NOTE:  Underestimation of costs, under-planning for growth.  Voters United to Preserve Flower Mound brought into office a new administration to correct and out-of-control infrastructure crisis.  The development community still wanted to pursue the current rate of growth regardless of conditions.

Star-Telegram /  NORTHEAST NEWS / January 19, 2003/ by Kelly Melhart, Staff Writer

Flower Mound's costs for road projects soar

          FLOWER MOUND - Six years ago, residents voted to spend $27.1 million to improve roads in the town. But today, four of the 12 projects pitched to voters are still not complete, and the total cost of the work will be more than $55 million.

          Town leaders, who weren't in office when the bonds were approved, say the projects are on schedule. The additional money is needed because the bond package was insufficient to complete the projects, some of which have been expanded.

          Town Manager Van James and Town Engineer Mike Boles say former officials significantly underestimated the projects' costs -- one project estimate was from 1992. Also, none of the projects had clear outlines when James and Boles were hired, leaving them and others to guess at the intentions, they said.

          At a recent meeting in Flower Mound, Boles showed a sheet of lined notebook paper with figures and said that was the closest town employees could find to a project budget.

Former leaders who served during the 1997 bond election dispute those comments. Ron Ragland, who was town manager at the time, said current officials are trying to avoid responsibility for cost overruns.

          "Do they really think we're so stupid as to only put things on notebook paper. That's ludicrous," he said.

          According to recent town estimates, the projects are now projected to cost $55.9 million. Town officials are covering the difference between the money provided by the 1997 bonds and the actual costs of the projects in part through bonds that don't require voter approval. The town expects that the bonds will be repaid through taxes from development. Money has also been tapped from the town's utility fund, which covers water and sewer system costs, and from interest income, said Harlan Jefferson, deputy town manager and chief financial officer. Officials have so far avoided a tax rate increase.

          In 1997, the town's political landscape was much different: Ragland was town manager and Larry Lipscomb was mayor. But residents were facing the same key issue: rapid growth. Roads were burdened by the increasing population, and town officials told residents that to maintain Flower Mound's quality of life, they would need to approve the bonds. The town's population is now at 55,700, according to the North Central Texas Council of Governments.

          The Town Council created a committee of residents to rank and help develop road improvement projects. The committee recommended 12 projects costing from $300,000 to $6.2 million. Voters agreed that the work should go forward, with 63 percent of ballots in favor of the bonds.

          Since then, a new town manager and town engineer were hired. Council candidates endorsed by Voters United to Preserve Flower Mound, a controlled-growth group, swept every seat.

          Ragland and others say current officials have expanded the scope of several road projects, a point the town acknowledges, saying improvements are needed to meet residents' needs. The road plans have been updated annually, Boles said.

          Two projects -- drainage improvements in the College Parkway area and intersection improvements at Flower Mound Road and Farm Road 2499 -- have also been added at a cost of $1.76 million that were never discussed as part of the road package presented to voters in 1997.                 But those projects were covered in part from interest earned by the bond money and not money from the sale of the bonds, which is allowed because the wording of the bond was for "general street improvements," Jefferson said.

          Additionally, road costs increased after the town added a requirement in 2000 that concrete streets had to be at least 8 inches thick, instead of 6 inches. They wanted roads to last at least 20 years. At the same time, the cost of concrete increased.

          Ragland said spending money in addition to the bonds was always anticipated, but never to the current extent.

          In 1997, the three most expensive projects were improvements to Farm Road 3040 at $3 million; the expansion of Kirkpatrick Lane at $3.7 million and the construction of Lakeside Parkway at $6.2 million.

          Town officials now estimate that the projects will cost $4.6 million, $9.4 million and $15.4 million respectively, or more than twice as much.

           The cost of Lakeside Parkway soared as traffic signals and 1.2 miles were added to the road. The road was also widened from four to six lanes in some areas.

          But town officials say that the former town leaders never took into account the cost of rights of way along the road and the installation of a storm sewer system.

          Lakeside Parkway and Gerault Road, which are in the Lakeside Development District, a business district, were paid for in part through certificates of obligation -- bonds that don't require voter approval. Through an agreement with landowners, that money will be repaid through tax revenue generated by development, or the landowners will reimburse the town.

          The cost of the Farm Road 3040 project rose because the town completed the originally planned improvements and moved waterlines and sewer lines, and plans to spend another $3 million to help the Texas Department of Transportation widen the road from Flower Mound to Lewisville.

          Town officials have said that the $3 million commitment helped move the expansion forward on the department's timetable. The state awarded the contract this month, and construction should begin in February.

          "In 1997, Farm Road 3040 was not even on TxDOT's plan for funding," James said.

          The cost of the Kirkpatrick Lane project increased primarily because no money was included to buy land or to design the project, according to the town. The cost may decrease if sections of the road remain two lanes from Morriss Road to Farm Road 1171 as some residents have requested. The town is acquiring land for the project.

          Besides Kirkpatrick Lane, improvements to Farm Road 1171 and Garden Ridge Road and sidewalks along Farm Road 2499 and Farm Road 1171 are incomplete.

          Paul Stone, who served as vice chairman of a committee that helped structure the 1997 bond election, said his group had budgets for every proposed project, and considered the cost of engineering and purchasing land.

          "I believe what we are hearing is pure political rhetoric," he said. "We raised those questions [about right of way and engineering]. I thought some of the numbers were low, but we were given assurances that based on the current estimates, that the funding was available."

