The event, held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Abilene Downtown Convention Center, kicked off with a welcome from City Manager Robert Hanna, setting the stage for Mayor Weldon Hurt’s address. Hurt covered key issues like street improvements, water supply, quality of life, and safety projects before a panel of local leaders shared their perspectives on Abilene’s future.
Following the mayor’s remarks, the panel featured local experts offering insights from their areas of expertise, including:
- Taylor County Judge Phil Crowley
- Misty Mayo, CEO of the Development Corporation of Abilene
- Abilene Independent School District
- Wylie Independent School District
- Doug Peters with the Chamber of Commerce
- Weldon Hurt, Mayor
- Robert Hanna, City Manager
Check out our recap of the forum below:
City of Abilene Communications & Marketing Director Mari Cockerell kicked off the discussion by asking Mayor Weldon Hurt and City Manager Robert Hanna about securing the water supply and ensuring it meets future demand.
Hanna shared, “We have done a number of things over the last 10 years to really reinvest in our water supplies. The first, of course, was attaching to the Brazos River Authority system with the Possum Kingdom. As we come in and out of different water restrictions, with the lack of rain we’ve had recently, we’re getting ready to activate and start our Possum Kingdom system for the first time. We’re probably about maybe 12 months away from that, so we’ll be ready to go when we need it… The other thing I would say is the Cedar Ridge reservoir. We paused when we had what we perceived to be perhaps a less favorable administration in the White House on that project, and now we have what we perceive to be a more favorable administration. We also went through COVID during that time, so we’re picking the Cedar Ridge project back up and pursuing it in earnest.”
He expects the state to issue the draft water rights permit within the next couple of months. After that, it moves to the Corps of Engineers for permitting and dam construction, followed by another water project with the West Texas Water Partnership.
“This is something that was really forward-looking, and Mayor Archibald was one of the main architects behind that. We worked with the city of San Angelo and the city of Midland to pull about 25,000 acre-feet of groundwater in Pecos County, and now we’re in the process of engineering and designing how this water gets to the various partner cities,” Hanna explained. “So these things aren’t easy to do. It takes a commitment on elected officials’ part throughout the times to do it because every elected official comes in and has a new idea. Still, we’ve been very consistent and very lucky and very blessed with excellent political leadership, and I would expect that to continue under Mayor Hurt’s leadership.”
Cockerell turned to Abilene ISD Superintendent Dr. John Kuhn to ask him about the recent strategic planning for the district, involving the sunset of two elementary schools and a new choice program for elementary families.
“Abilene ISD has to be an asset for Abilene, Texas… The building Brighter Futures Initiative in Abilene ISD is all about that vision. I came here to work with a very talented team of people to make positive change happen quickly for the good of the city and the good of the people we serve. So, there are four components of building brighter futures,” Kuhn explained. “The first one is transitioning from 13 elementary schools to 11. That’s the hardest part. It’s very difficult for people to look and say, we’re losing the campus in our community, but for us to operate efficiently and to efficiently utilize taxpayer dollars, which are in limited supply and we don’t want to be wasteful, it makes sense for us to transition from 13 to 11 campuses. Those two buildings, Ortiz and Thomas Elementary, will continue to operate next year for second through fifth graders who choose to remain, and for those who choose to transition to their new campuses, there’s a process for them to choose the campus they’ll go to, and we’re doing that right now. Those buildings will continue to be used. We’ll continue to honor the Thomas and Ortiz families by keeping those names attached to those buildings, but they’re going to be used for different purposes in the future, and that’s still being hammered out exactly what we’re going to use for, the parental choice pilot, or the school choice pilot that we’re operating.”
With ‘school choice’ becoming a political buzzword, Kuhn explained how this program would work within AISD.
