Agenda
We think we found an agenda here: https://public.destinyhosted.com/wilcodocs/2026/COM/20260820_1998/AGENDApacket_08-20-26_0226_1986.pdf
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1. Discuss, consider, and take appropriate action on a Chapter 381 Economic Development Agreement between Williamson County, Texas, Blue Origin Manufacturing, LLC, Velocis Hutto Innovation Phase I, LP, and Velocis Hutto Innovation JV, LP pursuant to Article III, Section 52-a of the Texas Constitution, and Chapter 381 of the Texas Local Government Code, relating to the construction and operation of approximately one million square foot of industrial research space in Hutto, Texas for research, development, inspection, testing, and manufacturing related to the aerospace and defense industry.
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EXECUTIVE SESSION "The Commissioners Court for Williamson County reserves the right to adjourn into executive session at any time during the course of this meeting to discuss any of the matters listed above, as authorized by Texas Government Code Sections 551.071 (Consultations with Attorney), 551.072 (Deliberations regarding Real Property), 551.073 (Deliberations regarding Gifts and Donations), 551.074 (Personnel Matters), 551.076 (Deliberations regarding Security Devices) and 551.087 (Deliberations regarding Economic Development Negotiations)."
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4. Comments from Commissioners.
Transcript
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TODAY, WE THANK YOU FOR THE PRIVILEGE THAT IT IS TO SERVE IN THIS GREAT NATION AND, UM, IN THIS STATE AND IN THIS COUNTY. UM, WE PRAY THAT YOU WOULD, UH, GIVE US WISDOM, UM, AS WE MAKE DECISIONS, UH, THAT IMPACT, UH, THIS COUNTY. AND FATHER, WE JUST ASK THAT YOU WOULD ALWAYS BE WITH OUR COUNTY EMPLOYEES AS THEY GO ABOUT THEIR WORK SERVING THE CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTY. IN JESUS NAME, AMEN. AMEN. PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE. FOR ALL HONOR, HONOR THE TEXAS FLAG. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO BE TEXAS, ONE STATE UNDER ONE INVIS. ALL RIGHT, GOOD MORNING. IT IS, LET'S SEE, OFFICIAL TIME, 8 31. 8 31. AND I OFFICIALLY CALLED THIS MEETING THIS SPECIAL CALLED MEETING AT THE WILLIAMSON COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S COURT TO ORDER. UM, NOTE THAT WE DO HAVE A QUORUM WITH ONE MEMBER MISSING. UM, WE WILL START. WERE THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS, ANDY? ANYONE SIGN UP? NO. OKAY. NO PUBLIC COMMENTS. SO WE WILL GO TO THE REGULAR AGENDA, UM, DISCUSS, CONSIDER, AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION ON A CHAPTER 3 81 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TEXAS BLUE ORIGIN MANUFACTURING, LLC VELOC HU INNOVATION, PHASE ONE, LP AND VELOC HU INNOVATION JV LP PURSUANT TO ARTICLE THREE, SECTION 52 A OF THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION IN CHAPTER 3 81 OF THE TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE RELATING TO THE CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF APPROXIMATELY 1 MILLION SQUARE FOOT OF INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH SPACE IN HURO, TEXAS FOR RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT, INSPECTION, TESTING, AND MANUFACTURING RELATED TO AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE