Tomahawk Truck Stop developers still plan to move forward with a new travel plaza at the northwest corner of 120th Avenue and Interstate 76, according to a spokesman.
No one from Sun Development in The Woodlands, Texas, came to a May 17 city meeting to talk about annexing the land at 12080 Sable Boulevard to Brighton. At the time, city officials said the truck stop could be shut down if the developer did not meet pre-annexation deadlines and act “in good faith.”
The truck stop currently is open for business, even though it has an expired land use permit with Adams County for an open “sewer lagoon” on the property. Calls to Sun Development have not been returned.
But developer representatives just missed the May 17 meeting because of a “miscommunication,” Bill Garcia, a developer representative and attorney, told city council members recently. He apologized on behalf of Sun Development.
Sun is developing about 20 travel plazas around the United States, and Tomahawk is planned to be one of them, Garcia said.
“This is an applicant who has a number of travel plazas around the western United States,” he said.
Since Tomahawk truck stop sits at the southern gateway to the city, council members are anxious to see something wonderful happen there, said Mayor Dick McLean.
“We’re looking forward to the progress in the future,” McLean said.
Councilman J.W. Edwards said he appreciated the “extra effort” that Sun Development went through to send Garcia to the recent meeting.
Under the current time frame, a public hearing for the annexation would happen July 19, a zoning requirement would happen Oct. 4 and the developer would submit site plans to the city on Nov. 3.
The annexation agreement process is being rescheduled. Annexation would include a plan to connect the site to water and sewer pipes, since the “sewer lagoon” is not in compliance with Adams County and state regulations, officials have said.
Sun Development purchased the property through its subsidiary Petroleum Wholesalers for $1.4 million in December 2014 from Silco Oil Co. in Denver. Sun Development officials signed a redevelopment agreement with the Brighton Urban Renewal Authority in December 2015.