2023 Bond Proposal

This page is the main resource for information on the 2023 Bond Proposal that may be put before the voters in November. The city is currently seeking resident and stakeholder input on the projects. 

• Background Information
• Conceptual Site Plans
• Park Amenity Survey
• Pool Survey
• Property Tax Impact
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Bond Propositions
• Voting Information

Background Information

In the May meeting Council directed City Staff to begin working with our financial advisory team as well as any consultants pertaining to the potential of conducting a bond election.

Included with this memo is information on each potential proposition as well as information from the financial advisor as to what a potential bond would look like in terms of repayment as well as the potential operating budgetary impacts.

Pool and Bathhouse:

Our pool has reached the portion of its lifespan that requires additional operating expenses as well as some rather large renovation's to sustainably operate.  It would not be financially feasible to renovate given that the solutions would not be long term.  We have experienced coping/deck issues, electrical malfunctions that require additional man hours and limited operation, our pool is beginning to stain and shift, and we have recently identified a small leak that will eventually cause larger issues beyond repair.  

Staff was instructed to establish renderings of what a 6-, 10- and 15-million-dollar pool would bring the residents of Jersey Village.  Staff engaged Progressive Commercial aquatics to begin the design portion of a design build pool concept.   It was established that based on our footprint, the most logical pool budgets would be 6-, 8-, and 11-million dollars.  Staff worked with Progressive to define inventory, stakeholders, comparison pools, and to identify needs.  The resolution plan will consist of a mockup of a few pools containing three levels of amenities that residents can view and provide input on.  We are currently in the estimation and sizing phase of the project and plan to have visuals at the pool in July.  We can also obtain feedback during our July 4^th event. 

Our pool concept(s) will contain an 8-lane lap pool, a leisure pool, a new bathhouse, and a new pumphouse.  Some amenities for the community to consider and choose from would be waterslides, splash pad play structure’s, a heater, and sport amenities such as a volleyball net or basketball hoop.  The deck would have incorporated shade and seating throughout. The community could also consider adding rental areas within the pool such as pavilions or seating nooks etc.

Park Improvements:

Staff worked with Burditt consultants in 2019 to finalize a parks master plan for the City of Jersey Village.  A handful of projects at Clark Henry Park were placed in the high priority category of the master plan that was set by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee. Those projects were added to the CIP and spaced out accordingly.  It was discussed during the council meeting that we could consider combining those projects, that have gained popularity, into one park improvement.  Staff has begun working with Burditt consultants once more to provide a more in depth schematic plan for Clark Henry specifically that will update pricing of the high priority projects while factoring in the pools potential footprint. 

Staff confirmed the project list with the advisory committee during the June 7^th meeting and is hopeful to present an updated park plan at the July 4^th event for the community.  The potential projects include, a multipurpose field, a baseball field, a tee ball field, park lighting, an upgraded pavilion, an upgraded concession stand and maintenance shop, park pathways, and updated park sign, workout trail stations, an additional play structure, proper drainage and irrigation, and a skatepark, if feasible.  Initial rough estimates for the park improvements are 6 to 8 million.  Estimations will be refined as Burditt finalizes schematics and comparisons.  

Streets improvements: 

Our street CIP has been updated with more accurate numbers as costs have risen since last year.  Our next streets would include Congo, followed by Singapore, Australia Solomon and Seattle with an estimate of roughly 15.5 million factoring in inflation.  This estimate factors in water and sewer upgrades as well making these streets a full rehab.  In addition, the Equador pedestrian bridge could also be included bringing the total estimation to 18 million.

The Council may also want to consider a full traffic bridge on Equador to alleviate school traffic congestion through the neighborhood, rather than just doing a pedestrian bridge.

Water and Sewer improvements

Staff has identified the linear footage of our Sanitary lines accompanied by their install date. 

Estimates for the rehab of sanitary lines using a combination of pipe bursting and CIPP methods price sanitary line renovation at roughly $57.14 per linear foot and staff recommends replacing pipes that are near, or older, than 40 years of age.  This represents roughly 62,264,000 linear feet of sanitary line with a total estimate of 3.7 million dollars. The remaining 120,000 linear feet can be added to an infrastructure replacement plan which will allow staff to proactively allocate funds for their replacement by the time they are due.  This would equate to budgeting roughly $325,000 annually to ensure an on-time replacement. 

The White Oak Bayou Joint Powers Board manages one of our main wastewater treatments plants which needs a full rehab and our portion of the total CIP renovation would be 6 million dollars.

Our water and sewer additions to the ETJ are estimated to cost 6.15 million dollars.

Financial Advisory Team Updates

The finance advisory team has initially reported that the bond for all of the above would include four or 5 propositions:

• Proposition for water and sewer improvements
• Proposition for streets and roads
• Proposition for the pool/bath house and park improvements, although it may have to be separate propositions.

