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Jun 13, 202312 min read

New City Hall: Debt Done


Summary: The debt deed is done. The City has issued debt of $8.5M to purchase and improve the entire building at 120 El Chico Trail. The funds will be available for the building purchase in June. Long term plans are for the City to occupy the entire building with most of the City's departments and employees, making the new El Chico City Hall over six (6) times larger than the old Ranch House Road City Hall.

Latest Update: Friday, 09 June, 2023

Select #Tags for additional articles: #CityHall



 

New City Hall, Debit Done.

The debt deed is done. The City has issued debt of $8.5M to purchase and improve the entire building at 120 El Chico Trail. The funds will be available for the building purchase in June. After the purchase, the City will occupy 52% of the building as its City Hall and be landlord to two companies in the other 48% of the building.


Long term plans are for the City to occupy the entire building with almost all of the City's departments and employees, making the new El Chico City Hall over six (6) times larger than the old Ranch House Road City Hall.


The purpose of the new building is housing "public safety facilities, judicial facilities, a city hall and municipal facilities for administrative offices for city departments responsible for designated infrastructure."


During the the 23 May 2023 Council Meeting, Agenda Items 6 and 7, the council voted to issue two (2) Combination Tax and Revenue Certificates of Obligation.

• Combination Tax and Revenue Certificates of Obligation (CO), [tax exempt] Series 2023 for $4,310,000

• Combination Tax and Revenue Certificates of Obligation (CO), Taxable Series 2023 A for $4,190,000


Why two CO's for one building?


"Currently, the City is leasing approximately 52% of the total square footage of the building [120 El Chico Trail]. The remaining 48% is under private lease.


"Thru the purchase of the building, the City will be acquiring the additional leases and will honor those leases thru their term.


"As such, the City was required to issue TWO separate obligations — tax exempt and taxable obligations. The primary differences between the two are the tax exempt covers the 52% occupied by the City, and the taxable obligations covers the 48% of the privately occupied space. There is no material difference in the interest rate. Furthermore, both obligations have a 4 year call should the City choose to refinance at a lower rate" [23 May 2023 Council Meeting, Agenda Items 6 and 7]

  • Tax Exempt, Series 2023 for $4,310,000

    • tax exempt CO

    • Covers the 52% occupied by the City as the new City Hall

  • Taxable Series 2023 A for $4,190,000

    • taxable CO

    • Covers 48% under private lease to Sylvan Learning Center and McKnight Title; both leases are up in 2026.

Attached in .pdf is the report from Hilltop Securities concerning the certificates of obligation that were approved by the council and sold by Hilltop Securities on 23 May 2023.

  • The term is thirty (30) years (pages 4 and 6)

  • The net project bond principal is $8.5M but the new premium for CO expenses takes the total loan to $8,725,044. (page 5)

  • The financed, average fixed interest rate for both CO's is 5.11%, which is under the original planning estimate of 5.31%. (council meeting). The coupon rates are presented on the Bond Debt Service charts pages 9 and 11.

  • The debt funds should be available in June 2023, when the city is planning to complete the purchase of the property.

  • The report by Hilltop Securities also includes a S&P Global Ratings analysis for Willow Park, Texas, which reports a AA bond rating for the City.


• Council approves sale of certificates of obligation, Nearing closure for purchase of new home, The Community News, 24 May 2023

The Willow Park City Council and staff moved a step closer to closing the deal on making 120 El Chico Trail their permanent home Tuesday, May 23, with the approval of the sale of bonds in two separate certificates of obligation totaling $8,670,000. One certificate was issued at $4,420,000 and the other for $4,250,000. The former is for tax exempt space to be used by the city and the latter is for space leased by other clients and is subject to federal investment taxes. [editorial comment: The total of $8,670,000 was listed in the agenda for the 24 May 2023 council meeting, however, the final CO presented by Hilltop Securities was $8,500,000.]

On April 3, 2023, the council authorized staff to proceed with issuing certificates of obligation to purchase the building. Currently, the city is leasing about 52% of the building for their own use. The remaining 48% is under private lease and the city will continue to honor those leases through their term once the building is purchased.

There are two other tenants in the building, Sylvan Learning Center and McKnight Title. Should they decide to stay for the remainder of their respective leases, one ends in July of 2026 and the other in December of 2026.

City Manager Bryan Grimes noted that once those tenants leave, the city can renegotiate that certificate payback agreement and perhaps even get a refund. Also, the property could then become tax exempt as they would not be leasing that portion to anyone going forward.

Grimes also stressed that the city is not paying the federal investment taxes. That responsibility falls to the folks who bought the bonds for the certificates of obligation. The city will pay the debt service.

"Mayor (Doyle) Moss called me today to say it's a historic day for the city of Willow Park," Grimes said. "It's a day I didn't think would happen when I came here five years ago."

Moss was out of town and missed Tuesday's meeting, which was chaired by Mayor Pro Tem Lea Young.

