Deal may now be agreeable
By Daniel Brannigan
The Community News
A new development emerged in the seemingly endless story about Deer Creek Water Works (DCWW) this week, placing the matter back into Willow Park’s hands.
In hopes of ending a delay in progress to discussions and finalizing an agreement, Hudson Oaks held a special council meeting Monday, April 16 and agreed to cosign the contract for Parker County Utility District No. 1 (PCUD) to purchase the embattled water system from Willow Park.
According to Hudson Oaks Mayor Pat Deen, DCWW’s original owner Doyle Hanley objected to the agreement in principle reached by all parties during a settlement conference in September in Austin. Hanley was concerned about PCUD’s reliability and wanted a municipality to be a part of the agreement, Deen said.
“The ball is fully back in Willow Park’s court,” Deen noted, hoping that the move would remove Hanley’s concerns. “This brings it right back to what we talked about in Austin.”
Whether Hudson Oaks’ action moves the deal any closer to finalization remains to be seen.
The modified agreement was available for Willow Park to consider during its council meeting Tuesday, April 17, but no action was taken.
“We expect some ongoing conversations and it will be up to the council if they want to sell (DCWW),” Mayor Brad Johnson said. “I don’t know if this is going to be resolved prior to litigation. It might be up to another mediation type meeting with all parties involved.”
Willow Park originally agreed to purchase DCWW from Hanley in December 2004 for $1,000 down and a note of about $4.8 million to be paid out over 40 years at six percent interest. Under the agreement reached in Austin, PCUD would buy the system from Willow Park at the same amount, in addition to any improvements made.
Even with the modified agreement, PCUD will be making the payments for the system.
Deen said they city would not be obligated to any future payments and their status as a cosigner poses zero risk to the citizens of Hudson Oaks.
He explained that the city would simply be ensuring the validity of payments.
Deen noted that the city is comfortable with PCUD’s cash flow and continued credibility.
“It’s a vote of confidence,” Deen said. “PCUD is operating as it should and will continue to operate as it should. We just didn’t know that before.”
For more than two years now, the battle over DCWW has continued without a finalized settlement. Legal bills for those involved have gone through the roof and numerous deadlines have passed.
For more on this story, see the April 20 issue of The Community News.
