Take the opportunity SMART presents

Dear Editor:

As former Mayors of the city of San Marcos, we are writing to express our support for the annexation and re-zoning of the 934-acre parcel of land on the east side of our city for the SMART Terminal (San Marcos Air, Rail and Truck Terminal). This employment center is located along Loop 110, (funded and underway by TXDOT) the Union Pacific Rail Line, and adjacent to the San Marcos Regional Airport.

We support this annexation and re-zoning with the utmost confidence that our new land development code, Code SMTX, along with our improved environmental and flood mitigation requirements will be administered and the proper development rules are applied and enforced. These will provide protections for the San Marcos River, our environment, water quality, as well as the property owners both upstream and downstream from the development.

The project’s principals and consultants worked with our city staff for nearly a year before the San Marcos City Council voted in October 2018 to unanimously approve an economic development agreement with the development’s first big employer, Katerra, Inc. Katerra will bring an initial investment of $109 million and the commitment to provide 542 career jobs with benefits.

The development of the SMART Terminal, starting with Katerra’s initial investment, along with discussions already underway to attract other quality employers which will bring overall investment to the site approaching some $3 billion, is an opportunity for our city to benefit from significant quality commercial development. This size of investment will help fund the needs of our city and potentially reduce the tax burden on families and local property owners.

Our citizens have long expressed concerns about jobs, housing and flooding. The SMART Terminal project, with appropriate development controls to ensure protections for our environment, can provide life-changing opportunities for our current and future residents. As former mayors, we have each had the task of balancing the needs of our current citizens while preparing our city for the future to ensure both environmental protections and the economic benefits that new development can bring.

We ask that our current city leadership seize this opportunity for the benefit of all of San Marcos residents by supporting the annexation and re-zoning of the SMART Terminal project.

Sincerely,

Mayor John Thomaides

Mayor Daniel Guerrero

Mayor Susan Narvaiz

Mayor David Chiu

Mayor Kathy M. Morris

Mayor Frank T. Arredondo, Sr.