"People are taking more pride in their space, but production is something I underestimated. The staff loves it here, and it's really been an asset to the staff," Grimes continued. "I want to say thanks to the taxpayers. We are very fortunate and blessed to be working in Willow Park."

The council and staff moved into the new facilities in mid-January and held the first city council meeting in mid-February. The square footage is 8,700, almost triple the space they had at their old location just down the road.

The Texas Attorney General still has to conduct a standard review of the agreement and sign off on it. Plans are to have everything final by June 21.

 

Original Post 05 April 2023

New City Hall

No longer the interim lease of a suite, the City of Willow Park is purchasing the entire building at 120 El Chico Trail. Currently the city is working on funding of $8,500,000* for the purchase. The new El Chico City Hall will be over six (6) times larger than the old Ranch House Road City Hall and will house all city departments.


120 El Chico Trail, Willow Park, Texas 76087

817-441-7108, www.willowpark.org

8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (12N - 1 p.m. lunch break)


In December 2022, the city signed a two and a half year lease (2.5) for Suite A of 120 El Chico Trail and quickly moved from the first Willow Park City Hall on Ranch House Road to the El Chico City Hall in January 2023. And just as quickly, during the 30 March 2023 Special Council Meeting, the City started the process of purchasing the whole building at 120 El Chico Trail. Rreferences in Journal below.)


The El Chico City Hall will house all city departments.

The El Chico City Hall comes with the following data:

  • Year Built 2010

  • 16,851 sq. ft. Note: The Ranch House Road City Hall about 2.7K sq. ft.

  • 2.54 acres

  • 48 parking spaces and additional 1/4 Acre graveled parking lot

  • Parker County Appraisal District for 120 El Chico Trail

    • The most recent property appraisal in 2022 was for $1,600,000

    • Legal: Acres: 2.542, Lot: ALL, Blk: 68R, Subd: EL CHICO

Journal

 

Willow Park Civics Blog: New Interim City Hall

120 El Chico, Suite A, Willow Park, Texas 76087

817-441-7108, www.willowpark.org

8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (12N - 1 p.m. lunch break)


Update: Costs of the New (Interim) City Hall

During the 14 February 2023 Council Meeting, the city discussed the new and un-budgeted expenses of the El Chico City Hall. Since the new El Chico expenses were not included in the 2022 - 2023 budget passed in 13 September 2022 Council Meeting, these expenses will be considered un-budgeted until the next budget is passed in September 2023.

"To sum up un-budgeted expenses:" [from January 2023 to September 2023]

• Base Rent: $140,000 [$15.6K monthly base expense)

• Moving Expenses: $50,000

• Utilities: $15,000 [$1.7K monthly utilities expense]

• Total: $205,000


Note: The base monthly rent for the El Chico City Hall is $15.6K with an additional $1.5K for utilities in a space three times larger than the Ranch House City Hall, bringing the monthly cost of the El Chico City Hall to about $17K a month or $204K a year in expenses that the city did not have in the Ranch House City Hall.


The Council also discussed funding options for these un-budgeted expenses and choose to use sales tax to cover the El Chico City Hall expenses until the next budget.


In addition, although the El Chico City Hall is leased for thirty (30) months from January 2023, city representatives indicated they have not yet begun considering the location of the Willow Park City Hall at the end of the lease in June of 2025.


Willow Park Civics > Issues > New City Hall has a journal of meetings, documents, (including the El Chico City Hall lease, dated 05 December 2022), and details of the city's plans for a new city hall.

 

• In new digs, Willow Park council discusses possible new police station, The Community News, 17 February 2023, Review of 14 February 2023 Council Meeting, Excerpts. need for new police station, unbudgeted expenses with new city hall, Wastewater treatment plant, Drainage project update, Fort Worth water update, Street project update, Opioid settlement



• Debut of new city hall set for Feb. 14, The Community News, 25 January 2023/ The move-in to the new Willow Park City Hall has been underway, and the city is now preparing an open house and ribbon cutting to introduce it to the community. / The public is invited to a ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14, at its new location: 120 El Chico Suite A in Willow Park / The city will also host an open house with tours beginning at 4:30 p.m. that day prior to the city council meeting at 6 p.m.


“We are absolutely thrilled to be in this building. Previously we were stacked two and three deep in offices, didn’t have a meeting space, and it was very difficult to conduct business,” said Communications and Marketing Director Rosealee Hoffman. “This new facility gives us all the space to do our jobs well and better serve the residents and businesses of Willow Park.”


• City hall ribbon cutting and open house, City of Willow Park website, 25 January 2023

Our city hall will make the Big Debut on Valentine's Day [Tuesday, 14 February 2023]! Join us in showing some love for Willow Park with a ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. with the East Parker County Chamber of Commerce.

We will also hold an open house beginning at 4:30 p.m. that evening (prior to the 6 p.m. city council meeting) for anyone who can't attend during the day but would still like a tour of our new facility. Our new address is: 120 El Chico, Suite A, Willow Park, TX 76087. We are excited to welcome you to our new offices!


• Utility payment drop box has moved, City of Willow Park, 19 January 2023

The utility payment drop box has moved to our new location!




