Hullum relays a 250-job figure and a five-million-gallon estimate for initial flushing and filling; he says no agreement is in place.
By Jett Whittington, The Alliance Gazette · October 26, 2026
Eastland County Judge David Hullum left the commissioners courtroom during the October 26 meeting to speak directly with residents who had come to raise concerns about the proposed data center in Flatwood.
Hullum said the public comment portion of the meeting would not allow the conversation the residents were asking for. He asked Commissioner Robert Rains to lead the meeting and stepped into the hallway with a handful of residents. The Alliance Gazette was present for the conversation.
Hullum opened by saying there have been conversations with the developers but that nothing has been put down on paper, and that what he knows at this point is speculation. He told residents the county does not have the land use authority to stop industrial development of this kind, whether a data center, a solar farm or a wind farm.
He said he has pushed the company to hold town halls once the details are settled. He has also been talking with school boards, the hospital board, police, fire, EMS and city managers so that every affected entity can prepare. In those conversations, Hullum said, the company has indicated it is ready to invest heavily in the county and especially in the school districts, where he said there has been discussion of a certification program for high school graduates going into data center work.
Hullum was clear that this is the work of building toward a deal, and that until something is on paper nothing is confirmed. He said he is not trying to ban the project because the county has no authority to do so, and because he would rather work with the company than pull the county into a lawsuit it cannot afford.
He said an agreement would bring in funds the county could put toward infrastructure and other needs, and would benefit cities and towns across the county. He told residents he understood the concerns of people living near the site and said he would look at every method available to protect them.
Hullum also relayed figures the company has raised. He said the company has described 250 permanent jobs at the site, which would run at all hours and require crews around the clock.
On water, Hullum said the project is expected to draw from groundwater. He said the company projected five million gallons for initial flushing and filling: 2.5 million to flush the system and 2.5 million to fill it. He said those projections are not fully confirmed, and repeated that nothing has been agreed to. That figure describes initial flushing and filling, not ongoing daily or annual water demand. Hullum compared the initial projection with five days of hay irrigation that he said previously took place on the property.
Hullum stated again that no agreement has been made and that these are negotiations ahead of any proposal. He said the current activity on the site is pads for equipment and access roads for construction.
What the county record shows
Texas counties have specific subdivision and floodplain-management powers; those powers do not by themselves establish authority to prohibit this project. Chapter 232 of the Local Government Code governs county regulation of subdivisions. Floodplain-development rules address flood risk, including requirements tied to participation in the National Flood Insurance Program. These are distinct from a general power to approve or reject an industrial use.
Eastland County is considering subdivision and floodplain regulations. Public input on both occurred at the October 26 meeting, according to Whittington’s firsthand reporting. The proposed regulations had not been approved.
The county re-adopted its tax abatement guidelines and criteria on March 9, 2026, and posted the guidelines to its website on August 12. Under Chapter 312, a reinvestment-zone public hearing requires advance newspaper notice. The meeting to approve a tax abatement agreement requires at least 30 days of public notice, including the property owner, applicant, zone, improvements and estimated cost. These requirements describe the approval process; they do not establish that this project has reached that stage.
What remains unconfirmed
Hullum said no agreement had been made. The Gazette has not reviewed a project-specific agreement or documents supporting the jobs, school-investment and water figures.
The 250 jobs, school investment and water projections are Hullum’s account of private conversations with the developer, not independently confirmed project specifications. The absence of an application from a public agenda or website does not establish that none exists: the Texas Comptroller notes that applications need not all appear on an agenda and that certain application details remain confidential until an agreement is executed.
The Alliance Gazette will continue to monitor the situation as it develops.
Sources
Firsthand reporting
Jett Whittington attended the October 26 conversation. Hullum’s statements are attributed; company figures are not independently confirmed.
Eastland County meeting notice
October 26, 2026 Commissioners Court agenda. An agenda establishes scheduled business, not an outcome.
https://www.eastlandcounty.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10262026-108
County tax abatement guidelines
Official county policy: March 9, 2026 re-adoption. Website posting dated August 12.
https://www.eastlandcounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1059
County posting date
Tax Abatement Guidelines and Criteria 2026.
https://www.eastlandcounty.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=26
Texas Comptroller: Chapter 312 FAQ
Public notice, application confidentiality and agenda requirements.
https://comptroller.texas.gov/economy/development/prop-tax/ch312/faq.php
Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 232
County regulation of subdivisions. General statutory context, not a project-specific legal determination.
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/LG/htm/LG.232.htm
Texas Water Development Board
National Flood Insurance Program: community floodplain-management criteria.
https://www.twdb.texas.gov/flood/insurance/
