Judge: Lots of exciting things going on in the county

1. American Statesman Glove Company 

As I reported back on Sept. 16, 2021, there is a good chance that American Statesmen Glove Company will come to Milam County.  

In the last few days we met with Mr. Bill Hart, the CEO of the company to discuss training for and filling of the prospective jobs. We have partnered with Temple College to begin the process of developing training programs for some of the jobs.  

On Monday, Sept. 28, 2021 we met with the Texas Workforce and Ms. Betty Russo of the Governor’s office to help with additional financial incentives that are potentially available to the new company.  All of this to encourage the new company to come to Milam County.  

While no decision has been made, the company does plan to make a decision on location by Nov. 1, 2021, and start construction in early 2022. The plan is to invest $775 million in the county and employ around 1,500 individuals. We will continue to do everything in our power to encourage the company to locate in our county.

2. Samsung Coming to Taylor  

Although no official announcement has been made, I am confident this will happen soon. This is the largest single economic investment ever made in Texas and it is about 15 miles from the Milam County line.  

Samsung plans to invest $17 Billion and employ about 1,800 people to manufacture the world’s most advanced semiconductor.  

Construction on the new 6 million square foot facility is planned for the first quarter of 2022.  This will have a huge positive impact on Milam County as it will provide jobs and sales tax revenue for the county.

3. Regional Training Center for Milam County  

Your Milam County government is in the process of applying for a multi-million EDA grant for the purpose of establishing a “Regional Training Center” in Milam County.  The idea is to train youth and adults for non-college jobs.  

We have partnered with Temple College and the Texas Workforce Commission to further this endeavor.  Our plan is to build teaching facilities in the County that would draw individuals from within the County and from our adjoining counties.  We hope to integrate with our local schools to provide training, whereby interested students could graduate from high school with the needed skills to get a good paying job!  

4. Milam County Small 

Business Grants

On July 26, 2021, the Milam County Commissioners Court approved a Small Business Grant program for small businesses in Milam County.  

The grant program provides up to $10,000 for a qualified Milam County small business.  The Court allowed $1 million of its American Rescue Plan Act funds for the program.  To date, we have received 150 applications and about 100 have been approved in the amount of $875,000. This clearly has been a well-received program and the funding has been of great assistance to the small businesses of the county.

5. Ambulance Service in the County 

We have made substantial progress with the ambulance issue. AMR is currently providing a “roving paramedic” to help alleviate the shortage of paramedics.  

This individual is not tied to a specific ambulance and can travel quickly to a location without an ambulance. Upon arrival, the paramedic assesses the situation, and a decision is then made regarding the use of an ambulance.  

The second innovation is the use of “telehealth” or nurse navigation as a means to quickly assess if an ambulance is really needed. This will hopefully eliminate some of the unnecessary trips that tie up ambulances. If these new tactics don’t work, we will find something that does.