BRENHAM CITY COUNCIL HEARS UPDATES ON PROSPECTIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
Brenham-Washington County Economic Development is proceeding further into the planning process with several local economic development projects.
At Thursday’s meeting of the Brenham City Council, Brenham Economic Development Director Susan Cates gave an overview of where the city currently stands on the economic development front, as well as details on a pair of projects in the works.
Cates announced the city is “actively engaged” with 13 projects at this time, meaning there is some form of contact every other week with the company associated with that project. She said it is unlikely that all 13 projects would come to Brenham or Washington County, but if so, it would result in a very large economic benefit.
Cates briefed the council on a project called “Black Stamp,” which initially began in March before halting due to the COVID-19 closure. The company involved with the project is based in Spain, and, according to Cates, is a gourmet food manufacturing company.
According to Cates, an executive from the company flew in from Spain to visit Brenham on September 23rd. The executive had a “manufacturer’s roundtable” with officials from Blue Bell, Del Sol Food Company, and Kountry Boys Sausage. The representative also met with Blinn officials to discuss the College’s workforce training program, before meeting with Mayor Milton Tate, County Judge John Durrenberger, and Tee Dippel of the Brenham Economic Development Foundation.
Cates said the city received the next set of criteria last week to move forward with the project, and is excited to stay “in the hunt.”
Cates also gave new details on Project “Silver Crayon,” which she said has been in the works since January 2019. Cates previously said the project is based in the oil and gas industry.
Cates said the county will meet next week to hold a public hearing to create a tax reinvestment zone for the project. The property is located outside of city limits and is now officially under contract. She said formal announcements are forthcoming, but this is still a “competitive project.”
The project was previously approved for $675,000 in Texas Capital Fund grant funding for the extension of a gas line to the property the business has selected. She said the company is nearing final approval with the Texas Enterprise Fund, an economic development incentive within the Office of the Governor.