“We chose to use the word choice on purpose. We want to co-opt that whole idea. Obviously, most people in this area are opposed to vouchers. I’m opposed to vouchers, and the voucher movement has called itself the school choice movement. It’s a misnomer because parents have always had choices. In Texas, you can send your kid to Abilene ISD. You can send your kid to Wiley ISD. You can send your kid to one of the surrounding, smaller school districts. You can homeschool. You can send them to a private school. You can put them on your computer and do K-12 online education,” Kuhn explained. “So there are tons of choices for parents, and we want to expand that internally, so that if you are at a school and you feel like another school best suits your needs or the needs of your child, that you as a parent feel like you have the freedom to choose between those schools. We want to expand this idea across the entire district. So I mentioned earlier that what we’re doing this year involves three schools, Stafford, Purcell, and Martinez, and we’re calling that circle one, that is a circle of schools… if the model works, we get all the kinks worked out when it comes to transportation and when it comes to all the logistics of choosing, then we would like to have four circles in the following school year so that wherever you live in Abilene ISD, you have a choice of two or three schools, rather than just the school you’re assigned to. Calling it a school choice pilot or a parent choice pilot, we did that deliberately, really, to communicate that inside the public school system, parents have lots of choices, and we’re proud of that.”
Kuhn mentioned that during a listening tour, they discovered parents desire more opportunities for advanced academics.
“What we are proposing and working towards is to take the Stafford model that many of you may be familiar with… They do the Ron Clark Academy model, which is where kids are in four different houses, and it’s almost like schools within a school or little families within a school. Inspired by that model, we want to have more of that. We have a lot of academic specializations, Holland Medical High School, the LIFT, we have the Center for Innovation at McMurry,” Kuhn said. “Lastly, there are a lot of a lot of grant opportunities through TEA right now to embed things like STEM opportunities and advanced academics in schools. So it’s very timely right now to begin looking at how we can offer those things so that we can take advantage of those grant funds to help enhance what we offer the community.”
Wylie ISD Superintendent Joey Light provided updates on the expansions of district facilities to accommodate growth, which are funded by a $240 million bond approved in 2023. He noted that while some projects may take time, the district has already made significant progress by purchasing 3,000 Chromebooks, acquiring 11 buses, and beginning construction on 12 tennis courts and a turf field, among other initiatives.
“Our first issue, because of the crowd that we have and the enrollment growth at our high school, was to work towards getting a high school addition as quickly as we could, and we were looking at a 60-classroom addition, but in order to put it where we felt like it needed to be, we first needed to build an AG building. So, we are currently working on an ag building. We’re about ready to pour the foundation for that,” Light shared. “We are also working on a new elementary which is down Buffalo Gap Road… We built basically phase one of our East intermediate, and we’ll be building phase two. As we work towards those things, we’re also reaching back to the campuses that are over 30 years old, and we’re giving them a facelift, we’re putting in new flooring, we’re painting, and we’re also addressing the infrastructure on technology. We’re recabling campuses, and we’re making sure that we’ve got Wi-Fi that can handle the load of all these new Chromebooks we bought. So, it’s an exciting time to be at Wiley ISD. Our demographers are predicting we’ll have about 7,500 kids – we currently have 5,500 – in the next six or seven years, so we’ve gotta get ready for those kids, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Wylie ISD recently implemented a cell phone ban in the district, which Light said has been very successful.
“At the time this came up, I think there was a groundswell of recognizing that social media and some of the things that come along with cell phones are not good for kids all the time,” Light shared. “Our high school principal, Reagan Berry, brought it to us. I thought, man, that’s a big that’s a big issue to take on. She is very strong about her position, and I’ve been really pleased and surprised at how well it’s done. I just think that not only have our students bought into it, but our teachers have bought into it, and it’s made it be successful. So I’m thankful that we were able to do that, and I think it’s good for our kids, and I look forward to the future with that policy in place.”
Taylor County Judge Phil Crowley addressed the topic of infrastructure in the county, noting that approximately $6.3 million is allocated for roads. In the last budget, they considered an additional $16 million for various infrastructure projects, which include installing new roofing on the jail, repaving the Expo Center, and implementing fiber projects.
