January 13 Was Not Annexation. It Was a Warning Shot.

Let’s get the facts straight first, because facts matter, and because some folks seem real comfortable hiding behind technicalities.

On January 13, 2026, Lacy Lakeview did not approve annexation of the Infrakey data center site. What they approved was Resolution 2026-01, a January resolution outlining how annexation requests may be handled during the 2026 calendar year. It annexed nothing by itself. No land was pulled in that night.

That part is true. And it matters.

But clearing up that technicality does not make the concern go away. If anything, it sharpens it. Because when you look at what the city already signed in December, and then look at what leadership did next, January 13 starts to look less like reassurance and more like the calm before something very intentional.

Confusion by Design

People did not misunderstand January 13 by accident.

When a city signs a massive non-binding MOU in December, votes on it before allowing public comment, limits disclosure, gives vague answers to direct questions, and then acts offended when residents assume the next vote is connected, that is not confusion. That is strategy.

You don’t get to operate in a fog and then scold people for not seeing clearly. You don’t get to move fast and quiet, then act shocked when trust erodes.

The Hawaii Boondoggle

While residents in Elm Mott, Ross, and Lacy Lakeview were still asking basic questions like where the water comes from and who controls the power, City Manager Calvin Hodde traveled to Honolulu for the Pacific Telecommunications Council conference.

The L2D2 project was rolled out to telecom executives as if it were already settled. A sure thing. A done deal. All while the city does not yet have annexation, does not control the site, does not have finalized water or power agreements, and does not have binding contracts approved by council.

That is not leadership. That is a sales pitch.

This project was not announced first to the people whose land, water, roads, and grid will be impacted. It was announced to industry insiders, on the city’s time, with the city’s participation, while residents back home were still being told to wait for more information.

If you are a city manager and you travel to Hawaii to promote a project your city does not yet have the legal authority to execute, you have failed your job. Period.

For that alone, Calvin Hodde should resign.

The P4 Power Model: Never Tried, Never Tested, Never Safe

Now let’s talk about what’s actually in the December MOU, because this is where the alarms should be blaring.

The document explicitly states that this project is intended to create the nation’s first Public-Private Power (P4) utility ecosystem. First. As in never done before. No precedent. No case studies. No other cities to point to and say this worked.

Under this model, Infrakey or its special-purpose utility entities would design, finance, build, own, and operate power, gas, water, wastewater, cooling, and fiber systems. The city’s role is described as municipal sponsorship and oversight.

That sounds comforting until you read the duration.

The MOU defines a prospective utility franchise term of fifty years.

Fifty years.

That is not normal. That is not conservative. That is not prudent infrastructure planning.

Fifty Years Is a Lifetime in Infrastructure

Think about cell towers. Think about early broadband contracts. Think about water systems built in the 70s that cities are still trying to untangle today. Many of those deals were 10 or 20 years long, and plenty are now considered mistakes.

Technology changes. Needs change. Communities change.

Now imagine locking critical infrastructure into a private operating structure for half a century, in a sector that evolves faster than almost anything else we touch. That is reckless.

The MOU also outlines exclusive rights within the project footprint and rate structures tied to CPI adjustments and pass-through provisions. If service degrades or costs rise, the city’s leverage is limited by design.

A Moving Target on Power and Water

The MOU describes a project that, at full build-out, includes up to 1.2 GW of on-site gas-fired generation and 15 to 16 million gallons per day of water treatment and reuse.

But the story has already shifted.

In January, Infrakey announced it had scrapped the behind-the-meter gas plant proposal and instead plans to rely on grid power, working with HILCO Electric and Brazos Electric to deliver an initial 300 MW.

So who pays for the substations, grid upgrades, and long-term capacity expansions? HILCO? Brazos? Local ratepayers across McLennan County?

We don’t know. Because those agreements have not been disclosed.

And that’s the point. There is no finalized plan, no clear communication, and no transparency about how the infrastructure burden will be distributed. Infrakey has never built a data center before. This is their first. And they are pitching an unprecedented utility model to a small bedroom community with almost no public detail.

Assumptions are not a foundation for fifty-year commitments.

You Cannot Regulate What You Cannot See

The agreement allows Infrakey to assign rights to lenders, meaning if the project falters financially, the city could end up dealing with a bank or investment group instead of the original developer.

It also states that engineering studies, technical models, and system data remain Infrakey’s intellectual property. That creates a clear path for limited disclosure and denied public records requests.

You cannot regulate what you cannot see. You cannot oversee what you are not allowed to fully examine.

Ross Did It Right

On the same night, Ross handled this responsibly.

They consulted their attorney. They reviewed options. They acknowledged they do not have the water capacity for a project of this scale. And they tabled further action until they actually understand the consequences.

Mayor Jim Jaska said it plainly. The people of Lacy Lakeview are the ones who can apply pressure. He was right.

The Bottom Line

January 13 did not approve annexation. But it exposed a pattern.

A city rushing ahead of its residents. Leadership selling a vision to outsiders before answering questions at home. An untested power model wrapped in fifty-year commitments that future councils and families will be stuck with long after current decision-makers are gone.

There are now thousands of signatures opposing this project, a number that represents a massive share of this community. More people than voted for any single council member.

This is not economic development. It is economic surrender.

Calvin Hodde should resign.

The City Council should stop, slow down, and refuse any binding agreements until there is full disclosure, environmental review, and independent legal analysis.

And residents should keep showing up.

Because once this infrastructure is built, there is no undo button.

Next Council Meeting: February 10, 2026, 6:00 PM, Lacy Lakeview City Hall

Join us. Speak up. This is your last chance to stop this before it’s permanent.

Sean Terrell is a resident of Elm Mott and organizer of the community opposition to the L2D2 data center project. The petition opposing the project can be found at wacodatacenter.com.