Crockett reviews State Infrastructure Bank loan options to tackle streets and utilities; no vote taken

Crockett — City staff told the Crockett City Council on April 4, 2022 that the city has an opportunity to apply to the State Infrastructure Bank for a very-low-interest loan to address multiple street and utility needs across town.

In a detailed presentation staff described the program as offering "a 95% reduction on interest rates" and placing the city in a "very, very, low interest rate bracket, about a tenth of a percent," as spoken in the meeting record. Staff said preliminary engineering for road reconstruction (roadwork only) on eight priority streets produced an estimate of about $2,600,000, but that number excludes replacement of underlying water and sewer infrastructure.

City staff emphasized that some streets fall under TxDOT jurisdiction and TxDOT requires water-line replacement before resurfacing on certain corridors. The presentation named priority streets including North and South Grace, South Tenth Street, South Seventh Street, Bell, South Fifth (completion of remaining section), Martin Luther King, Cedar Street and West Houston. Staff also noted previously approved water projects: the city anticipates closing this week on a reported $3,400,000 grant/loan-forgiveness award to replace water lines on East Houston and East Gilday.

Staff provided two loan-size scenarios and the possible tax-rate impacts discussed in the meeting record: a smaller loan in the $2.5 million–$6 million range with a long-term tax-rate impact staff illustrated as "about 2¢" and a larger amount staff referred to as a more substantial 'sweet spot' figure; the transcript's larger number appeared garbled in places and should be confirmed by staff. Staff recommended completing preliminary engineering, finalizing a street list, and returning to council with a resolution to submit the State Infrastructure Bank application.

Council members asked operational questions about who performs the work, whether utilities are included, surfacing methods (staff said hot-mix asphalt), and how loan payments would be serviced. Staff said the debt service fund would pay the loan after present debt retires in 2024 and that paying interest upfront while work is completed could minimize immediate tax-rate impacts. No formal motion or vote on the loan application or loan amount was taken; staff said the application is preliminarily filled and that a resolution will be brought back for council action.

Next steps listed by staff were completion of preliminary engineering, refinement of the street list and formal approval by council of the loan application and any required resolutions.