August council records point to Liberty Hill, not Gainesville

Public records supplied for an August City Council roundup show the appointment, Flock Safety, Unified Development Code and Butler Farms water-tank items were before Liberty Hill City Council, not Gainesville officials. For Gainesville and Cooke County readers, the distinction matters because the records do not support reporting those actions as Gainesville city business.

Liberty Hill’s agenda center lists the relevant council packets for Aug. 12 and Aug. 26, according to the city’s public records. Those packets contain the appointed-seat matter, council committee appointments, a Flock Safety presentation, proposed UDC changes and a water-storage project tied to Butler Farms.

At the Aug. 12 meeting, Liberty Hill council members had appointment items before them for the vacant Place 5 seat and for council members to serve on a Legislative Subcommittee, according to the packet. The same record says the Place 5 vacancy followed Councilmember Ashley’s resignation after moving outside city limits, and that the person appointed would serve until May 1, 2027.

The Aug. 12 packet also included a roughly $1.2 million professional-services agreement with Freese and Nichols for engineering design of the Butler Farms elevated water storage tank. City staff placed the proposed tank north of SH 29 and west of Butler Farms Boulevard, with access expected from Butler Farms Boulevard and a transmission-main easement connecting to the existing water main there.

Liberty Hill staff said the tank would add elevated storage in the city’s upper pressure zone, reduce pump short-cycling, improve reliability and help serve continued development. The packet says Butler Farms began developing in 2021 and is expected at full buildout to include about 2,100 homes and a school site.

A Liberty Hill water update said pumping-facility issues had been identified in Butler Farms, upgrades were planned and the elevated-storage-tank design task order was headed to council. The same update said the Fire Department had revised its Butler Farms response plan to bring a water tender if low pressure occurred, and that Public Works had started random hydrant checks there.

On Aug. 26, Liberty Hill council members received a presentation on the city’s use of Flock Safety license plate-recognition cameras, according to that meeting packet. The presentation said the program was approved by council resolution in December 2024 and that the first city right-of-way installation began in April 2025. Liberty Hill’s presentation said the city uses seven cameras along routes including SH 29, RM 1869 and CR 279, and that ALPR data is shared with other law-enforcement agencies.

The Aug. 26 agenda also included two proposed UDC amendments. City records say the outdoor-lighting proposal would set a Jan. 1, 2030, compliance deadline for existing lighting, revise light-trespass language and add residential warning and cure periods before some enforcement actions. A fiscal-surety proposal would lengthen public-improvement warranties and increase warranty security unless the City Engineer approved a different amount.

Liberty Hill’s UDC rewrite page says the code combines local zoning, subdivision, site-development and signage rules into one document. City records say the rewrite began in 2025 and targets final council adoption in October 2026.

The growth pressure behind the Liberty Hill items is documented in federal data. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city at more than 13,000 residents in 2025, up from fewer than 4,000 in 2020. No verified fact supplied for this report shows Gainesville City Council handled the same August items.