Heights agrees to ETJ with Belton
Posted On: Wednesday, Jul. 15 2009 05:47 AM
By Hayley Kappes
Killeen Daily HeraldHARKER HEIGHTS – Belton and Harker Heights' proposed extraterritorial jurisdiction exchanges were solidified Tuesday evening.
The Harker Heights City Council approved a resolution authorizing Mayor Ed Mullen to sign an agreement with the city of Belton regarding the adjustments of their ETJ boundaries.
Belton agreed to give Harker Heights portions of its current ETJ at the intersection of U.S. Highway 190 and Farm-to-Market 2410.
Harker Heights agreed to transfer to Belton existing ETJ areas owned by Judith Holler and the U.S. Corps of Engineers.
Belton and Harker Heights completed annexation discussions in January and February of this year in order to avoid conflicts with each other.
Mullen said at Tuesday's meeting that he, Belton Mayor Jim Covington and City Manager Sam Listi were in agreement with their ETJ exchanges.
Harker Heights City Manager Steve Carpenter said the resolution had nothing to do with the city of Nolanville, which declared its population was more than 5,000 earlier this year, and claimed a portion of the ETJ.
Nolanville's declaration placed ETJ discussions between Belton and Harker Heights on hold, and no resolution was met in the meantime as Nolanville's population was contested by Harker Heights and Belton.
Earlier this month, the Central Texas Council of Governments determined Nolanville's population count at 3,800.
"Instead of getting in a hurry to see who could annex the fastest, Harker Heights and Belton discussed their ETJ boundaries," Carpenter said. "When we (Harker Heights and Belton) were both looking at annexation, before Nolanville declared their population count, we wanted to make sure both of our ETJ's didn't overlap."
In some areas, there is only half a mile between Harker Heights and Belton's annexations, making it possible their ETJs would overlap if agreements were not met first.
Carpenter said the resolution eliminates potential ETJ conflicts because both cities considered logical land use and determined boundaries based on existing ownerships, so properties were not dissected.
The Harker Heights council discussed the issue of Nolanville's population and the size of its ETJ in a closed meeting Tuesday evening, but no action was taken on the matter.
Contact Hayley Kappes at
hayleyk@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7559.
Herald reporter Mason W. Canales contributed to this report.
The Harker Heights City Council unanimously approved the following actions:
A resolution awarding grant consultant services to Langford Community Management Services for the Home Program Grant in the amount of $15,000.
A resolution awarding a contract for the Phase 2 Annexation Waterline Project in the amount of $157,846.25 to Bell Contractors.
A request by the Greater Killeen Free Clinic for alcohol services at the Activity Center.
A resolution authorizing City Manager Steve Carpenter to enter into an agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation and the city of Killeen concerning the reversal of the westbound ramps on U.S. Highway 190 between Farm-to-Market 2410 and Farm-to-Market 3470, an additional lane on the service road between to two roads, and widen the approaches to the FM 2410 overpass to allow for two left-turn lanes across the bridge and in front of Market Heights.
The council postponed action until July 28 on a resolution to name the walking trail at the FM 2410 Community Park "Kyle Hilliard Walking Trail."