Data Center Opposition Returns to Courthouse
Three Winchester residents brought their fight against a data center to the Fayette County Commissioners Court last Thursday.
Property owners Derek and Kayli Head, and Neta Parker, addressed the Court last Thursday and urged the County to take whatever steps they can to stop a proposed data center on FM 448 north of Winchester. All three of them also spoke at a community meeting in Winchester last week, where approximately 80 people attended.
The company La Grange-Winchester LLC has leased with an option to buy more than 400 acres on FM 448 north of Winchester. According to state business filings, La Grange-Winchester LLC appears to be a subsidiary of the Austin-based development firm PlaceMKR.
“Pass a straightforward county policy saying Fayette County will not grant tax incentives or abatements to data centers,” told the Commissioners at their meeting last Thursday. “Let the developers know right away you won’t get a single dime of local taxpayer support to build here.
“Hold their feet to the fire on drainage,” he added. “When you pave our hundreds of acres with concrete pads, metal roofs, and giant substations, rain has nowhere to soak in. That runoff has to go somewhere, and right now it’s headed straight for our pastures, neighboring pastures, and creeks. Use every ounce of the county’s platting and drainage authority to require independent stormwater before they are able to develop that property.”
Head also raised concerns about the ability of the local fire department to respond to an industrial disaster at the site.
“Our local volunteer fire department runs on 12 volunteers with some funding from the county and support from picnics and barbecue sales,” Head said. “They aren’t equipped for or funded to fight an industrial disaster. Require the developer to pay for an independent emergency response study so we know exactly what risk is being put on our local departments.”
Head’s wife, Kayli, said neighbors to the property have questions that deserve to be answered. “We need real answers about water, noise, lighting, drainage, and power,” she said. “We need to know who will be responsible if the promises made today don’t hold up tomorrow.”
Parker, wife of former Justice of the Peace Scott Parker, spoke to the Court about public service. She relayed a story from his time in office when a constituent spoke to her about a concern.
“The person who came to me to voice a concern was a little less than gracious,” she said. “And when I got home, I relayed to Scott what happened, followed by, ‘Who do they think they are? They’re not my boss.’ And I’ll never forget what he said to me that day. It was very early on in his tenure. He tapped his finger on our kitchen encounter, and he said, ‘I’m gonna stop you right there. As long as I’m Justice of the Peace, they’re my boss. And as long as I’m Justice of the Peace, they’re your boss too, Neta. Don’t forget that.’” Derek Head invited members of the Court to attend another community meeting scheduled for Monday, Nov. 2, at St. Michael’s Park in Winchester. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. At the first community meeting last Monday in Winchester, organizers and attendees had more questions than answers. One topic of discussion was whether there are any plans to expand FM 448, possibly to four lanes, to accommodate new traffic associated with the data center. The Record contacted Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT0 last week to inquire about any expansion project slated for FM 448. TxDOT’s Yoakum District maintains the section of FM 448 from Winchester to approximately 3.5 miles to the north. Staff at the Yoakum TxDOT Office said they have no plans to expand FM 448 in that area. Nor have they received any driveway permit requests. The Record has since reached out to Tx-DOT’s Austin District, which maintains the rest of the highway towards Giddings. We await their response.
Also at last Monday’s meeting, some attendees raised questions about where the data center would get power. The Lower Colorado River Authority operates a substation and a natural gas “peaker” plant in close proximity to the property. The Record contacted LCRA last week to ask about any role they may have in the project.
“LCRA is a wholesale power provider in the ERCOT market that sells power to cities and electric cooperatives,” said LCRA spokesperson Clara Tuma. “LCRA does not have an agreement to sell power to PlaceMKR.”