INDUSTRY. WE WILL GO TO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS AT 8 32. DISCUSSION THREE. YES. SO WE WILL DISCUSS. SO WE WILL DISCUSS UNDER ITEMS TWO AND THREE, UH, TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE 5 5 1 0 7, 1 MATTERS RELATED TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. AND THREE, DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEGOTIATIONS PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE 5 5 1 0.087. TIME IS 8 33. WELCOME, COMMISSIONER. ALL RIGHT, THE TIME IS NINE 18 AND WE HAVE, UM, RETURNED FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION. WE WILL TAKE UP ITEM NUMBER ONE. IS THERE A MOTION JUDGE? I MOVE TO APPROVE ITEM NUMBER ONE, THE, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT WITH, UH, BLUE ORIGIN MANUFACTURING. ALL RIGHT. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND. I'LL SECOND IT. ALL RIGHT. SO, UM, OBVIOUSLY THIS IS A VERY EXCITING TIME FOR THE COUNTY, UM, AS WE RAMP UP AND CONTINUE TO RECRUIT, UM, AEROSPACE COMPANIES OR ATTEMPT TO RECRUIT AEROSPACE COMPANIES TO, UM, WILLIAMSON COUNTY. UM, THE 3 81, UH, AGREEMENT THAT'S ON THE TABLE FOR THE COURT TO CONSIDER IS, UH, PART, UH, OF THE COMPANY'S EFFORT TO BRING A $674 MILLION INVESTMENT TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY. THAT'S ONE OF THE LARGEST, UM, ECONOMIC INVESTMENT IN OUR COUNTY EVER. UM, AND IT IS AN AMERICAN COMPANY WITH AMERICAN JOBS. IT'S VERY, VERY EXCITING. UM, I KNOW THERE'S, THEY'RE, THEY'RE LOOKING AT RAMP, AT RAMP UP HAVING, UH, AS MANY AS 2000 EMPLOYEES, UM, COME TO THE GREATER HU AREA AND, AND WORK FOR THIS COMPANY. SO, UM, LOTS OF THINGS GOING, BUT JUST EXCITEMENT. CONTINUED SUPPORT OF THE MILITARY AND AEROSPACE ECOSYSTEM WE HAVE IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY. UM, AND, AND VERY EXCITED FOR THE COURT TO CONSIDER THIS. AND I THINK THERE'S SOME OTHER, UH, INCENTIVES, UM, IN, UH, OR EXPECTATIONS IN REGARD TO INTERNSHIPS. WE'LL LET COMMISSIONER BOWLES SPEAK TO THAT. SO, SO, JUDGE, YES. FIRST OF ALL, THE, YOU KNOW, THE 2000 JOBS TO BE, UH, FULFILLED WITHIN 10 YEARS, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, THIS WILL MAKE THEM THE LARGEST EMPLOYER IN THE CITY OF HUTTO. UH, RAPIDLY GROWING CITY OF NEARLY 50,000 PEOPLE. UH, BRIGHT FUTURE. AND, UH, ADDITIONALLY IN HERE IS, UH, PAID INTERNSHIPS FOR OUR HIGH SCHOOL KIDS. SUMMER INTERNSHIPS, UH, 15 COUNTYWIDE FOR, UM, OUR STUDENTS ACROSS
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THE COUNTY. I THINK THAT'S A, UH, I MEAN, THAT IS INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE. UM, I THINK THAT'S, YOU KNOW, KEY FOR, UH, I THINK FOR THE COURT TO, TO SUPPORT. UH, BUT THERE'S SOME OTHER THINGS IN HERE TOO THAT WILL HAVE BLUE ORIGIN WORKING WITH HU DO ISD REGARDING THEIR CTE PROGRAM. UH, WORKING WITH HU DO ISD AS FAR AS LEADERSHIPS, UM, SUPPORTING THE TEACHERS, SUPPORTING THE SCHOOL, UH, THINGS THAT WE'VE HEARD FROM BLUE ORIGIN, THEY'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO LEANING INTO. SO I THINK IT IS, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY IS IT A GOOD INVESTMENT, GOOD JOBS, BUT THEY'RE LOOKING TO BE GOOD, UH, COMMUNITY MEMBERS AS WELL. THAT'S RIGHT. VERY GOOD COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND, AND GREAT POINTS, COMMISSIONER BOWLES. AND, UM, THEY'RE HIGH PAYING, HIGH SKILLED JOBS. I THINK THE AVERAGE JOB IS