|County Government
Hopkins County Commissioners Court on Monday approved a reinvestment zone for a business that plans to store lithium batteries on the property, reappointed the fire marshal and emergency management coordinator, and extended the disaster declaration for the City of Cumby.
Reinvestment Zone
With approval of the court, the business can apply for a tax abatement for Hopkins County Cartwheel BESS Project Reinvestment Zone Number 1, per the county’s guidelines and criteria under the property redevelopment and a tax abatement action as stipulated in Chapter 312 of Texas Tax Code The batteries stored there won’t be like car batteries, but more like computer or cellphone batteries; the intent is battery storage, not a solar farm, officials emphasized. They are to be sealed in shipping containers, which should not affect any ground water. The site will be located off of Arbala Road, next to HopCo, and shouldn't be visible from the road.
The developer has been in contact with county fire and emergency management officials, so there will be fire provisions in place onsite. Local entities will also be trained, so there will be no water used should a fire occur, officials reported.
“It sounds very dangerous to me,” said Barbara Darity. “ How will you let the public be aware and educate us?”
Precinct 1 Commissioner Mickey Barker noted that the developer has been in meetings with the county, where officials have asked and received answers to an extensive list of questions, including fire suppressant systems, so, he noted, having the lithium batteries in the shipping containers at the site “should be safe.”
Officials reported the batteries would not put off more chemicals than a house fire would, should a fire occur and there should not be any runoff See situation. The batteries are contained in the shipping units. Nik Gruzdowich, development manager for the project said part of the emergency management response is for the project to be monitored 24-hours a day, seven days a week from a control center in Houston. This would allow it to be shut down without anyone having to be on site. As for traffic, at no time will anyone be entering the battery storage containers.
One county resident during the public hearing held just prior to the court’s vote on the reinvestment zone asked how often the fire suppressant system at the facility would be inspected. Endsley noted that typical fire suppressant systems are required to be inspected annually and reported to city officialsHowever, in unincorporated areas, that information is not required to be reported to county officials.
When asked if Texas Commission on Environmental Quality would be involved in regulating the project, officials reported TCEQ would be involved as much as required. The project manager noted they would see what all requirements are and ensure they are met. That, Endsley noted, is typically between the business and TCEQ, however, and doesn’t involve the county.
The project manager assured that the company would be putting slabs down and anchoring them as an added safety precaution in the event of a tornado or other similar severe weather. Company officials too will be in talks with officials to establish covenants.
Hopkins County Commissioners Court on Monday, Jan. 22, approved a resolution in support of a reinvestment zone.
Hopkins County Commissioners Court agreed to extend by 30 days the emergency disaster declaration enacted by County Judge Robert Newsom on Wednesday, Jan. 17. The City of Cumby’s water system froze, shutting down all water to the city for 2 1/2 days. Equipment and personnel were called in and the necessary repairs made, with all leaks repaired. Bottled water was brought in for city residents during the water outage. Water was trucked in and made available through Winborn Milk truck, Benson Brothers wrecker service, and the City of Sulphur Springs, officials noted.
“The City Public Works division did an outstanding job. The previous supervisor who no longer worked there came in to help. A&M’s Public Works Task Force Division was contacted,” Endsley noted. “The mayor did a fantastic job.”
Endsley extended thanks to Assistant Emergency Management Coordinator Kristy Springfield, who remained out on site with him assisting throughout the process.
At one point when contacted for assistance, Texas Division of Emergency Management asked if the city could spare $57,000 toward improvements. TDEM came in, even after it was explained there was no way the City of Cumby could come up with that cost, that it simply did not have that much coming in to spare, that the city’s infrastructure had gotten in the state of disrepair because the City of Cumby did not have the financial resources necessary to spend on the upkeep, Endsley noted.
Other Business
In other business, the Commissioners Court reappointed Dana Sills to the Lakes Regional Community Center Board of Trustees. Sills had been contacted and agreed to continue serving if reappointed, officials pointed out.
The Commissioners Court made a matter of record the certification of completion for the Hopkins Energy Solar Project, often referred to as the Dike solar project. Judge Newsom noted the facility is producing electricity, and even as of last week during the snow and cooler weather was still able to complete the project.
The Commissioners Court once agin appointed Endsley as Hopkins County fire marshal, Emergency Management coordinator and Homeland Security director. According to state statutes, the person in the positions must be reappointed every two years. His bond was issued and he was reappointed last year. However, some of the timeline and paperwork had the two off, so he was reappointed Monday to the positions, so each would be in the same year, making the paperwork a bit easier to maintain.
A budget amendment moving a refund of just over $4,400 Precinct 4 received for a Holt CAT into the Precinct 4 machinery fund.
Also approved Monday was a contract to lease postage machines for the tax and sheriff’s offices from Quadient/ Jett Business Systems for $502.16 monthly. The postage machines on site have become obsolete and can't be updated. The contract is for 60 months.