Kerr County Commissioners Court Silent on Initial Flood Response

The Kerr County Commissioners Court held their first meeting since the deadly July 4th flash flood.  One County Commissioner shared how his local volunteer fire department saved everyone in their community, noting their was no loss of life as a result of their response.   

The Court did not have Emergency Management Coordinator William "Dub" Thomas clarify the County's early response to escalating warnings issued by the National Weather Service regarding flash flooding. 

The National Weather Service issued a flash-flood warning at 1:14 a.m. Friday to mobile phones and weather radios. The warning was updated at 4:03 a.m. to a flash-flood emergency.

Dub's name was mentioned as staffing the Emergency Operations Center along with the County Judge.  Thomas began his role as Emergency Management Coordinator in 2015.  Two years into his term government bodies warned of serious problems from flash flooding.

 

In September 2017, the Upper Guadalupe River Authority sounded the alarm in an online video produced with Kerr County and the city of Kerrville warning about the dangers of flash floods and its historical precedent posted to YouTube.

At least 134 people are dead and 101 are missing.  The lack of information the County's early actions is disturbing for citizens expecting accountable government.  A paid professional was in that role the evening of July 3rd and early morning July 4th. 

County Commissioners went into executive session to discuss matters.  I expect they got legal advice as to the county's failure to follow their emergency plan by not issuing timely warnings to members of the public, residents and visitors, making them aware of the impending flash flood.

The public has seen this before with the White House Hurricane Katrina response, the February 2021 Winter Storm that killed hundreds in Texas and the Uvalde school shooting.

The Katrina Lessons Learned report was a disaster in itself, just a collection of hero stories and recommendations to do better next time.  It avoided a critical examination of the response which resulted in needless deaths.

It remains to be seen what information is shared and what level of disaster response analysis is actually performed.  The public deserves to know, especially those of us living in Texas.

After spending five days with no electricity in bitter cold, trying to keep us and our animals alive in Winter Storm 2021, our electricity bill went up.  Nobody ever apologized. 

The bright side is that no one ever called me "evil" for expecting the basics from our government. 

Update 7-16-25:  First responder audio revealed the first calls regarding flooding came in around 3:30 am on July 4th.  The situation deteriorated with more people experiencing flooding and needing rescue.  At 4:22 am a firefighter asked that a CodeRED be sent out warning people.  It did not go out as no supervisor was available for approval.  (The first warning went out 90 minutes later, others went out as late as 10:00 am)

Outside resources arrived that needed to be coordinated via the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) yet to be set up.  After 4:30 am the river rises from 8 to 30 feet sweeping away all manner of cars, RVs and people.  

The first mention of EOC establishment is at 6:53 am at the Sheriff's Office.  The two people responsible for EOC establishment are the County Judge and Emergency Management Coordinator.  These officials are yet to provide any information on their whereabouts, much less any response to communications about the looming, then ongoing disaster. 

Local officials are supposed to follow the disaster plan and document their actions along the way, sot their reticence to produce of a timeline seems odd.

Update 7-17-25:  Governor Gregg Abbott visited San Angelo today to address flood recovery.  Kerr County's first FEMA level "flash flood warning" was issued on July 6th, two days after the deadly event.  None were issued on July 4th.

Update 7-18-25:  During COVID "Dub" Thomas spoke to the Kerrville Rotary.  His bio stated:

....Emergency Management Coordinator for Kerr County and the City Of Ingram since November 2015 and am responsible for the Kerr County/City of Kerrville/City of Ingram Emergency Management Plan, Code Red, CERT ( Community Emergency Response Team), Kerr County Search and Rescue Team and other disaster related duties as assigned.

Update 7-19-25:  A former Kerr County IT chief told NewsNation: 

“I don’t think there’s any solution other than to replace the people that failed us.” 

 Evidence collected by KXAN – including dispatch audio and FEMA data – shows county officials did not send alerts for hours after a National Weather Service warning, and more targeted alerts did not go out for days.

It's been over two weeks for Kerr County officials to not provide account for the actions/inactions of persons responsible for the local flash flood emergency response.  The County Judge, County Sheriff and Emergency Management Coordinator need to share what they did with their community and not wait for the Texas Legislative Session.  Local government is local accountability.

Update 7-20-25:  Rep. Drew Darby will serve on one of Governor Abbott's committees investigating the July 4th flash flood and subsequent flooding events.  In an interview with an Abilene CBS affiliate Darby stated:

"There really is no early warning system and a way to notify affected people about an impending disaster."

