What happened
Jeremy Martin, president and CEO of Austin Chamber of Commerce, moderated the discussion between David Porter, executive director of the Williamson County Economic Development Partnership; Brad Napp, vice president of Investor Engagement for the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce; and Rachael Westerman, director of Membership and Operations for the Taylor Chamber of Commerce.
During the discussion, the panelists shared how Williamson County, Round Rock and Taylor are managing rapid population growth and development.
Porter said the rapid growth the county has seen has allowed the local workforce to remain within Williamson County instead of having to commute.
“In 2021, for the first time, the majority of the workforce in Williamson County stayed in Williamson County. That means Williamson County is no longer a bedroom community, no longer a bedroom economy. Austin and Travis County are now a suburb of Williamson County,” Porter said.
Porter also noted Williamson County’s population continues to grow by approximately 5,400 new residents a month, a trend which is projected to continue to grow.
The specifics
Napp and Westerman discussed how Round Rock and Taylor are managing the growth and how it has affected local businesses.
Napp said when Dell moved to Round Rock in 1994, it created a foundation for growth in the surrounding area.
Round Rock’s population has doubled over the last 20 years, and Dell has been the flagship employer and technology leader, Napp said. Now, a number of other tech companies have relocated, and large retail chains like IKEA and Bass Pro have also chosen Round Rock. Texas State University, Texas A&M University and Austin Community College also have a large presence within the city, Napp said.
Napp said Round Rock has an advantage in managing rapid economic development because the city has experienced similar growth over the past 20 years.
For Taylor, Westerman said Samsung was just the first of many major businesses to come to the city.
“[Taylor Chamber of Commerce] told [local] businesses that Samsung may be the whale that came to Taylor, but there’s an ocean coming,” Westerman said. “There’s so many business opportunities, whether you are a construction company, a printing company, a gardening company or plumbing company.”
However, Westerman said the rapid growth within Taylor has also caused some growing pains.
Westerman said a lot of Taylor’s small businesses are actually not flourishing in this growth because it has completely changed the business environment. However, she said there are a lot of interested investors and big businesses coming to Taylor, which will expand the chamber of commerce’s ability to assist small businesses.
“[Taylor Chamber of Commerce] has been a small chamber for so long that we haven’t been able to do what we’d like to do for [local businesses] that we’re now able to do with this growth,” she said.
Westerman said another major focus for further development is workforce training.
She said cities and the county need to figure out how to bridge the skills gap, so residents have access to these new career paths. Training and education needs to be geared toward children as well as for adults looking to move into a new industry, Westerman said.
What else?
The panelists also talked about managing the growing demands on key infrastructure like water and energy.
Porter said the county’s goal is to expand infrastructure across Williamson County.
Porter said electricity has become a major issue. The county has been working with Pedernales Electric Cooperative, which serves much of the county to the west, but the cooperative doesn’t have the capacity to power industrial sites, so it’s going to have to build a new substation.
Additionally, Porter said water is always going to be an issue.
Moving forward, creating additional infrastructure for wastewater, water and electricity is incredibly important, Porter said.
