Grimes County court discusses tighter coordination with Navasota chamber, Greater Brazos Partnership on economic development

Grimes County Commissioners Court met May 20 to review coordination with the Navasota Grimes County Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Brazos Partnership on county economic development priorities for fiscal 2024–25, discussing steps to inventory county properties, improve the county economic development web presence, and advance infrastructure and workforce preparations needed to attract investment.

The discussion, led by Commissioner David Tullis, focused on what the court and chamber must do to meet obligations in the county’s economic development contract and which items on a previously produced 17-point list are achievable immediately, which require planning, and which are longer-term or “wish list” items. “It is my personal conviction that it’s in the long term best interest of the county to look at creating an in house economic development department coordinator,” Commissioner David Tullis said, urging the court to begin budget conversations on a dedicated county role.

Why it matters: Court members said a clearer county role, a public inventory of developable sites, and closer coordination with regional partners and utilities are necessary for Grimes County to compete for projects that require significant infrastructure, such as large manufacturing or high‑tech facilities. Several presenters tied those capacity gaps to specific near-term work: a property survey and listings, improved permitting information for prospective developers, and targeted outreach to TxDOT and…