I would challenge his statement.  There are watch and warning systems that rely on people up and down the law enforcement, fire department, emergency management, emergency dispatch, government leader chain to take those watches, begin preparations and accelerate actions when they turn to warnings at the Emergency Operations Center.  When the situation becomes a flat out emergency the EOC has to deal with conditions, resources and adapt their plans accordingly.  

IPAWS allows Alerting Authorities to write their own message using commercially available software that is Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) compliant. The message is then delivered to the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, Open Platform for Emergency Networks (IPAWS OPEN), where it is authenticated and then delivered simultaneously through multiple communication pathways. Through IPAWS, one message is created to reach as many people as possible to save lives and protect property.

When leaders responsible for setting up the EOC don't respond then no warnings or emergency messages are sent.  None.  That's what happened in Kerr County.  If the people responsible for emergency management don't show I'm not sure what interoperability of communications will do to help.

Update 8-22-25:  Texas Tribune reported:

“Make no mistake, House Bill 1 is fundamentally a bill about failure,” said Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, when he introduced it. “The camp failed these girls. The county failed them. The river authority failed them, and in a larger sense, their government.

Missing are the consequences for the people who failed to do their job, the one they were paid for. 

Update 8-24-25:  Parents of the campers killed by flood waters met with Governor Abbott in the days before their testimony to the Texas legislature.

"Cile's life ended, not because of an unavoidable act of nature, but because of preventable failures..."

Failures for which their has been no public accountability to date, despite promises by Governor Coach Abbott to take action.

Update 10-15-25:  The Texas Legislature will establish two more committees to look at the deadly flash flood event of July 4. 

Update 12-6-25:  The 911 calls to Kerrville Emergency Dispatch were made public.  The calls reveal increasing desperation and peril.  The calls from the 911 center to Emergency Management Officials are yet to be released.  

Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator Dub Thomas had been on medical leave after heart surgery but returned to work on November 10th.  Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly is looking to hire help for Thomas.  The top three Kerr County officials continue to cover for each other and they are yet to produce/share an after action report.

Update 12-7-25:  Concho Valley Homepage ran the 911 call story.

Update 4-15-26:  A director of Camp Mystic testified that he:

"had not seen the official weather warnings before the storm, did not convene a staff meeting about the potential flooding and acknowledged that the camp did not have a detailed, written flood evacuation plan."

The cascade of ignorance and lack of preparation was widespread in Kerr County.

Update 4-20-26:  Texas Tribune reported Camp Mystic's security guard testified as to events that evening/early morning:

The security guard at Camp Mystic the night of last year’s deadly flood acknowledged Wednesday that if a general evacuation order came early in the storm, lives could’ve been saved.

Update 4-22-26:  KXAN reported: 

According to the House’s resolution, the committee would be tasked with investigating contributing factors, allocation of resources, effectiveness of preparedness and effectiveness of response and coordination between local, state and federal entities. The Senate’s resolution called for a broader “complete and thorough examination of the facts and circumstances surrounding the flooding events.”

So how did this broad mandate get reduced to summer camps?   It appears there may never be an assessment of Kerr County emergency official's response (non-response) to the disaster. 

Update 5-21-26:  The National Weather Service released a report on the July 4th floods specific to Kerr County.  It states:

....attempted to call both the Kerr County emergency management coordinator and the sheriff’s office starting at approximately 3:38 a.m. but were unable to reach the sheriff’s office until 4:32 a.m. and the emergency management coordinator until 6:19 a.m.

Kerr County officials released their communications that day which show a non-responsiveness to the scope and scale of the disaster.

Update 7-16-26:

The State of Texas, headed by Governor Greg Abbott, continues to not hold Kerr County officials responsible for their abject public safety failures in the July 4th flood.  

Council Reneged on Shafting Retirees

City Council approved adding two new deductibles for Retiree Health coverage in November 2024.  Within weeks city staff learned the option selected was not legal unless the city changed health plan providers.  Internal documents indicate management planned to bring the increased cost back to Council in early 2025.  That did not happen.

This explains why new Councilperson Mary Coffey was unaware of the development.  She explored restoring the planned benefit cut in a strategic planning meeting.  Other members of the public may have surprised to hear of this change.  

City retirees got the good news from staff in early January 2025.  I'm sure it was a relief for many.

Abbott: Buck Stops with You, Not Football Fans

The death toll in the July 4th floods came from a failed warning system.  People in harms way did not know in time to leave the banks of the Guadalupe River or they failed to act on any warnings.  Texas Governor Greg Abbott compared people asking questions about the disaster response to disgruntled football fans after a team loss.  Abbott may want to pick a phone and call his Florida counterpart.

