HUTTO, Texas — The Hutto City Council on Oct. 2 approved a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute a wastewater infrastructure reimbursement agreement with Maple Multifamily Development LLC (the “Maple” or “Allora” project) to speed availability of sewer capacity for a north‑of‑79 multifamily project.

Sarah Cervantes, executive director of community services, explained that Maple’s development sits where existing sewer capacity would otherwise be limited until a developer farther south completed a gravity sewer project. To help the Maple project connect sooner, the council approved a deal in which Maple will construct a gravity line south of FM 79 that decommissions the Creekside Estates Lift Station and frees capacity. In exchange the city will reimburse allowable costs through an impact‑fee credit mechanism.

Key points
- The agreement structures reimbursement as a credit against the developer’s calculated impact fees; staff estimated the developer’s total impact fees and compared them to the estimated cost of the offsite infrastructure. Staff said the developer will still owe impact fees after the credits are applied.
- City staff and the city engineer characterized the arrangement as an unorthodox but acceptable approach that advances a city infrastructure priority without the city borrowing or increasing water/wastewater rates. “It’s a way for us to get something else off our list, without having to budget for it,” Sarah Cervantes said.
- The council approved the resolution by voice vote; Mayor Snyder and all council members present voted aye.

Why it matters: the agreement accelerates sewer capacity for a planned multifamily project while enabling the city to remove a lift station and complete a gravity connection that staff had identified on their capital plan. Staff said the approach reduces the near‑term need for larger lift‑station expansion work.

What’s next
City staff will finalize the reimbursement agreement and monitor construction and cost documentation to ensure only allowable costs are credited against the developer’s impact fees. The resolution passed unanimously.

Speakers quoted in this article include Sarah Cervantes, executive director of community services, and Matt Recker, city engineer.