          Ragland also said that engineering costs, property purchases and inflation were included in the cost of the projects.

          "Claims are being made that are so absurd about my integrity in terms of dealing with details on this issue," he said. "Someone's trying to dodge what might be a political bullet -- in a sense, what might be their own accountability."

          But James said the 1997 bonds were always inadequate to cover the road construction alone.

          "If they also included money for professional services, engineering and right of way, that means they were that much more unfathomable," he said.

          Some argue that the current Town Council could have increased taxes to pay for the road improvements. But those in office now have balked at any tax increase. Their critics say not raising taxes has delayed some projects, causing costs to increase more.

          James said the projects were planned along a schedule of several years, and that wouldn't have changed even with a tax increase. Some of the projects needed to be coordinated with other governments and that took time, he said.

          That the town has built the roads "generally in the time frame of the original proposition and added additional projects and had another bond election [for parks] and still maintained the same tax rate ... in light of the economic conditions is amazing," James said.

          The issues surrounding the bond -- the high construction costs and the incomplete projects -- became campaign fodder during the 2002 mayoral campaign between Mayor Lori DeLuca and challenger Craig Bradshaw. Bradshaw accused the town of dragging its feet.

          But DeLuca then, and James now say that the projects are on schedule. Those that remain are being done in coordination with Lewisville, Denton County and the state. The last of the projects should begin next year, Boles said.

FLOWER MOUND ROAD PROJECTS

Flower Mound Road

Original budget: $2.3 million.

Original scope: Four-lane divided road with no storm sewer from Skillern Boulevard to Farm Road 1171 and a two-lane road connecting Skillern Boulevard and Shiloh Road.

Actual budget: $3 million.

Actual scope: The two-lane section connecting Skillern and Shiloh has been dropped. The four-lane divided road from Skillern Boulevard to Farm Road 1171 will remain with curbs, gutters and a storm sewer. It is expected this will be completed by developers.

Farm Road 1171

Original budget: $2 million.

Original scope: The project included acquiring rights of way for the road's expansion from Farm Road 2499 to west of U.S. 377.

Actual cost: $3 million.

Actual scope: The town will put $3 million toward construction in an effort to move the project forward on the Texas Department of Transportation timetable. Denton County is expected to purchase rights of way.

Farm Road 3040

Original budget: $3 million divided into two $1.5 million phases.

Original scope: Phase 1 consisted of four options from adding a lane to the addition of shoulders. Phase 2 required buying property and relocating utility lines for state road improvements.

Actual cost: $4.6 million.

Actual scope: Both phases completed. $3 million set aside for road construction.

Garden Ridge Road

Original budget: $3.4 million.

Original scope: Phase 1 -- Six-lane divided road from Farm Road 1171 to Bellaire Boulevard. Phase 2 -- Six-lane divided road from Bellaire Boulevard to Forest Vista Drive.

Actual cost: $5.3 million.

Actual scope: Unchanged.

Garden Road

Original budget: $300,000.

Original scope: Two-lane road from Springwood to Morriss roads.

Actual cost: $410,000.

Actual scope: Unchanged.

Gerault Road

Original budget: $2 million.

Original scope: Four-lane divided road from Farm Road 3040 to Lakeside Parkway and a two-lane road from Lakeside Parkway to Farm Road 2499.

Actual cost: $4.45 million.

Actual scope: Four-lane divided road from Farm Road 3040 through Lakeside Parkway to Farm Road 2499. Traffic signals added at two intersections and street lights added throughout.

Kirkpatrick Lane

Original budget: $3.7 million.

Original scope: Phase 1 -- Four-lane divided road from Morriss Road to Valley Parkway. Phase 2 -- Two-lane road from Valley Parkway to Farm Road 1171. Phase 3 -- Four-lane divided road from Farm Road 1171 to Bellaire Boulevard.

Actual cost: $9.4 million.

Actual scope: Phases 1 and 2 could call for two-lane roads with turn lanes at intersections in response to residents' comments. Phase 3 would remain unchanged. Cost could drop if Phases 1 and 2 become two-lane roads.

Lakeside Parkway

Original budget: $6.2 million.

Original scope: A four-lane divided road from Farm Road 2499 east to Texas 121.

Actual cost: $15.4 million.

Actual scope: A four-lane divided road from Farm Road 2499 east to Texas 121. The project was expanded by 1.2 miles for a six-lane divided road west of Farm Road 2499 through the Lakeside DFW development. Traffic lights were added at two intersections.

Old Settlers Road

Original budget: $1 million.

Original scope: Four-lane undivided road from Farm Road 1171 to McKamy Creek Road.

Actual cost: $2.5 million.

Actual scope: Unchanged.

Sidewalks on Farm Roads 2499 and 1171

Original budget: $500,000.

Original scope: Construction of sidewalks along Farm Roads 2499 and 1171.

Actual budget: Unchanged.

Actual scope: Unchanged.

Simmons Road

Original budget: $800,000.

Original scope: Two-lane road with three-foot shoulders from Wichita Trail to south end (Murrell Park).

Actual budget: $1 million.

Actual scope: A section of the road between Wichita Trail and McKamy Creek Road will be expanded to a four-lane undivided road. The rest has been completed by developers.

Kelly Melhart, (817) 685-3854 kmelhart@star-telegram.com