The Hill County Commissioners Court discussed the hiring of a county fire marshal and other county business after wrapping up lengthy discussions about a data center moratorium Tuesday, May 12.
As the county sees increased interest from developers, commissioners discussed the need for increased monitoring of projects.
The issue was first brought up during data center discussions (see related story in this edition), but it came up again as the court reviewed a letter from a solar company with a local project.
The letter from BPL Files was to inform the county that the company is in compliance with the requirements of its tax abatement agreement dating back to 2019.
“I don’t like this,” said County Judge Shane Brassell. “This is either a solar project or a wind project, and they are sending us a letter saying we’re doing what we told you we were going to do, but we don’t have anybody checking on this.”
The judge said that he was not opposed to observing and recording receipt of the letter, but he believes the county needs to be investigating a company’s compliance instead of taking their word for it.
The court was not even sure which project the letter was referring to, with commissioners noting that the companies frequently change ownership and names.
The court tabled the agenda item to observe and record the letter, citing the need to do more research.
Commissioners intend to move forward with the hiring of a county fire marshal to assist with the situations.
Other notable action taken at the meeting was the award of a construction contract to Mathis Construction for water line construction in the Post Oak Special Utility District in Hubbard.
The work is funded through a grant the utility district received through Housing and Urban Development with the county’s support.
The court also adopted the county’s hazard mitigation plan, which identifies hazards in the county and how it plans to mitigate them.
The plan has received preliminary approval from FEMA and is expected to receive final approval after it is accepted by all cities in the county.
Adoption of a hazard mitigation plan is a prerequisite to receiving many federal grants, and the document must be revisited at a minimum of every five years.
The court also set a public hearing on implementing a 35 mile-per-hour speed limit on HCR 3369 in Precinct 3. The public can comment on the proposal during the Tuesday, June 9, meeting of the court, which begins at 8:30 a.m. in the Hill County courtroom of the courthouse.
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