LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Homeowners in the Highland Oaks neighborhood should be one step closer to tapping into the City of Lubbock’s water supply Tuesday.
The recently annexed neighborhood in south Lubbock has been working with the city to plan how homeowners will pay the City to extend its lines.
Since the state changed its law to prohibit cities from forcible annexation, Highland Oaks is the first fully developed neighborhood to go through it voluntarily, in a historic process.
While most outlying neighborhoods would probably prefer to stay outside city limits, the majority of voting homeowners decided their water supply problems were too much to handle on their own.
After 69 percent of voting homeowners approved annexation and it was accepted by the city, the next step was to create a public improvement district. That’s how homeowners will pay the city an estimated $8.4 million to extend its water utilities.
HOA President Ron Braunhardt says the neighborhood decided to split that cost evenly between homeowners. With 255 lots, that’s about $33,000 each.
Lubbock Business Development Director Brianna Brown explained that’s a safe estimate because projected bond issuance costs and the project cost could come down.
“By state statute once we levy the assessment, we cannot increase that dollar amount. So this gives us a kind of safe estimate for homeowners to plan for,” Brown said.
Homeowners can pay that out over the life of the 20-year bond, which would look like about $1,600 a year.
“So, this amount is subject to change but can be, you could make it in five payments over five years, or if somebody needs the full twenty years to pay it off, then they have that ability as well,” Brown said.
Brown says if a homeowner paid their full bill up front and then project costs came in lower, they would get a refund.
“If property owners are in a position to pay their assessment off early, then they do save on the management fees and some of the interest costs based on the bond. So, there is an opportunity to save some money if you have the capacity to pay off early,” Brown said.
Braunhardt is looking forward to the council’s final vote on this payment plan Tuesday and hopefully starting construction on the lines in the spring.
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