Flower Mound approves design contract for new town hall

The Flower Mound Town Council took the first tangible step toward the creation of a new Town Hall during its Aug. 15 meeting.

The council approved a Professional Services Agreement for $862,500 to be paid to the architectural firm of Oxley Williams Tharp of Fort Worth for the design of a new Town Hall.

The proposed 42,000-square-foot, two story building would be built on the same site as the existing town hall on FM 1171.

Flower Mound has long outgrown its current Town Hall, which was built in 1993, and spends over $300,000 per year to lease space at The Atrium office building for additional space for town business.

The council vote followed the TIRZ (Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone) #1 Board approval to use TIRZ funds for the Town Hall at its Aug. 9 board meeting. The TIRZ District is located on both sides of FM 2499 and the property taxes collected within the area are in a separate fund to be reinvested in that area, with the county contributing $1 for every $2 by the town. The board also recommended placing the library expansion project on the budget, but the additional funding has yet to be approved.

Earlier in the council meeting, a resolution declaring intent to reimburse expenditures was approved. The Town plans to issue debt during fiscal year 2016-2017 of $1,700,000 to fund architectural, engineering and other preliminary costs related to the construction of the approximately 42,000-square-foot Town Hall.

In order to begin the Town Hall project prior to the issuance of debt, the proposed reimbursement resolution provides the funding source to satisfy the procurement requirements for the project, as included on the fiscal year 2015-2016 Five-Year Capital Improvement Program (CIP).

The procurement process requires that 100-percent of funding be available before funds can be encumbered for the award of contracts. The reimbursement resolution allows staff to satisfy the funding requirements prior to the issuance of debt under federal tax law.

The initial budget for construction is estimated at approximately $11,500,000. The TIRZ Board approved spending $10 million on the project, while the town expects to use $5 million from its general fund.

“It actually costs us less to do this now, because the interest rate that we’ll be charged as a town would be less than two-percent,” said Hayden. “It’s less than what the inflated cost of materials would be.”

Construction is targeted to begin prior to April 2017.