Business View Civil and Municipal | January 2021

55 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL JANUARY 2021 DEAF SMI TH COUNTY , TEXAS provide more sustainable water options, as well as concrete work on Highway 60, the main artery through the town. Without continual growth and capital investment, there is really no incentive for companies, or prospective employees, to call Deaf Smith County home. That is why county and city administrators agree this is important work. The Economic Development Corporation’s job is to recruit industry and business to the City of Hereford and Deaf Smith County. And each case is dealt with on its own merits. For example, Caviness was offered a $1.2 million incentive, essentially $2,000 for every job they would create, in the form of a forgivable loan if those criteria were met over a stated time. Similar initiatives were undertaken with Merrick Pet Food. The point is that the city is open for business and interested in welcoming any new companies to Hereford and doing as much as possible to incentivize that move. The city also had plans in place in 2019 to replace their community centre, which is over 70 years old. The objective was to build a state-of- the-art facility, primarily for the benefit of local citizens but also to bring in out-of-town events and larger gatherings. “That project has gone well,” says Judge Wagner.” In fact, we opened our new 19,000 square foot facility this fall. It was a $6.5 million project in the end and worth every penny. We also built a new field house for the football team at the High School and are looking at revamping the Junior High next. And we had our ground-breaking for the new County Jail in October. They are starting with dirt and site work and it is going to be an 83,178 square foot building with a 196-bed capacity. It will also include a new Deaf Smith County Sheriff’s Office. The total expected cost $35.2 million and it is scheduled for completion in February of 2022.” The county has also passed a tax abatement to build a new solar farm east of the city of Hereford and other improvements are ongoing, including work on the new water well project to