This is a substantial meeting with a mix of big-picture presentations and consequential action items. Parker County Judge Pat Deen and Precinct 4 Commissioner Mike Hale will present on a future county transportation bond — giving council and the public a first look at how the county plans to address road infrastructure as the region continues its rapid growth. On the infrastructure front, council will vote on a $4.12 million construction contract for Phase 2 of the Bankhead Utility Extension, which provides sewer and water to support the Beall-Dean Ranch development. A public hearing on the Bar-Ko Land Company annexation (7.29 acres on Bankhead Highway, anticipated for Tractor Supply Co.) will be followed by a vote on the annexation ordinance itself. Rose Hoffman will present a city rebranding strategy for council direction. And the City Manager duties ordinance — tabled at the March 24 meeting because Councilmember Gilliland was absent — returns for action. Behind closed doors, six executive session items include the ongoing Aledo/Fort Worth annexation lawsuit, the city manager hiring process, and a police investigation.
Mayor Palmer will open with a Bible verse and a business recognition, followed by a proclamation declaring April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, presented to Alyssa Lively of Freedom House. This is a standard ceremonial proclamation.
The meeting also includes a Certificate of Recognition presentation to the Home Rule Charter Commission. This was requested by Mayor Palmer at the March 24 meeting as a future agenda item. The charter commission completed its work drafting a proposed home rule charter for Willow Park, though the charter itself is still undergoing additional legal review by City Attorney Andy Messer. The current timeline targets a November 2026 ballot election — the May election is no longer a possibility.
This is the public hearing for the proposed annexation of approximately 7.29 acres owned by Bar-Ko Land Company LLC, situated in the James Oxer Survey, Abstract Number 1029, Parker County (Property ID #118980). The property is located at the northwest corner of East Bankhead Highway and Torri Court.
This is a voluntary annexation — the landowner is asking to be brought into the city limits. At the March 24 council meeting, council unanimously approved Resolution 227-26 accepting the petition and setting this April 14 public hearing. The Weatherford Democrat reported that Bar-Ko is in discussions with Tractor Supply Co. for this site, which would bring a popular farm-and-ranch retailer to Willow Park.
The public hearing gives any interested person the right to speak for or against the annexation. After the hearing closes, Item 7 on the regular agenda is the actual vote on the annexation ordinance. These are procedurally separate — the council must hold the hearing before it can vote.
Contact for questions: Chelsea Kirkland, City Planner, at 817-441-7108 x100 or ckirkland@willowpark.org.
Routine approval of the previous meeting's minutes. The March 24 meeting was attended by Mayor Palmer, Councilmembers Contreras, Wright, Smith, and Crummel. Councilmember Gilliland was absent. That meeting ran from 6:00 PM to 8:32 PM and included three public hearings, the Beall-Dean Ranch preliminary plat approval, $15,000 in HOT funds for 760 Fest sponsorship, a water conservation impact fee credit ordinance, and the Bar-Ko public hearing scheduling. The zoning change for 6603 Bankhead Highway (Property ID #9527) was denied, with council directing it come back as a Specific Use Permit instead.
This is a discussion-only presentation — no vote will be taken. Parker County Judge Pat Deen and Precinct 4 Commissioner Mike Hale (who represents the area including Willow Park) will present on a future county transportation bond, with engineering support from Freese and Nichols.
Parker County is the 6th fastest-growing county in the United States. Voters approved a $130 million transportation bond in November 2023 with nearly 59% support, funding 32 road projects including safety improvements, new road extensions, capacity widening, and frontage road work across four precincts. Judge Deen framed that bond as a safety imperative, pointing to traffic fatalities on overburdened roads.
In November 2025, voters also approved $286.3 million in public safety bonds for a new justice center and jail expansion. The county currently has about $207 million in outstanding transportation bonds. This presentation likely previews the county's next phase of transportation investment and how it intersects with Willow Park's own infrastructure plans — particularly relevant given the Beall-Dean Ranch development and ongoing Bankhead Highway corridor improvements.
This is purely informational for the council and public. The county sets its own bond elections independently — but county road work directly affects Willow Park residents, particularly along I-20, FM 5, and Bankhead Highway corridors. Pay attention to which specific projects are mentioned and any timelines for construction near Willow Park.
Council will vote on awarding a $4,122,003.40 construction contract to Skyblue Utilities, Inc. (Kingsland, Texas) for Phase 2 of the East Bankhead Water and Sewer Extension. This is the lowest of seven bids received when bids opened on March 20, 2026. Council originally approved going out for bids in December 2025.
Sewer: Approximately 4,970 linear feet of 10" gravity sewer line plus 6,175 LF of 8" HDPE force main, 23 manholes, bores and encasements under roadways, and connections to existing lift stations. This provides sewer service to the Beall-Dean Ranch development.
Water: Approximately 4,850 linear feet of 8" HDPE water line, 29 gate valves, 12 fire hydrants, bores, and connections to the existing water system. This runs water down Bankhead Highway to allow the system to be looped once Beall-Dean utilities are installed.
Force main relocation: An existing sewer force main currently routed between houses will be re-routed along the existing right-of-way of Bankhead Highway and Willow Bend Drive.