“Two more things that kind of want to draw your attention to, something that the county really spends a lot of money on, is law and order… The court system, the law portion, we spend $12 million a year on 15 different courts that hear different cases around the county. But it’s not just the court. So you have to support the district clerk and the county clerk; that’s another $2 million. You have to support the DA’s office that represents the state; that’s another $5 million a year. You have to pay court-appointed attorneys for criminal cases or CPS cases; that’s another $5 million a year,” Crowley explained. “Last year, I said that the Taylor County EMS calls, which is a non-profit, have doubled since 2015 so we want to go out for bid and get some more ambulance service. We’ve now tripled our ambulance service out in the county. So we’ve gone from one full-time and one part-time ambulance to three full-time stations. You have one in Tuscola, 24/7, for the first time ever. We have one 24/7 station in Merkel, the first time since 2015, and then you also have that View/Caps station 24/7. The moral of the story is that our response times have dropped by almost 50% since October.”
Crowley also discussed the funding that supports volunteer fire departments.
“We have 12 volunteer fire departments in Taylor County, and they’re phenomenal heroes. Every single one of them, Taylor County, is blessed that the View Fire Chief also just happens to be our Taylor County Sheriff. That definitely comes in handy at times of emergency. So we’re thankful for that. They’re always prepared, and they’re doing a great job. The county does try to support them. In the last three years, the county has funded their requested increase, and then we also passed out about $16,000 in ARPA money to 12 departments before the end of 2024,” Crowley shared. “The public can definitely support them. Of course, judges can’t fundraise, so I’m not telling you to give money to the volunteer fire departments, but that is an option. People like options, right? And also you can serve on a volunteer fire department. And we really need that; volunteers in the department are down among most of them. There are some exceptions to that, but we need people to serve on those because the alternative, if that doesn’t happen, is you might have to create an emergency services district that funds paid volunteers and paid firefighters, and that would be another taxing entity. And the county really doesn’t want to go down that road. So we hope we can keep this system going.”
He thanked the Development Corporation of Abilene (DCOA) and the city for bringing in projects like Lancium, which in turn will benefit the county and even local first responders.
“One thing that also ties into it is that I wanted to say: I’m so thankful for DCOA and their board and Misty Mayo and Julie and the whole team for bringing Lancium and all the other projects. I am also thankful to the city for investing in DCOA and letting the county partner with y’all because we’re going to use that additional tax revenue each year to invest in emergency services,” Crowley expressed. “One thing I wanted to point out, and a good example of that, is the sheriff’s office, something else that I failed to mention last time that makes it tough. There’s SB 22 money, where each county under a certain population gets $500,000 each year from the state, and some of these smaller counties are using that money to invest in salaries. So we now have smaller counties around us that are able to pay their correctional officers more, their deputies more. So what Taylor County has focused on in the budget these last couple of years instead of adding a bunch of new deputies and correctional officers all the time is trying to get those salaries up, and so that’s a challenge. And we’re using our SB 22 money for things like rifles and equipment that the sheriff’s office needs. Maybe we’ll be able to afford Lancium money down the line. but we don’t have money for right now, so it’s really all circular.”
Doug Peters from the Chamber of Commerce explained that downtown Abilene is a very unique area. He noted that it was designed and constructed before vehicles were around, which is why some streets are wide enough to turn a team of horses. This historical design, along with other factors, creates unique challenges for the downtown environment.
