Granbury residents seek to recall mayor, 4 council members over data center concerns

Granbury residents have initiated recall petitions against Mayor Jim Jarratt and four city council members – Skip Overdier, Bruce Wadley, Zeb Ullom, and Greg Corrigan – amidst a protracted dispute over the proposed Project Patriot data center. These petitions, filed at Granbury City Hall, cite a breakdown in public trust and a perceived lack of transparency from city leadership regarding the project.

The recall campaign is fueled by ongoing concerns over the city's handling of the annexation and rezoning of the 2,000-acre Knox Ranch property, where Dallas-based Bilateral Energy plans to develop Project Patriot, a large-scale power generation and artificial intelligence data center campus. Organizers, including Jacob Herbold from Granbury Grassroots, accuse officials of signing non-disclosure agreements that hinder communication with constituents and of failing to address resident concerns about the project's environmental impacts and infrastructure demands.

This latest action follows previous efforts by residents, including the submission of petitions requesting a vote of no confidence in City Manager Chris Coffman and City Attorney Jeremy SoRelle, who are accused of misleading residents about their knowledge of Project Patriot before the Knox Ranch annexation. Furthermore, allegations of "walking quorum" violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act and procedural issues related to the annexation are currently the subject of ongoing litigation filed by Hood County property owners.

The city is expected to review and verify the signatures on the recall petitions to determine if they meet the legal requirements to proceed. A spokesperson for the city indicated a statement was being prepared but had not been provided at the time of publication.