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Jim Wallingsford drove his white Chevy truck one morning last month down North Walnut Street in Lacy Lakeview, dodging potholes on his way to inspect a repair project on a sewer lift station.

As public works director for this Waco suburb of 8,000 residents, Wallingsford is always triaging the city’s needs: Cracked and cratered streets, aging pipes and pump stations and the old water tower, which needs a $1 million facelift.

The Connally Lift Station under repair on April 16. The lift station pumps sewage from deeper underground to a higher elevation. “You know the shape that our streets are in, our water and sewer mains are in the same shape. We replace when we can and repair when we have to,” Wallingsford said. Credit: Justin Hamel / The Waco Bridge / CatchLight Local / Report for America

“I want to be a good steward of the City of Lacy Lakeview with the money I’m given to spend,” he said. “So I give everything a weighted scale and I base it off of the likelihood and consequences of failure.”

Out of two water towers in Lacy Lakeview, this one needs significant repairs, including a new catwalk and paint. In the meantime Wallingsford said “I wouldn’t send anyone up there.” Credit: Justin Hamel / The Waco Bridge / CatchLight Local / Report for America

Lacy Lakeview, population 8,000, is typical of many small Texas towns that lack the resources to keep up with streets and pipes that are wearing out. Most of that infrastructure in Lacy Lakeview was installed more than 50 years ago. And the longer maintenance is deferred, the faster it deteriorates.

Water from the City of Waco is pumped into the storage tank on the right, before being pressurized with compressed air from the smaller tank, and pumped into the Lacy Lakeview’s water system. Credit: Justin Hamel / The Waco Bridge / CatchLight Local / Report for America

Mayor Chuck Wilson has pointed to the city’s maintenance backlog to justify the pursuit of a data center. He wants to partner with Infrakey to develop and annex a proposed $10 billion data center north of town near Ross. 

That development represents tax base that would increase Lacy Lakeview’s tax base enough to increase city tax revenues from $6.5 million to $50 million a year. But the project has drawn a backlash from neighbors of the Infrakey site, as well as from some Lacy Lakeview residents, who just elected data center opponent Amy Gage to the City Council.

Cars often crash into raised manhole covers along Route 77 in Lacy Lakeview. The city would replace or relocate the manholes with additional tax revenue from the proposed Infrakey data center. Credit: Justin Hamel / The Waco Bridge / CatchLight Local / Report for America

As Wallingsford sees it, the city needs new development, or the existing taxpayer and utility ratepayers will be on the hook for improvements. 

“Everything that we purchase is going up, literally,” he said. “The only other solution is that we have to have a rate increase just to be able to keep up.”

Wallingsford said a dump truck will be the first pieces of equipment replaced once more funding is secured. “We’re going to have to get at least one dump truck,” Wallingsford said. “ I’d like to get two in this next year’s budget because, you know, these dump trucks are 25 years old.” The current maintenance outweighs the cost of the current fleet. Credit: Justin Hamel / The Waco Bridge / CatchLight Local / Report for America

Wallingsford stopped his truck at the Meyers water pump station, which was under repair after it was observed to be leaking. 

“The consequence of them failing is pretty high but their issues aren’t critical and they continue to operate,” he said. “The city only needs one pump to operate and we have three, so there’s a backup.

The Meyers Pump Station in Lacy Lakeview is outdated and in need of upgrade as of April 16. The pumps leak, even when they aren’t running. Credit: Justin Hamel / The Waco Bridge / CatchLight Local / Report for America

“At the end of the day when something fails, we go back and work off of the plan.”

Wallingsford, a former city of Waco staffer, said utility infrastructure like this typically has a 50-year lifespan, and the ideal practice in public works is to set aside 2% of the system’s cost each year for replacement.

“I haven’t worked for a city that’s ever done that,” he said.

Even more visible is the wear and tear on Lacy Lakeview’s 30 miles of city streets. Asked which ones need to be repaved, he didn’t hesitate.

“All of them,” he said. “They all need to be done. I’d say we have about 15 critical streets” that need to be repaved.

South Barbara Street is the first street on the list to be repaired in Lacy Lakeview in 2026. The city currently has a 30-mile backlog of streets that need significant work. Credit: Justin Hamel / The Waco Bridge / CatchLight Local / Report for America
A view down Avenue B at its intersection with South Barbara Street shows the contrast of before and after. Avenue B was rehabilitated last year using the city’s “zipper” recycling machine, while South Barbara Street, seen at center, awaits its fix. Credit: Justin Hamel / The Waco Bridge / CatchLight Local / Report for America

The city is now repairing and reconstructing streets using a $9.5 million bond issue that voters approved in 2024. To save money, the city is using its own workers and equipment to grind up and recycle pavement, which is then compacted and resealed.

Among the most critical projects is Walnut Street, which is being reconstructed along with replacement of water, sewer, fiber optic and gas utilities under the street. That project is to be completed in February 2027.

Wallingsford explained: “That is what our guys do probably eight months out of the year. They use this zipper machine here to eat up the old asphalt. Then we compact it with a rolling machine over there, and then we come back and chip seal the existing roads. It’s a cheaper way of getting the potholes out of the roads and giving the citizens a smoother surface to drive on.” The equipment was purchased in a bond election to save the city money by paying outside contractors to repave the city’s streets. Previously the maintenance department was only able to fill potholes. Credit: Justin Hamel / The Waco Bridge / CatchLight Local / Report for America

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