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Colorado County commissioners raised concerns about the safety of residents over the implications of a railroad materials company’s application for a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) in Eagle Lake at their meeting last Tuesday, Oct. 15.
A&K Railroad Materials Inc., the company at hand, were requesting a letter of support and non-objection to their application, from Colorado County commissioners to be included in the service area of the Calhoun- Victoria FTZ.
A representative from A&K explained the benefit of the FTZ to commissioners, including duty savings and supply chain efficiency, which could see thousands of dollars in tax revenue come in as a result.
Precinct 2 commissioner Ryan Brandt wasn’t particularly impressed by the numbers calculated as a result of the FTZ for A&K, saying how the estimated amount to be made, given the circumstances, isn’t an “earth shattering” number.
“We could see a potential $8,000 to $12,000 increase in domestic tax revenue,” said Brandt. “So, in reality that isn’t an earth-shattering number that the county would be benefiting from going into an FTZ.”
One of the main issues raised by Precinct 4 commissioner Darrell Gertson was over the safety concerns regarding dust clouds surrounding the worksite, and freight cars potentially causing major backup and traffic within the city.
“Will you all have anything better ground wise for dust control,” said Gertson. “It creates such a dust cloud that everything across the road is just full of dirt, dust, everything. It’s not pleasant to live around that area. The other is the traffic that happens when they are bringing these cars in. What it does to the city of Eagle Lake, the traffic flow. I have witnessed it. I stopped and videoed every crossing that was affected. It went from the intersection at Union Pacific by Beek street all the way to FM 102. Thank God we didn’t have an emergency at the time because the traffic was backed up past 3013.”
Judge Ty Prause echoed the sentiment of the commissioners, saying A&K weren’t making their presentation and requesting the FTZ “just to be good neighbors,” but more so to benefit their business.
“When you’re asking me to put my signature on this representing the county,” said Prause. “Saying that I support it, that it’s good for the county and we have all these other issues that we’ve been living with for decades, I hope you can appreciate the gravity of the conversation. So, I don’t believe for a second you all are here just because you want to be good neighbors. Frankly, I believe you’re here for an economic reason, which makes very good sense for business. That’s how business works.”
