At its Tuesday, Jan. 14 meeting, the first of the new year, the Willow Park City Council held several public hearings in connection with annexation. This included one particular proposed annexation approved at the Nov. 12 meeting to enter into an agreement with Dean-Beall Ranch, Ltd.
The land, voluntarily offered for annexation and owned by Dean-Beall, consists of just over 317 acres located on the southwest corner of Interstate 20 and Highway 1187, running all the way to Bankhead Highway.
Following limited participation from the public (one person in each hearing, the same person), council announced the next and final step to make the agreement official will come as soon as the Feb. 11 meeting. Per state law, it cannot be made official for at least 20 days following the public hearing and the next meeting on Jan. 28 will not be soon enough.
The addition of the property will include 35.3 acres of single family residential space, 91.7 acres of multi-family residential, 135.2 acres of commercial and 55.5 acres of light industrial.
Potential businesses for the area include sit-down restaurants, fast food restaurants, big box retail, grocers, convenience stores, office and work space. The residential portion will include some green space with a neighborhood park and some small water areas.
“It’s exciting for the city to have some development, especially the type of developments coming in,” Mayor Doyle Moss said. “We’ve been working on this for a while. I’m grateful to the council and staff for making it happen.
“I’m excited for the county. We’re all in this together.”
At the November meeting, City Manager Bryan Grimes called the development “the front door to Willow Park.”
Residents moving into the housing in the new development could greatly increase Willow Park's population from its current state of around 9,000 to perhaps more than double in the next few years, estimates show.
At build out, the value of the property would be around $500 million, city officials stated. Build out will take place in three phases, with dates to be determined.
Once the development agreement is in place, the City of Willow Park has up to two years to get water and sewer in place. When that process is complete, it is anticipated that businesses and residences will begin to pop up in the next year to a year and a half.
Also at the November meeting, to help with the purchase and renovating of the land, etc., the council approved issuing certificates of obligation not to exceed $5,135,000. This is long-term borrowing that cities can use to fund major capital projects without voter approval.
At that time, council also approved a sales tax agreement with Parker County Emergency Services District 1 that they noted could more than quadruple the current annual sales tax collection of around $2 million in a decade or less.
One of the public hearings Tuesday focused on the creation of a public improvement district (PID) in the area, which council approved. Property assessments from a PID are used to cover the cost of improvements in areas where a PID exists.
Essentially, a PID is a stand alone debt secured by the property and can only be used for property improvements.
Council is also looking at creating a tax increment reinvestment zone (TIRZ) for the area. The TIRZ abatement buys down the property taxes as an incentive to the developer.
However, that discussion was tabled until a future meeting, perhaps as soon as Jan. 28.
Taylor Sheridan, creator of such popular TV series as Yellowstone and Landman, lives in Parker County and featured the area prominently in his productions. With that and more in mind, Willow Park Communications Director Rose Hoffman felt the need for her city to take steps to become a Certified Film Friendly City with the Texas Film Commission (TFC).
Tuesday, council approved putting filming and permitting guidelines compiled by Hoffman in place so she can move forward with the application. Hoffman said she will send photos and information to the TFC to support the application.
“I started thinking, what if we are approached by any of these companies, do we have guidelines in place?” she said.
Hoffman said such a designation could financially benefit the city. Folks working with productions will eat in local restaurants, buy groceries locally, get gas in area stations and stay in hotels in the city.
Hoffman noted Willow Park has much to offer for filmmakers, for example, “If they want to film with a statue of a fish, we have a statue of a fish,” referring to the sculpture named Iron Did Swim. It’s stainless steel alligator gar that stands 24 feet tall overlooking the Trinity River and Willow Park North.
The council honored Assistant City Manager Bill Funderburk, who is retiring at the end of January. This brings to an end a 44-year career in public service spanning eight cities and countless offices.
Funderburk began his public service career as the director of parks and recreation in Commerce. He has since served with Greenville, Hamilton, Bonham, Springtown, Aledo, and Willow Park, serving as city manager or administrator in most of those cities.
Funderburk has been with Willow Park for three years.
The proclamation included:
“Whereas, Bill’s hard work, talent and leadership were essential in shaping the futures of each community he touched, and his involvement in each city stretched beyond government service; and Bill’s dedication, steady leadership manner, sense of humor, likeability, and most importantly – his integrity – are his trademarks and are fondly remembered by citizens, officials and employees in every city he has served.”
The proclamation also humorously addressed his “blind devotion” to the Texas Rangers baseball team, noting that after they won the World Series in 2023 it set the stage for him to finally retire.
It closed with the mayor reading “Now, therefore, I, Mayor Doyle Moss, on behalf of the city council, citizens and employees of the City of Willow Park, do hereby issue this proclamation to Bill Funderburk in recognition of his many achievements, and we extend our gratitude and appreciation to Bill for his years of exemplary service as assistant city manager. We congratulate him for a job well done and wish him continued success and happiness as he retires.”
Funderburk also received proclamations and thanks from other dignitaries, including State Senators Phil King and Drew Springer, as well as U.S. Representative Roger Williams.
Following two more public hearings, council approved the annexation of approximately 11 additional acres, including just over 7,300 feet of East Bankhead Highway (a variable width right-of-way). This is a continuation of property previously annexed by the city and will extend that area all the way to the intersection of 1187 and East Bankhead.
This will not change plans by the county to make improvements in that section of the road. This will likely be made official at the first February meeting.
Council ordered the May 3 general election. This year offices up for election are mayor (Doyle Moss), along with council Places 1 (Eric Contreras) and 2 (Chawn Gilliland).
Candidate packets are available on the city’s website.
The city has a contract with Parker County for its elections. This contract must be approved and submitted by April 8.
The cost will be provided at a later date as Parker County will need to assess how many associate election judges will be needed, along with voting clerks. Council approved use of the public safety building for early voting.
Council approved several board placements for the coming Tuesday:
Board of adjustment - Place 1, Michael Chandler; Place 3, Cindi Neverdousky; Place 5, Scott Smith; alternate, Mike Barron.
Parks board - Place 1, Lea Young, Ex-Officio; Place 3, Barry Noggle; Place 5, JD DeLaFuente; alternates, Jerry Vierling and Shayla DeLaFuente.
Planning and zoning - Place 1, Rodney Wilkins; Place 3, Zachary (Zac) Walker; Place 5, Jared Fowler; alternate, Ever Gomez.
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