Heath's $15 million pair of new public safety stations and seven other capital projects totaling roughly $60 million will get their latest progress reports when the City Council meets Tuesday, Aug. 25, at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 200 Laurence Drive.

City Engineer John Hernandez, introduced at the July 28 council meeting by City Manager Steven Alexander, will brief the council on active projects including the Hubbard Drive reconstruction, the Water Plan, Towne Center Park, Terry Lane, the Candlelite Fire Flow upgrade, the Public Works Facility, trails and the Street Maintenance Program. Chief Seery and representatives from AGCM, the city's owner representative firm, will update the council on DPS Stations 30 and 31.

Two new stations under construction

The two stations carry a combined $15 million contract with Grossman Design-Build, funded entirely through certificates of obligation issued in 2023. Station 30, at 300 Chris Cuny Blvd., will house DPS administration, criminal investigations, an emergency operations center, a training room and apparatus bays for Brush Truck 30 and a future ladder truck. Its contract share is $10.29 million. Station 31, at 1300 FM 740, will house Engine 31 and the reserve engine at a cost of $4.71 million.

Station 30 broke ground Feb. 26; Station 31 followed on March 26. At the council's June 23 meeting, AGCM Senior Project Manager Marcus Sanchez said "the completion date for Station 30 is August 2027 and Station 31 is April 2027." Those dates represented a slip from the original April 2027 target for both buildings. The DPS station item appears again on the Aug. 25 agenda, and any schedule changes would be reported then.

Capital projects snapshot

According to financial data presented at the June 23 council meeting, active capital improvement projects totaled approximately $60.4 million as of April 30, with $26.9 million spent and $19.3 million encumbered.

Here is where key projects stood as of the July 28 council meeting:

  • Hubbard Drive: The $5.4 million reconstruction from Michael Drive to FM 740 (awarded to Apple Paving) was underway, with completion expected within one year. The original estimate was $7.6 million.
  • Water Plan: A 1.5-million-gallon elevated storage tank on Governors Boulevard was awarded to Phoenix Fabricators & Erectors for $7.86 million at the June 23 meeting, with completion targeted for May 2027. Water Well No. 1 at Towne Center Park has been drilled; wells 2 through 4 are in design, and wells 5 and 6 are planned.
  • Towne Center Park: The $12.8 million reconstruction was reported substantially complete in June. The park opened July 4.
  • Candlelite Fire Flow: Approximately 50% complete, with Hayes Construction crews working on Terry Lane and into the Candlelite neighborhood.
  • Public Works Facility: Targeted for completion by the end of August, with exterior walls, roof and interior rough electrical finished.
  • Terry Lane shared-use path: The road rehabilitation itself is complete. The active project is a 10-foot-wide concrete path along 0.7 miles of Terry Lane's north side, estimated at $1.3 million. Rockwall County Commissioners Court pledged $424,000 toward the project on July 28. Design is expected to take three to four months, followed by six months of construction.

How to participate

Residents can address the council during public comment at the start of the meeting. Speakers are limited to three minutes and must sign in before the 6:30 p.m. start. The full agenda is posted on the city's website.