The combined base bid (sewer + water + additives) from Skyblue Utilities came in at $4,122,003.40. The engineer's preliminary estimate for Phase 2 construction was $5,771,150 (including a 10% owner's allowance), so the winning bid is significantly under the estimate. The next lowest total bidder was Grey Sky Construction at roughly $4.4 million. The highest bid came in over $7.1 million. Jacob & Martin's letter of recommendation confirms prior positive experience with Skyblue Utilities and recommends the award.
Staff recommends approval. This is a significant infrastructure investment directly tied to enabling the Beall-Dean Ranch development — the same 317-acre project at the center of the Aledo/Fort Worth annexation lawsuit (which will be discussed in executive session this same evening). The estimated construction timeline for the sewer work is 300 days and the water work is 150 days.
This update was requested by Councilmember Contreras at the March 24 meeting. The new 1 million gallon/day wastewater treatment plant has been under construction since 2024 by Gracon Construction, Inc., with estimated completion in the second half of 2026.
The packet includes a detailed Gantt chart showing construction progress. As of early April 2026, the project is approximately 85% complete in the main work phase. Structural work, yard piping, and most equipment installation are done. The screw press is complete. What remains: diffuser installation in the SBR basins (scheduled late April), chemical feed line installation, final electrical work and equipment connections (about 42% complete), SCADA/instrumentation setup, and the full start-up and testing sequence running from mid-April through early June. Site work including fencing, crushed stone roads, and seeding is about 51% complete.
The original substantial completion date was October 2025, but a change order extended the timeline. The current schedule shows start-up and testing beginning April 16 and running through June 3, 2026.
This is discussion only — no vote. But the WWTP is the single most important piece of infrastructure enabling Willow Park's growth, particularly the Beall-Dean Ranch development. Its completion timeline directly affects when new development can come online.
Following the public hearing in Item 2, this is the vote on the annexation ordinance itself. The ordinance formally brings the 7.29-acre Bar-Ko property into Willow Park's corporate limits. The full ordinance text is included in the packet and follows standard annexation language under Chapter 43 of the Texas Local Government Code.
The property is at the northwest corner of E. Bankhead Highway and Torri Court, legally described as part of the James Oxer Survey, Abstract 1029. The ordinance states that a written services agreement has been negotiated and executed with the landowner prior to this vote, as required by state law. Upon passage, the city secretary will file a certified copy with the Parker County Clerk and amend the official city map.
The signature block of the ordinance in the packet reads "PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENISON, TEXAS" instead of Willow Park. This is clearly a copy-paste error from the City Attorney's office template and will presumably be corrected before the final signed version. It does not affect the legal substance of the ordinance.
Staff recommends approval. This is the second annexation Willow Park has processed in quick succession — the 61.4-acre tract on Crown Road was annexed at the March 24 meeting. The city continues expanding its boundaries as development interest grows along the Bankhead corridor.
Per a request from Mayor Palmer and council, Communications Director Rose Hoffman will present a rebranding strategy for the City of Willow Park, including design concepts, implementation plans, and cost estimates. Council may then direct staff to proceed and set a budget.
The briefing sheet in the packet is light on specifics — no exhibits or cost figures are attached. This means the presentation itself will be where the details emerge. Watch for: what exactly is being rebranded (logo? city seal? signage? website? all of the above?), the proposed budget, the timeline, and whether council provides direction or tables it for further discussion.
Context: Willow Park is already in the middle of a new city website rollout (the new CivicPlus site launched in 2025-2026), and the city has been updating its public communications posture since Rose Hoffman joined as Communications Director. A formal rebrand would be a natural extension of that modernization effort as the city prepares for potential home rule status and continued rapid growth.
This item returns from the March 24 meeting, where it was tabled because Councilmember Chawn Gilliland — who co-sponsors this item with Mayor Palmer — was absent. All four council members present voted to table it until Gilliland could attend.
This ordinance would amend Section 9.02.033, "Nature and Duties of Position" in the City Manager division of the Willow Park Code of Ordinances. The specific text of the proposed amendment is not included in the April 14 packet (it references earlier materials). Based on prior agenda context, this amendment addresses the scope and duties of the City Manager position — which is particularly significant given that Willow Park is currently operating under co-Interim City Managers and is actively in the city manager selection process (Item 15 in executive session).
This is one to watch closely. Changes to the City Manager's defined duties can have lasting structural effects on how the city operates. The fact that it's co-sponsored by the mayor and a council member (rather than coming from staff) suggests this is a policy-driven change from the elected officials. Listen for discussion about what specifically is being changed and why.
This is a cleanup item — a disannexation ordinance to correct a scrivener's error involving 2,603 square feet of right-of-way. A scrivener's error is a clerical or drafting mistake in a legal document. In this case, a small parcel of right-of-way was apparently included in a prior annexation that shouldn't have been, and this ordinance formally removes it from the city limits.
This is routine and non-controversial. The involvement of both the regular city attorney (Andy Messer) and Andy Sims suggests the correction may relate to one of the recent annexation actions where outside counsel has been involved.
The council will go into closed session to discuss six items. No public discussion occurs during executive session, but council may take action on any of these items when they reconvene in open session.
After executive session, the council will reconvene in open session. Watch for whether any action is taken — particularly on the city manager selection. If they've reached a decision, they could announce a hire.
The meeting closes with comments from the interim city managers, council, and mayor, plus items of community interest. One item is already noted: Save the date — July 4, 2026 at The District of Willow Park. More details coming soon on what is likely the city's first major Fourth of July event at the new entertainment district.
