The Hill County Commissioners Court heard from Abbott residents concerned about a proposed data center during a regular meeting Tuesday, September 9.
Texas has seen a rapid increase in data centers, which are large facilities that house computer servers and equipment.
John Gerik, John Blaha and Denton Tucker each approached the podium during open forum to ask the county for help.
Gerik told commissioners that a real estate broker is in serious negotiations with three landowners near his property, and a data center could be built in the middle of a community of homes. “It would surround my 7-acre property on three sides and cut our community in half,” he said.
Gerik said that the proposal covers over 500 acres, and he expressed concerns about noise, lack of water supply in the area and impacts to property values, among other issues.” Those of us who are not paid millions are left with a community divided and destroyed,” he said.
He said that he discussed the issue with neighbors, attorneys and county officials and has been told there is nothing that can be done to stop such a project, as it is outside the city limits of Abbott and not subject to zoning restrictions.
“Please let these developers and investors know that we will not welcome them to Hill County to destroy our property and our way of life in the name of progress and profit,” he said. “If we let our county become one big industrial park, no one will want to live here.”
Blaha said that he had also been approached by Frasier Cole of Dallas to sell his land and he refused. “In my own little way, I stopped them,” he said, adding that he is aware of two other landowners who also turned down “staggering amounts of money.”
“In the past we were told with solar projects and wind projects that they are coming whether we like it or not and there’s nothing we can do,” said Blaha. “I know that’s not true. You can always do something.”
Tucker said that he and his family have lived east of Abbott since 2018 and dreamed of raising a family in a peaceful, country setting. “The possibility of a large, industrial data center has been a complete shock,” he said. “This would have nothing but negative effects on all of us, whether you’re talking about property values, quality of life, health, everything.”
Moving on to the regular agenda, County Judge Shane Brassell read a proclamation declaring September 17-23 Constitution Week in Hill County. The Daughters of the American Revolution encourage the public to study the U.S. Constitution during the annual observance.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service District 8 Administrator Jay Kingston was in attendance to introduce Hill County’s new Family and Community Health Extension Agent Lindsey Breunig-Rodriguez. The new agent was set to begin working with the Hill County office September 15.
The court approved sheriff and constable fees, which must be reported to the state comptroller by October 1. There was a slight increase in fees to address rising costs.
Commissioners also approved the payroll dates, holiday schedule and court dates for fiscal year 2026.
The court’s next regularly scheduled meeting will be Tuesday, September 23, at 8:30 a.m. in the Hill County Courtroom of the courthouse.
