Ennis approves amended incentive for Project Decor, citing hundreds of jobs and major investment

The Ennis City Commission on July 16 approved a Chapter 380 economic development agreement for “Project Decor,” a proposed campus of large fulfillment facilities that staff said would bring significant local investment and jobs.

Economic development director Jim Wehmeyer told the commission Project Decor envisions two large facilities and projected sales of about $300 million a year, a capital investment of roughly $107.5 million and about 274 new jobs, with wages and benefits included. “They’re projecting sales from our facility at 300,000,000 annually,” Wehmeyer said during his presentation.

The commission debated and corrected a drafting inconsistency in the contract’s performance threshold: the typed sentence in Article 3 referred to $75,000,000 in written form while the numeric figure in parentheses read $70,000,000. Commissioner Haney moved to amend the written figure to $70,000,000 to match the numeric value; the amendment was seconded and the commission adopted the change by voice vote. With the amendment in place the commission voted to approve the development incentive agreement.

Wehmeyer described the incentive structure as a tax-rebate (a Chapter 380 rebate equal to 70% of certain property taxes) funded from the tax increment and general fund sources identified in the packet. He said staff expects incremental city revenue during the incentive period to be positive and that ongoing revenues would increase after the rebate expires. He also said the project would be forwarded to Ellis County for a workshop and county action if approved (staff listed an Ellis County workshop for July 23 and a county action date of Aug. 6).

The packet and presentation contained inconsistent acreage figures for the project area. Staff initially referred to approximately 42.7 acres in the Oak Grove Road area but later in the presentation acknowledged a different acreage figure and apologized for the confusion. The contract amendment the commission adopted addressed the numerical drafting error raised during the meeting.

The commission recorded the approval by voice vote; no roll-call tally was read into the record. The next procedural steps, per staff, include coordination with Ellis County for matching action on the incentive.

Why this matters: the deal ties a multi‑million-dollar capital investment and several hundred jobs to an incentive package that reduces short-term tax revenues in exchange for development and longer-term tax base growth. The amendment the commission adopted changes the contract wording so the performance threshold matches the numeric figure in the agreement.