The Lampasas County Commissioners Court agreed during Monday’s meeting to a resolution opposing the development of data centers and battery energy storage systems in the county.
The resolution passed by a 4-1 vote. County Judge Randy Hoyer was the sole member of the court to vote against the resolution.
Battery energy storage systems and data centers have been a hot topic in recent court meetings, with multiple residents citing concerns about the proliferation of data centers. Currently, no official plans have been issued for data centers in Lampasas County.
In February, commissioners learned of BESS developments in the county when Lometa-area couple Ted and Sharon Newsom alerted the court of the Thomas Cameron BESS facility on County Road 2275. According to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ GIS report released in April, five additional BESS facilities are planned for development here.
Before commissioners discussed the resolution opposing such developments, they listened to public comment from county resident Dean Tomme. Unlike other residents who had appeared at Commissioners Court meetings to speak against battery storage and data center developments, Tomme was more open.
“I’m not here to say I’m for or against, or that I would be in support of a data center or battery center next door to me,” he said. “As a county, I think we have an obligation as opposed to just opposing and leaving it alone. I would rather see us postpone something. Just that says no we don’t want it, and try to come together and come up with a plan to manage it.”
Precinct 1 Commissioner Bobby Carroll agreed with Tomme’s sentiments. The commissioner said he would like the county not to ever change, but he knows change is on the way no matter what.
“We are going to have to look at some things to help the county out with tax base and everything else,” Carroll said. “If it is going to be here, we need to make the best out of it as possible.”
Precinct 2 Commissioner Jamie Smart hinted the county should be more open when it comes to lucrative developments that could increase property tax revenues. He referred back to 2022, when the court denied a tax abatement for solar farm developer Green-Go.
Smart said the ranch land where the solar farm would have been developed brought $84,000 in tax revenue to the county over seven years. The solar farm would have generated well over 100 times that amount.
“We slapped $14 million down to keep the same $84,000,” Smart told his colleagues on the court. “The same people that came in and said ‘I don’t want my property values to be damaged,’ the very next month when the property values came out were in our courtroom complaining about how high the property values were.”
Hoyer reiterated the court does not have any regulatory authority from the state to tell a property owner what he or she can do with private property. The judge believes tax abatements are the best regulatory tool at the court’s disposal.
“Through abatements, what has happened to the Newsoms wouldn’t have happened,” the judge said.
Hoyer said an abatement would have given the county the ability to enforce a sound barrier wall, required vegetation to hide the shipping crate-sized batteries, and introduced a roaduse agreement and decommissioning bonds.
Also, Hoyer mentioned high-dollar facilities with large appraisal values could be big revenue boosts to the county, lessening the tax burden on residents.
“If we take a public stance to oppose these things, we are saying, or I should say I don’t want to hear anyone complain about paying property taxes,” the judge said. “Because here is an opportunity to reduce property taxes significantly, not just your county but your school [taxes].”
Precinct 4 Commissioner Mark Rainwater conceded a paper resolution carries little weight, but he understands the real concern from residents on data centers and BESS facilities. Rainwater said it is important for government officials to stand hand-in-hand with those they serve.
“I represent what my constituents want, not what a good business decision looks like,” the commissioner said. “That is where I stand. I think at the end of the day, that is what we are here for -- we are an extension of our constituents.”
After making his comments, Rainwater offered a motion to approve the resolution affirming the county’s stance against BESS facilities and data centers. Precinct 3 Commissioner Shad Hill seconded the motion, leading to the 4-1 vote.
OTHER ACTION
Along with approving the resolution, the court accepted an agreement with Goldsmith Solutions for information technology (IT) services.
The county previously had OK’d a temporary agreement with the Dallasbased company in February after the county’s IT Manager Jeff Kuhene took a leave of absence. He will not be returning, however.
The new agreement with Goldsmith Solutions runs until the end of September, when the 2025-2026 fiscal year concludes. Lampasas County will pay the IT service approximately $15,000 per month. The county will consider a new contract for the next fiscal year during the summer’s budgeting process.
Goldsmith Solutions also will help the county shift its email domain. Instead of county emails ending in “@co.lampasas. tx.us,” it will shift to “@lampasascounty.gov” for its emails.
Emails sent using the old domain will still find their recipient after the domain change, Goldsmith Solutions said.