Business View Civil Municipal June 2023

21 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 6 ANDREWS , TE XAS home, maybe on smaller lots,” he explains. “We still want quality, because we consider ourselves a town of quality.” A developer has expressed interest in meeting this demand, bringing 120 residential lots to the city, which will be built 10 at a time. Eggleston says the city council has also approved a Chapter 380 agreement aimed at incentivizing the construction of entry-level homes. Under this agreement, Andrews will provide infrastructure funding for development projects that meet the criteria established by the City Council. This initiative is hoped to attract more housing development, and is significant for future growth, as Eggleston points out, “The Economic Development Corporation did a housing study, and it was realized that we were losing a lot of potential residents because they don’t have a place to stay.” Infrastructure upgrades are a top priority in Andrews, and the city has budgeted $30 million over the next ten years for this agenda. One project will include the replacement of a pipeline connected to an aquifer that is seven miles away. “We have two pipelines, and we’re replacing one of them this fall because it’s 50 years old, has quite a few leaks, and it’s not big enough to meet the needs of our community,” Eggleston elaborates. “So, we’re replacing that in the fall with a seven-mile water line that is much larger. That will give us more capacity.” In addition, the city is drilling new wells to be ready to meet the needs of future growth and replacing all water and sewer lines over the next several decades. “That had been sort of neglected over the past several years, and we’re trying to get all of our infrastructure in a good state,” he acknowledges. On the traffic side, an outer loop around the community was recently constructed, redirecting large oil company trucks away from the city, while preserving the condition of local roads and providing