Is a weather disaster a play, a set of downs, a quarter, or a whole game?  Coaches make adjustments along the way.  What adjustments did the Governor's office make as the July 4th flood disaster unfolded.

The game was not televised and there were no people in the stands of Governor Abbott's "football game."  The public only knows what Coach Abbott and his team told us.  

Four years ago the Governor sang a different tune after hundreds of Texans died in a different weather disaster.

Today, many are angry for the same reasons, a system broke.  The public deserves answers not a coach dodging out the door to avoid questions.  There is only one time to give answers, that is the present.  

Abbott does not have to do it all.  He has a team of people capable of and charged with that very duty.  A basic in disaster preparedness is how did we do?  What went well?  What needs to be improved or changed to work better next time?  Get 'er done.

Update 7-10-25:  CNN reported:

Homeland Security Chief Kristi Noem didn’t authorize FEMA’s deployment of Urban Search and Rescue teams until Monday, more than 72 hours after the flooding began, multiple sources told CNN.

The Independent reported:

As floodwaters in Texas rose in the early morning of July 4, a local firefighter petitioned for an emergency alert to quickly be sent out...  at 4:22am, a fireman with the Ingram Volunteer Fire Department reportedly called into emergency dispatch to warn that the Guadalupe River appeared to be rapidly overshooting its banks.

The earliest CodeRED alerts appear to have reached local residents about an hour later, according to multiple local media outlets, while some reported not getting their first CodeRED alert until after 10am.

The coaches clearly failed.  

Update 7-11-25:  "Needs approval" likely resulted in more lives lost.  Less pre-positioned resources from FEMA and greater time lag in getting out critical emergency warnings.

At what point will the public learn the local response from disaster leaders?

Update 7-13-25:  Congressman Reuben Gallego said Trump II was interested in accountability.  Sorry, that does not fly, especially after he called that reporter "evil" for asking about lack of or too late warnings from local officials..  People reported:

Kerr County officials did not use the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) — a notification tool that uses vibrations and emits a loud alert noise — even after a National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist warned them about the severity of the floods.

Kerr County officials did use the CodeRED system to issue warnings but many residents did not receive those or they came too late.  Local Kerr County officials are yet to release any information about their actions as the deadly flooding developed.  

Update 8-22-25:  Texas Tribune reported:

“Make no mistake, House Bill 1 is fundamentally a bill about failure,” said Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, when he introduced it. “The camp failed these girls. The county failed them. The river authority failed them, and in a larger sense, their government.

Missing are the consequences for the people who failed to do their job, the one they were paid for.  The Texas Senate is in go-forward, clean-up mode.  The House has two measures in the works, one on disaster preparation for camps and the other for post disaster scams.  Isn't it a scam to take money to perform a job and then not do it?

Update 10-15-25:  The Texas Legislature will establish two more committees to look at the deadly flash flood event of July 4.  And it's football season to boot.

Update 12-6-25:  The 911 calls to Kerrville Emergency Dispatch were made public.  The calls reveal increasing desperation and peril.  The calls from the 911 center to Emergency Management Officials are yet to be released.  

Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator Dub Thomas had been on medical leave after heart surgery but returned to work on November 10th.  Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly is looking to hire help for Thomas.  The top three Kerr County officials continue to cover for each other and they are yet to produce/share an after action report.

Update 12-7-25:  Concho Valley Homepage ran the 911 call story.

Residents Asked to Complete State Flood Damages Survey

San Angelo experienced significant flooding after parts of town received over 11 inches of rain.  Many homes already in substandard condition were impacted by flooding.  A large number of Hispanic residents live in the flooded area.  The city is currently marking homes unfit for habitation.

City leaders have instructed residents to complete a state online disaster survey.  Respondents have to find their residence on a map, share basic demographic information and details about flood damage, including uploading pictures.  The survey is only available in English.  The state notes its website is in English only and that translation services may or may not be accurate.

Local leaders are encouraging residents to complete the state survey, especially as the federal government has not declared San Angelo a disaster area.  That requirement for FEMA assistance is yet to be met.  

I found no offers of assistance for completing the state flood damage survey on the city's website or Texas 211.  How many low income flood victims have a working computer, internet access, the knowledge/skills to complete the survey and have English competency?  

The survey provider is ESRI, which oddly has a tab for racial equity.  I take it they know how to make a survey in Spanish.  The State chose not to utilize that capability, despite its long history of seasonal migration for crop harvesting.

