To hear County Judge Ben Lehman tell it, it’s an exciting time to be a part of the County of Grimes. He told those the recent State of the City address that’s both a good and a bad thing, with lots of incoming growth and lots of outside forces trying to influence it.
He says the best analogy he can come up with for Grimes County is that we are about a quarter mile into our first climb up Mt. Everest, in trying to steer this growth.
For example, Lehman pointed out the many new subdivisions sprouting up, and new business growth to support the increasing populace. he also cited these interesting statistics.
Property tax revenue in the County of Grimes’ current budget due to new construction more than doubled the previous year, and the year before that. That’s a lot of new growth. Out of our seven county Council of Government region, we are tied for the second most aggressive growth rate in population.
Lehman said the most important thing county government can do is to focus on issues that benefit its citizens. By far the most important of these, he said is good access to the net.
Thankfully, the judge reported, we will benefit from an upcoming $30 billion grant from the Brazos Valley Council of Governments that will eventually bring high speed internet to everyone who lives in the County of Grimes.