EXPECTED TO BE AROUND $88,000 MM-HMM . UM, BUT, BUT JUST THE AMOUNT OF STEM EDUCATION, I THINK IT'S GONNA RAISE THE BAR, UM, FOR ALL THE SURROUNDING SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND HIGHER ED. I THINK THIS IS A WIN FOR THE COMMUNITY, UM, AS WE RAMP UP OUR HIGHER ED OPPORTUNITIES AND, AND, AND CONTINUE TO GROW AS A, AS A COMMUNITY. SO, SO, UM, I APPRECIATE Y'ALLS WORK ON THIS. UM, COMMISSIONER IN THE PAST WHEN WE'VE HAD BIG OPERATIONS, YOU KNOW, DROP IN, WE'VE HAD SOME ROAD ISSUES. CAN YOU SPEAK TO WHAT MAY BE SOME NEEDS OVER THERE OR PERHAPS ALL THE WORK THAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING HAS WILL SUFFICE? SURE. UM, AS ANTICIPATED, IF, YOU KNOW, THE, THE SITE THAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT IS, WE'LL, WE'LL ALMOST CALL IT AN INFILL SITE. UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S GONNA BE ANY NEW ROADS OR INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIRED BY THE COUNTY OR PERHAPS THE CITY AS WELL. UM, THEY HAVE GOOD FRONTAGE ON 79, UH, HAVE GOOD ACCESS. UH, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY'RE MOVING IN A SPACE WITH SOME EXISTING FACILITIES, BUT THEY ALSO ANTICIPATE THEM BUILDING SOME NEW FACILITIES. SO I THINK ALL THE INFRASTRUCTURE'S THERE, I THINK THE ROADS TO, UM, TO SERVICE THAT ARE THERE AS WELL. SO I, I, I, I SEE IT BEING AS A, A, YOU KNOW, A GREAT LOCATION, UM, PROVIDING A LOT OF, UH, ECONOMIC ACTIVITY, UH, INSIDE JUTO. AND SPEAKING OF JUDO, NORMALLY WE, WE, UH, UH, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT INCENTIVES, WE LOOK TO SEE WHAT THE CITIES HAVE DONE AND, UM, AND FOLLOWED THEIR LEAD AND NOT, NOT GET AHEAD OF THEM. 'CAUSE TYPICALLY THESE, UH, INCENTIVE COMPANIES, INCENTIVIZED COMPANIES ARE IN CITIES. SO, CAN YOU SPEAK TO WHAT HUDU HAS DONE, PLEASE? SURE. UH, GREAT LEADERSHIP OUTTA HUDU. UM, THE CITY HAS SHOWN GREAT LEADERSHIP, UH, OUR, OUR INCENTIVES, UH, AS FAR AS MONETARILY, UH, FOLLOW THE CITIES AS WELL. UM, THE HUDU, EDC HAS ALSO STEPPED UP THAT THEY HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL MONEY FOR JOB RECRUITMENT TO GO IN THERE AS WELL. UH, GREAT LEADERSHIP, YOU KNOW, TOP TO BOTTOM FROM THE CITY OF HUDU. APPRECIATE ALL THEIR EFFORT, APPRECIATE CHENEY'S EFFORTS FOR SURE. UH, SO, BUT AS FAR AS OUR AGREEMENT ON TAXES, UH, IT MIRRORS THE CITIES. YEAH, I, I REALLY LOVE THAT IT'S AN AMERICAN COMPANY. YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT A LOT WITH, UH, OUR EFFORTS O UM, ABROAD, BUT I, I REALLY LOVE THAT IT'S, IT'S AN AMERICAN COMPANY AS WELL, OF COURSE, THE JOBS, BUT ALSO THE INTERNSHIPS. UM, I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE PUT INTO, UH, AS A REQUIREMENT FOR INCENTIVIZING, UH, A WHILE BACK. AND I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT IT'S COUNTYWIDE, WHICH WILL HELP. AND, YOU KNOW, UH, IN CONVERSATIONS WITH ALL OF OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS, I THINK WE'VE, WE'VE, UH, TRIED TO EMPHASIZE MAKING SURE THAT THEY HAVE OPPORTUNITIES, UH, AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL, BUT ALSO AT, UH, AT OUR, UM, COLLEGE LEVEL TO HELP TRAIN FOLKS TO ACQUIRE THESE JOBS FOR OUR PEOPLE THAT ARE ALREADY HERE. NOT HAVING TO BRING IN EVERYBODY FROM OTHER AREAS, UH, ALTHOUGH I'M SURE THAT THAT WILL HAPPEN. IT'LL BE A REGIONAL DRAW. WELL, YOU KNOW, IN ADDITIONALLY IN HUDA, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TSTC