The city of Aubrey is again considering changing the name of Spring Hill Road to Main Street from U.S. 377 into downtown Aubrey.
The change came before the council in August 2021 but was denied, and it would affect six residential lots, three commercial properties, a 16-unit apartment complex and a vacant lot.
'It is important that we establish an identity that will clearly connect downtown to U.S. 377,' City Manager Charles Kreidler said.
Aubrey has increased its focus on the downtown area.
'Our historic committee met for the first time last week,' Kreidler said. 'We were able to visit with them and let them know that we have purchased the Peanut Dryer as part of this initiative, and they were very happy about that.'
Council member Erin Allen questioned why this is coming before the council again, referring to when it came before the members before as well as the possible confusion about directions because of the switch in direction of the road after it clears the railroad tracks and heads toward 377 from downtown.
Mayor Chris Rich discussed the possibility of reimbursing property owners for the expense of handling the change.
Staff recommendation was $200 for residents and $500 for business owners.
However, Manor 402 co-owners Bud and Brenda Baker said that would not come close to the cost that they and their neighbors would face if this change were to go into place.
'Unfortunately, this is a very cumbersome and costly process that would put undue burden not only on ourselves, but every other impacted homeowner and business,' Bud said. 'Our hard costs associated with this are well over $10,000. … And then that's additional time and effort on our part, and then loss of business. We can't put a number on those two items.'
As the address number would change along with the name change, shifting from Springhill to Main could also cost the business its name, printed media, merchandise and its associated online presence, he added.
Bud recommended other solutions.
'What will reroute them is a significant marquee sign that is attractive and inspires a curiosity to come to the Main Street area,' he said.
Changing the deed alone for the residential properties would likely cost more than $500, Brenda said.
'You have to go to a lawyer; you have to have all the things in line,' Brenda said. 'So, it's not just us. It's our neighbors as well.'
The council opted to table the decision to allow time for further research into the financial implications and other concerns regarding the possible change.
The council voted to set a public hearing about amending the land use assumptions, Capital Improvements Plan and roadway impact fees for the March 27 meeting.
'The other thing with the [Capital Improvements Plan] is that it has to be roadways on the thoroughfare plan,' said Kelly Parma of Lee Engineering. 'And so, if you have a roadway that's not on a thoroughfare plan, you can't apply impact fees to that process, and that's part of Chapter 395.'
The council also voted to work with Denton County to invest $1.84 million into the reconstruction of Frontier Parkway, which is intended to be an east-west corridor roadway to help alleviate traffic along U.S. 380 in the future.
Early in the meeting, Jim Sabonis of Hilltop Securities gave an overview of how the sale of the Duck Point Improvement District special assessment revenue bonds went, saving the residents money while still fully funding the developer's project.
'We were directed to allow it to go forward to market $7,300,000 less than than total debt service,' he said. 'Ultimately the homes, each individual homeowner's [annual assessment] is reduced by $542, and the important thing is the developer still gets his $23.2 million.'
Also at the meeting, Cross Roads Police Chief Shaun Short, representing the Texas Police Chief's Association, presented the Aubrey Police Department with its re-accreditation award.
'Aubrey Police Department has once again proven that it meets or exceeds the best practices for law enforcement in the state. Out of more than 2,800 law enforcement agencies in Texas, only 213 have earned accredited status, and even fewer have been re-accredited,' he said. '… The real value lies in the hard work the department put into earning this.'
The council also accepted the final plat for Sandbrock Ranch Phase 15 and set a public hearing regarding an annexation petition for 3.24 acres of land at the southwest corner of McNatt Road and Frontier Parkway.
