I have personally been really busy over the past year and haven’t paid much attention to the data center issues swirling around both this county and Hood County. I do not like Artificial Intelligence, think it is wildly inflated for its use and if proposed data centers are being built or leased for this purpose, I am automatically against them and actively avoid anything that uses AI. That part is a discussion for another time but I am here concentrating on a meeting that occurred in Somervell County Commissioners Court on Feb 4, 2026
The audio from the meeting is here
From the standpoint of someone, myself, who doesn’t know much about what is going on, these commissioners meetings under the direction of corrupt Judge Danny Chambers, is doing a terrible job to inform. First, off this appears to be the first time that the 391 document is being discussed, it’s not available in any form during this meeting nor included as a document in the minutes after the meeting. One person attending the meeting indicated it might be about tax abatements but if so, it’s not laid out in the agenda. Agendas are supposed to put in enough information for someone to know what the meeting might be about, so they can attend, so if they are about or include tax abatements, the notice is woefully deficient.
Imagine if, rather than Chambers attempting to catch people up with what he and the others have been discussing in secret via an NDA, the document was released for people to read, then the special session announced where attendees could be pre-informed.
Second, Danny Chambers (corrupt Judge for Somervell County) said that NDA agreements had been signed between each commissioner ,,, and he himself signed an NDA. (Adding that I heard at least one commissioner, when summoned to Chambers office, refused to sign an NDA) I could not find anything about NDAS in the TOMA information but certainly if an NDA is required in one part of the law, it would seem to be in conflict with the requirement in TOMA to discuss sensitive subjects that the public might not be privy to (like potential real estate deals) in an executive session and not risk walking quorums. Again, there was no notice on any agenda I could find that an NDA had been signed between any commissioner and the entity that wanted one. Why not? Wouldn’t you as the public want to know this had been done, even if you knew no particulars about what? Did Chambers HAVE to sign an NDA and he and the commissioners could not have discussed this jointly in an executive session?
Third: There was no agreement, even unsigned, to show people what exactly Somervell County wanted to agree to. Oh Chambers talked about it a bit, but there’s nothing like seeing exactly, on paper, what is proposed. And yet the commissioners VOTED ON IT. All the people that showed up to want to express their thoughts could only do so based on rumours As of today, the signed agreement still has not come back (is there a possibility something might be altered?) According to Michelle, county clerk, a number of people have asked for the agreement through open records request and when she finally gets it, she will put it on the website under the minutes/agenda for Feb 4.
Fourth and Chambers made mention of a policy made at some time in the past that the court had voted on, to limit anyone who wished to comment on an agenda item to a total of 30 minutes. Have asked through open records for a copy of this policy as I believe, particularly when there are so many people who do want to comment, to limit participation. I’m sure everyone has seen where in other venues, for example, the Texas State Legislature, can go on for hours with some controversial subjects. Seems to me that the public should be paramount in being able to express opinions in a government meeting, even if it means the commissioners cannot eat lunch promptly at noon.
Bottom line is that AWS is going to lease land from Vistra and this is a done deal that no one actually living in Somervell County can change.
P.S. Have heard from multiple people that Wayne Rotan, who was the superintendent of Glen Rose ISD, has been invited into executive sessions even though the topics have nothing specifically to do with him, on the basis that he is the judge apparent, EVEN THOUGH, the elections are still going on. IF this is so, why?