“A process that we undertook back, I think, in 2016, the chamber was able to bring roughly 1,200 individuals from all around the region, folks that you wouldn’t think have any interest in our downtown, but we tried to encourage people to participate in this vision casting exercise by telling them that downtown is really everybody’s neighborhood. We had a lot of great participation, a lot of great vision. You can’t do all of it. I remember taking that final document over to Robert Hanna, and he said he’s going to pay for all that. I said, well, the beauty of this plan is that if we do it right and we do it together, it doesn’t need to be a tax-payer burden. It can be driven in large part by the private sector. I think you’re seeing a lot of private sector investment in the downtown,” Peters shared. “It’s incumbent on all of us to support those businesses that are downtown, just like we support those businesses along Buffalo Gap Road, the construction process that started back in 1928 out on Buffalo Gap. We have to remember they’re there. We have to remember they’re struggling. We have to remember that if we don’t go there, chances are no one else will either. And that same thing stands true with our own downtown. Downtown, to me, is a very important first impression for folks who visit our community, just like our airport, people make a snap judgment on how well we as a community take care of ourselves when they come into the downtown, and that’s why we’re so lucky as a community to have People like Judy Matthews and the Dodge Jones Foundation, who laid an incredible foundation for all of us to kind of stand on. There’s just so much going on, but I would encourage you to think about how you can be an active part in supporting just one small component of this community. We are so fortunate to have a downtown that is not on a respirator, and that is thriving, but those folks have challenges, just like any other business in any other part of our community, and it takes all of us to help address those.”
The chamber also houses the Military Affairs Committee, and Peters noted that, due to partnerships across the county, they are well-prepared to welcome the B-21 Raider, the next generation of bombers.
“We’re in a very fortunate place. But you know, with growth and opportunity comes commitment, and about 73 years ago, the war committee of the Abilene Chamber of Commerce converted into the Military Affairs Committee. Since that happened, this community has run alongside the interests of Dyess Air Force Base, our airmen, and their families. Every single day, the Military Affairs Committee led by our vice president, Greg Bridwell, has done an incredible job by utilizing volunteers like Katie Alford, Greg, and the whole crew. In fact, I think they leave tomorrow to go to Washington to tell the Abilene story and to be able to bring back support for Dyess and our Airmen,” Peters explained. “A lot happens inside that fence that we don’t know about, and that’s intentional, but I can tell you the fact that we have been able to get… that this community has been able to get the next generation Long Range Strike Bomber and keep the B-1 flying. That impact on this community, the jobs, the relationships that we all have… look next door; odds are you have an airman or a family member living pretty close to you. We go to church with these folks. We go to school with these folks. Having Dyess is a big, big part of this community. Again, I want to publicly acknowledge the fact that we do this as a team, and if not for the support of the city, the county, and certainly the Development Corporation, it would be a much, much more difficult task.”
DCOA President and CEO Misty Mayo emphasized that they are “laser-focused” on two goals that will drive Abilene’s growth:
“We’re working every day to grow the future for you and your family members… The two things are growing the commercial tax base and growing new jobs because with new jobs and a new tax base, we’re able to guarantee the prosperity of our community for years to come,” Mayo explained. “Lancium, of course, is the most notable, I will say. Over the last five years, we’ve worked at the DCOA to attract 40 company expansions. That is a record number. Most of the largest projects in the history of our community have happened in the last five years. What I’m talking about is these companies like Lancium and Crusoe are making a commitment to be a part of our community. They’re making a commitment to spend their money in Abilene and grow that commercial tax base.”
Residents have raised concerns about the project’s potential impact on the area’s water supply and energy grid. Abilene City Manager Robert Hanna reassured the public that Lancium prioritizes environmental responsibility and plans proactively.
“They have a new way, or a responsible way, of cooling their systems with a closed loop system, and we are working with them, and they’re working with us to be able to do industrial pre-treatment and the discharge of that water as it leaves the system, so it’s available to be used again in other areas as it goes through the nature’s process and our treatment facilities. I really want to applaud them publicly for thinking about coming here to West Texas,” Hanna explained. “We had a citizen come to the councilman today and talk about what’s going to happen if we have another winter storm again. The beauty of Lancium’s approach is that they’re planning ahead for that. They’re making sure they have the energy resources and energy production capability to handle their own needs, so they’re not going to be this big drain on the grid. So I’m excited that they’re here. I’m excited about their community engagement and the responsible nature in which they’re growing their business.”
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