OEDC Pushes for Second TIRZ as Year-End Deadline Looms

The Olney Economic Development Corporation (OEDC) Board of Directors voted earlier this month to formally ask the Olney City Council to move ahead with a second tax increment reinvestment zone (TIRZ), urging the Council to call a public hearing in early December and approve the measure by year’s end.

The industrial-focused zone—known as TIRZ 2—is designed to fund water reclamation, utility upgrades, and long-planned improvements to Olney’s business and industrial corridors. OEDC Executive Director Tom Parker emphasized that establishing the zone before Jan. 1 is critical, aligning with statutory deadlines and the anticipated start of several industrial expansions next year.

The request comes just two weeks after the Council approved a similar timeline for a housing-focused TIRZ proposed by Olney Development, a group spearheaded by Tower Extrusions President Mark McClelland. That project will go before the public during a Nov. 24 hearing.

Attorney David Earl, representing Olney Development, cautioned the Council during a Nov. 10 briefing that locking in the current tax base before Jan. 1 is essential for the housing TIRZ’s financial model, ensuring that new tax revenue generated by future homes can be redirected toward street, infrastructure, and neighborhood improvements.

Mr. Parker is making the same argument for TIRZ 2—an initiative the OEDC has sought to advance for nearly two years.

City leaders have been reluctant to discuss the industrial TIRZ publicly, largely out of concern for how it might be received by Air Tractor, one of Olney’s largest employers. The proposal includes the Olney Municipal Airport and the surrounding land where Air Tractor, the world’s largest turboprop manufacturer, operates out of several large industrial buildings. Air Tractor executives previously reviewed the TIRZ proposal but have not shown support for it.

Despite the political sensitivity, the OEDC voted to press forward, calling for a Dec. 8 public hearing and a Council vote before the end-ofyear deadline.

“We need to build the box now and address Air Tractor’s concerns over what they think are the potental problems,” Mr. Parker said in an interview ahead of the meeting. “TIRZ 2 is for water and water infrastructure— everything else is a bonus.”

Mr. Parker said the funding mechanism would allow participating taxing entities to channel a portion of their tax revenue growth back into a shared pool that could help finance facility upgrades and expansions long out of reach under traditional funding models.

Under the proposed structure, any taxing entity opting into the zone would contribute a portion of its incremental tax revenue—potentially 20 percent to 100 percent— and receive access to TIRZ-generated capital to support growth.

Mr. Parker pointed to Olney Hamilton Hospital as a prime example. The hospital recently suspended obstetrics services due to the cost of operating a second surgery suite.

“If the hospital put $5 million in, the TIRZ could put in $15 million for a birthing center or operating room,” Mr. Parker explained. “If they wanted to add a surgicenter, that could be 100 percent funded out of the TIRZ.”

Other projects driving urgency include inquiries by a California manufacturing firm exploring a move into the former Olney Savings building, and PSI Industry’s expansions at its West Main Street property and into the former grocery story across Main Street from Stewart’s Food Store.

Mr. Parker said these developments could generate the incremental revenue needed to keep the zone self-sustaining. A major component of TIRZ 2 is the inclusion of the Olney Municipal Airport, which Mr. Parker believes is critical to attracting and retaining industry as large-scale data center, solar, and energy developments take shape in surrounding counties.

“We want to make the airport bigger,” he said. “Part of the whole argument for the data center is you can’t bring in other industries because we don’t have transportation. We’re not on that path.”

Mr. Parker envisions upgraded runways and facilities, a commercial- industrial freight area, an industrial park adjacent to the airport, and opportunities to handle “lower-volume air freight” currently routed through larger hubs such as Abilene or Lubbock.

He noted that rising labor and overhead costs are pushing fulfillment companies to seek out smaller, more cost-efficient communities—an opening Olney could seize with improved infrastructure and expanded housing options.

The City Council is scheduled to hear the OEDC’s request during its Nov. 24 meeting, the same night it hosts the public hearing for the housing TIRZ, TIRZ 1.

If the Council agrees to move forward, the public hearing for TIRZ 2 would be held Dec. 8, with the formal vote required before Jan. 1.