How many flood victims are non-citizens?  Trump's Immigration police have deported people in the system with some level of legal status.  If someone could be snatched for showing up at their appointment, what risk is there for a noncitizen to fill out the damages form?  

It's hard to know anything at this point, except leaders expect residents to use tech for everything.  That may or may not make sense in the world as lived vs. imagined.

Update 7-8-25:  KLST reported that residents can call 211 for assistance in completing the state damage surveys and that volunteers are being trained today to complete the surveys are will be assigned areas to canvass.

Update 7-11-25:  San Angelo has been declared a federal disaster area opening up the door for FEMA aid.

Texas Observer Prophetic on Deadly Floods

Texas Observer issued a warning the day prior to catastrophic flooding in San Angelo and communities around Kerrville, Texas.  Texas officials raised the question as to how DOGE cuts impacted National Weather Service operations.  The Independent reported:

“The original forecast that we received Wednesday from the National Weather Service predicted 3-6 inches of rain in the Concho Valley and 4-8 inches in the Hill Country,” he said at a press conference Friday.  

“The amount of rain that fell at this specific location was never in any of those forecasts.” Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said that “no one knew this kind of flood was coming.”

"Flood Emergency" warnings for life threatening flash flooding went out in the early morning hours when most people were asleep.  

Despite the cuts, nearby NWS offices had “adequate staffing” during the storms, CNN reports. However, centers were missing a few key employees due to early retirement incentives offered by the Trump administration in an effort to reduce the government’s workforce. 

The Austin-San Antonio office was missing a warning coordination meteorologist — who helps link forecasters with local emergency managers — while the San Angelo office was missing a meteorologist-in-charge, according to CNN.

Texas officials will examine the facts and share their conclusions with the public at some point.  Texans will be observing.  

Update 7-8-25:  Texas Senator Ted Cruz was on vacation in Greece over the July 4th holiday when tragedy struck.  I did not realize Tea Party candidates left the U.S. for our Independence Day celebrations.  Cruz played a direct role in federal funding cuts around weather warnings.

USA Today reported the Texas Department of Emergency Management declined Kerr County's grant application for an early warning system in 2017 and again in 2018.  The County:

asked for $1 million to build a flood warning system that would have upgraded 20 water gauge systems, added new water level sensors and posts, and created software and a website to distribute that information to the public in real-time.

Local leaders have been trying to get an early warning system for years.

Update 12-6-25:  The 911 calls to Kerrville Emergency Dispatch were made public.  The calls reveal increasing desperation and peril.  The calls from the 911 center to Emergency Management Officials are yet to be released.  

Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator Dub Thomas had been on medical leave after heart surgery but returned to work on November 10th.  Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly is looking to hire help for Thomas.  The top three Kerr County officials continue to cover for each other and they are yet to produce/share an after action report.

Update 12-7-25:  Concho Valley Homepage ran the 911 call story.

Update 4-15-26:  A director of Camp Mystic testified that he:

"had not seen the official weather warnings before the storm, did not convene a staff meeting about the potential flooding and acknowledged that the camp did not have a detailed, written flood evacuation plan."

The cascade of ignorance and lack of preparation was widespread in Kerr County.

Update 4-20-26:  Texas Tribune reported Camp Mystic's security guard testified as to events that evening/early morning:

The security guard at Camp Mystic the night of last year’s deadly flood acknowledged Wednesday that if a general evacuation order came early in the storm, lives could’ve been saved.

Update 4-22-26:  KXAN reported: 

According to the House’s resolution, the committee would be tasked with investigating contributing factors, allocation of resources, effectiveness of preparedness and effectiveness of response and coordination between local, state and federal entities. The Senate’s resolution called for a broader “complete and thorough examination of the facts and circumstances surrounding the flooding events.”

So how did this broad mandate get reduced to summer camps?   It appears there may never be an assessment of Kerr County emergency official's response (non-response) to the disaster. 

Update 7-16-26:

The State of Texas, headed by Governor Greg Abbott, continues to not hold Kerr County officials responsible for their abject public safety failures in the July 4th flood.  

Business is Coming! Government Gets Ready

San Angelo City government is readying for significant business growth.  City Council, the Development Corporation and the Chamber of Commerce need to resolve lingering issues to take advantage of the coming boom.   Chamber Chief Steve Ahlenius expects significant projects over the next 18-24 months.  

