Once again, the Town is delighted to sponsor our biggest event of the year in partnership with the Argyle Lions Club – the Easter Egg-Stravaganza. Come to Unity Park on Saturday, April 1, and enjoy a day of family fun. Breakfast hosted by the Lions kicks off at 8:30 a.m. Music, crafts, games, hot dogs served by the Denton Emergency Services District #1 and more will begin at 11 a.m. The egg hunt promises to be epic this year, including the Golden Egg sponsored by the Argyle Police Department. Councilwoman Sherri Myers, who organizes the event with Deborah Cottle of the Lions Club, says the egg count for 2023 is approaching 30,000. I can’t wait to see the drone footage of this year’s hunt!
Oncor Transmission Line Route Study
On February 14th, the chiefs of staff for Congressman Michael Burgess and State Senator Tan Parker; Northlake, Bartonville, Flower Mound and Argyle mayors and staff; Oncor representatives; and senior representatives of the US Army Corps of Engineers met at the Corps’ Lake Lewisville offices. The meeting was held to discuss the potential use of Corps property for the southern alternative transmission line route that Argyle and Northlake proposed for inclusion in the Oncor route study.
Here are the key outcomes from the discussion:
Oncor was asked to look at two different routes that would cross Corps property. The original Northlake-Argyle proposal that crosses south of the Trailwood neighborhood would depend on the feasibility of taking the line underground for approximately 2,000 feet. “Undergrounding” a transmission line of this length and voltage (345kV) has been done before, but Oncor suggested that such a project has not been built at a 5,000-amp current capacity. Oncor agreed to perform an analysis of undergrounding the route at this location.
I identified a second potential route during the meeting that follows the right-of-way of the old US Highway 377, east of the present route of the highway, and then turns west. Using the old US 377 right-of-way would not require a time-consuming environmental assessment. After turning west, however, the potential route could be difficult to engineer. Again, Oncor agreed to an analysis of the “old US 377” route.
At this time the ball is in Oncor’s court to come back with their findings on the two southern routes that we have proposed.
We will continue to work with our state and federal elected officials and their staffs toward qualifying the Northlake-Argyle southern alternative routes. Dr. Burgess and Senator Parker have worked closely with Mayor David Rettig and me to find a solution that keeps transmission lines out of Argyle and the Northlake neighborhoods near FM 407. We are thankful for their continuing support.
I commend the citizens who spoke up in the early going and made sure that Town leadership was aware of the route study in time to respond. Town staff and our consultants have done amazing work informing the citizens of Argyle and providing the tools for an outpouring of citizen comments at a level rarely seen by Oncor. Thanks to everyone who commented and offered their encouragement in the effort. We have a long way to go yet, but we have reason to be optimistic about the outcome.
Comprehensive Plan Review
The Comprehensive Plan and its companion documents, the Future Land Use Plan and Thoroughfare Plan, require an overhaul to address several important issues. If we want to keep Argyle’s small-town rural character and attract quality commercial uses, we must clearly communicate our expectations to developers.
The pace of commercial development activity is about to ramp up and major retailers are at our door. We do not have a consensus on what uses the Town wants to see in the most desirable commercial development locations and the conditions we would set in a development agreement. It is imperative that we make decisions very soon on what we want in commercial planned developments. Otherwise, we will be unprepared to succeed in negotiations that will have a major impact on the future of the Town.
The Town Council and Planning & Zoning Commission unanimously agreed in 2021 that the Comprehensive Plan needs an overhaul to make it an effective policy document for guiding commercial development, but our small professional staff was forced to focus on other Council majority priorities, delaying the formal kickoff of the review until last October. The Council majority decided last month to again delay the urgently-needed project until June. The Town must reconsider the timeline for pressing forward with an expedited review of the Comprehensive Plan.
Argyle Seniors Update
Submitted by Stella McDaniel
What a great turnout for the first luncheon of the New Year. The seniors enjoyed a lunch together at The Sidewalk Cafe in Denton before going to a movie (“A Man Called Otto”). Hospitality chair Yvonne Gamble talked about starting a jewelry class. Karen Kiel shared information on starting different activities for the seniors to do each month. For more information you may contact Karen at 940-464-0506.
Our sincere thanks to the girls and boys from Argyle Middle School’s National Honor Society who helped the seniors clean out and redo their supply closet.
Our luncheon in April will be Thursday the 6th. We will be celebrating Easter so watch for the bunnies to have your pictures made with. We will be playing bingo after lunch. We ask everyone one to either bring a covered dish to share or make a donation to the Seniors’ fund. Please text or call Stella at 940-391-6686 if you plan to attend.
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