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BASTROP — Recent approval from the city means another 292 lots will be opening up for builders to continue expansion of The Colony, an upscale residential subdivision.
The city’s agreement paves the way for Hunt Communities Bastrop LLC to invest in more infrastructure development, officials said.
“This is part of a preliminary plat that was submitted to us. This is the Public Improvement Plan Agreement that is the financial backing that will support the public improvements for this section of The Colony,” Senior Planner Kennedy Higgins told City Council at its Oct. 22 meeting.
Thi s mos t recent agreement will make sections 2A and 2B of The Colony Municipal Uti l it y Di st r ict 1D available for inf rastructure work in preparation for more single-family homes.
The Colony i s a master-planned, resort- style subdivision in Bastrop’s extraterritorial jurisdiction west of FM 969 and north of the future extension of Sam Houston Drive.
“The Public Improvement Plan Agreement was developed as part of the city of Bastrop’s Development Manual. This standardized agreement is a tool that can be used by staff. It allows a developer to establish the infrastructure costs, inspections fees and begin construction of public street and utility infrastructure,” according to city documents. “The agreement also establishes the process to record the final plat with a fiscal guarantee for the approved section of the subdivision prior to the completion of all public improvements.”
The enhancements are being built in cooperat ion wit h the county, the city and the MUD, officials said.
The city collects a public improvement inspection fee equal to 2% of the total infrastructure construction costs, and the project cannot proceed until the fees are paid, according to the agreement.
Section 2A is a twoblock segment with 24 housing lots. The projected infrastruct u r e con s t r u c t ion amount for the parcel is $820,534.16, and the public improvement inspection fee amount is $16,410.68.
Inf rastructure construct ion for Section 2B is expected to cost over $9.8 million and will result in a payment of $196,658.90 to the city. The parcel consists of five blocks with 268 lots.
Elgin Courier becomes official paper of Bastrop The council named the Elgin Courier its official newspaper at the Oct. 22 meeting. The city previously listed the Bastrop Advertiser as its official newspaper of record, but made the change because the Advertiser is not a general- circulation newspaper.
“We don’t have to necessarily have an off icial newspaper, but it’s good for us to have so our citizens know where to go to look for any ads or anything we put in,” said City Secretary Irma Parker. “I checked with the Elgin Courier and the county uses them as the official newspaper and so does Smithville and, of course, Elgin. They’re the only newspaper I could find in the county.”
Parker said the Courier had already provided cost savings for running a lengthy notification. She also noted the Courier has an online option available for residents to read Bastrop news and notifications.
