Commissioners Push Back on Closed-Door Talks for Three Way Road Data Center Amid Public Backlash
The Archer County Commissioners Court met Monday, April 27, with representatives of the proposed data center project on Three Way Road, known as Project Raptor, during its regular meeting.
A small group of residents attended to hear from project representatives. County Judge Randy Jackson asked whether the economic development discussion could be held in open session.
“Judge, the code prohibits us from having this in an open meeting,” County Attorney Jordyn Berend said, citing Sections 551.087 and 312.003 of the Texas Government Code.
Project Raptor representatives said they preferred to proceed in executive session.
Commissioner Pct. 4 Todd Herring expressed frustration with the lack of public information about the project and the impact it has had on local officials.
“Y’all need to understand our apprehension about this executive session crap,” Herring said. “We’re out here taking it on the chin for you. Y’all have not come out here and said anything. We have citizens that are all over Facebook accusing us of all kinds of things that we’re not even part of.”
Herring said following a town hall meeting held by State Representative James Frank on the matter, Frank was able to secure some information about the project including that Google is in the interested party.
“We had to learn that through his post on Facebook of all places,” Herring said. “Now if that’s not a load of crap, I don’t know what is. But I, for one, am sick and tired of taking it on the chin for something that I have no recollection of and apparently have no control over. I can’t make regulations. I can’t make laws. I can’t make moratoriums. I can’t even vote on it. But I have to take it on the chin for this. You know, if it doesn't go y’all’s way, y’all can pick it up and go to another county. I live here. I’m voted in office. I get my job by my constituents, who I represent, and I am proud to represent. But y’all are making it pretty damn hard for me to do that.”
He added that is why they will continue to see apprehension from the county commissioners on going into executive session.
“I know we have got to follow these codes and I hope everybody here understands that” Herring said. “I am willing to get a letter, a reprimand, from the Attorney General to vote against going into executive session to prove that I am on my people’s side. At the same time, I want economic development too if it is done right. If we can all be in the open and we can all stand up and work together on this thing. But y’all are making it pretty dang hard to do that.”
He added that is currently very difficult for him to walk down the street “without somebody throwing rocks at me.” Which he said is something that he has never had happen to him before.
“I had never been accused of taking money or anything like that,” The commissioner said. “I’ve got people that I have known since they were little kids now on Facebook accusing me of taking money. By George, I would like to see some of it because I could sure put it to use. But I haven’t and I won’t take any. I’ll go broke in my personal business before I even think about that.”
Herring’s two minute and forty seconds monologue was met with a large applause from those in attendance and some members of the Commissioner’s Court.
Jackson then asked for a motion to enter executive session. Commissioner Pct. 2 Darin Wolf confirmed with Berend that the discussion was required to be closed under state law.
Herring then asked if the county was at the point of negotiating a tax abatement yet. Doug Heinz with Project Raptor said that they were.
“There will be components that we would like to discuss pertaining to the tax abatement process, which is why we have requested executive session this morning,” Heinz said.
He said the company had prepared a frequently asked questions document for commissioners to share with constituents and plans to hold a public forum at a later date.
He added that in the future, members of Project Raptor would like to have a public facing open forum where they can answer questions from the community.
“At this time, it is still very early in the process,” Heinz said. “We would like to review the project. We last met in October of last year. So, we would like to show the updated project parameters and what the tax abatement request from our side would be.”
Wolf questioned why public forums could not occur before executive session discussions. Project representatives said multiple sites are still under consideration and that closed-door discussions are standard practice at this stage.
They also said no action was being requested from the court during the meeting and that a public relations representative would be available to address community questions, though not permanently based in Archer County.
Jackson then asked for a motion to enter executive session and after a few seconds Commissioner Pct. 1 Wade Scarbrough made the motion. A few seconds later, Jackson seconded the motion. The rest of the court hesitantly voted in favor of the motion stretched over the course of a few more seconds.
The commissioner’s adjourned into executive session at 10:48 a.m. and returned to regular session at 12:11 p.m. The commissioners took no action following executive session.
