Liberty County held its quarterly economic development summit on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at the Jack Hartel Building in Liberty, Texas. The meeting featured presentations from Entergy Texas, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and LJA Engineering, each addressing critical aspects of growth and infrastructure developments in the county. Liberty County Judge Jay Knight welcomed guest speakers from Entergy Texas, Texas Department of Transportation’s Beaumont District and LJA Engineering.
Entergy Texas expanding system to meet electrical demand
Jose Sanchez, director of Business and Economic Development for the western region of Entergy Texas, was the first speaker. Sanchez explained how the rapid growth in Liberty County and the Greater Houston area is placing increased demand on the electrical grid.
“Texas is one of the largest, in fact, we’re one of the fastest-growing states in the United States right now. A lot of focus is right here in our backyard (meaning Liberty County and the Greater Houston Area),” Sanchez said.
Sanchez explained that numerous industries are looking to locate in Texas, adding more pressure to the electrical infrastructure.
“The judge (County Judge Jay Knight) will probably get a taste of this, but the governor’s office, their phone rings nonstop. I mean, I talk to them pretty much every day with industries that are outside of Texas, outside of the United States that want to locate to Texas and are looking for incentive programs,” Sanchez said. “All these different industries are coming here now. We’re the energy capital of the world, medical capital of the world, oil capital of the world, and I’m probably leaving one out, but bio[medical] has really taken off as well.”
Sanchez outlined Entergy’s efforts to meet the region’s energy needs, stating, “We need a 40 percent growth just to keep up with the demand on the state. So we’re growing our system by 1,600 megawatts.”
At the end of Sanchez’s presentation, Cleveland City Manager Scott Swigert encouraged other cities to show support for Entergy Texas by submitting a letter of support to the Public Utilities Commission.
“Cleveland did a resolution of support for Entergy on its different applications. They’ve got four applications right now with the PUC trying to get support and financing support for [their] STEP Ahead program, and so we did a resolution of support for Cleveland and followed it with the PUC trying to give them some support,” said Swigert. “So if your city or your government entity has not done that at this point, I would recommend at least considering that with your council, the county as well, to do a resolution of support and file it with PUC so we can get these projects funded because they are definitely a need for our area.”
TxDOT planning major infrastructure projects in Liberty County
Martin Gonzales, Beaumont District Engineer for TxDOT, and Lisa Collins, a project manager for the district, provided updates on road and bridge projects throughout Liberty County. Collins highlighted several routine projects, such as seal coating and base repairs, along with significant infrastructure projects like the repair and eventual reroute of the Trinity River bridge on FM 787.
“The emergency repairs of the existing bridge are expected to be completed by early 2025,” Collins said.
She also provided updates on future projects, including the $32 million Dayton overpass project along US 90, which is part of TxDOT’s 2025 fiscal year budget, and a $160 million project to widen US 90, scheduled for 2029.
A public hearing on the US 90 widening project is expected to be announced for November.
LJA Engineering leading county through Master Drainage Plan
William Conlan of LJA Engineering spoke about Liberty County’s Master Drainage Plan, which has been in development since 2016 with strong support from County Judge Jay Knight. Funded through a Community Development Block Grant through the Texas General Land Office, the master drainage plan aims to prepare Liberty County for future growth by ensuring flood mitigation measures are in place before large-scale development occurs.
“Mitigation is anything you can do to fix something, but the planning study has to be on the front end so you understand where we are and where we’re going,” Conlan said. “One of the key focuses of this study is going to make sure that we understand on a county-wide level where the water goes and try to develop an even playing field so that we all do projects on the same level.”
He explained the data collection efforts currently underway, which include gathering existing data and GIS information, as well as reviewing problem areas identified by local officials. Conlan emphasized the importance of managing development to avoid negative impacts.
“We’re in a very unique time in Liberty County with the amount of growth that’s coming, the amount of development that’s going to be happening, and how do we manage that? How do we control that? How do we mitigate that?” he said.
Judge Knight also spoke about the significance of the plan, noting that it will allow Liberty County to require flood mitigation systems from developers and collect impact fees to fund future flood control projects. The Master Drainage Plan is expected to be completed by 2027.
For more information on the Master Drainage Plan, go online to www.libertycountyMDP.com.
Urban sprawl will ruin alot for the sake of “growth” and development. Wildlife and rural areas will suffer for all of this. Tell over seas companies to go to California and take herds of illegals there with them!