Granbury petitions seek votes of no confidence against city officials
Granbury City Council is expected to receive petitions at its meeting Tuesday, July 7, asking the council to adopt votes of no confidence against the city manager and city attorney over what organizers say is a lack of transparency and a failure to serve the public over data centers.
The council meeting is at 6 p.m at Granbury City Hall and is expected to have a large crowd of Granbury and Hood county residents who will speak during public comment.
According to a media advisory from residents Jacob Herbold, Daniel Piatt and Rachael Jacobson, City Manager Chris Coffman and City Attorney Jeremy SoRelle have failed to serve the public in their handling of proposed data centers.
“We believe Mr. Coffman has forfeited the trust of this community through a documented pattern of dishonesty, administrative negligence, and a refusal to uphold his contractual obligations to serve the public interest,” the petition reads.
The city is facing a lawsuit from several residents alleging that it hid details of a proposed data center and claimed not to know what was planned for the property formerly known as Knox Ranch.
The land, annexed in January, straddles Meadow Road, and officials said at the time that annexing the land would allow for development that would bring jobs and other benefits to the city.
The lawsuit seeks to reverse the annexation of the acreage and compensate residents for the loss of property values and the “enjoyment of their homes.”
In April Hood County Commissioner Nannette Samuelson accused Coffman and other officials of misleading the public about plans for a power plant and data center, according to previous Star-telegram reporting.
Also in May an area of land near Granbury was rezoned for large scale industries, including data centers, and a resident living there filed a complaint with the Texas Rangers.
In May Hood County commissioners rejected a proposed 6-month moratorium on study impacts of data centers on water, traffic and health.
