At 240 feet tall, the Texas Lehigh cement plant is visible from many rural areas around Buda and Kyle. (Photo by Brenda Stewart)
by WES FERGUSON
The Texas Lehigh Cement Co. dominates the landscape around Buda. Blessed with abundant limestone and a 240-feet tall manufacturing plant that can be seen across miles of rolling prairie, the company is appraised as the single most valuable property on the area’s tax rolls.
But these are not boom times for Texas Lehigh, according to company President Bob Kidnew. He said the private manufacturer can’t match the low price of Chinese cement that pours into the United States. Cement sales to the oil industry are robust, he noted, but costs are up and the construction market is not improving.
“I’m not saying at this point it will put us out of business. We’re still profitable,” Kidnew said. However, he added, “We’ve been on the downhill for three years.”
At a Buda City Council meeting on Jan. 17, Kidnew and his company’s attorney, James Cousar, urged council members to reconsider their decision to begin the process of annexing Texas Lehigh against its will. Though years of negotiations have fallen short, company officials said they continue to hope for a pre-annexation agreement that provides “regulatory certainty” for future operations.
“I want to protect Texas Lehigh’s right to operate,” Kidnew said. “We have at least 75 years of reserves left, and we want to protect our right to be here and manufacture cement.” If the city annexes the business without its permission, which it has a right to do, he added, “I’m going to hold the City Council responsible to give us the services you’re required to give us, including water and sewer.”
“You just hold us accountable,” Mayor Pro Tem Sandra Tenorio responded to Kidnew. “Everybody else does, so that’s not an issue.”
The mining operation and cement plant, just outside the city limits, are permitted to use 55 million gallons of water a year, he said. By comparison, the city of Buda provided 383 million gallons of water to its customers in 2011.
After hearing from the Texas Lehigh officials, the City Council voted 5-1 to “fast-track” the annexation of the property. Councilman Ron Fletcher offered the dissenting vote, while Mayor Sarah Mangham was absent.
The council is aiming to complete the annexation before the next election date in May, the next chance other taxing entities will have an opportunity to call elections in an effort to capture Texas Lehigh’s potential sales tax revenue.
Despite their inability to reach an agreement with the city, the Texas Lehigh officials said they want to be part of the community in Buda.
“We’re not trying to say this needs to be our way or the highway,” Cousar said. “I think it’s still worth pursuing here. Obviously the city has its interests.”
Mining just beyond the Buda city limits since 1978, Texas Lehigh produces nearly 1.4 million tons of cement for construction, oil wells and masonry every year and is valued at about $60 million.
