SerpApi.Org
A group of Granbury, Texas, residents filed recall petitions this week against Mayor Jim Jarratt and four city council members, escalating months of conflict over Project Patriot, government transparency, and a roughly 2,000-acre tract tied to the proposed AI data center.
What's happening?
Petitions were submitted on July 13 at City Hall seeking to remove Mayor Jarratt and council members Skip Overdier, Bruce Wadley, Zeb Ullom, and Greg Corrigan, according to KERA News.
The dispute has focused on Knox Ranch, which was annexed and rezoned as Dallas-based Bilateral Energy advanced plans for a large power-generation and AI data center campus there.
Recall organizer Jacob Herbold said the push is meant to hold officials accountable, not to make it personal. "We don't take this lightly," Herbold said. "But we need people that will communicate with the stakeholders, with the constituents, and not sign non-disclosure agreements with anything that would prevent them from communicating with the citizens."
Organizers say the petitions contain more signatures than the number of votes that the targeted officials received to get elected, though those totals still need to be verified before the process can proceed.
Another recent episode reflected the same frustration. KERA News reported that more than 800 residents had already filed petitions asking the council to consider a vote of no confidence in City Manager Chris Coffman and City Attorney Jeremy SoRelle. The council accepted those petitions during public comment and did not act on them.
Why does it matter?
Large data center projects can bring jobs and investment, but they can also place enormous demands on energy systems, land, water, roads, and emergency services.
In Granbury, the backlash has been driven by both the proposed development and the city's approach to it, with residents spending months questioning environmental consequences, infrastructure pressure, and whether officials were open about what they knew before annexation moved forward.
Granbury Grassroots framed the recall effort as a response to broken confidence in local government, saying, "The trust essential to effective public service has been broken. We are asking for leaders who will operate in the light of day, rather than behind closed doors."
According to KERA News, Hood County property owners are also pursuing litigation over alleged "walking quorum" violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act and other procedural issues connected to the annexation. Those allegations have not been proven in court.
What's being done?
The city must review the signatures before deciding whether the recall petitions meet the requirements in Granbury's city charter. More than two dozen volunteers helped fuel the recall effort by going door to door to collect signatures, KERA News reported.
Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
