Business View Civil and Municipal | May/June 2022

85 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 5 ENNI S , TEXAS does itself. She boasts, “We have everything that anyone could possibly need, not only aesthetically, but just generally. Ennis is so attractive because of the sense of community; everything is family oriented. It’s the place where you want your kids to be able to grow up and experience life because there’s just so much value in community and there is a deep fulfillment of being able to live, work and play here in all in one place.” Ennis is located in Ellis County in northeast Texas, and it’s growing very quickly. In mid-2020, the population was about 20,000 and today it’s about 22,000. There are 5,300 housing units in the works, with an expected 17,000 more people moving to the city in the next 5-6 years. Jim Wehmeier, the city’s Economic Development Director moved to Ennis just over a year ago and knows that maintaining the city’s sense of community is integral. He reports, “You get used to all the benefits of a small town. It has a tremendous sense of place, a tremendous sense of its heritage. They know where they’ve come from, Ennis is a community and not just a city. There is a big difference. We’re on the front end of explosive growth and so we are looking at that very purposely, very intentionally, to make sure that we continue to honor our heritage as we grow and embrace our future. We focus on highest and best use and will not let the city develop in an inappropriate way.” Ennis is just 35 miles from Dallas, minutes from the Metroplex on Interstate 45, and just a short 15 miles to Waxahachie, the Ellis County seat. The city is home to a large light and heavy industrial sector with a broad base. In it are several steel fabrication companies, as well as a multitude of other traditional manufacturing and distribution companies. The major employers are manufacturers like Sterilite, Leggett and Platt, GAF, Schirm, Certainteed, and Ennis Steel. Wehmeier says, “We’ve got that diverse base and the takeaway on that is that it’s everything from your traditional manufacturing to your Economic Development Director, Jim Wehmeier