AND TEMPLE COLLEGE, BOTH ARE INVESTING HEAVILY INTO THE COMMUNITY, INTO NEW FACILITIES AND EXPANDED PROGRAMS. RIGHT. UH, TSTC IN PARTICULAR, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE SUCH A, A LARGE ORGANIZATION WITH LOTS OF RESOURCES. I COULD SEE, YOU KNOW, I COULD SEE A GREAT PARTNERSHIP THERE. YEAH, ME TOO. AND I, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M PROUD THAT THIS COMPANY RECOGNIZES THEIR, UM, OR HAS A COMMITMENT TO THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE AREA. AND IT'S NOT JUST THE INTERNSHIPS, RIGHT? THEY'RE POURING INTO TEACHERS, STAFF, CT FACILITIES AS MENTIONED EARLIER. UM, WELL, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WANT THEM TO COME OBVIOUSLY, AND WE KNOW THEY'RE GONNA BE A GREAT PARTNER FOR THE CITY OF HATO AND THE ENTIRE REGION, YOU KNOW, THROUGH, YOU KNOW, WITH SAMSUNG, WE'VE SEEN, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE BEEN A AMAZING COMMUNITY PARTNER INSIDE OF TAYLOR, AND THEY'VE INVESTED INTO THAT SCHOOL DISTRICT, UM, UH, TREMENDOUSLY. AND, AND, AND WE'RE SEEING THE RESULTS. YOU KNOW, THE, THE KIDS THERE, THE, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, THE SCHOOL
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DISTRICT, UH, HAD A ABSOLUTELY GREAT, UH, SCORING, UH, LAST WEEK THEY, THEY CAME IN AT A B, WHICH IS, UH, WHICH IS TREMENDOUS. UH, THEY'RE STILL WORKING TO GET UP HIGHER, BUT THAT'S STILL A TREMENDOUS SCORE. AND, BUT WE ALSO SEE THAT SAMSUNG IS HIRING THOSE INTERNS AND THEY'RE HIRING PEOPLE FROM TAYLOR. AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT IS, IT'S BEEN A GREAT PARTNERSHIP. AND, AND TO THAT POINT, WE TALK ABOUT QUALITY OF LIFE IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY AND QUALITY OF LIFE FOR FAMILIES START WITH QUALITY JOBS. AND HERE ARE 2000 QUALITY JOBS, UM, COMING TO THE FUTURE OF, OF HUDA POTENTIALLY. AND SO, JUDGE, GENERALLY THE PROCESS IS WE'LL VOTE ON THIS TODAY. IF IT'S APPROVED, UM, UH, THE COMPANY WILL START WORKING WITH THE STATE, UM, TO, TO, TO GET ANY TYPE OF APPROVALS THAT THEY'D LIKE TO GET FROM THE STATE. UH, BUT IF THAT GOES, UM, FORWARD AS WELL, I MEAN, I, I, I COULD SEE SOME JOBS BEING CREATED BY THE END OF THE YEAR. ALRIGHT, SO IF THERE'S NO MORE QUESTIONS, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR. MOTION CARRIES FIVE ZERO. AND FROM HERE WE'LL MOVE ON TO COMMENTS FROM COMMISSIONERS. I, I JUST WANNA THANK, UH, THE TEAM IN HU AND I WANNA THANK BLUE ORIGIN'S TEAM. I WANNA THANK SUMMER. UH, SHE'S BEEN TREMENDOUS TO WORK WITH, WITH BLUE ORIGIN. UM, I WANNA THANK THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE EDC. THEY'VE BOTH PUT IN A LOT OF WORK AND HAVE GONE THROUGH, UM, MANY SCENARIOS. UH, IT LOOKS, AND, AND, AND I ALSO WANT TO THANK THE PROPERTY OWNER. THE PROPERTY OWNER, UM, HAS PUT A LOT OF SKIN IN THE GAME AS WELL. IT HAS REALLY BEEN A TEAM EFFORT, UH, TOP TO BOTTOM AND I APPRECIATE, UH, EVERYTHING THAT HUDU HAS DONE TO, TO WORK TO BRING THEM HERE. RIGHT. I SHARE THOSE COMMENTS WITH, UM, THANKS AND GRATITUDE TO THE CITY OF, OF HURO, THE MAYOR, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CHENEY. BUT I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THROW DAVE PORTER INTO THE MIX TOO. SO, SO HE'S BEEN ALONGSIDE EVERYBODY DURING THIS ENTIRE PROCESS. GREAT JOB. ALRIGHT, WELL WITH THAT, WE ARE ADJOURNED AT 9 28. THANK YOU. .