The Decatur City Council gave staff the green light to proceed with a $65 million debt issuance that includes the construction of Decatur Fire Department’s second station and launching the city’s major water and wastewater infrastructure overhaul.
The council authorized Decatur City Manager Nate Mara to proceed with the process to issue $65 million in certificates of obligation. The bonds are expected to be sold in the next 90 days. The project breakdown is as follows.
- Construction of DFD station No. 2: $18 million; 30-year note.
- Rehabilitation of existing DFD station: $2 million; 10-year note.
- General city facility rehabilitation projects: $5 million; 10-year note
- Facility and land acquisition for water/wastewater upgrades: $15 million; 30-year note.
- Water treatment plant expansion: $12.5 million; 30-year note.
- Wastewater infrastructure expansion: $12.5 million; 30-year note.
In total, engineers with Kimley Horn have mapped out a $242 million plan to meet Decatur’s future water and wastewater demand, divided through a series of debt issuances over the next four years.
Monday’s vote represented the first piece of this major infrastructure project, with the water and wastewater proceeds helping secure the initial engineering and design of future improvements to essentially double the city’s current water and wastewater treatment capacity.
The capital improvements include water treatment plant expansion, the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant on the north side of the city, the construction and installation of a wastewater gravity line system, as well as the expansion and rehabilitation of the current water and wastewater plants to increase capacity further.
The funding source for the water and wastewater improvements would come from water/wastewater revenue and impact fees.
The new fire station and rehabilitation of existing city facilities would be paid through the debt service portion of the city’s property tax revenue.
Fire Station No. 2
In tandem with the capital improvement plan proceeding, the council approved a $15,898,060 guaranteed maximum price with Key Construction Texas LLC to build the new 23,025-square-foot fire station, designed by architecture firm Hoefer Welker.
The station, expected to be completed by November 2026, will be located off Farm Road 51 at Old Reunion Road and Preskitt Road, adjacent to Decatur Medical Lodge.
The addition will provide fire stations on both the east and west sides of U.S. 81/287, allowing quicker response times across the city. It also expands the department’s footprint to handle increasing call volume and to house and staff its custom-built Pierce 100-foot aerial platform truck, expected to arrive late next year.
The station will include three apparatus bays, administrative offices, a training tower, a fitness room, and living quarters. It will also feature a 4,130-square-foot auxiliary storage building with two vehicle bays. Key Construction’s project summary notes that the facility will include a Decatur Police Department office as well.
Concept drawings reflect exterior elements that echo the design of the city’s new police station. Fire Chief Deroy Bennett said the station’s masonry and cement finishes were chosen for durability and low maintenance.
A standout feature is the three-story training tower, which will allow firefighters to simulate emergency responses in multistory buildings.
“We look forward to getting started on this project and delivering the highest quality project for the City of Decatur. The City of Decatur staff and the Decatur Fire Department have been great partners through the design process, and we are excited to getting them into their new facility in the fall of 2026,” said Steven Wells, Key Construction’s Texas division president, in a letter dated July 28 to coincide with the guaranteed maximum price agreement.
The fire station project became a city priority in 2024, after council members earmarked $1.5 million of a $16 million debt issuance to cover the architecture and engineering costs for the station. The certificates of obligation issued in January 2024 also covered additional construction costs for the Decatur Police Station facility and waterline projects in the city.
Decatur Police Department will host a grand opening of its new police station 9 a.m. Saturday. To celebrate the new station at 1601 S. Church Street, there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by tours of the new facility. AUSTIN JACKSON | WCMESSENGER
Fitzpatrick Design Construction Services Group, LLC (FDCS) has assisted the fire department throughout the pre-construction process, which included engineering considerations and planning as the department identified potential station sites. The council approved a $373,983 agreement for FDCS to begin the second phase of the project Monday night.
DFD Station No. 2 is expected to be completed by Nov. 8, 2026. Bennett said work should be fully underway by November, with grading and utility work starting in around five weeks.
The council’s motion to issue the certificates was moved by Mayor Pro Tem Melinda Reeves, seconded by Place 5 Council Member Eddie Allen, and approved unanimously.
“I’m glad that we’re able to do this for our community and our first responders,” Allen said. “I think it’s a very exciting with [Saturday’s police station grand opening] and then we’ll move toward the groundbreaking for the new fire department.”
During discussion, several members of the council raised concerns about staffing demands for Decatur’s two newest public safety facilities once they’re both operational.
During discussion, council members Darlene Hilton and Jake Hayes raised concerns about future staffing needs at the city’s two new public safety facilities.
Bennett said Station No. 2 will require a staff of 12 to operate effectively, largely due to the ladder truck’s staffing needs.
When asked, Decatur Police Chief Delvon Campbell said that the police department is seeking to hire 11 additional officers and four new dispatchers.
Mara said the amount of homes that are either in the platting process or under construction will have a direct impact on the city’s maintenance and operations budget and in turn, the ability to increase staffing. Still, he said that the city may need to take an incremental approach to staffing increases to maintain a consistent tax rate.
Bennett added that Decatur’s recent application for a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant may help make the budget math more digestible.
The other fire department related project in the bond package includes a $2 million rehabilitation of the current station. Bennett said those improvements include roof repairs to address leaks, HVAC replacement and reconfiguration of some interior space.
Water and wastewater engineering to begin
Monday’s weighty agenda also paved the way for the first phase of designing Decatur’s future water and wastewater infrastructure.
Following recent tours of the city’s treatment facilities, the city council approved engineering agreements with Kimley-Horn for preliminary design work on multiple utility infrastructure projects. These include a new 1.0 MGD wastewater treatment plant on the north side of the city and the associated gravity sewer lines needed to service it. The council also approved an agreement for the initial design of a water treatment plant expansion, expected to add 3.0 MGD of capacity.
These agreements will advance design work to about 30 percent completion, providing enough detail to support site acquisition, right-of-way planning and cost estimates, which would help inform the bidding process if the city pursues the Construction Manager At-Risk route — as well as provide a concrete figure on future capital needed to carry out these projects.
The city and engineers are coordinating these upgrades with the Wise County Water Supply District, which recently received approval for a $39.9 million project to increase pumping capacity from Lake Bridgeport. That bond was approved by Decatur voters in May.
The WCWSD (which only serves Decatur and is governed by the Decatur Water Board) plans to build a new $18.2 million raw water pump station near the lake. The remaining $21.2 million from that bond package will fund the replacement of five miles of 12-inch pipe between Decatur and Lake Bridgeport with 24-inch pipe, expanding the system’s delivery capacity.
This story may be updated as more information becomes available.
Loading Comments