Municipal Utility Board Meeting - January 29, 2026
Municipal Utility Board Meeting - January 29, 2026
The Municipal Utility Board of Weatherford held a regular meeting on January 29, 2026, at 12:00 PM in City Hall. The meeting included service awards, approval of minutes, discussions on the Lake Benbrook Pumping Reserve Policy, an advisory committee for impact fee updates, a trail project update, and a quarterly performance dashboard. The board also entered executive session on the Lake Weatherford Marina Lease Agreement and deferred a security item to the February meeting.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the December 18, 2025, Municipal Utility Board meeting were approved unanimously on a motion by Ken Davis, seconded by Lindsey Hester.
- Service Awards: Presented by Rick Shaffer, Director of Water Utilities. Woody (Steven) received a five-year service award for his work as a crew leader in the maintenance division. Devers Deal received a ten-year service award (second stint with the city) for his work as an operator at the Water Reclamation Facility, holding a Class A wastewater license.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were made on non-agenda items. The citizen comments portion was held after executive session but no speaker cards were mentioned.
Discussion Items
Lake Benbrook Pumping Reserve Policy Update
- Rick Shaffer presented the annual update. The policy aims to mitigate costs of purchasing and pumping water from Lake Benbrook during droughts to avoid surcharges. Current reserve balance is approximately $4.6 million, with a target of $6 million. Staff recommended maintaining the annual transfer of $800,000 and the target balance. No action was required.
- Board members asked questions about the use of Tier 1 water pumping timing (late fiscal year), the drought of record (1950s), and how the reserve would cover a 7-year drought. Howard McClurkin requested a future item to review historical drought events for context.
Roadway, Water and Wastewater Impact Fee Program - Advisory Committee
- Matt Leppla, Director of Public Works, requested the board’s recommendation to City Council to form an advisory committee for the 2026 update of the impact fee program. The proposed committee members were listed.
- Zack Smith moved to approve the committee but with the appointment process routed through the City Council’s Appointment Committee (currently Heidi Wilder and Luke Williams) rather than direct board appointment. Ken Davis seconded. The motion passed unanimously after discussion clarifying the process would go to the Appointment Committee then to Council.
Lake Weatherford Trail Update
- Matt Leppla presented 30% design plans for a trail at Lake Weatherford, divided into two phases. Phase 1 (estimated $1.5 million) would connect the trail to Lakeway and Lake Hills subdivisions, with a crossing near the marina. Phase 2 (estimated $950,000) would include the dam area and would be delayed until raw water intake improvements are completed (projected 2028).
- The board discussed safety (blind curve crossing), the dam being a secure area (fencing can mitigate), and timing. The board directed staff to proceed with Phase 1 design immediately, with construction to begin in the current fiscal year (FY26) if design is complete by summer 2026. Phase 2 construction is targeted for FY28. Funding will come from the general utility fund; a budget amendment will be required for this fiscal year.
Quarterly Performance Dashboard
- Electric Utility (Joe Farley): Presented rates and reliability data. Weatherford’s rate is 13 cents/kWh (40 months steady), 8% below retail average, 28% below Tri-County, 38% below national average. System reliability metrics (SAIDI/SAIFI) are well below state and national averages. Non-storm outage minutes averaged 42 minutes for 2025. The recent winter storm caused only 10 outages affecting 179 customers, restored within about 100 minutes each. Equipment failure accounts for 30% of outages; proactive maintenance (pole inspections, tree trimming) keeps numbers low.
- Water/Wastewater (Rick Shaffer): Residential water rates 12% below average, commercial water 30% below, residential wastewater 34% below. Combined rate is $11/month (20% below average). Cost of service for Q1 was $4.04/1,000 gallons for water and $5.33/1,000 gallons for wastewater, both slightly above the 4-year average due to annual fees and one-time expenses, expected to decline in later quarters. Non-revenue water decreased from ~15% to ~11% following satellite leak detection and improved flushing processes; target is below 10%.
Key Outcomes
- Lake Benbrook Pumping Reserve Policy: No action taken; staff will maintain current policy.
- Impact Fee Advisory Committee: Board recommended formation with appointment through the City Council’s Appointment Committee (motion passed unanimously).
- Lake Weatherford Trail: Board directed staff to proceed with Phase 1 design and construction in FY26, funded from the utility fund via budget amendment. Phase 2 targeted for FY28 after plant expansion.
- Future Agenda Items: Howard McClurkin requested a presentation on the historical drought of record (1950s) and 2011 drought for context at a future meeting.
- Executive Session: Board entered executive session for Item 9A (Lake Weatherford Marina Lease Agreement) under Texas Government Code Section 551.071. Item 9B (Water Purification Plant security) was deferred to the February meeting per request of member Heidi Wilder, who was absent.
- Adjournment: The board recessed at 1:03 PM for executive session; no further action was taken on executive session items.
Meeting Transcript
The agenda is Pledges of Allegiance to the United States and Texas flags be led today by Howard McClernon. Please draw a man pledge to a national coverage. One state. One of the album. All righty. Thank you for that, Mr. McClerkin. We'll shift down to item four on the agenda, which is presentations and proclamations. 4A of service awards. Mr. Rick Schaefer. Thank you, Marion Board members. We actually have two service awards for you today. And uh let me first say that nobody calls him Steven. He's Woody. Woody is here to receive his five-year service award. And as you can see, he's dressed for the occasion. Actually, I think he's dressed here to apply for my job. Um I'd also like to recognize Woody's wife, Casey is here with us today. Thanks for being here. Um so prior to joining the city of Weatherford, Woody actually worked for a local utility contractor. Um that was very beneficial because when he joined the city in um 2020 as a member of our construction rehab crew, he already understood our business. Uh he knew what we do, he knew how to do it. Um he brought with him just a tremendous work ethic on top of that. Uh in August of 2021, he then transferred over into our maintenance division, uh, where he works uh to keep our water and wastewater systems operational. Uh during the the storms that we had this past week, uh all of our staff remained on call of all essential personnel. Uh so when the city's closed, our staff are still here, uh much like public works, police fire. Um we rotate or they rotate call um or standby, uh taking calls 24-7, seven days a week. Um with that, so he he transferred into our maintenance division as a field operator, and then shortly thereafter was promoted to a crew leader uh where he leads a team and mainly in the repair on the city's water wastewater infrastructure. Um I will say there's a lot of things to like about Woody. Um just wanted to pick one uh to talk about one of the things I like about Woody is his approach with younger staff. Um certainly to teach them how to do uh you know our job and what's needed, but he'll also let them try things out their own way, uh, as long as it's safe. Um but he'll let them try out their own methods. Uh and then in typical Woody fashion, he'll jump in the ditch and show them how it's done when it's time to do that. Um that same work ethic uh that he applies to his job. He also has applied to his uh licensing to the state TCEQ. Um he holds a class C water distribution license and he's in the process of testing for his class two wastewater. Um both of which are required for the next level of supervisors or management in the water utility. Um and Woody has a natural ability to be able to engage and talk with people. Um you'll see him at pretty much all of our public outreach events, whether it's Peach Festival, Take Back Meds, uh you might notice his socks. Um they're actually covered today, but he's kind of known for he likes to allow allowed socks and he's got his water salts on today. Um you can tell he's not a shy person, so it's real easy for him to engage with the public, engage with our customers, and so that that's nice also. So with that, Woody, thank you for your five years of five years of service. Look forward to many more. Hey guys, y'all scoot together a little bit. That's a professional. Yeah, say cheese. Thank you all, sir. Woody Woody, we appreciate your five years, BAM. You dressed well.
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