What happened: The Midland City Council met Tuesday, June 23, and approved a $1.2 million street-paving contract for a portion of Mockingbird Lane, backed the city’s bid for new federal Opportunity Zones, and heard a staff presentation laying out $141 million in water and wastewater spending over the past five years.

Key points:

  • Citywide utility update: City staff told the council the utility department has spent roughly $141 million over the past five years to maintain and expand Midland’s water and wastewater system, with the funding coming from utility user fees. This included over 68 miles of water main and over 43 miles of wastewater main for both city and private development.

Staff said about $87 million of that went toward building capacity for 10,000 additional connections as the city grows to the northeast and west. The city’s current water and sewer budget for fiscal year 2025-26 is $98.4 million.

Staff also described a satellite-based leak-detection program that found and repaired 41 underground leaks in the past two and a half years and a manhole-rehabilitation program that lined 247 aging structures rather than replacing them. They said they have installed an additional 64 water-monitoring sensors throughout the system and have reviewed utility billing and meter-reading procedures to identify inefficiencies.

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  • Mockingbird Lane paving: Council voted unanimously to approve a $1.2 million contract to extend Mockingbird Lane between Fairgrounds Road and Purtis Creek Drive. Council pulled the item from the previous meeting after a discussion about pressing the adjacent developer to pay a larger share of the project’s cost. Staff said the city limited the developer’s building permits until required infrastructure is built.
  • Opportunity Zones 2.0: Council unanimously approved the city’s request to ask Gov. Greg Abbott to nominate eligible Midland census tracts for the federal Opportunity Zone 2.0 program. The program offers tax incentives to spur private investment in economically distressed areas.

The city said the Midland Development Corporation will file the application, and that any designation would take effect Jan. 1, 2027. The city said it is also seeking a resolution of support from Midland County.

  • Community-development grants: In the second of two required public hearings, staff told the council that about $1.3 million in federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding is available this cycle, compared with roughly $2.4 million in requests. Twelve outside organizations and eight city projects are seeking funds.

Council did not take a vote but will decide on allocations at its Aug. 11 meeting before submitting the city’s final plan by Aug. 15. Federal rules require that at least 70% of the money benefit low- and moderate-income residents.

  • Right-of-way vacation: Council voted unanimously to vacate a 0.5-acre portion of West Pennsylvania Avenue right-of-way at the request of an abutting property owner, in exchange for a $45,000 payment to the city and a retained utility easement. Staff said the strip is unpaved and that the same business operates on both sides of it.

The city attorney said that state law allows the city to reduce or waive fees in cases where a strip is too narrow to be independently developed or was originally acquired as right-of-way.

  • Midland College drilling: Council held a public hearing on a proposed oil and gas well permit for 20 wells near Midland College and the Midland Airpark. Councilman John Burkholder noted that the operator agreed to help cover road damage caused by drilling traffic.