I tells ya – it’s like déjà vu all over again!
I have noticed over the last couple months there is a “business park prospect” mentioned in the agendas and packets. Lots of “executive sessions” to discuss “incentives” (free money) for this mystery prospect.
I asked for just the NAME of this prospect. Not financials. Not proprietary information. Not terms of any deals. Not trade secrets. Absolutely NOTHING but the name.
Guess what?
“Yes I did receive your request, unfortunately it is not that simple. I have reached out to the City Attorney on whether or not the name of the prospect can be released at this time. I will be in touch.”
This is ridiculous on many levels. One level of ridiculousness is that the LEDC used to LOUDLY trumpet and blather about their prospects. Even the WHISPER of a possible prospect was splashed loudly in the minutes, in the newspaper and everywhere else.
Here is a sampling of past business pork prospects (none panned out, obviously):
A $20 million medical center (2004)
A “second tier supplier to the new Toyota plant in San Antonio” (2004)
LAMCO (2017)
AWI (2017)
The development of the Santa Fe Depot property – where the guy strung Mandy and the LEDC along for most of 2019. LOL.
A “recreational insurance and lending company out of Austin that would EACH bring 15-25 high-wage positions to Lampasas” (2018)
Craft brewing company (2018 and many other times)
“A prospect from Bastrop” (2018)
Mike Irvin’s 5,000 sq ft Steel Fabrication Shop in the “Business Park” (2018)
A “prospect out of Abilene” interested in relocating their business to Lampasas but they “can’t give out details yet” (2018).
But NOW, they can’t even give me a name!
I’m guessing that it ISN’T one of the prospects they coughed up over a year ago, or they wouldn’t be making a big secret of it. After all, they already TOLD me last February.
Those prospects were: Lawson Implements, PhoLicious (now gone to Houston), Legacy Awning and Shade, Nextlink Internet (already has killer location on 580 E) and Eco-Flex Recycled Rubber (who ALREADY screwed over the City once with their lies a couple years ago).
The LEDC also doesn’t seem to have a problem blabbing about other businesses about to enter the City right now – like HTeaO (old Chinese Buffet building) or Anytime Fitness (4th Street).
I’m going to go ahead and predict that my old buddy J.C. Brown denies me this information…thus keeping taxpayers in the dark YET AGAIN about the “goat pasture” they have shelled out over $7.1 million dollars for so far.