The top position at the City of San Angelo Development Corporation (COSADC) remains unfilled after former Executive Director Guy Andrews "retired."  Assistant City Manager Michael Dane took on the interim leader role for COSADC.  

The Chamber of Commerce performs significant economic development duties for the Development Corporation.  At times City Council has taken a more confrontational approach to this contract.  That should end and any historical animus should be set aside.  Most of the players are new and capable of finding a way forward that encourages growth that benefits all the citizens of San Angelo, not just private equity backed Tech Giants with hard hurdle rates in terms of local taxes.

Balance is important and frankly, badly needed.  Council approved a three year 85% abatement of ad valorem taxes for the Zeppelin Battery Storage project prior to adding two new co-pays for retired city employees, many on miniscule monthly incomes.  The city will abate $2.4 million over three years for a project that provides virtually no jobs.

Mayor Tom Thompson nominated Councilman Tommy Hiebert for Mayor Pro Tem.  Tommy spent many years on the Development Corporation Board.

Chamber Economic Development Executive Mike Berry said projects under consideration could shift the burden of taxation from homeowners to corporations.  For that to happen City Council cannot abate, abate and abate.  There will be infrastructure needs associated with these projects, city staff has been chronically underpaid and commitments made to retirees years ago need to honored and prior damage reversed.

Things could get much wilder if the oilfield wakes up.  That money has made people do crazy things.  

Final note, the city giving away millions in tax money hollows out their longtime screed about Shannon Health's nonprofit status.  Shannon provides lots of local jobs, for now.  That used to be the purpose of Economic Development Corporations, recruitment of primary jobs.  Time will reveal what all this new "intelligent" technology will do to our community.  

Update 6-20-25:  CNBC reported on tax giveaways for data centers.  Texas is one such state.

Update 6-23-25:  Fox West Texas ran a story on West Texas data centers and the promise of taxation.  If history is any guide, San Angelo City Council will abate 80% or more of that promise.

Update 6-25-25:  Fox West Texas ran another story on West Texas data centers and their need for power.

Update 10-24-25:  City Council increased health insurance premiums for retirees by $13 per month.  The vote was four ayes and two nays.  Stay tuned for future tax abatements....

Update 12-16-25:  San Angelo economic developers told bitcoin miners "no" twice.  They did not say it was the Lancium crew which turned into Stargate's Giant AI facility in Abilene.  They did so in a podcast which can be viewed below:

Update 12-20-25:  The Real Deal reported:

Bolt Data & Energy announced it raised $150 million in capital and struck a partnership with Texas Pacific Land Corporation, which is investing another $50 million into the venture, according to a joint press release Wednesday. The tie-up positions Bolt Data to develop large-scale data centers on Texas Pacific’s sprawling West Texas holdings, as demand for energy-hungry AI computers accelerates, Bloomberg reported.

Update 12-24-25:  City of San Angelo officials spoke with Concho Valley Homepage regarding possible data centers. 

Update 12-29-25:  

Council Member Patrick Keely will hold a Data Center Development Community Meeting on Monday, December 29, 2025 from 5:30-6:30 pm at the Downtown Library in the Brooks & Bates Room. The subject is the proposed Skybox Data Center on Highway 67 just north of city limits. Council approved the sale of 350 acres of city owned land to Skybox in March 2025. 

Issues are noise pollution, water use, appropriate zoning, need for city services while residing outside city limits, traffic safety and electrical power use for the proposed 1.5 million square foot development distributed across six buildings (each of which is four stories high). 

A flyer for this public meeting states the item will be voted on at Council's next meeting on January 13, 2026.

ConchoValleyHomepage ran a story on the community meeting.  It indicates Skybox is yet to purchase the land for any data center development.   

San Angelo: Next Data Center Boom

Chamber of Commerce executive Mike Berry spoke with Tammy Ramos from KLST on the potential of incoming data centers.  Berry noted they could flip San Angelo's taxation from primarily residential to business dominated.  

Mike cited area draws for data center location include excess power availability, abundant land (cheaply priced), proximity to natural gas, onsite solar generation, as well as state tax incentives.

Berry shared that City and County leaders are focused on adding infrastructure to accommodate this growth.  The level of capital investment represents billions of dollars.  Tax revenue comes from added business investment.

Berry noted one transaction could "potentially flip the ratio and take the burden of property taxes off the resident and push it back over to the business side."

