Data center developer tried to “razzle dazzle” while sharing few specifics, Texas county commissioner says

September 20, 2026 / 7:13 PM EDT / CBS News

A data center project came to the table in a Texas county a year ago, promising a big win, but providing few specifics, according to a local county commissioner.

While most existing data centers are in urban areas, according to the Pew Research Center, 67% of planned data centers are for rural areas, like Hood County, Texas, where attorney Dave Eagle is one of five elected officials on the commissioners' court, which votes on data center proposals. Eagle's impression is that the companies think they're dealing with "country bumpkins" when they make their pitches.

"They just basically approached us in a way that they're going to bring a lot of jobs in here. They're going to be good neighbors. They're going to really upgrade the community. But they wouldn't tell us exactly what they wanted to do," Eagle said. "They basically came in here to razzle dazzle me."

The company behind the proposal, which turned out to be Amazon Web Services, asked the county for up to 90% in property tax rebates for 30 years, according to a pitch obtained by 60 Minutes. Eagle voted against the project in Hood…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/