‘The Gentleman’s Game’ — cricket — could be coming to Taylor
A jam-packed City Council meeting saw local leaders hold a public hearing on sweeping changes to the land-development code including amendments for high-tech enterprises such as data centers.
No action was taken Oct. 22 because the session was only a first reading. Council approval is still pending.
Also during the gathering at City Hall, members on the dais heard that cricket is coming to Taylor, learned about the recognition of the city’s communications department and lauded graduates of a program explaining how local government works.
Meanwhile, the public hearing revolved around the proposed amendments that are part of Phase 1B of the overall comprehensive plan and land development code rewrite, which is being completed by consultants Freese and Nichols.
The most anticipated and highly discussed amendments are a new set of guidelines governing digital infrastructure, which would include industries such as data centers, power plants and bitcoin mining.
“Why are we pushing these through? Why are we going to end up in a place where we have wonderful amendments that the community fought tooth and nail to be a part of and it’s not going to matter because it’s not going to apply to any of these projects?” asked resident Carrie D’Anna.
The community organizer has been speaking out about the council approving a special set of guidelines for the Taylor Technology Center, a gas power plant and data center, one week before the new city guidelines were discussed.
D’Anna is part of the HALT Taylor Data Centers coalition. The group had submitted a petition to the council with a specific request for data center guidelines that would govern where they are built nd how they would operate.
The petition asked the city to enact the guidelines or to allow the community to vote on the matter Nov. 3.
The city declined to enact the guidelines requested by the 1,400-signature petition and cited policy reasons for not sending it to the voters. D’Anna’s group filed legal action to force the city to honor the petition, but the writ recently was denied by an appellate court.
However, many of the issues brought forward by the HALT coalition campaign were addressed to some extent with the Phase 1B amendments, but the group was also pushing for more research and information on the effects of existing data centers before codifying what will be allowed.
The amendments cover issues from in-home businesses to accessory dwelling units.
The Planning and Zoning Commission had already recommended the majority for approval.
Cricket pitches coming to Taylor A new sports and recreational business could bring cricket fields and covered pickleball courts to Taylor.
Engineering firm WGI appeared before the council to represent the proposed project, known as Realty Slices - Taylor. The developer is planning a 30,000-squarefoot building that will be a sports and recreation center at 2225 Texas 95 and Chandler Road.
The council conducted a public hearing for the zoning change and will vote at a future meeting.
Cricket is a popular sport in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations countries using a bat, a ball and a pitch, and arguably helped give rise to the American pastime of baseball.
In the U.K., it has been called “The Gentleman’s Game.”
Award to communications department The City-County Communications & Marketing Association named Taylor’s communications department the Silver Circle Winner in recognition of work done for a 2025 town hall meeting covering the city’s plan for sidewalks and trail connections.
The trophy was awarded in September at the 3CMA annual Conference in September in Denver and announced during the Thursday council meeting.
“I would love to take credit for this award, but 100% of the credit goes to Jerrod (Kingery),” said Daniel Seguin, executive director of community services. “He brings a wealth of creativity and many ideas to (help) our residents not just be informed but actually be engaged.”
Kingery is the city’s communications manager.
The recognition is part of the association’s Savvy Awards, a competition that judges government communications departments based on how they engage residents. The contest has been running 30 years.
“Somehow, this team managed to make an Active Transportation and ADA Transition Plan entertaining, and that alone deserves recognition,” a judge wrote. “Rather than asking residents to engage with a technical planning topic on its own, they created a video that immediately captured attention through humor, creativity and a fully committed vintage newsreel concept.”
A video associated with the campaign can be found at www.facebook. com/watch/?v= 697275653332320.
It shows Seguin, Kingery and others encountering difficulties in situations that do not follow federal Americans with Disabilities act guidelines.
City graduates LEAD Taylor class Seguin also took the microphone during the council meeting to introduce 20 community members who spent the last nine months learning about how they can help shape the city’s future.
LEAD Taylor takes participants through a deep dive into many aspects of what makes a city function. In nine seven- hour classes, students heard from 64 speakers covering 71 topics.
Students also committed to a community service project, which they are still working on. The project will create a storybook walk at Bull Branch Park, a public art installation that will encourage children to read.
Graduates include Christian Aleman, Ayleen Amado, Madeline Canales, Tim Crow, Pamela Harper, Diana LeBeau, Christina Lewis, Mawaika McDaniel, Emily McDaniel, Jessica Morgan, Terry Pierce, Denise Pritchett, Victoria Schmidt, Amanda Segers, Ashley Seguin, Bill Sterling, Ashley Stroud, John Warren Stroud, Dave White and Sarah Winters.
Crow, who is a Taylor Press columnist, was also a student in the very first civic leadership program held by the city in 1986.
Seguin said the program has taken several forms over the years. It was reintroduced in 2018 as a partnership with the city, the Greater Taylor Chamber of Commerce and the Taylor Economic Development Corp. and is partially funded by corporate sponsors.
Participants must live, work or own property or a business in Taylor and apply for acceptance to the program.