• Possibly an additional proposition for the bridge.

The advisory team will check with the attorney general to determine if the bridge could be included in the roads proposition and if the pool could be included in the park improvements proposition.

The total value of all the improvements including an 8 million dollar pool, and 6 million in park improvements comes to a total of $47,894,935 and the total value including an 11 million dollar pool and 8 million in park improvements comes to $52,894,935.  The Tax rate impact presented for both scenarios is as follows:

This would result in the following estimated tax rates for the next 5 years, assuming the tax rate would otherwise stay at .007425:

The annual impact of these tax rates based on household value is as follows:

It is also important to note that these improvements would affect operating budgets in the parks and recreation divisions to factor in additional pool hours, lifeguard staffs, pool chemicals, park maintenance, park light utilities etc. While we are not able to calculate good cost estimates on this, we do know there will be an impact.

If the Council wishes to call a bond election for the project that would happen no later than August 21. As the scope is refined and feedback residents is received, staff will need direction from Council in July for which projects to include or not include for a bond. Staff would need to get final recommendations from Council to the financial advisors by August 1, for them to have everything ready for Council to vote on.  

Feedback

Feedback is welcome by using the surveys below. Staff will be at Clark Henry Pool July 1, 2 and 4 to answer questions and to receive feedback.  You can also email the City Council and staff with questions as well.

Conceptual Site Plans

Click the images below to download a bigger PDF version of the image.

Please complete the survey on park amenities

Pool Feedback Survey

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Do all pool options include the pool heater? 
A. The pool heater would be included in the lap pool only for each option. 

Q. Would the lap pool be open more if it is heated?
A. The City would try to have the lap pool open more, depending on staffing availability. It could potentially be open for Spring Break, and on weekends until the pool normally opens. 

Bond Propositions

During the August 21, 2023 City Council Meeting the City Council approved calling a bond election for the projects discussed above. There will be 3 Bond Propositions on the ballot for residents to vote on in November 2023. The propositions are as follows:

CITY OF JERSEY VILLAGE, TEXAS - PROPOSITION A
Shall the City Council of the City of Jersey Village, Texas (the “City”) be authorized to issue bonds, in one or more series, in a principal amount not to exceed $19,000,000 maturing serially or otherwise over a period of years (not to exceed the lesser of 40 years or the maximum prescribed by law) and bearing interest at
such rate or rates (fixed, floating, variable or otherwise), not to exceed the respective limits prescribed by law at the time of issuance, as shall be determined within the discretion of the City Council at the time of issuance, and to levy, impose and pledge a tax upon all taxable property in the City sufficient to pay the interest on the bonds, and to provide a sinking fund for the payment of the bonds as they mature, for the purpose of making permanent public improvements, as follows: constructing, acquiring, improving, renovating, expanding, developing and equipping parks and recreation projects, including the acquisition and construction of a municipal pool, and all matters incident or necessary thereto?

CITY OF JERSEY VILLAGE, TEXAS - PROPOSITION B
Shall the City Council of the City of Jersey Village, Texas (the “City”) be authorized to issue bonds, in one or more series, in a principal amount not to exceed $15,855,000 maturing serially or otherwise over a period of years (not to exceed the lesser of 40 years or the maximum prescribed by law) and bearing interest at such rate or rates (fixed, floating, variable or otherwise), not to exceed the respective limits prescribed by law at the time of issuance, as shall be determined within the discretion of the City Council at the time of issuance, and to levy, impose and pledge a tax upon all taxable property in the City sufficient to pay the interest on the bonds, and to provide a sinking fund for the payment of the bonds as they mature, for the purpose of making permanent public improvements, as follows: constructing, acquiring, improving, renovating, expanding, developing and equipping water, sewer and drainage projects, and all matters incident or necessary thereto?

CITY OF JERSEY VILLAGE, TEXAS - PROPOSITION C
Shall the City Council of the City of Jersey Village, Texas (the “City”) be authorized to issue bonds, in one or more series, in a principal amount not to exceed $18,045,000 maturing serially or otherwise over a period of years (not to exceed the lesser of 40 years or the maximum prescribed by law) and bearing interest at such rate or rates (fixed, floating, variable or otherwise), not to exceed the respective limits prescribed by law at the time of issuance, as shall be determined within the discretion of the City Council at the time of issuance, and to levy, impose and pledge a tax upon all taxable property in the City sufficient to pay the interest on the bonds, and to provide a sinking fund for the payment of the bonds as they mature, for the purpose of making permanent public improvements, as follows: constructing, acquiring, improving, renovating, expanding, developing and equipping street, road and bridge projects, and all matters incident or necessary
thereto?

Voting Information

Residents that have not registered to vote can learn how to register to vote by visiting HarrisVotes.com. 

Sample ballots can be viewed online here, when they are available.