San Marcos City Council terminated its agreements with a 1,786-acre development, located east of San Marcos in Caldwell County.

What it means: The Cotton Center Development is now released from the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction and wastewater service area.

How we got here: The city originally entered into a development and consent agreement for the development in 2016. According to city documents, the vote from council was required by a settlement agreement between the city and Walton Development that was reached on Sept. 16. The settlement agreement also requires Walton to pay $280,000 to the city.

Digging deeper: City documents also show that Walton has filed to expedite an amendment to the city’s Sewer Certificate of Convenience and Necessity under the Texas Water Code.

The settlement fully releases the city from all obligations for the development and releases Walton from any obligations to the city for the Cotton Center Development.

A San Marcos-area nonprofit is looking for the perfect piece of land to realize a dream of helping those experiencing homelessness in the area into permanent homes.

Sheila Morgan, president of Eden Village San Marcos, said the organization is looking for a six- to 10-acre property to build 20 to 50 tiny homes.

About the organization: Founded in 2022 by Sheila and Andrew Morgan, Eden Village is a nonprofit organization seeking to provide permanent housing to serve homeless individuals. Its model is based on a Springfield, Miss. organization that has built a tiny home community to provide shelter and access to basic medical care through community partnerships.

Sheila Morgan said once built, Eden Village will provide tiny homes at a rental rate of $325 per month.

Texas is the nation’s largest energy producer, leading other U.S. states in both natural gas production and renewable energy generation, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows. Yet as people, businesses and data centers continue to move to the state, experts say Texas leaders need to harness new strategies to make energy more affordable and ensure the state power grid remains reliable.

The details: Amid high inflation nationwide, energy prices are on the rise in Texas, and residents are feeling the strain, experts said at the Texas Energy Summit, which ran from Nov. 4-6 in Austin.

In a June 2025 report, the Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute, a nonprofit research organization, found that 65% of low-income Texans recently engaged in “energy-limiting behaviors,” such as turning off their air conditioning to reduce electric bills or underheating their homes in the winter. 

What they're saying: Experts said state lawmakers and officials could invest in energy efficiency and residential demand response programs to tackle affordability and grid reliability issues.