Fair Oaks Ranch City Council is expected Thursday to approve a resolution authorizing construction of The Gateway Project, the expenditure of $224,840 on construction of a monument welcoming guests to the city.
The project, being funded by a grant from the city’s Municipal Development District (MDD), covers construction costs of $199,840 and $25,000 already spent on engineering and design costs.
An evaluation committee met and selected AAA Time Saver Services to construct the gateway monument, to be positioned just inside city limits at Fair Oaks Parkway and Leslie Pfeiffer Drive, about a quarter mile from the Interstate 10 West access road.
Council will vote Thursday to authorize AAA Time Savers as their contractor.
At its April 9 meeting, the MDD board of directors approved the city’s application for the $224,840 to fund the full project, at no further cost to the city or taxpayers.
“We formed a citizens’ committee together in late 2023 or early 2024, to help us with the conceptual design of that project and they put forth a really good concept,” said Scott Huizenga, Fair Oaks Ranch city manager.
“This will come as a grant completely from MDD sales tax dollars without any property tax dollars going to the project, which I think is a big win for the city,” he said.
The monument, with its ranch-style design, will feature a Fair Oaks Ranch sign suspended between two stone columns, an arched metal beam, decorative signage and lighting.
From the July 2019 formation of a city Branding Advisory Committee through Thursday’s vote, the price for the monument has escalated, from an initial expected cost of $80,000-$100,000, to $140,000 and eventually to the awarded bid price of $199,840, in addition to the $25,000 design cost.
That price tag has been a sticking point for some Fair Oaks residents. There has been objection during the “Citizens To Be Heard” portion of city council meetings, and mention of the cost during a recent Fair Oaks Ranch Candidates Forum.
Councilman Ruben Olvera in June of 2024 spoke against the project cost, saying he considered the $25,000 for design services and the projected cost of the entire project to be excessive.
“I like the idea; I’m in favor of the gateway. But for me, it’s the price tag,” Olvera said. “Not only with design, but then the eventual estimated cost, that concerns me.”
Olvera was a lone “no” vote when council first sought MDD funding for the design cost last year.
“I’ve gotten feedback (from residents) of either, ‘we don’t need this’ or ‘it’s too expensive,’” Olvera said. “When I saw the $25,000, I thought, ‘That’s a lot.’ For the style of what’s proposed, with masonry and some fencing, $25,000 to design that, to me, is a lot.”
Huizenga said the cost is a result of the city seeking a unique design, rather than adopting “cookie-cutter” signage.
“It’s a one-of-a-kind project. There really isn’t a baseline or a feature like this, as it was developed by the citizens committee,” Huizenga said. “There was no real template to go from, which is a good thing.
“We want to have as a unique identifying feature for the city, and that’s what’s proposed in our branding committee and, by extension, the citizens’ committee,” he added.
The contract determines a 120-day build once all paperwork is signed.
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