Jason Patrick on Hubbard's Future: Water Lines, Sewer, the School Bond, and Lake One Questions

I called Jason Patrick on March 19 to talk about Hubbard.

Not to file a records request. Not to ask about contracts or controversies. I wanted to hear, from the man who runs the city, what is actually going on in Hubbard, Texas, and whether the progress people talk about is real.

The Conversation

I opened the call by telling Patrick I wanted to bring some positive coverage to the city. I asked him a simple question: from your perspective, what can I do to help?

Before we got into that, Patrick mentioned he had spoken with BZ Watchdog the day before in a lengthy phone call. I asked how it went.

"It was a nice conversation," Patrick said. "He was very cordial."

That was encouraging. From the outside looking in, it had seemed like there was not much communication happening between the city and the people asking questions about it. Patrick had his own take on why.

"He gave mention that he had called up here several times, and I'm like, well, Basil, did you leave a message? I mean, I don't sit in my office all day. If you're going to call, leave me a message so I can call you back."

Fair enough. Sometimes the simplest explanation is just a missed phone call.

Growth and Infrastructure

I asked Patrick about the school bond election. It had recently failed on a 172-172 tie, a dead-even split, and I noticed another bond election was already being organized. Was there a genuine need, or was this just a push to get a different result?

Patrick explained that enrollment is growing. The school needs remodeling, additional classrooms, space for new students.

"People are moving here more and more," he said. "I can't think of one house that is available for rent or lease. It's just people are moving here."

I told him that from my perspective, covering small towns across the region, Hubbard did not look like a city that was struggling. I see infrastructure jobs getting done. I see things happening. Patrick appreciated the observation, and then he laid out a vision for the city that, frankly, would make any small-town mayor jealous.

"We're fixing to have our own secondary water supply. We're drilling a second well. Where TCEQ requires you to have a secondary water supply, this additional well will eliminate us from having to pay a rural water supply every month."

He kept going.

"All new water lines. Next project is all new sewer lines. Upgraded water treatment facility, upgraded sewer facility. And then, ultimately, new roads. What other small town the size of Hubbard is progressing like that?"

I told him he literally just went down the list. Every small-town official I talk to would be jumping for joy with that kind of infrastructure plan.

Jobs and the Data Center

One of the more striking things Patrick shared was about the local data center and the jobs it has brought to the area.

"We've got multiple screenshots of people who were negative against this who are now working out at the data center making twenty-seven dollars an hour with thirty hours mandatory overtime, bringing home between eight and ten thousand dollars a month. These people were working seven dollars an hour."

That is a real economic shift for a community this size. Data centers across Texas have taken heat for overpromising on local employment, and some of that criticism is fair. But if workers in Hubbard are pulling down that kind of money in a town where those wages did not exist before, that is worth acknowledging.

Patrick agreed with my observation that a few bad actors in the data center space give the whole industry a bad reputation.

"Hey, I will 100% agree with you on that. 100%."

The EDC and Community Support

Patrick also talked about the Hubbard Economic Development Corporation and some of the smaller community projects it supports. He described a recent HEDC meeting where a local garden club came forward to request funding for improvements to a Vietnam War helicopter memorial that sits in the city.

"It is an attraction. We have multiple people that stop there all the time because it was an active aircraft in the Vietnam War. They asked the EDC for some money, and the HEDC is going to help support."

It is a small thing, but it says something about a community when the economic development board is responsive to a garden club asking for help with a local memorial. I have seen EDCs in other cities sit on hundreds of thousands of dollars and refuse to fund projects far more substantial than that.

"It's all hands on deck on this one," Patrick said. "Everybody, all the boards, everybody. I mean, everybody's in total support."

Addressing the Scrutiny

I was not going to pretend the scrutiny does not exist. BZ Watchdog has been active in Hubbard, raising questions publicly about contracts, property sales, and governance. Patrick is aware of it, and he addressed it directly during our conversation.

"That's why it bothers me with all the optics that are perceived, or profiting. That does not exist. It is a celebration in this community."

He also spoke openly about his first interaction with BZ Watchdog and the Hubbard Police Department. He acknowledged that one of his officers approached BZ Watchdog on the side of the road and ran his plates during their first encounter. He said it "went south from there."

"I even apologized to Basil for that and told him, yes, because there's something that's never happened here before. We were caught off guard."

He added: "This is an open window, brother. There's nothing to hide."

I appreciated the candor. Whether you agree with his perspective or not, the fact that he is willing to sit on the phone with a journalist and address these topics directly is worth something.

The Lake One Conversation

BZ Watchdog has also raised questions about a property transaction near Hubbard's lakes and the companies involved. During our call, I told Patrick that I had seen the Lake One material and the grant-related questions, but that I was more interested in current events and the path forward.

Patrick and BZ Watchdog had apparently discussed these topics at length during their hour-long conversation the day before. Patrick characterized their exchange as cordial and said he was open to walking through the details.

This is a topic that deserves its own coverage, and I plan to revisit it. For now, what matters is that the conversation is happening. Patrick is not dodging the questions.

A Personal Story

Unprompted, Patrick shared part of his own history.

He described leaving the Hill County Sheriff's Office years ago under difficult circumstances. He said he was approached by the Republican Party to run for sheriff against an incumbent he described as "a crook." The incumbent retaliated, and Patrick ended up filing a federal lawsuit.

"I turned down a very large monetary settlement to sit across the desk from that man and have him change my discharge to an honorable one," Patrick said. "I gave up a very high-ranking position within that sheriff's office to do what was right because I wasn't a yes man."

He paused.

"It took food out of my family's mouth, trust me. It would have been easy just to say okay and yes."

I told him that an officer putting his career on the line to do the right thing is something I can recognize and respect. Whatever else is going on, that takes a certain kind of conviction.

Wrapping Up

Toward the end of our conversation, Patrick invited me to be more involved in the community.

"How about Ron Helms moves to Hubbard, Texas?" he said with a laugh.

I told him I actually live closer to Hubbard than I do to Italy, the city where I first started covering local government. If there are ways I can bring coverage to the community, sit down with people, and have transparent conversations, I am open to it.

Patrick encouraged public involvement: "Tell people to be involved. Come to a council meeting. Come to an HEDC meeting."

That is something I can get behind. Civic engagement is the foundation of everything I try to do. When people show up, ask questions, and understand how their local government operates, the whole system works better. For everyone.

What Comes Next

Before we hung up, I told Patrick exactly what I planned to do: write this article, put my impressions from our conversation into the public record, and use it as a starting point for deeper coverage of Hubbard.

He was fine with that.

"I really, really hope you enjoy your time," he said. "And when you're in our community, I hope it represents well."

Patrick has told me that more conversations are on the table whenever I want them. He has offered to sit down in person, even do a video interview. All I have to do is ask. That kind of openness from a city official is not something I take for granted, and I plan to take him up on it.

I am not here to take sides. I am here to have the conversations, document what I learn, and give the public a reliable source of information about what is happening in their community. Hubbard has a lot going on. The infrastructure investment alone is worth following closely. The questions that have been raised publicly deserve honest answers, and the people doing the asking deserve to be heard just as much as the people running the city.

This is the beginning of that coverage.

If you live in the Hubbard area, work for the city, serve on any of its boards, or simply have information you think the public should know about, my door is open. I am not looking to catch anyone. I am looking to tell the story.