Keller May Bill Insurers for Fire Calls

🚒 Keller Weighs Billing Insurers for Fire Calls

💧 Why Westlake Wants a Second Water Tower

🍝 Local Table: A Pasta Room Is Coming to Oak Street in Roanoke

📅 Plus: 20+ Local Events, Weather & More

🚒 Keller Weighs Billing Insurers for Fire Calls

Keller already uses an outside company to bill for ambulance runs. On Tuesday, Nov. 3, the City Council will consider expanding that contract so the city can also seek insurance reimbursement when firefighters respond to car wrecks, fires, gas leaks and hazardous materials calls.

Under the proposal, EmergiFire, working through Keller's existing ambulance billing contract, would identify eligible calls and file the insurance claims. Uninsured people would not be billed, and denied claims would not be pursued for further collection, according to the fire chief's staff report. The company would also take over billing for fees the fire department already charges, such as permits, inspections and false alarms.

The incident fees themselves have never been adopted by the council before. Some examples from the proposed schedule:

Keller wouldn't pay anything upfront. EmergiFire would keep 15% of what it collects, plus 2% on credit card payments, and staff says actual revenue would depend on how many eligible calls come in and what insurance covers. The item is on the consent agenda, and staff recommends approval.

The same agenda includes a $249,200 contract to repaint the water tower at Main Street and Keller Parkway, its first new coat since 2001. An inspection this year found it structurally sound, and the work would start after the first of the year and take about six to eight weeks. The regular meeting starts at 7 PM at Keller Town Hall, 1100 Bear Creek Pkwy.

Review the Nov. 3 council agenda →

💧 Why Westlake Wants a Second Water Tower

If a pump fails or the main supply line has a problem, Westlake has about five hours of water at average use and just three hours at peak demand, according to Public Works Director Kyle Flanagan. In a detailed update posted Oct. 28, the town laid out why it wants a new elevated water tank.

Westlake gets its water from Fort Worth through a single primary connection and shares its only elevated tank, the Knox tank, with Keller. Westlake owns the tank's one million gallon inner bowl, and Keller owns the 1.5 million gallon bowl around it. The tank hasn't been taken out of service for maintenance in more than 25 years, and in September, when a fire at the pump station caused a power outage, Westlake had to call on Keller for help to avoid a boil water notice.

The proposed tower would stand about 130 feet tall and hold 1.5 million gallons, on a hilltop owned by Hillwood near the Stagecoach Hills neighborhood. The town estimates the cost at $8 million to $10 million and says the tank would more than double the time crews have to fix a pump station problem. A second pump station and a second connection to Fort Worth are the next improvements on the list.

The site still has to clear zoning, either through an amendment to its existing planned development or a rezoning for government use. The town has met twice with residents, including Stagecoach Hills neighbors who asked about their private airstrip, and says it reviewed flight paths and consulted the Federal Aviation Administration. The town also says the tower has nothing to do with the proposed data center. If it's built, it will carry the town and Westlake Academy logos.

Read the town's full water tower update →

🔜 Coming Soon: Lusso by Vittorio Di Buglione | 400 S. Oak St., Ste. 100, Roanoke

A chef who started working in Italy at 12 to help support his family is opening his own restaurant on Oak Street. Lusso by Vittorio Di Buglione is moving into the former Catch 22 space near Roanoke City Hall, where renovations and licensing are underway, Community Impact reports.

Lusso is Italian for luxury, but Di Buglione says it won't be a luxury restaurant. The plan is traditional Italian cooking built on simple ingredients, many imported from Italy, with tableside touches and a pasta room in the middle of the dining room where guests can watch pasta made fresh every day.

Di Buglione went to culinary school and worked in Michelin-starred kitchens before moving to Texas, where he helped a lot of Italian restaurants open before deciding to open his own. Community Impact lists the opening as winter 2026; no date has been announced yet.

Read the full story from Community Impact →

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