Tom Green County Commissioners Court and San Angelo's City Council have taken the lesser taxation approach to date with several recent economic development projects.  The City of San Angelo granted Peregrine Energy's Zeppelin Battery Storage Farm an 85% tax break for three years.  Tom Green County gave Doral Renewables LLC Cold Creek Solar project a significant tax abatement via a payment in lieu of taxes arrangement.

At the time of the Zeppelin tax break the City needed funds to help retirees on their city sponsored health insurance.  Council chose to add two new deductibles to loyal longtime employees, many on minimal retirement incomes.

Residents don't have to look far to see San Angelo's future, only 86 miles north in Abilene.  Lancium or Project Ludacris started as a bitcoin mining, cheap energy arbitrage play but got swallowed by AI and was "the first Stargate" featured at President Trump's AI event.

Big Country Homepage reported:

Taylor County commissioners agreed to amend a tax abatement for the Lancium project. This abatement will allow Lancium to forgo paying taxes on 80% of their property value to Taylor County for the next 10 years  

Once the first two buildings are occupied and the Lancium project is underway – Taylor County will see $4 million to $4.5 million a year in revenue.

That's nothing to scoff at but San Angelo's annual budget is much larger according to the city website:

The City of San Angelo is projecting $261.79 million of revenue in FY2025

San Angelo Live reported in 2022:

Residential property taxpayers comprise 71 percent of property tax revenue generated. Commercial property generates only 14 percent of money to the City general revenue fund via property taxes. The remaining 15 percent of property tax revenue comes from taxable personal property, inventory, and business fixtures.

Skybox Data Centers is coming and Cloudnium believes the next data center boom will occur in San Angelo (where they already have a presence):

San Angelo, Texas, is poised to become the next major data center boom location, thanks to its unique advantages and the visionary leadership of Cloudnium.net. With its central location, business-friendly environment, robust infrastructure, and emerging tech ecosystem, San Angelo offers unparalleled opportunities for data center investment and growth. As Cloudnium.net continues to lead the way, the city is set to become a key player in the global data center landscape, driving economic growth and innovation for years to come.

Visionary leadership of Cloudnium....how many fingers are in this pie?  

City retirees already felt the mis-prioritization of recent high-tech tax abatements.  Who's next to get short shrift so Lancium, Blackstone, Crusoe, Blue Owl Capital, Microsoft, OpenAI and Primary Digital Infrastructure can make big money?

Update 6-14-25:  Bloomberg did a video segment on StarGate and Abilene.  Primary job creation did not seem front and center in elected officials minds.

Update 6-23-25:  Fox West Texas ran a story on West Texas data centers and the promise of taxation.  If history is any guide, San Angelo City Council will abate 80% or more of that promise.

Update 6-25-25:  Fox West Texas ran another story on West Texas data centers and their need for power.  Their piece mentions Cloudnium.

Update 7-20-25:  The Hill reported Texas law allows:

developers of data centers or real estate to effectively secede from city authority, allowing them to drill their own wells into the city water supply without the city being able to charge them taxes or impact fees.

Update 12-16-25:  San Angelo economic developers told bitcoin miners "no" twice.  They did not say it was the Lancium crew which turned into Stargate's Giant AI facility.  They did so in a podcast which can be viewed below:

Update 12-20-25:  The Real Deal reported:

Bolt Data & Energy announced it raised $150 million in capital and struck a partnership with Texas Pacific Land Corporation, which is investing another $50 million into the venture, according to a joint press release Wednesday. The tie-up positions Bolt Data to develop large-scale data centers on Texas Pacific’s sprawling West Texas holdings, as demand for energy-hungry AI computers accelerates, Bloomberg reported.

Update 12-24-25:  City of San Angelo officials spoke with Concho Valley Homepage regarding possible data centers. 

Update 12-29-25:  

Council Member Patrick Keely will hold a Data Center Development Community Meeting on Monday, December 29, 2025 from 5:30-6:30 pm at the Downtown Library in the Brooks & Bates Room. The subject is the proposed Skybox Data Center on Highway 67 just north of city limits. Council approved the sale of 350 acres of city owned land to Skybox in March 2025. 

Issues are noise pollution, water use, appropriate zoning, need for city services while residing outside city limits, traffic safety and electrical power use for the proposed 1.5 million square foot development distributed across six buildings (each of which is four stories high). 

A flyer for this public meeting states the item will be voted on at Council's next meeting on January 13, 2026.

Update 3-17-26:  Chamber executive Michael Looney informed the Development Corporation board that Project Zeppelin's construction has been pushed out to Q4 2027.   He also said the 380 with Skybox Data Centers needs a lot of work and for some issues to be resolved at the state level.