on users and leveraging the city's relationship with Plano ISD. The city manager said the city's intention is to turn the facility over to PISD as originally planned, but to pursue a lease that would keep water aerobics and related programs at PAC; any agreement would come back to the council. He described the discussions as optimistic and said he would meet with the school superintendent the next morning.
• Councilmembers expressed support for negotiating with PISD. Councilmember Downs said the financial gap is a concern but the intangible community value matters; Councilmember Thomas asked for a plan to avoid a service lapse before the lease dissolves in August 2027; Councilmember Kerr urged openness to additional ideas; Mayor Pro Tem asked that instructors and lifeguard staffing be included in the discussions; and Councilmember Levine suggested incorporating PAC programming into the parks and recreation master plan and future west-side senior facility planning. During the discussion, the mayor noted the meeting had passed 7 p.m.
• Four residents — Chris Stevenson, Barbara Whitehead, MK Werner, and Christine Risteau — were signed up to speak on the aquatic center item. The mayor said the council would continue to the regular meeting and return in about 10 minutes if they still wished to speak; the transcript excerpt ends before their comments were delivered.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the appointment changes for Kevin Morris and Kenneth Pittman.
• Received the NTMWD glass water-drop sculpture and issued the October 26, 2026 proclamation recognizing North Texas Municipal Water District Day in Plano.
• Directed city staff to pursue negotiations with Plano ISD for a lease that would allow PAC water aerobics and related programs to continue, with any final agreement returning to the council.
• Noted the remaining Custer Road water main schedule: tie-ins around November 30, 2026, paving by late January 2027, grouting through February 2027, and overall completion around April/May 2027.