It is now conveniently located on the east side of the building so drivers can pull through our parking lot, take a left the end, drop their payment, and continue around the back of the building and back out to El Chico. Please submit all payments to the new location going forward.




• Open for business. Tuesday, 17 January, 2023

"This is your sign! City Hall will open tomorrow, Jan. 17, 2023, at 8 a.m. in our new location at 120 El Chico, Suite A. Please note there are two entrances at our new location: the western door is for development, permitting, and inspections, and the eastern door is for utility payments and all other departments.


Hours will remain the same as the old location: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. with a break from noon-1 p.m. for lunch. The utility drop box will remain at the old city hall location for now. Our phone numbers and email address are the same as the old location, so if you have any questions, feel free to give us a call at 817-441-7108 or email info@willowpark.org. We look forward to serving you in our new building! City of Willow Park Facebook page.


• City answers to citizens questions, 09 January, 2023

  • Will the new council chamber have the technology to live-feed and video the council meetings? Yes

  • Will the city phone numbers remain the same? Yes

  • How many of the current city hall employees will make the move to the El Chico Trail City Hall? All current city hall employees will be moving to the new city hall.

  • Will any city employees still work at the Ranch House City Hall, and if so how many? Or will the Ranch House city hall be closed entirely. The Ranch House building will be closed entirely. [The Willow Park Utility Drop-box and the USPS drop-box will remain at the old Ranch House Rd. location until further notice. Updated 19 January 2023. the Utility Drop Box is now at the El Chico City Hall.]

  • What departments will be located in the new El Chico City Hall? Administration, Finance/HR, Utility Billing, Building Permits, Development, City Engineer, and Communications. The Fire Marshal office will move over at a later date to which I don’t know exactly when yet.

  • Will other city employees who do not work in the current Ranch House City Hall, also move into the new facilities? Fire Marshal’s Office

  • Will the new city hall have a US Post Office Box available as the Ranch House Road city hall now has? If not, where will be the closest US Post Office Box? The USPS is the authoritative over the US Post Office Box. We have informed USPS of our move.

• City Hall and administrative offices are moving Wednesday, Jan. 11, will be open for business Tuesday, Jan. 17, City of Willow Park website, 04 January 2023 All city hall administrative offices, including utility billing, development, and permitting, will move to 120 El Chico, Suite A, next week. The new, larger space will allow us the opportunity to better serve our community. Starting Wednesday, January 11 at 3 p.m., we will be shutting down the location at 516 Ranch House Road to move our offices. We will open for business at the new location on Tuesday, January 17 at 8 a.m. Phone and email service for city hall staff will be intermittent during the move, but we will be monitoring them as we can. You can still make utility payments using the drop box outside the current city hall, which will remain in place for the time being.We look forward to welcoming you to your new city hall!


According to current administration, Willow Park has outgrown its city hall at 516 Ranch House Road. As a temporary solution, Willow Park is leasing the eastern (right) portion of the Mercer Building, with the address 120 El Chico Trail, Suite A, Willow Park, Texas 76087.



The city assumes the lease of Suite A as of 01 January 2023, with the relocation quickly thereafter.


Besides growing local government, this move to a temporary city hall is also precipitated by the agreement with Emergency Services District 1 (ESD1); November 2022 voters in Willow Park and Willow Park Extra Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) voted to allow ESD1 to annex the Willow Park Fire Department. Part of the ESD1 annexation is the sale of the current Ranch House Road city hall and property to ESD1. (See Willow Park Civics > Issues < Fire Department ESD1.)


Current outstanding questions include the following:

  • How many of the city hall employees will make the move?

  • What departments will be located the new temporary city hall?

  • Will other city employees who do not work in the current Ranch House Road, also move into the new facilities?

  • Will the city phone numbers remain the same?

  • Will the new council chamber have the technology to live-feed and video the council meeting?

  • Will the new city hall have a US Post Office Box available as the Ranch House Road city hall now has? It not, where will be the closest US Post Office Box?

 

Lease signed on new city hall, Drainage and street repairs to begin

16 December 2022

Nothing like some shiny new digs to get the new year started off right.

At Tuesday's meeting, the Willow Park City Council announced a move to a new city hall location in 2023. The city signed a 30-month lease on a new address at 120 El Chico Trail, just off Interstate 20.

The building is being vacated by T.G. Mercer Consulting Services


The lease is effective Jan. 1. City Manager Bryan Grimes said the plan is to be in the new location by February.




The space in the new building is about 8,700 square feet, almost triple the current 3,189 square feet city officials are currently working in, and have been for many years.


"I'm excited. People will have a door on their office so they can carry on private conversations. We'll have council chambers," Willow Park Mayor Doyle Moss said.

"I stopped by one day and saw a sign, looked at it (the building) and got Bryan and Bill (Funderburk, assistant city manager) to look at it," Moss continued. "This will be great for us."


Moss said that while the new location might not be permanent, it will give the city ample time to assess its future city hall plans.

 

Willow Park Civics Research





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