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Nueces County residents press court on Beacon Point data center; commissioners go into executive session
Summary
Residents and advocates urged caution over water, power and transparency for the proposed Beacon Point data center; labor leaders said the project could bring construction jobs. The commissioners voted to move business and legal negotiations about the project into executive session for counsel-led review.
NUECES COUNTY, Texas ' Public comment at the County Commissioners Court meeting May 13 focused heavily on a proposed data center project known as Beacon Point, with residents urging the court to scrutinize the facility's projected water and power use and the economic incentives connected to the proposal.
At least four public speakers told the court they doubted the company's assurances about low water consumption and raised examples in other communities where project parameters changed after incentives were approved. "Claims that a data center this massive will only use 10,000 gallons of water per day deserve serious scrutiny," one resident said, calling for contractual protections that prevent shifting future water costs to local ratepayers.
Other speakers described technical and fiscal risks they said county leaders should consider. A public commenter warned that some companies initially present themselves as low-water users before later expanding operations and seeking additional utilities, while another cited published estimates showing very large power draws for some data center projects.
Representatives of construction trades offered a counterpoint, saying the project could generate short-term, well-paid construction work in the county. "We support it because we build them," the union representative said, urging the court to negotiate prevailing-wage commitments and local-hire provisions where possible.
Given the mix of technical, fiscal and legal questions, the court voted in open session to invoke the statutory exceptions allowing private consultation with county and outside counsel on business and financial negotiations. The court then entered executive session to discuss the Beacon Point reinvestment zone and related contractual matters; no final action on inducements or abatements was taken in open session.
What happens next: commissioners said staff and counsel will gather more detail about projected water and power needs, company assurances and any proposed contractual safeguards before the court considers further public actions or incentive approvals.
